During Electronic Textile Camp, 2023, I did some exploration of how record player needles are made and how I may make one to listen to different fabric textures with. After doing some research, I was able to put together several needle and cartridge combos using a piezo disc and a variety of nickel-plated pins either alone, in multiples, or with foam and conductive materials to experiment with dampening and the like. Without a record player, I used the blender I had bought for $13 from the thrift store so I could have smoothies during camp. Stripping it down to the motor and hooking it up to a slider switch was simple enough, the real challenge was finding a way to put an elevated and even platform on the motor shaft. After a quick attempt, I realized I did not have the right materials to make it happen.
The experimental needles were kept as free roaming arms that people could use to run them across fabric textures with. Foam core board got cut into circles and covered by a variety of fabrics from our stash at camp.
At Electronic Textile Camp 2024 I continued the journey. Before camp rolled around, I found a vintage 7″ record player that I knew would be the final body of this project. I brought it to ETC 2024 and made a new needle head that fit into the existing arm and I added a color sensor that also has a proximity and gesture sensor. I’ve been working with the Teensy and their Audio Adapter and audio software tool but have switched to use the Daisy Seed and will be building my final prototype using that.
The ultimate dream is to have a double decker record player so two fabrics can play at once.
