inspiration

Reuge created MusicMachine 2 based on a futuristic starship design proposed by MB&F. Working in collaboration with ECAL design graduate Xin Wang, MB&F developed a concept cleverly incorporating all the essential music box features – musically-tuned combs, pinned cylinders, winding mechanisms, mainspring barrels and regulators – and looking like an intergalactic spaceship. To optimise the sound created by MusicMachine 2, Jeanmichel Capt of JMC Lutherie developed MM2's ingenious internal soundboard.

JMC LUTHERIE

One of the biggest challenges of MusicMachine 2 was in amplifying the sound. An ingenious solution was raised and developed by Jeanmichel Capt of JMC Lutherie, who created a bespoke soundboard featuring NomexTM – a type of honeycomb-structured Kevlar – sandwiched between two resonant 350-year-old spruce membranes. Only one in 10,000 spruce trees has the exceptional acoustic properties required. Selected trees are cut down in November when sap flow is minimal and the timber is then dried for five to ten years. The result is a clear, loud, pure sound, supremely rich in timbre.

Reuge

Reuge

Based in Sainte-Croix (Switzerland) with more than 150 years of expertise and experience, Reuge is positioned as the only premier producer of music boxes in the world today, creating mechanical music boxes that are technically, acoustically and aesthetically superlative. While Reuge has a comprehensive collection of both classical and contemporary music boxes, the brand also prides itself on its ability to create bespoke pieces or limited series (like the MusicMachines).

Reuge is a master of music boxes thriving on ‘thinking outside the box’; the Reuge mentality is to respect tradition, but at the same time move forward with beautiful contemporary music boxes for the 21st century.