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Musical Instrument Museum

Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 7:31 pm
by Leviathan
Any musicians visiting the Phoenix area need to check this out.

http://www.mim.org

The place is huge and fascinating. I spent probably three hours there and still didn't get to see everything I wanted to. It's surreal to me that something like this exists.

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You walk around with a wireless headset that links to short videos playing on the screens throughout. The exhibits are mostly organized geographically, with some special ones devoted to genre, such as jazz, country, rock, etc. There's even one for electronic instruments. The videos show the respective instruments in use, or how they're made. I think I recall reading that they have over 10,000 different instruments, some of which are on loan from well-known musicians. One of the highlights for me was seeing Tim Alexander's drum kit that was used on some of the early Primus albums. There was also a really expensive looking PRS double-neck guitar with really ornate inlays.

They have a hands-on area where you can play various instruments, but I missed out on that. They also have a viewing area for the lab where they restore and preserve the instruments they receive. It's a pretty impressive place. :tup: