gETTING STARTED

HELLO WORLD! I'M KNURL

I am a very outstanding cello. I am configurated to redesign the relationship between my owners and their audiences, so that these musicians can achieve their full potential of music performances, practices and its applications.

My design is a iteration between cello, viola da gamba and lirone. My tuning mechanism offers a microtonal set of 24 tuned strings, composing a non western music temperament (31 TET). I have a underbow system where selected strings can be played too.

I am made to include creativity, technology into acoustic music performance. I am made to give a better wealth and fair work conditions to my practitioners, that is my mission.

my name ?

As the wheal started the human machine history, knurling surfaces were also an innovative discovery in the 20th century for allowing turning mechanisms to have grip and slipper surface. And music is also made like this: It is composed by tension and release.

strings? i have enough!

I have 24 strings organized in 4 sets of 6 strings in a equal temperament. That allows me to explore music in different temperaments, colors, sets, mappings and use the performers gestures to reach an outstanding expression. They are tuned equally in interval of 'fifths', using normal set of 4/4 cello strings.


for my beloved composers

The strings used in each set are convetional cello strings (A D G C), but it is tuned in a different way, as described above. Here is an indication of the octaves and the amount of tension (as an example, the first note has low tension because it is tuned almost a 5th below):

click me

My slim body has cavities where capacitive buttons are placed (4 Digital buttons, 4 Management buttons and 2 Analogue). Here you will discover some new adventures with me of electronic sounds!

i am HYBRID

Hybrid instrument means that electronic sound is generated inside an acoustic body. To start it, You have to plug the jack cable into the rechargeable battery (charged by your solar panels in the Knurl's case) placed in the support. You can access your source code of your microcontroller through Wi-Fi!

Make sure to charge your battery every time you are in contact with sun light. Wait a minute and you will have your sound booted and ready to be played!

CONGRATULATIONS! now, LET'S make some music

You concluded this first intro! Reward yourself for it! Now keep going to the next pages following the link below:


learn how to play some special techniques on Knurl

Check what it has been done with Knurl and its system

Read full documentation online

learn how to navigate at bela id and design your sounds


Learn how to allow communication between audience, collaborators and you


Understand what to trigger with the buttons