Bradford Reed
{{BLP sources|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Bradford Reed
| image = B square.jpg
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| genre = Experimental
| occupation = Musician
| instrument = Bells, drums, drum programming, guitar, kranton, melodica, organ, pencilina, percussion, piano, sampler, synthesizer, vocals
| years_active = 30
| label = Manifatture Criminali, Shimmy Disc, Instinct
| associated_acts = [King Missile{{!}}King Missile III][Anthems of the Void][Ohmslice][Satellite and the Harpoonist][Reel Orchestrette]
}}
Bradford Reed is an American multi-instrumentalist, experimental luthier, and member of the avant-garde band King Missile III. In the 1980s he invented the pencilina, a custom made string instrument.{{Cite web |date=Summer 2017 |title=Bradford Reed Music Residency |url=https://pioneerworks.org/residency/bradford-reed |access-date=June 7, 2025 |website=Pioneer Works}}{{Cite news |last=Gottschalk |first=Kurt |date=March 7, 2008 |orig-date=June 29, 2006 |title=Bradford Reed, Pencilina Inventor and Musician |url=https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/bradford-reed-pencilina-inventor-and-musician |access-date=June 7, 2025 |work=Gothamist}}
Discography
| class="wikitable" |
| Artist
!Album !Record Label !Release Year |
|---|
| style="width:200px;"|Bradford Reed
| style="width:250px;"|Ultra Fresh Super Vibe | style="width:200px;"|Ft.Lb. Records | style="width:150px;"|1992 |
| Bradford Reed
|Live! At Home |Ft.Lb. Records |1996 |
| John S. Hall
|Manifatture Criminali |1996 |
| King Missile III
|1998 |
| Bradford Reed and Hoppy Kamiyama
|The Bubbleman |Horen |1999 |
| Bradford Reed and Hoppy Kamiyama
|The Bubbleman 2 (A Day of the Iron Sausage) |Consipio/God Ocean |2000 |
| Bradford Reed
|The Stars My Destination |Ft.Lb. Records |2001 |
| Bradford Reed
|Solo Live Songs |Ft.Lb. Records |2003 |
| King Missile III
|The Psychopathology of Everyday Life |2003 |
| King Missile III
|Important Records |2004 |
| OHMSLICE
|Conduit |Imaginator Records |2017 |
| Bradford Reed
|What's Good for the Goose Is Good |Youngbloods |2019 |
| Satellite and the Harpoonist
|Satellite Man |Tonic Records |2020 |
Pencilina
File:BradfordReed Pencilina p-rotated.jpg
The pencilina is a custom-made string instrument that Reed invented in the 1980s. The instrument is a double neck 3rd bridge guitar.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}
The pencilina is similar in construction to two long connected thin zithers. Its two "necks" each have a bridge, tuning pegs, and a set of strings; six strings on one neck and four on the other. Both are open tuned. The treble tuning is adjustable via a multiple tuning bridge. Wedged over and under the strings is a wooden drum stick for the treble/alto/tenor strings and a metal rod for the bass strings, which divide each string into two segments with different pitches. The divided strings can be then played separately, resulting in various harmonic overtones. There are four built-in pickups: two are contact mics mounted in the bridges at one end of each neck, and two are guitar-style electromagnetic pickups which are placed under the strings toward the opposite end. It's played by striking its strings with sticks and may also be plucked or bowed.
The Pencilina was featured on the book/album Orbitones, Spoonharps and Bellowphones (Elipsis Arts){{Cite news |last=Sparber |first=Max |date=April 23, 2002 |title=Zgamoniums and Pencilina |url=https://mndaily.com/215877/uncategorized/zgamoniums-and-pencilina/ |access-date=June 7, 2025 |work=Minnesota Daily}} and is described in Nice Noise by Bart Hopkin and Yuri Landman.{{Cite book |last=Hopkin |first=Bart |author-link=Bart Hopkin |title=Nice Noise: Modifications and Preparations for Guitar |last2=Landman |first2=Yuri |author-link2=Yuri Landman |publisher=Experimental Musical Instruments |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-9727313-6-2 |oclc=1303915499}}{{Page needed|date=June 2025}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Instagram|pencilina1}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOtnx7CRVf3e8w0hRzygJZw Bradford Reed's YouTube Channel]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090512194308/http://pencilina.com/ Bradford Reed's old site]
{{King Missile}}
{{Instrument tunings}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Bradford}}
Category:Inventors of musical instruments
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
{{US-musician-stub}}