Our Take

The MB&F MusicMachine 2 is the second result of a unique collaboration between the avant-garde team at MB&F and high-end mechanical music box specialists Reuge. This limited edition version, made expressly for HODINKEE is clad in untreated gunmetal-colored aluminum. Only 5 are available, each numbered on the engraved baseplate.

Case and Frame

Outriggers: Bead-blasted and anodized aluminum;
Dimensions: 11.8 inches wide, 20.1 inches long, 6.5 inches high, weighs over 17lbs
Acoustically-enhancing platform: Gunmetal aluminum

Movement and finishing

MusicMachine 2 features two 3.72 movements (3 refers to number of melodies on each cylinder; 72 refers to number of notes on each comb); one movement is right configured; one movement is left configured (they rotate in opposite directions)

Mainplate: nickel-plated brass, decorated with Cotes de Geneve. The mainplate holds both movements; each movement includes a mainspring, cylinder, comb and regulator
Barrels: Stainless steel; each with 6 heat-blued screws on top; grooved 'piston' sides
Regulator: fan in stainless steel
Cylinders: brass
Cylinder supports: Nickel-plated brass

Start/stop and continue functions
One melody = one revolution of the cylinder
Three melodies per cylinder
Length of each melody: 35 seconds
Power reserve per cylinder: 15 minutes
Mainsprings: Wound via propellers
Pins hand-applied and hand-polished
Length of pins: 1mm; diameter of pins: 0.3 mm
Pins per right cylinder: 1,279; pins per left cylinder: 1,399 Combs: steel alloy and lead; 72 teeth per comb; each comb attached to brass vibration plate by six heat-blued steel screws 

Melodies

Right cylinder extracts from:
Angie (1973) by Rolling Stones
Should I Stay Or Should I Go (1982) by The Clash
Stairway To Heaven (1971) by Led Zeppelin

Left cylinder extracts from:
Star Wars (1977) main title by John Williams
Imperial March (1980) by John Williams
Star Trek (1979) main title by Jerry Goldsmith