Variophon

[1] For this purpose, the instrument is played using a pipe-controller, while the pitch is controlled either by keys on the pipe itself or in later models, an external keyboard.

[2] The Variophon can alternate in timbres, imitating a variety of wind instruments, ranging from the harmonica to clarinet, saxophone or tuba.

The original Variophon, named the "Martinetta", was invented in 1975 by Jobst Peter Fricke, Wolfgang Voigt and Jürgen Schmitz at the Acoustical Department of the Musicological Institute of the University of Cologne, and was first manufactured by Ernest Martin KG.

[3] Martinetta, a precursor to the Variophon, built in 1975 by Jürgen Schmitz as a proof of concept for impulse shaping synthesis, developed by Jobst Fricke and Wolfgang Voigt in Cologne.

In 2006, Voigt and Fricke returned to the University of Cologne and presented the Martinetta in a series of short videos.