A Turntable That Plays Pieces Of Wood

German artist Bartholomaus Traubeck has created one tripped out piece of tech-a turntable that plays pieces of wood instead of records. Here's how it works:

Traubeck has modified a turntable’s needle by replacing it with a digital camera and light that scans the wood for thickness, growth rate, texture and overall color tone.

A computer then interprets the data and maps it into a musical scale, which is then played back using piano sounds.

What results are hauntingly beautiful melodies that differ based on the tree’s age.

It's an eerily fascinating way to hear what the trees have to say, but I'm guessing that it all comes out sounding like "you cut me down for this?"  or "what have you done with the rest of my body?" And, at this point should we still call Mr. Traubeck an artist, or some sort of mad scientist with a penchant for creating strange electronic devices?

Link  --via DesignTAXI