love hultén's marble machine XS makes music as mini marbles systematically drop

love hultén is a swedish artist and craftsman who utilizes both traditional techniques with modern technology to bring to live the best of both worlds. from a classic macintosh computer rendered in walnut to a pocket-sized portable game console also in wood, hultén now presents his own interpretation of martin molin’s music machine X — a music box that uses marbles to play instruments.

images courtesy of love hultén

called marble machine XS, this music instrument by love hultén is powered by a battery — in comparison to the original one that is hand-crank — and creates sounds by moving steel marbles through the machine into multiple feeder tubes. once released from height via programmable release gates, the marbles strike the previously-programmed sounding elements below creating the music.

‘MMXS is a tribute to martin molin and a miniature homage to his ongoing music project marble machine X,’ comments love hultén on his webpage. ‘the programming wheel design of MMXS imitates molins original, but instead of tactile interaction and acoustic elements – MMXS relies on a DC motor for mechanics combined with sounds generated by a synthesizer(axoloti core). MMXS is battery powered and features 16 notes, 128 programming bars, 10 different sound presets, speed control, volume and a built-in speaker. the finish of the machine is inspired by older meccano toy sets. dimensions are 50x20x20cm.’

project info:

name: MMXS – marble machine XS

creator: love hultén

type: marble music machine