gideon made a boombox from a pringles can;

lism. / bon iver, corporate shillin', free stuff!, pringles, speakers / 4 Comments

I know I’m getting old, so it’s a relief to know that I’m not the only person who gets annoyed by teenagers playing tinny music to each other through crappy mobile phone speakers up the back of the bus. There’s even a term for it – ‘sodcasting‘ (see what they did there?). The worst part is that what’s played always seems to be that interchangeable dsh-dsh-dsh stuff – I’m like, mate, if you’re going to force us all to listen to your choice of bangin’ choons, could you not at least pick something decent? Could you imagine an all-out “Tiny Dancer” singalong, Almost Famous style, on the last number 9 home? That would soon shut the wee shites up.

Armed with two days of Glasgow summer and a pair of Pringles festival speakers I’d been sent for review, this weekend I was determined to get my own back. And so I spent Sunday afternoon in Bellahouston Park with a book and the new Bon Iver album.

Until October, Pringles are offering a free speaker with the seals from three cans of Pringles. The speaker is designed to attach to the top of a Pringles can, which acts as an amplifier allowing you to share music with friends (the promotion riffs off of summer festivals, but parks and garden barbecue parties are probably more suitable destinations – it’s not that powerful. I was sent two speakers, and two cans of Pringles to go with them – and let me tell you: it doesn’t matter how long I’ve been doing this for, nothing gives you a sense of pride in your work like being able to tell your parents that you’re getting their favourite potato snack in the post.

Powered with three AAA batteries, and equipped with the standard 3.5mm jack, the speaker is designed to be easily used on the go. Which begs the question – which bright spark thought it would be a good idea to put a screw over the battery compartment?!

Luckily I’d checked this out before leaving the house, so we were good to go. A small switch on the surface of the speaker powers it on, and you’re good to go. You’re welcome to plug it into your mp3 player or whatever as is, but bear in mind you will face the same flat, tinny sound quality suffered by those teenagers at the back of the bus. To get a full-bodied, rounded sound you will need to pop the speaker into the top of the Pringles can. You may look like a bit of a dick, but on the plus side you will have a tasty, tasty snack to munch on while you listen to Justin Vernon’s lush mewlings.

The sound quality from the speaker was surprisingly good, particularly as I challenged it with something a little bit more orchestral than it was probably designed for. The open air makes for good acoustics too – I tried listening again in the kitchen doing the dishes the other night and the poor quality of my mp3s was immediately apparent. Which of course says more about my chosen compression rate (moar choonz pls) than the speaker.

[I should point out as well that if you're listening to music using an iPhone, as I did above, you're going to encounter that nasty speaker static problem unless you switch into Airplane Mode.]

Sure it’s hardly Bowers and Wilkins, but definitely a worthwhile wee freebie. Get Pringles in any major supermarket which isn’t still sitting on the fence about the News of the World until October.

Since the folks at Pringles were nice enough to send me two speakers, I’ve got one to give away! If you like it, leave a comment letting me know where you’d like to use it and how you’re going to annoy the kids. Sadly, you need to supply your own Pringles.