Found this link in an article in Science News about the Tritare. Really weird sounding instrument, it can indeed sound eerily like a bell, or like a number of etherial synth tones...but it's acoustic. The string splits in a Y shape at the soundboard, going off into two more (fretless) necks. I agree with critics who claim it simply sounds out of tune, but that's not always a bad thing. And, frankly, with three places to adjust each string, I expect tuning a Tritare is a stone cold bitch.
.