The Waterphone
In the early 1970s a percussionist friend showed me a Waterphone, a hauntingly beautiful percussion instrument invented a few years earlier by Richard Waters that also happens to hold water. You play it with a bow, mallets, your hands, or in any manner that comes to mind. Custom crafted Waterphones can be purchased for upwards of $1,000 from Waters’ Web site. If your budget is not quite up to the real thing, you can get a huge, 4.3 GB, meticulously sampled version for Native Instruments Kontakt 2.2.4 or later from Tonehammer for $99. Both Web sites are worth a visit to see their pictures, videos, and audio examples of the Waterphone in action.
