Junkyard Jam Band A Guide to Building DIY Musical Instruments and Noisemakers

San Francisco, CA (October 16, 2015) — Eddie Van Halen, Bo Diddley, and Jack White all created their own iconic rock sounds by hacking and modifying instruments themselves. These innovative musicians, along with many others, are the inspiration behind Junkyard Jam Band, the latest release from No Starch Press, which teaches novice do-it-yourselfers how to build 16 unique instruments and sound effects.

Junkyard Jam Band (No Starch Press, $24.95, 408 pp., October 2015) offers step-by-step, illustrated instructions for building standalone instruments like a wooden thumb piano, an Altoids-tin “turntable” that produces old-skool hip hop skritches and scratches, a PVC slide whistle, a Slinkiphone that amplifies a Slinky’s inherent sci-fi sound effects, and even several homebrew synthesizers. With simple soldering and carpentry instructions to guide them, budding builders can create custom instruments to fit their musical style and taste.

Readers will learn how to:

• Circuit-bend unsuspecting childhood toys into mutant chiptune beatbox machines
• Build a crackling, multifunction preamp that will boost any instrument’s volume
• Transform a cigar box into an electric ukulele
• Give vocals a robotic makeover with the Droid Voicebox
• Make a racket with quick-build noisemakers like the Elephant Trumpet and Junkshop Percussion set

“When you build an instrument yourself, you can do it however you want,” Nelson says. “This is a book designed to empower folks who feel like they have no DIY experience. When a kid or even an adult sees how easy it is to do, they can’t help but start tinkering. My goal is to encourage readers to tap into their capacity to improvise—musically and manually!”

Readers of all skill levels will be soldering circuits and building their own roaring, warbling, bleeping homemade instruments sooner than they can say “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Junkyard Jam Band will be available in bookstores and online in October 2015.

Junkyard Jam Band Publisher: No Starch Press Author: David Erik Nelson ISBN: 9781593276119 (print) Price: $24.95 Publication Date: October 2015 Specs: 408 pp. [email protected] 1-800-998-9938 1-707-827-7000

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The SparkFun Guide to Processing by Derek Runberg

The Maker’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse by Simon Monk

Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred by David Erik Nelson

Available in fine bookstores everywhere, from http://www.oreilly.com/nostarch, or directly from No Starch Press: http://www.nostarch.com, [email protected], 1-800-420-7240.

About No Starch Press
No Starch Press has published the finest in geek entertainment since 1994, covering topics like LEGO, hacking, science, math, and programming for all ages. Our titles have personality, our authors are passionate, and our books tackle topics that people care about.

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