What are some unique instruments used by some bands you like?

Blackmore's Night :~

Chanter

Shawm

Cornamuse

Rauschpfeife

Hurdy-Gurdy

Mandolin

Violin

Horn

Recorder

Renaissance Drum

Jethro Tull :~

Flute

Mandolin

Harmonica

Saxophone

Violin

Lute

Tin Whistle

Mandocello

On the song 'Pibroch (Cap in Hand)', Ian attempts to play his flute in such a way as to resemble bagpipes {pibroch means 'mournful bagpipe music'}.

Saving the best till last... Mike Oldfield :~

Tubular Bells {obviously!}

Flute

Farfisa, Hammond, and Lowrey organs

Flageolet

Glockenspiel

Mandolin

Timpani

Bouzouki

Gong

Nutcracker

Oboe

Trumpet

Banjo

Bodhran

Spinet

Northumbrian Bagpipes

Uilleann pipes

Pan Pipes

Cello

Vibraphone

Marimba

Congas

Celtic Harp

Trombone

Bell Tree

Cabasa

Psaltery

Bass Whistles

Melodica

Jew's Harp

Marímbula / Kalimba

Ukulele

Electric Sitar

Bass Clarinet

Tantric, Phish, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, The Magnetic Fields, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles, The Doors, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Dave Matthews Band, Oasis, Modest Mouse, Sonic Youth, The Cure, Ministry, My Chemical Romance (no thumbs down please,) Panic At The Disco, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Siouxsie And The Banshees, The Velvet Underground, Lou Reed... Hope that helps!

The 13th Floor Elevators, the kings of garage psychedelia, had a guy playing the jug. And not that "DUM dum DUM dum DUM" sound like country jug bands, he made some weird staccato noise into it that gives most of their music it's psychedelic sound. Although on some of the slow songs it's just a slow, low, fluctuating humming sound. And as far as I know they are actually the only band to ever use the psychedelic jug.

I have a bunch of youtube links but it won't let me post them, it says unable to process request, Error 999?

I've put a space between the word youtube and .com in all the links so it says youtube .com. Copy those links into the adress bar and just close the space if you're interested in hearing the a** kickin'-est jug in town.

http://www.youtube/ .com/watch?v=gldP5k1GFH8 (It's kind of quiet in this one but it's there in the backgroubd)

http://www.youtube/ .com/watch?v=cvGa6OJsLkM&feature=related (you can hear it better here)

http://www.youtube/ .com/watch?v=0I-3-VWRFdU&feature=related (notice the jug player all the way to the left in the picture here)

Last one I swear:

http://www.youtube/ .com/watch?v=EsKny8WnktI&feature=related (not much here I just like this song a lot)

Long live the Elevators.

Edit:

Additionally, on the title song of Agent Oranges's debut album, Living In Darkness, they had a hard time recording the drums and so for parts of the chorus and intermittently afterwards you hear the sound of them slamming garbage can lids together in place of the drums.

The song "I Wanna Be Your Dog" by the Stooges features sleigh bells.

Not really an odd instrument per se, but Mo Tucker of the Velvet Underground used a minimalistic drum kit with tom toms, a snare, and a bass drum turned on it's side with little if any cymbals and she played all of this with mallets as opposed to drum sticks. And Lou Reed in at least two songs, "Venus In Furs" and "All Tomorrow's Parties", plays the Ostrich guitar, which is something he came up with and is a guitar with all the strings tuned to the same note. And it's named so because he first used it on a song Lou wrote pre-Velvets called "The Ostrich". John Cale also played the viola and the organ, neither of which were/are overly common in rock music.

You changed Your Name Sarah!!...Cool!

French Horn..The Rolling Stones

"You Can't Always get What You Want"

Harpsichord..Led Zeppelin

"Over The Hills And Far Away"

Sitar..The Beatles

"Norweigan Wood"

Gong..UFO

"Love To Love"

Kazoo..Uriah Heep

"The Magicians Birthday"

Tabla..Led Zeppelin

"Black Mountain Side"

Splitlip Rayfield's bass player uses a bass fashioned from a cars fuel tank

Junior Brown plays a guitsteel, a six string/ steel guitar combo

Jackal lead singer also plays the chainsaw. even does chainsaw solos

In Dr. Didg, Graham Wiggins plays the Australian didgeridoo.

In Yes, Steve Howe occasionally played a valiha.

On several of Sting's solo albums, Kathryn Tickell plays the Northumbrian Small Pipes (a smaller variation on bagpipes).

Keeler: I know Entwistle played Trumpet and French Horn on Who records, though I'm not sure if he played others (e.g. trombone).

I've been getting into gypsy punk lately.

Kultur Shock uses dulcimers, djumbecks, accordians, violins, sitars, trumpets and trombones. It's great!

Gogol Bordello is another gypsy punk band. More rock, less gypsy than Kultur. They still use sitars, horns, and accordians - but also a lot of homemade percussion instruments.

Sleepytime Gorilla Museum uses a kitchen sink, an instrument they created that they call the 'sledgehammer dulcimer '.

Tchkung used a didgeridoo, 50 gallon drums, and I think maybe a grinding device.

Nitzer Ebb (industrial) throws in clarinet and oboe from time to time. Check out Lightning Man. Really stark contrast with some interesting musical outcomes.

I'm a fan of the gong it Floyd songs.

Also Jethro Tull's flute.