instrument

An instrument is a specific kind of tool - a human-made device designed for precise tasks or controlled operation. A competent speaker would describe an instrument as a specialized tool. Fails removal test for DEPENDS_ON: tools exist without instruments, but all instruments are tools. Nearest kind is tool (Law 11e).

A control panel IS a specific kind of instrument — an interface of controls and indicators used to operate and monitor a system. The competent-speaker test passes: a control panel is 'a type of instrument' for operating machinery or systems. Nearest kind is instrument.

A caliper IS a specific kind of instrument — a precision measuring tool with two hinged legs. The competent-speaker test passes: 'a caliper is a kind of instrument.' Files against the nearest kind (instrument exists and is ACCEPTED).

A protractor is a specific kind of instrument — a drafting instrument used to measure or draw angles. Per Law 9: 'is a specific kind of' maps to INSTANCE_OF. Nearest kind: instrument (no intermediate rung like 'measuring-instrument' exists on the ladder). A competent speaker would call a protractor 'an instrument'.

A loom is a specific kind of instrument: a mechanical device used for weaving threads into fabric or other materials. A competent speaker would describe a loom as 'an instrument of weaving.' Files against the nearest accepted kind — instrument is the immediate category (loom is a specific type of instrument, not merely using one).

An appliance is a specific kind of instrument — a device or tool designed for a particular practical purpose, typically mechanical or electrical. Law 9: the specific (appliance) points at the general (instrument). A competent speaker would call an appliance 'an instrument' in the broad sense (artifact extending human capacity, Law 11c).

A garden rake IS a specific kind of instrument: a long-handled tool with teeth for cultivating soil. A competent speaker calls a garden rake an instrument for gardening. The instrument kind sits between tool and specific implements in the hierarchy.

A stylus is a specific kind of instrument — a pen-like tool used for writing on digital displays or tablets. Specific→general per Law 9.

A safety-instrument is a specific kind of instrument — an instrument designed to maintain or restore a safe state when process conditions exceed predetermined limits. A competent speaker would call it 'an instrument.' Files against nearest kind per Law 9.

A lens is a specific kind of instrument — a device used to manipulate or examine light. A competent speaker would call a lens 'an instrument.' The lens manipulates light via refraction; as a manufactured artifact for optical manipulation, it is a kind of instrument.

A sensor IS a specific kind of instrument. Direction: sensor (specific) → instrument (general). Law 9: specific→general. A sensor is an instrument for measuring/detecting physical quantities.

A whistle is a specific kind of instrument — a device that produces a sharp, high-pitched sound when air is forced through it. A competent speaker would call a whistle an instrument. Per Law 9: specific→general.

A bell IS a specific kind of instrument — a struck idiophone (per Hornbostel-Sachs classification) that produces sound by the vibration of its own body. Per Law 9: a competent speaker calls a bell 'an instrument.' Files against nearest kind instrument.

A soundboard is built into an instrument for the sake of the instrument's acoustic function - it amplifies string vibrations so the instrument produces audible sound. Law 8d: servant(soundboard)->master(instrument).

A spectrum-analyzer IS a specific kind of instrument: a device that applies signal processing (FFT or filter-bank) to convert time-domain signals into frequency-domain representations. 'A spectrum analyzer is a measuring instrument.' Nearest kind: instrument is accepted and more precise than signal-processing.

Pinned sense: synthesizer AS A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT (sound source). The target's accepted definition explicitly carves 'musical ... instruments' as members of the kind. A synthesizer is a human-made device for controlled operation in a specialized musical domain (performance input → generated sound), requiring calibration (tuning, oscillator stability) — the instrument boundary the definition draws against general tools. Not pinned to its signal-processing internals (it already carries the accepted DEPENDS_ON→oscillator rung for that). Nearest kind on the board: no musical-instrument node exists.

A dynamic-range-meter IS a specific kind of instrument: it is a device used for measuring audio signal levels. Competent speakers would classify it as a measuring instrument.

comparator is a specific kind of instrument: a device that compares two quantities to determine their difference or relative magnitude. Pin sense: instrument as a measuring/evaluation device, not as a musical instrument. A competent speaker would call a comparator 'an instrument.'

Pinned sense: sampler AS A MUSICAL PERFORMANCE INSTRUMENT. The target's accepted definition explicitly carves 'musical ... instruments' as members of the kind (surgical, musical, optical, computational). A sampler is a human-made device for controlled operation in a specialized musical domain — triggered by performance input (keyboard/MIDI), requiring calibration (pitch, sample tuning) — which is exactly the instrument boundary the definition draws against general tools. Pinned to instrument-as-performance-device, NOT as signal processor (its output is stored-sample playback, not a modification of an input signal, which is why it is not an audio-effect). Nearest kind on the board: no musical-instrument node exists (checked music, musical-notation, musical-composition, musical-form — none is the device kind).

A mixer is a specific kind of instrument: it is an electronic device that an audio engineer operates to shape sound, with faders, knobs, and switches that the user manipulates directly. In studio and live-sound contexts, the mixing console is routinely called 'the instrument' — the primary tool through which the engineer expresses creative control.