The
viocta is an eight-stringed
instrument closely resembling a
violin, invented by the
Dutch musician Willem Wolthuis in 1971. The
neck of the instrument is approximately an
inch wider than that of a violin, and somewhat lengthened to support the eight strings. The instrument also uses an
aluminum tailpiece, since the large number of strings makes the instrument subject to a lot of strain.
The instrument has four violin strings and four
viola strings. The violin strings are tuned conventionally as G, D, A (
440 Hz), and E. The viola strings are tuned to D-flat, A-flat, E-flat, and B-flat; a half step above normal. The strings are paired as follows (from left to right): D-flat - G, A-flat - D, E-flat - A, and B-flat - E. (As implied by this order, the instrument is tuned in
perfect fourths.)
The instrument allows the possibility of playing eight-part
chords and clusters, four-part
harmonics, overall goofy colors, and abstract sound effects.
From: The Complete Encyclopedia of Musical Instruments by Bert Oling and Heinz Wallisch