One of my most complex instruments so far, Mercury is the second instrument I made for Dave Villano. Its name comes from the liquid-metal theme incorporated into many elements of the design, from the droplet shapes in the bout and scroll, to the undulations of the shell edges and inner- and outer-surface carvings, to the backlit wave designs on the sides of the spine. This violin features color-changing LEDs controlled either by three knobs on the bout or by an external controller that plugs into a special jack; and the lighting responds not only to music but also to motion, thanks to a special inertia sensor that I designed for this instrument. The scroll includes a red laser. The silver lacquer has a special finely-textured finish that makes the instrument look even more elegant when viewed close-up.