Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/01/09/the-move-towards-making-musica.html
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“I really like this band. They have a strong, brash ABS section, and their PLA-winds are sublime.”
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I remember reading about this in a Life Magazine from the late 40s.
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Of course it’s what makes the sound, not what the instrument is made of, that determines whether it’s woodwind or brass.
Saxophones are woodwind instruments even though they’re almost always made of brass, while alphorns are brass instruments despite being usually made of wood.
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And which instrument makes a “whoosh” sound? 
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$150. With brass plating, $300.
In the 80s in Belgium already made a plastic pop singer.
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I wonder what the longevity of plastic instruments can be. A wooden or brass instrument can be carefully restored, I’m not sure if this would be even considered with a plastic one, they’d be thrown out more than likely. There’s likely a place for plastic instruments but I hope they’re made to primarily be more durable otherwise they become crappy disposable objects.
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i bought one of these:
specifically for our annual week of torture at the beach so I didn’t have to bring my nice wooden one…and, well…it sounds and plays like crap. However it was only ~$40 and served its purpose.
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Ornette Coleman was famous for playing a white plastic Grafton saxophone from the 50s as it was all he could afford to replace his first, broken sax
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A good-quality plastic church bell would be impressive, but most of our racism about plastic doesn’t have any technical basis. It’s just that plastic is associated with cheap mass-production, and until very recently, it wasn’t something people could work with at a studio scale.
I think the existence of 3D printing will turn (is turning) that prejudice on its head, not because commercial goods will ever be printed, but because now individual makers can experiment with plastic as a medium, even more easily than they can experiment with wood and metal.
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I might expect to learn that Big Music has been quietly but very actively suppressing these developments to ensure that schools will continue feeling obliged to shell out big bucks for more expensive units. On the other hand, these probably aren’t as easy to repair, but then I also expect a good number of instruments end up beyond repair due to careless accidents or loss.
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Decent plastic instruments go back a ways. In the 1940s and 50s, people like Mario Maccaferri and Finn Magnus were pioneers in using injection molded plastics for making string and free reed instruments. The Maccaferri all plastic ukulele is an idea that survives to this day successfully. The Magnus company made harmonicas and reed organs that can still be found second hand fully functional. These were intended to be affordable instruments, but we’re surprisingly good performing. And it’s not as if you can necessarily claim that these are poorly crafted. As a machinist and rudimentary moldmaker, I can tell you the level of craft that went into a those Magnus harmonica molds with one piece reeds/reed plates is truly artistry.
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A lot of student-grade instruments are plastic already, and have been for a long time.
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So, if I get fumblefingers and drop the thing on its bell (as I did with my trumpet during marching band practice in college), does it dent or shatter?
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You do know words, including that one, have meanings, right?
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Plastic is a race now? How did I miss this?
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“I might expect to learn that Big Music has been quietly but very actively suppressing these developments to ensure that schools will continue feeling obliged to shell out big bucks for more expensive units.”
I played trombone in the school band for three years. They may do things differently now, but when I played in school band, each student was responsible for buying his or her own instrument. The school did not provide instruments to students or have any in storage to lend out.
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