It’s not enough for MB&F to make crazy, high-end ($US158,000) watches like the M4 Thunderbolt. It has also decided to make a music box that looks like an alien spaceship, with the MusicMachine. Not for MB&F is the humble music box. The Swiss watchmaker has joined with Reuge, a 150-year-old Swiss music box maker, to make a music player that displays thinking outside the box. Outside the atmosphere really.
The MB&F MusicMachine is 395 wide x 475 long x 165 mm high, and weighs 2.97 kilograms. The amplification chamber is made of walnut, while the outriggers are bead-blasted and anodised aluminium, the barrels stainless steel, and the cylinders of brass. There is a left and right cylinder, each with seventy-two notes, and that each play three different tunes.
On the right cylinder:
- ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ (1979) – Pink Floyd
- ‘Smoke on the Water’ (1973) – Deep Purple
- ‘Imagine’ (1971) – John Lennon
And on the left cylinder:
- ‘Star Wars’ (1977) main title by John Williams
- Star Wars ‘Imperial March’ (1980) by John Williams
- ‘Star Trek’ (1979) main title by Jerry Goldsmith
So, it’s two radio station playing extracts of songs – 35 seconds in length – with classic rock on one side, and sci-fi on the other.
Only 66 of the MB&F MusicMachines have been made, 33 in black, and 33 in white. The price? A little over $14,500 Australian.
MB&F MusicMachine photo gallery
MB&F MusicMachine video
Click below to watch this video interview with Charris Yadigaroglou, the Head of Communications for MB&F. See the MusicMachine in action, learn a little more about the design, and hear some of the song extracts.
| MB&F |