Follow the bouncing ball as it sends out MIDI messages and learn how music teachers in Anaheim are getting kids to express their emotions with MIDI.
Sorry, it took awhile to get this interview up. But it was an entertaining conversation. Just remembering how great it was to get everyone together at the June NAMM show has us looking forward to April NAMM 2023 and the 40th anniversary of MIDI!
Back on Labor Day 2020, we covered the Watermelon jam from MEZERG that used Playtronica to turn watermelons into MIDI controllers.
Orbita is a truly playful way to create music because it is so visual. People of any age can enjoy it and the more you know about music and tech the more you can do with Orbita. The user interface is simple, You place magnets on a spinning disc and synths and samples are triggered from Playtronica’s proprietary Web App.
There are four track “orbits” and a”scratch mode” and timing can be adjusted with the spinning wheel like a classic turntable pitch control.
But Orbita is also a USB-C compatible MIDI Controller that works with all MIDI compatible music software. There is even an extension that will convert the MIDI into Control Voltage so you can integrate Orbita with your modular synths.
In Playtronica’s universe, everything should sound. Our past products, TouchMe and Playtron, let people turn any object into an instrument – even touching another person. With Orbita, we bring sound to color through a device that can be used for education, performance, meditation, or just jamming with friends
by Sasha Pas, founder of Playtronica
Anyone remember this MIDI product- The Yamaha DJX BII
Is okay to say “What goes around comes around” when talking about a turntable?
“I have designed a keyboard, drum pad, chord keyboard, arpeggiator and a step sequencer. One special feature is that the units have RGB LEDs for each key, enabling playback visualization (so each device is both MIDI out and in). This is helpful for music training and editing, but it also looks great. They can be used as input devices to any computer with a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) like Ableton, Logic, Cubase, Garageband etc. It will run on Windows, Mac or Linux (including Raspberry Pi). They can even be connected to your mobile phone (Android or iOS), providing a tactile super portable music development platform.”
by Johan Von Konow
The devices are easy to build and anyone with a 3D printer and basic soldering skills should be able to replicate them. They are designed to use few components that are easily accessible and affordable (one keyboard cost around $6).
Everything is open source and built with the easy to use Arduino framework.
Respiro is a new generation software synthesizer using physical modelling that contains a “state of the art” sound engine able to reproduce the sound and behaviour similar to wind-instruments. It has sonic capabilities of woodwinds and can also create ‘never heard before’ sounds. It turns your breath and/or touch into a unique experience, providing amazing musical vibrations!
by imoxplus
Respiro is available as Standalone, AU and VST3 64-bit plugin for macOS and Windows.
It is designed to work with MIDI controllers that can send Pressure (Breath) via AT, CC02, CC11 etc… and note on/off including:
Aodyo Sylphyo
Emeo digital practice sax
Odisei Music TravelSax
Akai EWI
Berglund NuEvi
Lekholm DM48
Roland Aerophone
Cantux eCorder
Hornberg MIDI breath station
New-Type.asia. ID;001 breath controller
coming up – Photon intelligent mouthpiece
It also works also with any keyboard especially when combined with a breath controller such as the TEControl.
Sometimes you just need to relax and do something cool.
So on Labor day weekend 2020 we shared this video from MEZERG enjoying some cool watermelon, some bright sun and a dip in the pool.
Oh yeah, and MIDI of course!
Playtron is a new type of music device.
Connect Playtron to fruits and play electronic music using online synthesizers or use it as a MIDI controller with any music software and conductive objects.
by Playtronic
Hi everyone! In this article I will teach you how to build your own Arduino powered MIDI controller. MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface and it is a protocol that allows computers, musical instruments and other hardware to communicate. If you follow each and every step of this tutorial you will be able to make music with an Arduino!
What you are going to learn from this article:
Make sure you watch the video because it´s more illustrative. Subscribe to my Youtube channel so you don´t miss out on new project and to help me grow!
Here is a list of the material and tools we need to complete this project:
12 x Arcade Push Buttons
Material to build the case ( I decided to build a wooden case )
I chose the Arduino Starter Kit because this kit provides a lot of useful material for this project such as resistors and all the wiring and connectors. Also, if you are a begginer like me, other material with this kit can help you getting started with electronics
I bought the Arcade Buttons from the link above but if I were to buy again, I would buy THESE BUTTONS instead because I wanted to give a pattern to the interface and it was impossible with single colored buttons so I had to paint them.
Tools you will need:
I highly recommend sketching your interface so you are sure of the dimensions you need to build the case.
I projected my interface on a A4 sheet, using a pencil a ruler and a compass. You can see the result in the picture below. By sketching the interface, you get to know the dimensions you need to install all the components. My Push Buttons have a 29.7mm diameter so I am going to drill a 30mm hole to install it. Every hole is spaced by 10mm. Basically each circle center is spaced by 40mm (diameter = 30 + space = 10).
Pot Knobs have a 10mm diameter. It is recommended to drill with increasing diameter bits to make sure not to crack the wood. I also left a 10mm space between buttons and pot knob potentiometers.
And finally, the sliding potentiometers. From the data sheet I know their travelling distance is about 80mm. You should use a Dremel to open the slots to fit in the sliding potentiometers, a.k.a. FADERS. If you don´t have this specific tool you can always do it as I show on the video. Think about a slot with 80mm length and 3mm wide.
This was my COVID-19 quarantines project. I was determined to find a productive way to spend my time and the Arduino that was left in a drawer came to mind. I went to my local store to buy wood to make the enclosure and as I bought it I was told they weren´t cutting wood because of the lack of personnel and due to this whole self-isolating/lockdown. So, I decided to buy the wood and cut it at home with the material I had available.
After removing the splinters with sand paper and preparing the surface I applied varnish paint. Two coating were applied. After I chose a color to paint the enclosure. You can check the pictures to see the result!
I decided to Illustrate the circuit diagram instead of drawing the conventional circuit diagram because it can get very confusing. I used several colors to separate jumper wires so you can understand where each wire belongs.
The chip used on the Arduino contains internal pull-up resistors, so there´s no need to wire resistors for each of the arcade buttons. This greatly simplifies the controller wiring.
All we need to do is choosing one leg of the Arcade Buttons to be the ground, the other will be power, which will be connected to one of the digital inputs on the Arduino board.
Faders have three legs, the first one (counting from the bottom) is the ground (-), second is power (+) and the third one is the signal.
For the Pot knob potentiometers its the following: left leg is ground (-), middle leg is the signal and right leg will be power (+).
The Arduino is going to be the brain of the MIDI Controller. It is going to send MIDI instructions to the software, depending on the button pushing input.
The interior is going to get very messing because of all the wires, I would advice you to structure the soldering process. For example, I decided to solder all the ground wires first, the power and finally I soldered the signal jumper wires.
After soldering and connecting all the pins to the Arduino board, we can close the enclosure. Have a look at the pictures to see the final outcome!
You will need three pieces of software in order to be able to make music with your Arduino.
First, you need to download the Arduino IDE software to start writing your own code and upload sketches to the Arduino board.
Secondly, you need to download the LoopMidi software which is essentially a virtual midi cable.
Finally, to send your midi serial data to the LoopMidi software you will need the Hairless Midi to Serial Bridge software. This software is great to let you know if your wiring is correct because you can see the data flux exchanged between the MIDI Controller and the Hairless Midi Serial.
First step is opening the Arduino software and the code I am attaching to this Instructable (called MIDI_Controller). Credits are given to the Author Michael Balzer. You should not need to modify the code. Just verify the sketch which is kind of like a “debug” and when you get the message that the compilation is complete you can send it to the Arduino board.
Then head to the LoopMidi and chose a new port name. Once you chose one just press the plus button which will create the new port. After this step open the Hairless Midi Serial Bridge and start by selecting the MIDI In port that you have just created. Then select the same MIDI Out port. Finally chose the serial port of your computer (usually COM#). Congratulations, you have just enabled your MIDI Controller to communicate with the computer!
If you got this far Congratulations!!! You are just a few steps from start making music with Arduino and playing with your MIDI Controller!
Now you want to head over to your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) and set the settings to recognize the external input which is your MIDI Controller. The example I am providing is with Ableton Live. You need to go to
Options >> Preferences : The Input Midi Port should be the one you defined earlier and you need turn the track and remote toggle button on.
Now if you press any button on your MIDI interface you should see a light flashing at the top right corner of the DAW which means the software is receiving the midi signals you are sending! To map the MIDI Controller just click on the “MIDI” button and the DAW color should turn purple. Now click over any slot and then press any button, you will see a note/control associated to it which means the button is mapped!
And you are done! Congratulations! Great project and great job! Let me know if you made it!
On its mission of creating the right MIDI device for those who feel more comfortable with 6 strings than with 25 keys, Jammy Instruments is launching a compact stringed MIDI controller Jammy EVO that allows playing any instrument like playing guitar.
The Kickstarter campaign is already live on the link. Jammy EVO raised the goal of $50,000 in just one hour, and $100,000 in two days.
Jammy EVO translates the guitar skills into any instrument to create in any genre by connecting to a laptop or smartphone with DAW. So anyone with even basic guitar playing skills can play the whole orchestra using just one device. And in self-isolation times, Jammy EVO is more relevant than ever, allowing music enthusiasts to be a one-man-band.
Yet another thing that makes EVO stand out is its portability: being disassembled in half, the device is only 17″. With its new collapsible frame design, EVO can be even more compact than its predecessor, so it can be used on the go, or when not played, it doesn’t take up much space in the bedroom studio. Further, improved ergonomics with more comfortable neck profile, optimized string spacing, more reliable construction of latch mechanisms make playing extremely delightful.
Jammy EVO is going to have a set of next-gen optical sensors that will reduce the MIDI latency to 8—10 ms, and also improve MIDI tracking. New mappable hardware controls will be added to the current push knob and accelerometer. Also, there will be a long-awaited lefty version.
Jammy Instruments – a music tech start-up, focused on building and bringing to market innovative musical hardware and software solutions aimed to make music practice and creation mobile and accessible. Jammy Instruments has achieved its initial success with their first product — Jammy Guitar. It has raised more than 260.000 USD during its 2017 crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo and received Best In Show award at the Summer NAMM 2018 — the world’s largest music trade event. Now, equipped with feedback from the Jammy Guitar users’ community, Jammy Instruments is ready for the new endeavor.
Elk releases open source version of award winning Audio Operating System and Development Kit for Raspberry Pi.
We’ve covered ELK innovations on the site before. Check out these articles on Steinberg and the Elk Powered Retrologue desktop synth and the collaboration between Fishman, Arturia and MIND Music Labs and the band MUSE.
Elk Audio OS is the award-winning Audio Operating System from Elk (formerly known as MIND Music Labs) that allows you to run existing VST and other plugin formats on hardware instruments and audio devices in real time with ultra low latency.
A beta version of the Elk Audio Operating System is being available under a Dual licensing model (open-source & commercial). The Elk Audio OS SDK & documentation is available and is free for anyone to start using.
Also available on is an Elk Audio OS Development Kit for Raspberry Pithat includes a customElk Pi Audio Hat.
The Elk Pi Hat alone is one of the most advanced pro Audio Hats in the markets with down to 1 ms latency, multichannel and support for Raspberry 4 coming up in the very near future.
“The idea behind the Elk Audio OS is to make a whole new generation of connected musical instruments possible. Instruments that can connect people around the world and spur new kinds of musical creativity. We believe there are so many potential instrument makers out there who could create fantastic things if they just had the right tools, and it is for them we have created Elk. So today I’m very happy to announce that we have reached a major milestone in our company, when we can make Elk available to everyone through the open source release.”
by – Michele Beninicaso CEO at Elk (former MIND Music Labs)
Elk Pi Hat for Raspberry Pi
The Elk Pi Hat is compatible with your Raspberry Pi 3b / 3b+
To get started developing and prototyping with Elk, you need to download the Elk SDK from the Elk Audio Git Hub,
David Skulina from Edinburgh, United Kingdom founded Skoogmusic and in 2015 ran a successful funding campaign on Indiegogo and released it’s first original tactile music interface, Skoog. Skwitch is Skoogmusic’s newest offering and it is has a unique approach. It clips on your iPhone and uses onboard magnetic sensors to create a very low cost MIDI controller.
Skwitch has a unique tactile interface. The 20mm of squeezable depth is let’s you press on the button for expressive control.
Skwitch uses patented magnetic sensing technology allowing you to vary your sound using filters and effects, or pitch-bending between notes and chords.
Skwitch is powered by the Skwitch Music app. It’s where you pick how and what you want to play. Choose songs, create riffs, set up your button, or get creative with other apps and devices. Whatever you choose, our app makes it easy and fun!
by Skoogmusic
MULTI-FUNCTIONAL HARDWARE CONTROLLER
The Skwitch Music app lets you connect to other devices using Bluetooth MIDI so that you can use Skwitch as a wireless hardware controller for apps, DAWs and plugins. With separate MPE, modulation and fx control modes, it’s easy to create a fully customised hardware-software setup.
Skwitch is compatible with the leading Bluetooth MIDI compatible apps and DAWs:
by SkoogMusic
Creative Console integrates with all your typical DAW software
But it also features native integration with the most popular graphics programs including:
Pressure Sensitive Disc
Infinite Encoder Ring
Example Applications
Tristan is an acoustic musician and a coder so he combined his skills in this musical performance.
Tristan tried a number of different types of motors for his robot including Car Door Locks, Stepper Motors and Solenoids, but they were all too noisy for the acoustic application he was going for.
He finally settled on Hitec HS-311 servos normally used for RC cars/airplanes.
The key thing here is that the Arduino controller maps MIDI note values to servo angles, and midi velocity values to the speed at which we move to those angles. For example if I sent a MIDI message (note: C2, velocity: 120), then every 1ms the controller will step the servo towards the C2 angle using some increment size determined by the velocity value.
by Tristan Calderbank
Tristan has more details of his project on his web page and has made the Arduino code available on his Github.
The breath sensor is an high performance pressure sensing device, that can measure the strength of your blow, and transform this information into an expression parameter. This is used by the app, and most softwares, as a modifier for modulation or other sound characteristics. The mouthpiece of the re.corder can also sense your lips, understanding when you really want to play or not!
Under every note hole there’s a single or dual touch sensor that detect your finger and the note that you want to play. The software can be modified to swap fingering styles or to allow impaired mobility players to have their own custom fingering map.
We didn’t left out anything and in fact, to allow extreme expressivity and many other applications, we implemented an inertial platform with a 3D accelerometer MEMS. This sensor is capable of interpreting the movement and the attitude of the product, opening the possibility of modifying the sound following the player’s gestures.
by artinoise
With breath and lip sensors plus a 3D accelerometer has plenty of expressive capabilities as MIDI controller. Here a few examples of what you can do with the re.corder.
There are lots of websites that offer information on DAWs and music production. Audio Assemble takes a unique approach by offering articles, videos, reviews, interviews and information on schools that offer degrees in music and music production.
The database they have put together about music schools is impressive and they also have a listing for the top 25 audio engineering schools.
Audio Assemble has a lot of articles about Pro Tools, but they also cover a lot of MIDI topics especially in their list of top MIDI products for different categories.
Audio Assemble Top MIDI keyboard controllers for 2020:
Here is an example of what an Audio Assemble MIDI Controller review looks like
6. Komplete Kontrol S88
Best for Pianists
The latest release of Native Instrument’s flagship MIDI controller, the Komplete Kontrol S88, brings a plethora of new additions to the already elite system. Some of the improvements are long-awaited quality-of-life changes, such as the ergonomic pitch and mod wheels, a unique touch strip for advancing tracks and tweaking synth elements, and Smart Spring memory foam damping for the fully weighted 88 hammer keys.
In addition to the smaller improvements, NI’s real innovation comes with the newfound access to all of your production tools, right at your fingertips. With this latest release, the Komplete Kontrol S88 now has two high-res color screens- allowing for visualizing, mixing, and editing, all from the hardware.
The dual screens allow for in-depth sound design and creative applications, such as a sampler on one display and a synthesizer mid-tweak on the other. For those who know of the convenience of using dual screens in everyday production, this elite system will quickly become the center of your production setup.
In addition to the 1:1 keyboard experience, the Komplete Kontrol S88 comes pre-loaded with the Komplete 12 Select Bundle- containing Massive, Monark, Drumlab, Phasis, Replika and more. Three sound packs are included with said bundle, offering the “True School,” “Velvet Lounge,” and “Deep Matter” sound packs.
Lastly, the Komplete Kontrol S88 offers out-of-the-box integration with MASCHINE, Logic Pro X, Ableton Live, Cubase, Nuendo, and GarageBand. For users of FL Studios and other DAWs like Reaper, only a few driver downloads are required before you are ready to master your production.
Price: $1,049
Features:
Here is an example of what an Audio Assemble MIDI Pad review looks like.
iRig Pads [$149.95]
Pioneers in the “making music with iOS” category, IK Multimedia has a host of midi controllers for iPads or iPhones. One highlight in its iRig collection is the iRig Pads. The iRig Pads is a fully-functional pad controller with a 4×4 layout with multiple programmable peripherals.
Features:
The Top 8 MIDI Foot Controllers
Here is an example of what an Audio Assemble MIDI Foot Controller review looks like.
5. Keith McMillen Instruments 12 Step Chromatic Keyboard
Overview
This lightweight chromatic keyboard controller from Keith McMillen Instruments packs everything you need for a dynamic MIDI experience into a sturdy one-pound unit. When plugged into your on-stage setup via MIDI or connected using USB, this versatile device brings a whole new level of functionality and energy to your performances. Use it to control MIDI interfaces, sound modules, and soft synths throughout each show, taking advantage of the velocity-sensitive pedals to create a variety of unique tones. Bright backlighting makes it easy to see the controls onstage so that you’re always in control of your effects.
With the capability to store up to five notes per key, the 12 Step can crank out multiple complex chords on demand. Enjoy endless musical possibilities with the dozens of factory presets and the ability to create many more of your own.
Features
Genki Instruments announced that they were shipping Wave, the ring that lets you control sound with motion. With three easy-to-use buttons, Wave allows musicians to easily change sounds, parameters and effects using gestures. Since being funded on Indiegogo, many well known musicians have used the Genki Wave on stage and in the studio.
Bergur Þórisson used the Wave on the Björk’s Utopia Tour in 2018.
“Wave adds a new dimension to musical creativity. It took me a while to realize that the best thing about Wave is not only that it can replace some of the tools you already have to control stuff when you are making music, but that it can make you control stuff in a completely different way, therefore making decisions that you would have never made without it. It’s a cool tool for all creatives and I can definitely recommend adding it to your workflow, whether you use it to replace your old techniques or invent new ones.”
by Bergur Þórisson
Richard Devine, electronic musician, producer and sound designer also uses Wave along with Wavefront, the Eurorack receiver also developed by Genki Instruments.
Wave has 6 functions you can use individually or mixed together to control your sounds.
Four different motions allow you to control any parameter in a new way. By tapping any surface you can trigger notes or samples. Easily accessible buttons on the ring allow you to cycle between presets, send commands and simply pause Wave so you can move your hands freely without changing anything.
You can easily customize each function to suit your setup. You can for example customize
It’s compatible with:
Hardware
A computer with built in bluetooth 4.0+
Mac OSX 10.10+
Windows 10 v.1809
iOS 8+
Android 6+
Software
All DAWs that can map MIDI
All iOS Applications that can map MIDI
All Android applications that can map MIDI
You can find more information on the Genki website.
Hello everyone, my name is Diego Leroux. I´m from Buenos Aires, Argentina and I would like to share with the community a new product I’ve been developing for the past 3 years.
It’s called Bitmi, a USB MIDI velocity sensitive drum pad. Bitmi was designed to be simple and effective as a tool to record percussive MIDI tracks.
It’s class compliant so no drivers are needed. Works with PC, Mac and iOS devices (Apple camera kit needed)
They are hand assembled at my shop and they are built to last. The case is made of solid wood and then lacquered in three choices of finishes, black, red and green. You can also mount it on any 8mm cymbal stand.
2 year warranty and shipping worldwide with Fedex.
You can check all the info at www.bitmishop.com
A great add on to your studio or live setup.
Plug it to any iOS device and you can play on the go.
6ft. USB cable, locking nut and padded bag.
Midihub has 4 MIDI DIN inputs, 4 MIDI DIN output ports and a USB port for power supply and/or communicating with the PC and its software. Using the dedicated
Midihub Editor lets you customize Midihub’s processing as well as setup and store detailed MIDI routing between all the connected devices.
Here is some of what can you do with the processing inside of the Midihub.
You can download the Midihub editor and look at all the possibilities on the Blokas website. Here what you can put together, but of course the effects don’t work until you have connected the Midihub. One of the very cool things about the MIDIhub is that once the effects have been programmed and stored into one of the eight selectable Presets in the box, you can just take the MIDIhub to your gig without the need for a computer. It’s like a programmable MIDI effects pedal.
Here are two Youtube videos. One from Blokas is an overview of the Midihub and the other is from Loopop and shows how you can use the Midihub to emulate some of the ideas that Olafur Arnalds has developed in his work.
Ólafur Arnalds didn’t start out playing keyboards. He started out as a drummer in hard rock bands. He is not alone. Yoshiki from the legendary Japanese hard rock band X Japan comes to mind. Many people forget that the piano is classified as a percussion instrument along with marimbas and vibraphones.
He has unique approach to music that combines technology and a traditional almost classical approach to composition. He also is one of the few people still using the MOOG Piano bar, a product developed by Bob Moog and Don Buchla (now discontinued) to turn any piano into a MIDI device.
In many interviews, Ólafur says that his acoustic pianos bleep and bloop.
In these two Youtube video, he explains how MIDI technology is a core part of his creative process. What is is interesting is how organic and emotional the resulting music is. The technology nevers get in the way of the art and only compliments it.
This video explains how the three acoustic pianos are connected by MIDI.
I am in constant search of new ways to approach art with technology, interaction and creativity.
by Halldór Eldjárn
Halldór Eldjárn is another Icelandic artist who worked on the All Strings Attached project and developed some robotic MIDI instruments for the project.
To see a complete performance of this unique use of MIDI processing, listen to this performance on NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts.
Arnalds has released a library of sounds for Spitfire Audio recorded at his studio on his ‘felted’ grand piano along with added content in the Composers Toolkit.
Recently MIDI Manufacturer Association member Blokas released the Midihub, a MIDI router and processor. In our article on the MIDIhub, Loopop explains how to use the Midihub to create some Olafur Arnalds inspired MIDI effects of your own.
The newest Jamstik, the Studio, is a full-size, MIDI-capable electric guitar allowing producer-guitarists to create seamlessly in DAWs and music apps.
Guitarists and piano players have an equal appetite for music production, but guitar players have been left wanting due to previous technological barriers in the digital guitar market. Jamstik, leaders in innovating and modernizing the MIDI Guitar market, today share plans to expand its product offerings with the Studio—a MIDI-capable, DAW compatible electric guitar.
“When Jamstik was founded in 2009, our goals were to educate the next generation of guitar players, and open up the creative potential of MIDI compatibility to the world of guitarists,” said Matt Cannon, Jamstik’s Director of Growth. “While we’ve made strides in both areas with our existing Jamstik portable guitar controllers, the Studio is a product we’ve wanted to launch since the beginning; and one we know many customers and partners are equally excited for.”
The Jamstik Studio edition has 24 frets with standard 25.5″ scale-length, but its headless design and minimal body put it at about 3/4 the size of a standard electric— making it studio and travel-friendly.
The Studio MIDI Guitar includes the following features:
Product Backstory: The Studio full-size MIDI guitar has always been a dream of the team of developers at Jamstik. Having recently completed a crowdfunding campaign for the Jamstik 7 and Jamstik 12, advances in digital signal processing gave the team a choice: press on with the 12 as designed or move the technology into a truly powerful, full-size instrument. The decision was made to move ahead with the time-honored full guitar format. All Jamstik 12 backers will be receiving the upgraded Studio model upon release.
Pre-Order Coming Soon: Join the email waitlist at jamstik.com/studio to reserve your spot. Additional information and assets are available on the Jamstik Press Page and on Vimeo.
About Jamstik
The Minneapolis-based team has created a new format for guitar learning & music production; helping grow the digital channel of the traditional guitar market. The evolving company looks to capitalize on profound changes in technology and culture—to support innovative classrooms, studios, and stages. Learn more at jamstik.com
Media Contact: Meredith Cannon: meredith@zivix.net
Business Inquiries: sales@zivix.net
The iRIg Keys I/O comes in two version a a 25-key MIDI controller version and a 49-key MIDI controller version. Both feature built-in audio interfaces with 24-bit/96kHz sound quality, a Neutrik combo input, and phantom power and eight touch-sensitive RGB LED backlit drum pads.
The iRig Keys I/O 25 comes with all the software you need to start creating music. Ableton Live Lite is the perfect DAW to get started with and IK Multimedia adds RackS Deluxe with 10 i mixing and mastering tools and SampleTank 3 with 4,000 rinstruments, 2,500 rhythm loops, and 2,000 MIDI files. If you are mobile musician, SampleTank iOS for iPad and iPhone is a full-featured mobile sound and groove production studio.
The IK Multimedia Blue Board uses the new BTLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) MIDI specification so you can control your music apps wirelessly with your feet!
If you’re using iOS apps such as IK Multimedia’s AmpliTube, you can now send control messages to them for up to 32.8 feet via Bluetooth MIDI connection.
There are two expansion TRS jacks for expression pedals to give you more control over your sound.
As one of the inventors the Musical Instrument Digital Interface, Roland has continued to push the boundaries of the now 36-year old protocol(!) by continuously developing MIDI-based applications which bring totally new creative opportunities to musicians. One such application is the Roland AE-05 Aerophone GO, a unique digital wind instrument which uses MIDI (and Audio) over Bluetooth to dramatically expand the playing experience.
Connecting to a compatible iOS or Android mobile device using Bluetooth allows the Aerophone GO to interact with a range of apps including Roland’s own Aerophone GO Plus and Aerophone GO Ensemble.
With Aerophone GO Plus, a player gains 50 new sounds triggered by MIDI over Bluetooth and can jam along to their favorite songs from their smartphone. In addition to an integrated metronome, the app also allows for customizing the connected Aerophone to suit the player’s technique, with all changes being communicated by MIDI over Bluetooth.
A second app, Aerophone GO Ensemble, connects up to 7 players with a single mobile device for group performance using a common bank of sounds, all facilitated by MIDI over Bluetooth. Whether the application is a lesson with teacher, a duo performance, or a complete ensemble, MIDI over Bluetooth supports a unique wireless playing experience that would have been difficult to imagine 30+ years ago!
Not only the volume but also the sound itself is dynamically affected by the force with which you blow into the mouthpiece and the strength with which you bite it, providing a natural and richly expressive sound.
by Roland
The Aerophone has tons of internal sounds and built-in speakers, but it is also a great MIDI controller. Here are some of the parameters you can control on the Aerophone AE-10. The Bite Sensor can control pitch and vibrato. The strength of your breath effects not only volume, but other parts of the sounds
Group of passion electronics and musicians created DrumSpider – the device to learn how to play the drums in 5 minutes.
They just launched Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign.
DrumSpider is the device which mounted on your drum kit will show you exactly how to play any song you wish. 8 ultra bright LED diodes fixed on flexible legs will highlight the drum kit component which needs to be hit in that time. It comes with application which allows you to play any popular song from MIDI format with possibility to adjust the song tempo to your individual needs. Playing the drums was never so easy before.
Drum Spider is the MIDI – light interface.
You can use it with any DAW program or any application to play MIDI files. When you connect / pair it wireless with your computer, tablet or smartphone it will be recognized as standalone MIDI device.
MIDI is the standardized format to save the music in digital format as notes used e.g. for Karaoke.
You can generate MIDI Files e.g. from tabs.
You can also find hundreds of thousands free MIDI files in internet. There is almost every song there.
You will get free sample database of very popular rock songs with DrumSpider.
It comes also with DrumSpider application which allows you to play MIDI files with possibility to adjust the speed/tempo.
The MIDI file or only selected section of it can be played both on DrumSpider and your headphones at the same time so you can see and hear what to play.
DrumSpider is using different colors to show you what exactly should you do with hi-hat (open/pedal/closed) and ride (middle/bell) .
Ultra bright LED diodes will highlight all of your drum set components very well in proper time.
If you want to see more information or support the campaign it’s available under link on the top.
Geert Bevin (who was one of the main people who developed MIDI Polyphonic Expression) recently released MIDIWrist. MIDIWrist truns your Apple Watch intoa MIDI controller.
Here is a pre-release demo using the Moog Model D iPhone app (Geert does a lot of work for Moog).
The Apple Watch has some real advantages as a MIDI controller because it provides haptic feedback (the use of touch to communicate with users).
MidiWrist turns your Apple Watch into a wireless MIDI controller.
The tactile feel of the digital crown combined with haptic feedback, gives you control over any MIDI synthesizer by touching your wrist, even when you’re not looking.
MidiWrist makes no sound on its own and requires an Apple Watch to function.
Any CoreMIDI application or device can be controlled by MidiWrist. This includes Virtual MIDI, Network MIDI, Bluetooth MIDI
and Physical MIDI Devices through a supported MIDI hardware interface.Features:
• Four knobs can be controlled with the digital crown
• Macro control over multiple synth parameters from the Digital Crown
• Remotely Play / Stop / Record / Rewind your DAW from your Watch
• Knobs can be controlled individually or simultaneously
• Knobs can be linked to
preserve their offsets• Four buttons can be toggled by tapping the Watch
• Buttons can either be stateful or momentary
• Program changes through the digital crown or by tapping the Watch
• Transport control over MIDI Machine Control (MMC) or Mackie Control Universal (MCU)
• Scrub transport with the digital crown
• Save / Undo / Toggle Cycle / Toggle Click through MCU
• XY pad with individual messages for each axis
• Optional haptic feedback for all Watch interactions
• Optional value display on the Watch
• Configurable colors for all knobs and buttons
• Configurable labels for knobs and buttons
• Configurable MIDI channels and CC numbers
• Hide the Watch pages that aren’t needed
• Save your configurations to preset for easy retrieval
• MIDI learn for easy controller configuration
• MIDI input to sync the state of the controllers with the controlled synths
• Advertise as a Bluetooth MIDI device
• Connect to other Bluetooth MIDI devices
• Monitor the last MIDI values on the iPhone
• Low latency and fast response
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by Geert Bevin
Soon MIDIWrist will allow you to control SIRI bringing voice command control of MIDI to your DAW. We always find it amazing how MIDI adopts to the newest technologies to always stay relevent.
If you want to use MIDI with either pre-MIDI analog synths or with modular Euro
We’ve selected the top 5 MIDI to CV convertors, but there are tons of choices. The first three are Eurorack solutions. So you’ll need to a Eurorack to use them. The Kenton PRO SOLO Mk3 MIDI To CV Converter is a standalone box so it can be used with pre MIDI monophonic anlaog synths as well as in other studio situations.
The
It has three performance modes. First and Next mode are designed for use with an external controller while Channel mode is designed for use with external sequencers or your DAW
The Midi 3 Midi to CV converter has mono and
Ir also has a built-in Arpeggiator that can be clocked using tap tempo, midi clock, or external gate
Internal Clock – The Midi 3 clock has a tap tempo button to change the tempo of the internal clock.
External Midi Clock – The external midi clock responds to midi start/stop messages and midi tempo from an external midi clock source.
External Gate Clock – The external gate clock responds to gate signals patched into the CLOCK jack. The external gate clock is used to clock the arpeggiator.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES OF THE MIDI 3:
Assignable Midi Channel – The Midi 3 can be assigned to respond to all channels or any individual midi channel.
Assignable Pitch Bend Range – The range of pitch bend can be set to +/- 2 notes, +/- 5th, +/- 1 octave, +/- 2 octaves.
Control Change Output – CC response of 0-5v.
Assignable Control Change Channel Assign – Assign the midi CC channel the Midi 3 responds to.
Velocity Output – Velocity response of 0-5v based on
The A-190-4 module offers MIDI In, MIDI Out, USB, CV1, CV2, Gate, Clock, and Reset ports.
Here are the features from the Kenton website.
What’s new or different about the Mk3?
If you want the least expensive MIDI to CV option and you’ve got some DIY chops, you can build one yourself. There are many DIY MIDI to CV projects on Maker and other DIY sites, but we found this DSP synth site from Jan in Sweden.
The blog tells you how to build it yourself and provides all the code and details you need.
But if you want to just focus on music, you can also buy it from the store.
Officially supports Xbox 360, PS3, PS4 and Aimpad controllers
Standalone and VSTi in 32 and 64 bits
Run it Standalone or in your DAW or choice.
Control any MIDI-capable Hardware or Software
Control your favourite hardware and software, simply and easily! Control Music software, hardware instruments, your favourite VST plug-ins, Light system, you name It…
Improved looks, code, functionality and compatibility
v2.5 is now more powerful than ever, now supports Xbox, PS and even Generic* *Support in Generic controllers is NOT Guaranteed
Clean, clear, simple and focused
It always amazes us that you can find a MIDI version of almost any instrument. So we decided to look at what’s available for MIDI bagpipes.
There are actually a good number of choices.
The Technochanter is portable and fits
You can listen to the sounds and built-in metronome via the headphone output so you can practice bagpipes anywhere without disturbing anyone.
The drones, the chanter and the overblowing function of the Redpipe are pneumatically controlled by pressing the bag. The leather bag is stuffed with filling material.
Sounds:
Scottish Great Highland Bagpipes
Smallpipes
Medieval Bagpipes
Gaita
Fingering:
Open
Half open (GHB)
Extended (chromatic)
Renaissance
Medieval Bagpipe in minor
Gaita
Other features:
This app is a Irish/Scottish Bagpipes fingering based MIDI control surface for the iPad that can be used to play your hardware MIDI synthesizer/sampler modules or other MIDI apps.
The chanter fingerings are based on either those used for the Irish Uilleann or Scottish Highland bagpipes.
The app doesn’t produce any sound on its own, it is designed for playing hardware and software VST-style MIDI synthesizers via a CoreMIDI compatible interface connected to the dock connector or virtual MIDI instruments like Roland Sound Canvas for iOS, Universal Piper, or Sonosaurus ThumbJam running on your iPad.
The app supports sending data on two independent MIDI channels, one for the chanter and the other for the drones.
Universal Piper is a software synth dedicated to bagpipe that claims to have the largest bagpipe library available. It’s available as OSX Audio Unit and VST and Windows VST 32 and 64 bit as well as on iOS. You can try it for free and one license allows you to use the software on any platform.
BEGINNERS
ADVANCED
Universal Piper list all the MIDI bagpipe hardware that is available and comes pre-configured to work with most of these.
MIDI INSTRUMENTS
Universal Piper is compatible with every MIDI instruments.
For
If your MIDI chanter is not in the following list, you still can configure Universal Piper to use it.
Not compatible with
New MIDI Manufacturer Association member RnD64 funded their development of the Jammy MIDI controller via Indiegogo and raised $218,872.
Jammy is a super portable steel string digital guitar that fits in your backpack. – 15-fret extensive sound range – Onboard guitar FX – ¼” and ⅛” direct audio outputs to your headphones or an amp.
It’s also a MIDI controller. You can connect MIDI via USB or via a wireless Bluetooth connection.
The Jammy won Best of Show at the Summer NAMM 2018 show.
Kickstarter has been a place where some of our favorite MIDI controllers started whether it’s Mogees or the Artiphon (one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns of all time).
Our friends at A3E, the Advanced Audio + Application Exchange sent us a link to this new Kickstarter about Oddball, a ball you
Making music is an incredibly powerful way to use your imagination. Musicians are very lucky in this sense, but not everybody has the opportunity to make music.
We wanted to give everybody the opportunity to create music the same way musicians do. With OddBall, making beats is easy, intuitive, fun and can be done where ever you are.
To get all the experimental musicians excited, we made it possible to use Oddball as a velocity sensitive Bluetooth MIDI controller, so you can connect it to any DAW software on your laptop (such
as: Ableton, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, etc.) and control yourfavourite plugins.
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by The Oddball Team
I created the Plastic Pitch Plus (PPP) to experiment with microtonality. My primary design goal was to create a physical interface that gives immediate and independent control of pitches in a scale. One way of doing microtonality involves generating lists of frequencies or ratios. In contrast, I wanted something that would naturally engage my ear and provide an intuitive way to experiment with pitches.
Here are some technical details. The PPP provides two microtonal scale modes.
1) A twelve-tone scale mode in which the twelve knobs are used to tune up or down each of the twelve notes in a scale.
2) An equal divisions per octave mode in which the keys of a MIDI keyboard are remapped to an integer number of equal divisions per octave between 5 and 53.
The two scale modes are implemented in two ways.
1) Using MIDI pitch bend. This is somewhat of a MIDI hack intended to support microtonality with any MIDI keyboard. In short, each key is mapped to a microtonal pitch as specified by the knobs. The PPP listens for incoming MIDI notes and sends out MIDI pitch bends and notes that correspond to the microtonal pitches. To support polyphonic playing, the outbound pitch bends and notes are carefully distributed to multiple MIDI channels so that each note can have its own pitch bend value.
2) Using the MIDI Tuning Specification. This is my first time playing with this relatively new specification. (It works great!) The PPP acts as a controller–no MIDI input is required. When the knobs are turned, corresponding SysEx messages are sent out to retune the synthesizer’s internal tuning table.
See my website for more information and how to buy one.
Gridi is a large scale physical midi sequencer (2.80 X 1.65 Meters) with embedded LEDs. It
was created by music producer Yuval Gerstein with the simple aim, to allow visitors to create
a musical composition in an accessible and intuitive way. GRIDI translates the methodology
of composing electronic music inside a computer software, into an interactive physical
installation. It could easily act as a permanent stand alone installation, as well as part of an
art exhibition or event. GRIDI could also have a role in music education, as a tool for learning
musical concepts in a non threatening, intriguing way.
Visit GRIDI for more info: http://www.gridi.infoCredits:
Yuvi Gerstein – Creator
Michael Zeron – Electronics & Programming
Ronen Peri – Programming Max/MSP
Nadav Vainer – Industrial design
images by – Andreas Mueller
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SoulPedal® (SP) is a wearable controller that slips inside your shoe (as an insole) and wirelessly controls effects for musicians. In this YouTube demo, local Beta Tester and Musician, Kody Raine of Chandler Arizona, explains how he’s using MIDI Change Control messages from SP’s wireless controller to modulate his own gear. Not so obvious in the video is that he’s a Guitarist (with a great voice). And I thought MIDI was for keyboards… what do I know.
SP isn’t likely going to market until 2019, but we’ve got a couple functional Beta units on hand if you’re the right people in the neighborhood, as these are still mostly hand built at home. It’s all about usability and engaging with other creative types who like to move around on stage or add a new degree of control to their show. (Musicians don’t like control, do they?) But don’t think of this as just another MIDI controller or another thing just made wireless because we could. I honestly believe every band member could up their game on stage here, and that’s not just another cliché marketing comment as you might be thinking. I can’t wait to see what vocal artists will do with this (and the crowd won’t even know they’re in control). Really, any automation is fair game. The combination of Control, Expression, and Mobility are what what makes this unique.
This whole project started one day in 2011 because my old 120 VAC Morley Wah fried a light bulb and I couldn’t find a replacement in time for band practice. So I wired in an FSR (Force Sensing Resistor) to replace the light sensor, taped it inside my shoe, and it worked! So then Jimmy, our rhythm guitarist said… “That’s cool, you should make it wireless!” (Sometimes I wish he hadn’t encouraged that thought.) As inventor, my original goal was to move away from a rocker type pedal to allow for improved expression on stage… anywhere on stage. It just made sense to lean into a string bend or volume swell, and it turned out to be a very easy and natural movement for a better show. Oh, and with MIDI of course.
True story, when we designed the Alpha unit in 2014, there were three keyboardist friends that insisted on MIDI. I had no idea why, so I contacted the founders at Source Audio but they couldn’t really tell me what features I should include either. It was almost like everyone had it, just in case. I thought, why would any keyboard player need a wireless pedal when standing right there at their keyboard? Perhaps a Keytarist? And what guitarist used MIDI? But we had already hacked out the code so it became an experiment. Creator Brockett Parsons of the Piano Arc (with Lady Gaga)… ya, he liked it. REO’s keyboardist Neal Doughty – nope, but he was curious. My keyboard friend thought it would might nice because his pedals could annoyingly slide away, but then someone came out with a clamp for that. MIDI just had that standard format to hook up to whatever. I was up for “whatever” and this demo was just my first result. I also didn’t expect the comment “I love that I don’t have to look down to find my pedals when I’m getting into a groove.” I didn’t expect that either, so the experiment continues.
In the beginning, the prototype was a total hack using a Texas Instrument Chronos Watch encapsulated by an insole made from a glue gun, a torch, and a putty knife. (Arduino wasn’t mainstream and I just wanted a CPU and Radio in a single chip to make it small. So it’s still in the Sub-1 GHz radio frequency, and may eventually have Bluetooth for configuration management. Turns out lower frequencies have better range so we’ll see.) For now, it’s got some cool knobs that shape the control response “feel” (offset and curve), along with some unique analog features on the Wah (thanks to posts from Anderton). I’m now redoing the Wah PCB by adding Buffered Drive, Volume Swells, and Exp Out as a 10K pot (and all analog is opto-isolated). It uses foot gesture recognition to turn on/off but I can’t wait to open that capability up for some real integration like tap control for Tempo. Foot tracking is something I’ve experimented with several times so multi-pedal control is definitely possible, but it’s too soon for that just yet.
Funny thing, I first engaged with this MIDI organization at NAMM in 2015 where I sat down with President Tom White who liked the idea and had this advice: “In the music industry, it’s got to work really well and you probably won’t make any money.” The Indiegogo crowd-funding launch later that year was our first clue that he was right, but then Shark Tank called me up for an Audition. Having a lack of sales made it a tough road for that stage without at least an emotional story and we had neither. Since that “learning experience”, our team went from seven members to just three with only myself actually working on it. I did take two years off to create other stuff at Tech Shop, but I kept coming back to SP with a few more tools in my chest.
What’s different is this whole time, we never actually had someone use it outside our circles, and willing to pay for it. That’s mostly because it had to work really well as one hick-up on stage and it could be game over. After all, what could possibly go wrong with a wireless product while jumping up and down on the electronics? Not to mention a good fit that’s also lightweight and low cost. I think the only reason this isn’t already on the market is because of these Engineering challenges and associated risk with big change. Plus it’s just not for mass market (yet) because we all know people love their gear and a $69 Wah or Effects Controller is just fine for most, or is it? Who woulda thunk people would trade-in their Honda Accord or Civics for a $59K Model 3 Tesla? Ya that just happened – in numbers. (Ya, I’m Elon inspired.)
You can check out some SoulPedal® history and updates on Facebook and visit SoulPedal.com to hook up. It’s just way too cool to quit now. If all goes well, the plan is that Kody will be using SP on stage next weekend (Sept 2018), MIDI controlling a Boss DD-500 for delay at will. We can figure this out together.
SoulPedal® is “The Pedal that Moves with You! “™, CleanStage LLC, Patented, Copyright 2014, all rights reserved.
The Tirare is a custom performance interface. In Italian, Tirare means: (to) throw, (to) to pull. The name refers to the primary performative action employed in order to generate sound. Initially, I was trying to create a form of MIDI concertina. I wanted to pull and push the interface to generate sound, similar to a concertina. I also made the intentional choice to not use a myriad of interface sensors like buttons, switches, sliders, etc. My goal was to create a simple interface that could handle all operations without the need for excessive methods of control.
I decided to use a Gametrak as the primary hardware for this interface (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gametrak). I have used the Gametrak in previous performances as a controller. This time I set out to assimilate the pieces of the Gametrak into a new interface. I used only one of the joysticks in my final design.
The Gametrak is a video game controller created by In2Games. The Gametrak controller consists of two three-dimensional (3D) joysticks. Each joystick generates X, Y, and Z data (when the string is pulled out of the interface), so each joystick control works like three faders that are interdependent of one another. Each joystick can be manipulated on its X, Y, and Z axes. Each axis outputs an integer. The uniqueness of the Gametrak lies in the three-dimensional joystick. The handle on both 3D faders is connected to a string-pot that pulls out of the box. A string-pot is simply a potentiometer that is turned by pulling a long, spring-wound spool of string. This pulling of the string-pot turns the potentiometer which outputs data. According to In2Games, the mechanisms can determine position, “to an accuracy of 1 millimeter anywhere within a 3 meter cube around the unit, with no processor overhead or time delay.” This level of responsiveness and precision was essential for the controller’s original purpose — to control a virtual golf swing! This level of precision and responsiveness is also well suited for use as a real-time performance interface.
I disconnected the main logic board in the Gametrak and connected one of the joysticks directly to the analog inputs on an Arduino Pro Micro. Since the Arduino’s ADC is 10-bit, the values genrated by the joysticks range from 0-1023. I scaled these values in the Arduino software to a range of 0-127 to conform to MIDI 1.0. Each axis of the joystick outputs two MIDI CC values. I programmed this feature to allow the Tirare to function with MPE software.
The next step was to reassemble the pieces into a new form. I looked for an old concertina thinking I could insert the Gametrak pieces but this search was unsuccessful. After several attempts to create my own bellow for the Tirare, I realized copying the physical form of a concertina would not work because there would be no way to keep the bellow from resting on the string. I decided to find a new physical form to house the Gametrak pieces. Ultimately, I chose to use two small round pieces of wood (craft store), basic drawer handles (Home Depot), and a small strainer (dollar store). I initially intended this design to be a working prototype and not the final product. However, I have yet to find a better way to embody the joystick.
I used the flywheel from the unused joystick to reroute the string from the potentiometer. This was necessary because I wanted the joystick as close to the center of the piece of wood as possible. However, the size and shape of the wood and the parts left me few options for assembly. It was important to route the string from the bottom of the joystick becue the IC board on the joystick prevented any other way of routing the string.
Data is generated when the joystick is moved or the string is pulled. The Arduino scales the incoming data and generates MIDI CC values. The Arduino sends MIDI data over USB to MaxMSP. I use MaxMSP to receive the MIDI data from the Tirare and route that data to Kyma to generate sound.
The string-pot also generates MIDI CC values during performance. I use MaxMSP to detect the direction the string is moving at any time, and I map that data to different destinations. I basically get two unique data streams from a single movement. In MaxMSP, I set thresholds at various points along the movement of the string in order to generate events that are used to trigger notes (see photo below), CC values, and control messages for Kyma.
My software is very simple. I use the view on the left (below) to initialize the Tirare and turn on the three axes. I use the view on the right (below) during performance to monitor the values from each axis and to monitor where the string values are in relation to the triggers I set up for controlling notes, expression, and control for Kyma.
The Tirare is only a controller and does not generate sound. The combination of physical interface, software mapping layer, and sound production software make up the entire Data-driven Instrument for live performance.
The next step for this projects is to allow for MIDI over USB or Bluetooth. I am currently working on a Max patch that will allow the Tirare, when connected, to change the way it transmits MIDI — USB or BLE. I also still have hope that I will dream up a better physical form for the Tirare.
***Video Coming Soon!
We have started our project to find a way how to build full-featured organ console out of available MIDI instruments. One of our project goals was to extend the coverage of the “virtual organ” from software also to the hardware. We have turned it into “virtual organ console”.
Virtual pipe organ technology (VPO) has been well established and accepted by the market. It has many tremendous benefits, to name a few:
The VPO software generates organ sounds from waveforms. Sampling method processes registers, pipe-by-pipe, and creates a sample for each note.
With our device the user may connect
The presented device is a four-manual organ console controller. It supports Great (HW), Choir (CW), Swell (SW) and Pedal (PW) divisions. Push buttons toggle functions, usually available in every pipe or digital organ. They are octave couplers, unison off, tutti, bass, melody, manual couplers, and general cancel. There are, of course, other features demonstrated on the videos later on.
We have designed VOCU to recognize all types of MIDI messages. It processes and routes MIDI data from four inputs. Internal logic elaborates incoming MIDI messages and distributes them to outputs. “Unused” commands are not lost; the unit forwards them to outputs unchanged. VOCU holds information about all playing notes in each organ division. It generates extra commands required, for example, if a new coupler is toggled while a chord is played.
The unit has MIDI input/output pairs. Connect your instruments to inputs to control dedicated division. For example, piano controls Great division and other keyboards control Swell and Choir. You may connect divisional outputs to separate sound generators or other MIDI instruments.
You may connect the unit to your PC using the USB/Virtual-COM port. The bus speed is set to 115200 baud, which is four times higher than the native MIDI interface speed. It is a preferred connection if a virtual organ simulator is used. USB output transmits commands coming from all instruments and pushbuttons. The composite MIDI data provides all required information to organ simulator.
The module has a composite MIDI output, which merges all divisional outputs together. This output connects the module to a single sound generator, sequencer or voice bank. The information on this output is exhaustive. Each note event is transferred while pushbuttons commands are not. They may not be recognized by the external hardware, so the best solution is to send the really played key events.
The divisional MIDI outputs are used with dedicated MIDI sound generators – each organ’s division has a standalone sound generator. They send data from corresponding inputs and coupled events. This is required when each division should get a dedicated sound production and amplification system. For example, when the virtual console is a part of the geographically spreaded stage equipment or stays in a big concert hall or a church.
The VOCU is a completely custom design. The core processing component is based on a field programmable gate array chip. We avoided the usage of microcontrollers or platform modules to get clock-cycle-accurate control over timing and physical resources of the chip. We had to cut latency and synchronize data transmission from different MIDI queues. Standard devices usually do not have enough number of UARTs for MIDI interfaces or free pins to control push buttons and LEDs.
We have developed and manufactured two prototypes. The first one has a limited number of controls but all interfaces to keep PCB size as small as possible. This device was used to check the idea and prove the ability of the FPGA chip to fit the complete design.
Virtual organ console unit extends a set of MIDI instruments. It brings pipe organ functions to them maintaining their natural behaviour. The VOCU adds organ principle to home, studio and stage equipment.
It is not easy to achieve an organ usually. It is a real challenge to find an instrument to practice. The VOCU solves this problem as well. You may use it with any digital music instruments.
The unit helps to play the organ without heavy investments. Professionals, beginners and even children may use it easily and extend their performance. The module also increases creativity. It can change the sound of a small ensemble with the genuine sound of a big pipe organ without bulky equipment.
The module is compact and takes a little space. It is flexible in operation with organ simulation software. We tested it to work with Hauptwerk and GrandOrgue packages.
The unit also provides many connection possibilities. Parallel and composite MIDI outputs and USB interface cover major user requirements.
Further unit descriptions and demonstration videos are available on YouTube.
We are open to questions, comments and requests. Feel free to visit our website and follow us on Twitter OandV_Systems to get recent product updates and announcements. We look forward to your comments and proposals. If you are interested in obtaining products or discuss other cooperation possibilities please contact us using email address info@oandv-systems.com.
XT Synth-The expression of a violin, the playability of a guitar, with the power of a MIDI controller that shines.
“The XT Synth is a mix of guitar, violin and midi controller. My inspiration was to make an instrument that could be played like a guitar, with the expression of a violin, with the sounds of a synthesizer. The neck has 4 soft potentiometers that can be played similar to
an string instrument. They can be tuned however the player wants. Because instead of strings it has softpots , the instrument is not tempered, like a violin, allowing vibratos, portamentos, and microtones.”The XT Synth was a finalist at the Guthman New Instrument Competition 2018.
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by Gustavo Silveira
This custom-built instrument is called
I designed and fabricated Curve over the course of about 6 months, from the initial 3D model (done in Blender, https://www.blender.org) to the final version that you see now. The physical interface consists of one large laser-cut piece of clear 1/4″ acrylic to which I have adhered 20 FSR’s (force sensitive resistors, aka pressure sensors, https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9376), two touch-potentiometers (faders, https://www.sparkfun.com/products/8679), a keypad (https://www.adafruit.com/product/419), and a 9-degrees of freedom motion sensor (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13944). I have also affixed 60 RGB LED lights (DotStars, https://www.adafruit.com/product/2240) that are individually addressable and correspond to various inputs from the sensors for an added layer of visual feedback. The black cubes that cover each of the FSR’s are made out of a semi-dense foam which when attached to its corresponding FSR allow me to have a far greater range of pressure and interaction than I otherwise would have had with just the FSR on its own. Each of the sensors, lights, and keypad are connected to an Arduino Mega microcontroller (https://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/Introduction, https://store.arduino.cc/usa/arduino-mega-2560-rev3) that allowed me to completely customize the programming and functionality of each individual sensor and light.
Software-wise, I programmed all of the electronics using the Arduino IDE, which then connects via USB serial to Max/MSP where all of my data-mapping and data-processing happens. From Max/MSP, the data is then sent as MIDI data to Ableton Live, where all of my sound design and musical composition was done. I relied heavily on Max for Live instruments and devices for the majority of my sound design, leaning heavily towards a synth-based musical soundscape for my first piece with Curve.
It is important to note that while the hardware controller itself does not generate sound, Curve is nonetheless a comprehensive instrument in its own right when coupled with the customized software that I have designed in Arduino, Max/MSP, and Ableton Live. The individual components only form the complete instrument when they are all working together, similar to the way that a modular synthesizer operates. Curve (as an instrument) consists of the hardware, data-mapping, and sound design layers all functioning together as a complete package.
My Étude No.1, for
For my biography and more of my works, please visit http://nathanasman.com
We recently sent out a MIDI Message newsletter and asked people to describe their favorite MIDI project. Harry Williamson from the Federation Bells in Melbourne, Australia sent us this message.
Favorite MIDI Project-
The Federation Bells, Birrung Marr, Melbourne. 39 Bronze up-turned bells play compositions 3 times daily from a MAX/MSP driven schedule from playlists comprising works composed and sent in by the public, and professional composers alike. I chose MIDI as the final driver language because its ubiquitous, simple and hard to crack. We designed and built the 16 channel bell controllers, thefft audio analysis program that listens to bells and tells us if they are working well or not, and many many otherspecialised functions in Python and other public domain languages. The free Federation Bells app for iOS and Android allows the user to play the bells locally via WiFi (and down the chain, MIDI) when schedules are not playing.It’s a world first interactive musical instrument/sculpture. Check it out. Write something on the app’s sequencer/player and send it to us. If we like it we will play it publicly.
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by Harry Williamson
So here is our challenge to MIDI Association members. Download the free app and compose a song for the Federation Bells. The app let’s you share your MIDI file via email so you can send it to us at info@MIDI.org. We’ll collect up all the entries from The MIDI Association and send them to the people who run the bells and maybe your composition will be played live in Australia!
Here is the links from the Federation Bell website.
The App for iPhone and iPad is now working well (make sure you update to Version 1.5)
An Android version of the app is Beta.
Here’s the explanation of how the Federation Bells work from the FAQ on their website – http://federationbells.com.au
How does it play by itself?
The bells are controlled by a computer located on-site. Musical compositions composed via this website are coded in MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface). Each composition is a computer file that is scheduled to play at an allocated time. The MIDI data is converted into a series of electronic pulses that are delivered to each of the 39 bells. Within each bell is a solenoid that triggers a hammer to strike the inside of the bell.
Are there any others like this?
There are many sets of bells throughout the world. Typically called carillons these sets of bells are played by a single player via a keyboard. However, the Federation Bells are unique as a set of public bells that are played via a computer. The Federation Bells can also be played via a
Check out the Federal Bells in action!
On May 26, we held the very first MIDI Live! chat with a panel of MPE specialists.
We recorded the session and it is presented here as a podcast.
Listeners were not only able to send in questions via text but were able to actually join the discussion and interact directly with the panelists. Roger Linn demoed his Linnstrument live from his studio in Los Altos.
DIscussions included the differences between the original MPE spec and the final MMA specification, MPE checklists, and test sequences, and the requirements for obtaining an MMA MPE logo that is under development.
We’ve already started planning for the release of the MIDI-CI speciffications so stay tuned to the MIDI Live! channel for future events!
Last Sunday we were looking at bookmarks we had made while searching the Internet for blog topics. We had booked marked Mixtela.com a few months ago because of all the cool MIDI DIY projects. But then we found WaitingForFriday’s website and decided to do an article on the MIDI Stylophone first. Imagine our surprise we we dicovered this on the Mixtela website this week.
It’s not just a business card, it’s a fully functional Stylophone MIDI controller!
Printed Circuit Boards as a business card are a great gimmick. I’d seen ones with USB ports etched into them, which enumerate as a keyboard and then type a person’s name or load up their website. It’s just about possible to build them cheap enough to hand out as a business card, at least if you’re picky about who you give them to.
A couple of years ago I took a stab at making one for myself, but I didn’t want it to be pointless. I wanted it to do something useful! Or at least entertain someone for longer than a few seconds. I can’t remember quite how I got the idea of making a MIDI-stylophone, but the idea was perfect. A working midi controller, that’s unique enough in its playing characteristic to potentially give some value, while at the same time costing no more than the card would have done otherwise, since the keyboard is just a plated area on the PCB, as is true on the original stylophone.
by Tim Alex Jacobs
Tim even referenced the WaitingForFriday’s website is his complete description of the process of making his stylophone business card. Tim has some of the most amazing MIDI DIY projects we’ve ever seen and also does incredibly detailed posts on exactly how it does his intricate engineering projects and usually includes assets.
In March, Tim created a MIDI Music Box. You can drive the music
A number of people have claimed to make the world’s smallest synthesizer. It’s a pretty silly ambition because at this level the size makes it extremely impractical, and fiddly to pull out of the socket. Nevertheless, I have created something which is just about as small as a midi synth could ever be. It’s physically smaller than an ordinary midi plug!
by Tim Alex Jacobs
Fro more details on these projects and others ( Midi Monotron, Touch Screen as a MIDI Ribbon Controller, Mini Pitchbend Joystick and more) check out the Mixtela.com website.
The Dubreq Stylophone was invented in 1968 by Brian Jarvis. It was originally designed as a toy, but the fact that it was portable and easy to play and it’s distinctive synth sound soon made it popular with some of the most iconic musicians of the late 60’s. David Bowie used it on the track ‘Space Oddity’ and it made it’s way on to recordings by the Beatles, Kraftwerk, Queen, Vangelis, The Osmonds and more.
The thing that really sets the Stylophone design apart is plated circuit board touch-pads that you play with a stylus, thus the name Stylophone.
| In 2003, Dubreq Ltd, a British company was formed to keep the legacy of the Stylophone alive and you can buy Stylophones at almost any large music store. | |
They have even come out with BeatBox version. This demo by British comedian Brett Domino got 1.8 million hits on Youtube.
But at MIDI.org, we are only interested in MIDI instruments, so we were happy to find The Stylophone Studio 5 on the website WaitingForFriday.
The Stylophone Studio 5 is a project to recreate the original 1968 Dubreq Stylophone which sounds and reacts just like the original (and even contains a replica of the original circuitry) however it also fully supports both MIDI in and MIDI out over USB and can be controlled by studio software such as Cubase.
by Simon Inns
Everything you need to make your own MIDI controlled Stylophone is available on WaitingForFriday’s website including a zip file
When we saw this YouTube video of Daði Freyr using the Genki wave MIDI controller, we knew we had to post it right away.
The Wave MIDI controller from Genki has been …. well making waves.
“Wave adds a new dimension to musical creativity… It’s a cool tool for all creatives and I can definitely recommend adding it to your workflow, whether you use it to replace your old techniques or invent new ones.”
by Bergur Þórisson, recording engineer, producer, and live musician (Björk, Sigur Rós, Damien Rice, Ólafur Arnalds, Jóhann Jóhannson)
It’s a great example of how a new MIDI specification ( BTLE MIDI) can spark a new generation of innovation.
There are a number of MIDI rings on the market. IK Multimedia makes one and so does
But there are a number of unique things about the new Genki Instruments Wave. It was designed in Iceland and was first used on stage at the at the Iceland Airwaves music festival. Genki is also the only Icelandic music company with a Japanese name (Genki means healthy in Japanese!).
Wave is an Indiegogo project and has already passed it’s funding goal. It’s scheduled to ship in December 2018.
Here are two Youtube videos showing what the Wave can do.
For the past several years a MIDI product has always been in the Best of CES product list including the Roli Seaboard and the Zivix JamStick. It seems that MIDI and innovation naturally go together. 2018 was no exception with a number of unique new controllers introduced at the CES show.
The
We wanted to create the shortest path between musical intention and musical
creation “
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by Damien Le Boulaire, CEO and one of Enhancia’s four co-founders from Grenoble, France.from an article in Engadget.
Tech company OWOW just launched a new wireless motion controlled instrument for singers. Named the Wiggle Kit, it consists of a mobile App and a small white remote controller which turns gestures into vocal effects. By twisting and moving the Wiggle in different directions, singers can add digital effects to their voice and control the intensity.
The Wiggle Kit is now available on Kickstarter and already reached 75% of its funding goal. With only 8 more days to go, there’s still some time left to get your Wiggle Kit for an Early Bird price of €79,-.
What if you could control MIDI with your brain? Does that sound like science fiction? Actually there are lots of people who have been exploring how to connect brain waves Electroencephalography (EEG) to MIDI.
Let’s take a look at how that works.
Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method to record electrical activity of the brain. Typically electrodes are placed on the scalp to measure voltage fluctuations caused by ionic current within the neurons of the brain.
Beta is the frequency range from 15 Hz to about 30 Hz. Beta activity is related to movement and beta waves with multiple frequencies is associated with busy thinking and active concentration.
Theta is the frequency range from 4 Hz to 7 Hz. Theta is associated with relaxed, meditative, and creative states in adults
So what does all this have to with MIDI. Years ago EEG machines were really expensive, but recently there are wireless EEGs like the Mindset and the Muse that are inexpensive and wireless
Brain2MIDI convert brainwaves into MIDI signals. Apply filters and algorithms to the frequencies and generate MIDI to control your favourite music production software, synthesizer or visual effects software.Brain2Midi is an Android software that produce Midi notes and controls change signals using brainwaves. Midi is transmitted from an Android 4.4 device using either a USB to MIDI cable to any compatible physical input, or using Wifi or Bluetooth to a computer on the Windows 7 platform. The Muse headband from InteraXon is used as an input source for brainwaves, then informations are analyzed and converted into melodies or CC parameters. Brain2Midi can be used to create music that is influenced by the state of mind of the person wearing the headband or it can be used to create visual animations in any Midi compatible VJ software.
by Brain2MIDI
The OpenEEG project is a website with resources for making plans and software for do-it-yourself EEG devices available for free (as in GPL). It is aimed toward amateurs who would like to experiment with EEG.
MindMIDI is a revolutionary way of making music, with your brainwaves, in real-time. Brainwaves are like radio stations, with each station working on a different layer, and all the stations are always playing. MindMIDI works like a radio, allowing you to hear your brain’s amazing electrical symphony. The music can be influenced with intention, and you can hear the immediate musical feedback. The MIDI can be routed to any DAW so you can have realistic sounding sampled musical instruments, or synthesizers. You can have multiple instruments, and each instrument can be controlled by a different band of the brainwave spectrum. For example, your Delta and Theta waves could be controlling a cello, Alpha waves could be controlling a piano, and your Beta and Gamma waves could be playing a violin. Best thing is MindMIDI is free!
by Aaron Thomen, MindMIDI
One of the biggest recent developments in MIDI is MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE). MPE is a method of using MIDI which enables multidimensional controllers to control multiple parameters of every note within
In normal MIDI, Channel-wide messages (such as Pitch Bend) are applied to all notes being played on a single MIDI Channel. In MPE, each note is assigned its own MIDI Channel so that those messages can be applied to each note individually.
The newly adopted MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE) specification is now available for download By MIDI Association members.
MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA) Adopts New MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE) Enhancement to the MIDI Specification
Los Angeles, CA, January 28, 2018− Today marks the MIDI Manufacturers Association’s (MMA) ratification of a new extension to MIDI, MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression). MPE enables electronic instruments such as synthesizers to provide a level of expressiveness typically possible only with acoustic instruments.
Prior to MPE, expressive gestures on synthesizers—such as pitch bending or adding vibrato—affected all notes being played. With MPE, every note a musician plays can be articulated individually for much greater expressiveness.
In MPE, each note is assigned its own MIDI Channel, so that Channel-wide expression messages can be applied to each note individually. Music making products (such as the ROLI Seaboard, Moog’s Animoog, and Apple’s Logic) take advantage of this so that musicians can apply multiple dimensions of finger movement control: left and right, forward and back, downward pressure, and more.
MMA President Tom White notes that “The efforts of the members (companies) of MMA has resulted in a specification for Polyphonic Expression that provides for interoperability among products from different manufacturers, and benefits the entire music industry.”
Jean-Baptiste Thiebaut of ROLI concurs. “The MPE specification paves the way for a new generation of expressive controllers and music software, providing many creative opportunities for live musicians and producers. MPE remains fully compatible with MIDI.”
The MPE specification will be available for download in the coming weeks. To obtain a free copy, join the MIDI Association, the global community of people who work, play and create with MIDI, at www.MIDI.org.
The Basic Features of MPE
(Reprinted from the MIDI Manufacturers Association MPE Specification document’s Background Section)
(Note: not all devices may support all features)
The MPE specification aims to provide an agreed method for hardware and software manufacturers to communicate multidimensional control data between MIDI controllers, synthesizers, digital audio workstations, and other products, using the existing framework of MIDI 1.0.
These proposed conventions define a way of distributing polyphonic music over a group of MIDI Channels, making multiple parameters of different notes separately controllable. This will enable richer communication between increasingly expressive MIDI hardware and software.
Briefly, what is defined is as follows:
— Wherever possible, every sounding note is temporarily assigned its own MIDI Channel between its Note On and Note Off. This allows Control Change and Pitch Bend messages to be addressed to that particular note.
— A Registered Parameter Number is used to establish the range of Channels used for sending or receiving notes. Two messages control the division of MIDI Channel space into sub-spaces called
— When there are more active notes in a Zone than available Channels, two or more notes will have to share the same Channel. Under such circumstances, all notes will continue to sound, but will no longer be uniquely controllable.
— Each Zone has a dedicated extra Channel, called the Master Channel, which conveys common information including Program Change messages, pedal data, and overall Pitch Bend. These messages apply across the entire Zone.
(The MPE specification also defines how to handle Pitch Bend, Aftertouch and CC messages to provide maximum interoperability.)
The full MPE MIDI specification will be available soon for download in the Specs section of the site.
Digital audio workstations (DAWs)
Software synthesizers
Hardware synthesizers
These DAWs and synthesizer plugins can be used with certain MPE Controllers by following the setup guides provided by the MPE Controller maker:
On May 26, 2018, we held the very first MIDI Live! chat with a panel of MPE specialists.
We recorded the session and it is presented here as a podcast.
Listeners were not only able to send in questions via text but were able to actually join the discussion and interact directly with the panelists. Roger Linn demoed his Linnstrument live from his studio in Los Altos.
DIscussions included the differences between the original MPE spec and the final MMA specification, MPE checklists, and test sequences, and the requirements for obtaining an MMA MPE logo that is under development.
Here is a collection of Youtube videos showing off how expressive MPE enabled instruments can be.
Dave Battino wrote an article which was a roundup of ultra-compact keyboard and pad MIDI controllers in the December 2013 issue of keyboard. He shared the video he created to show these itty bitty MIDI devices.
For the past few days we have been at the SXSW Music Expo. It turns out that Austin now only has a vibrant synth scene, but there are a lot of Austin based startups doing some pretty cool things with MIDI. Also at the show we got to meet with some companies from around the globe and from all over the US doing cool things with Bluetooth MIDI. It seems that BTLE MIDI has inspired a number of companies to create unique new ways to control MIDI wireless and MIDI gestural control really seems to trending in 2016.
So here is a quick report on MIDI at the 2016 SXSW Music Expo.
We got to interview Designer Brad Ferguson to talk about his new synth, the Futuresonus Parva, a polyphonic analog synthesizer. Just as refresher here are the Parva’s key features:
Brad talks about the Parva and how MIDI is used for control.
The Parva has some unique MIDI features including a USB Host port so you can connect your USB controller directly to the Parva module, the use of 14 bit RPNs to get double bit precision for control of most of the analog parameters . FYI, RPNs (Registered Parameters) and NRPNs (Non-Registered Parameters) have been a part of the MIDI spec form the very beginning). Also (although not mentioned in the video) Futuresonus is workingto make Parva the first hardware synth that uses the new Multidimensional Polyphonic Expression (MPE) standard the MIDI Manufacturers Association is working on.
Here is Brad’s take on what MIDI means.
The Jamstik made it easy to learn to play guitar, Jamstik 2 added more features and there is more content and apps.
Air Jamz goes ‘playing” guitar even simpler and is just plain fun. Check out this Engadget article.
OWOW – the Omnipresent World Of Whizkids
OWOW was showing off their truly unique Bluetooth controllers called midis and named Wiggle, Scan, Drum and Wob. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and a video must be worth even more so check them out. The OWOW team has some very intriguing designs that are both simple and elegant ways to do interesting and creative things with MIDI.
Here is Dirtcaps showing how to use the midis in the studio.
The ReMIDI T8 MIDI Glove
There have been MIDI gloves around for awhile, like Imogen Heap’s which we have featured on the site before, but ReMIDI is the first attempt to deliver a product that can be manufactured in quantity and also the first to use Bluetooth MIDI. We were able to catch up with Andrea Baldereschi, CEO and Marco Casolati, Product Specialist at ReMIDI to talk about where the T8 project is at and their thoughts on the future of MIDI gestural control.
Here is a video of the ReMIDI T8 in action. Andrea told us they have fully functioning prototypes and on track to start production around September.
Zoom also had a booth at SXSW and were showing off their ARQ™ BTLE wireless MIDI controller and Yamaha had their UD-BT01 and UM-BT01 BTLE adapters so it was pretty clear that the Bluetooth MIDI is going mainstream in 2016.
Electronic MIDI controllers that you hold in your hands and shake or move about to make music date back to 1986. That was the year Palmtree Instruments introduced Airdrums, a tabletop MIDI controller wired to two tubes that contain sensors for detecting motion in any of six directions. The control box transmits six triggers per tube for playing notes, starting sequences, and generating other MIDI data depending on user assignments. Airdrums started the ball rolling in the development of controllers such as the Nintendo Wii, which some contemporary performers use as a softsynth controller.
Also in 1986, computer-music pioneer Max Mathews (1926-2011) introduced the Radio Baton, which consists of a pair of mallets with built-in radio transmitters and a table surface beneath which are five antennas. As a computer loaded with Max’s conductor software follows movements of the mallets above the table, it generates MIDI output for controlling the volume, timbre, and rhythm of a sequencer playing music.
Don Buchla introduced Lightning in 1991. It has two wireless wands that contain infrared transmitters, a remote infrared-tracking head that can be mounted on a mic stand and senses positions of and gestures made with the wands, and the third component, a half-rack-sized box that contains electronic circuits. You can program the receiver that tracks wand movements to perform actions such as note selection, pitchbends, stereo panning, and volume. Originally Lightning only transmitted MIDI, but the newer version — the Buchla Lightning III — transmits MIDI and also has a built-in 32-voice synthesizer.
Imagine if the batons held by a member of the ground crew to safely direct an aircraft into a gate at an airport controlled the pitch, timbre, and other aspects of sound generated by a synthesizer. That’s essentially what Don Buchla’s Lightning does. This is the Lightning II system, complete with the triangular, optic-sensing head, a pair of wireless, infrared-transmitting wands, and the half-rack control module, which housed a 32-voice synthesizer. Lightning II was introduced in 1996, later to be replaced by the Lightning III. (courtesy of Buchla & Associates)
Synthesizer pioneer Don Buchla — proudly clad in his pin-laden fedora — prowls the Anaheim Convention Center at Winter NAMM 2012. (Mark Vail)
Numerous individuals and companies have made electronic controllers and instruments for drummers and percussionists since Joe Pollard developed the Syndrum in 1977. Soon to follow were the U.S.-built Star Instruments Synare series from 1975 to 1983 and the British-made Simmons pads and sound generators.
Plenty of drum and percussion controllers and systems have come and gone since MIDI arrived in 1983. Among the manufacturers to develop full-fledged electronic kits are Alesis, 2Box Music Applications, Roland, and Yamaha. All of them make modules to go with the drum pads and related controllers — cymbals, too — but of course since they’re MIDI controllers you can trigger any MIDI sound generator(s) of your choice.
Drum controllers don’t have to look like drum sets. Over the years there have been many great percussion controllers and instruments, whether you hit them with sticks — Roland’s Octapad series comes to mind — or your hands — i.e., Roland’s Handsonic series. As of November 2015 Roland’s current Octapad is the SPD-30 (http://www.rolandus.com/products/octapad_spd-30), which contains built-in sounds and can function as a percussion instrument on its own. If you’d prefer an electronic percussion instrument/controller that allows you to sample your own sounds, Roland offers the SPD-SX (http://www.rolandus.com/products/spd-sx). Both SPD models have MIDI I/O for playing other instruments or responding to controller and note data from other MIDI devices, as well as trigger inputs for responding to analog gear that output trigger signals.
Continuing the historic line of Octapads, Roland’s SPD-30 sports features including eight pads, four inputs for triggers from external sources, a backlit LCD, 670 internal sounds, built-in effects, and a three-part phrase-loop sequencer that allows overdubbing. (courtesy of Roland Corporation)
Roland’s SPD-SX allows you to sample and play sounds using its nine velocity-sensitive pads, six square and three across the top. It provides 2GB of internal sample memory, effects processing, a backlit LCD, MIDI and USB connectors, and two external trigger inputs. The SPD-SX comes with computer software for importing, assigning, and organizing samples. (courtesy of Roland Corporation)
Although I’m a poor percussionist and never came close to mastering the drums, Roland’s introduction of the HPD-15 Handsonic at the 2000 NAMM show immediately attracted me thanks to its built-in sounds and controller implementation. Its 15 pads, arranged within a circle and sized between about a quarter of the circle and a few square inches, sense how hard you strike them with your hands and fingers — drumsticks aren’t recommended — as well as how hard you push down afterward. In fact, each Handsonic transmits its own aftertouch data, which means it will work with MIDI devices that detect polyphonic aftertouch — a rare but very effective means of imparting vibrato or a bit more volume to individual notes within a chord. In addition, the HPD-15 has two ribbon controllers — one on each side of the pad circle — that can trigger notes or transmit controller data. Finally, the HPD-15 has a D-Beam controller, a motion-sensing detector placed above the pad circle; it too can trigger notes or send controller data.
While the original HPD-15 Handsonic has been discontinued, as of late 2015 Roland’s flagship Handsonic, the HPD-20 (http://www.rolandus.com/products/handsonic_hpd-20), offers the same pad configuration and D-Beam, although not the side ribbons — which makes it less wide and a bit more portable than the HPD-15. Along with 850 internal sounds, the HPD-20 allows you to import up to 500 of your own WAV-format samples.
Thanks to its responsive silicone rubber pads, great sounds, and extensive programmability, the Roland HPD-20 serves as an outstanding electronic percussion instrument. Hitting it with drumsticks isn’t recommended; use your hands, please. (courtesy of Roland Corporation)
The configuration of pads on John Worthington’s Jambé (http://getjambe.com) reminds me of those on a Roland Handsonic, except that you can hit the Jambé’s with your fingers, hands, or drumsticks and it’s intended mainly as a percussion controller for an iPad or iPhone. Activity on Jambé’s pads transmit controller data including aftertouch. The latest developments in Jambé’s software and sounds are due to be announced at Winter NAMM 2016, from January 21 to 24. It’s a beautiful controller that might work perfectly for you.
Mounted on a drum stand above an Apple iPad is a Jambé percussion controller. You can order a Jambé with its wooden rim stained light or dark. According to the Jambé website, “Within a sustainable hardwood rim sits a ten geometric play zone interface which transforms actions registered by its sensors into dynamic sounds via software running on an iOS device.” (courtesy of John Worthington)
Taking a slightly different controller approach is Titan Reality, whose Pulse 3D music controller (https://titanreality.com) responds not only to direct contact on its surface, but also to movement and hand gestures the performer makes above that surface. You can play Pulse with your fingers or hands, as well as mallets, drum sticks, brushes, and other objects such as a ball. As stated on the Titan Reality Kick Starter site, Pulse is “the musical instrument platform of the future, for everyone to discover and play music at any level. … Pulse is the most expressive music controller ever made, it works in 3D, at very high resolutions and speeds. When connected to a free Titan Reality app you can play instruments with incredible detail and performance. Simply discover thousands of high-resolution musical instruments in a one-click app using our Explore cloud platform. The system is also compatible and fully programmable with all standard music software using MIDI.”
The site describes Explore as “a new digital platform that brings the simplicity of cloud distribution to music makers. Browse, listen, choose, and download any item instantly, so you can setup your ideal music rig in a few clicks.
“You can download any of the new 100+ instruments coming to Explore each month. Discover and play rare, luxury and handmade instruments from private collections or cutting edge electronic instruments in your home, at a fraction of the price. Combine these state of the art virtual instruments with the control of Pulse and play musical history. Explore will be available after our Kickstarter campaign.”
A Titan Reality Pulse controller set up in place of a snare drum with a clear-shelled drum set. (courtesy of Titan Reality)
Another exciting new instrument/controller going through an IndieGoGo Crowdfunding campaign as of November 2015 is the Synesthesia Mandala Drum V3 System (http://www.MandalaDrum.com). It’s an advanced drum-pad controller system co-developed by engineer/inventor Vince De Franco — maker in 1997 of the Interactive Light Dimension Beam, which Roland subsequently licensed and incorporated as the D-Beam controller in the HPD-15 Handsonic and other electronic instruments — and drummer Danny Carey of the band Tool. So sensitive is the Mandala V3 pad at tracking the position and force of individual hits on its surface and rim that you can trigger and control thousands of samples from a single pad.
You can connect up to seven V3 pads to a single V3 Module. Synesthesia’s V3 Virtual Brain Software — which can function as a stand-alone application or as a plug-in for Ableton Live, Logic, ProTools, Cubase, Digital Performer, and MainStage — allows you to assemble and trigger non-proprietary MDA sound files consisting of a single to thousands of location, velocity-switched, and round-robin samples. Mandala Drum V3 System creators incorporate a patented membrane switch that reportedly detects the position and velocity of any touch on the surface or rim with no false triggers. They intend the Mandala Drum V3 System to expand a drummer’s creative, compositional, and performance capabilities with integrated hardware, software, and included MDA sound-file library, as well as additional MDAs available from the company’s online library.
A close-up look at a Synesthesia Mandala Drum V3 pad. (courtesy of Synesthesia Corporation)
Included here to his left in Tool drummer Danny Carey’s drum kit are two Synesthesia Mandala Drum V3 pads. Carey worked with Vince De Franco to develope the Mandala Drum and plays seven Mandalas in his official Tool drum kit. (courtesy of Synesthesia Corporation)
This graphic depicts the process Synesthesia conducts to create an MDA based on a snare-drum sound from late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham for assignment to a Mandala Drum V3 pad. (courtesy of Synesthesia Corporation)
A visual layout of a Mandala Drum V3 system. What’s referred to here as the Mandala MIDI Module corresponds to the Mandala V3 Module. (courtesy of Synesthesia Corporation)
One manufacturer has been making percussion controllers since the mid 1980s in Chicopee, Massachusetts, originally as Kat and now as Alternate Mode (http://www.alternatemode.com). Their ten-pad drumKat is an expressive controller that has gone through numerous updates since its early ’90s introduction. The bigger and more extensive trapKat provides 24 trigger pads across its 41.5″ by 19″ surface. Both supply user memories and lots of programmability in a single unit that’s far easier to tear down, transport, and set up than an entire electronic drum kit.
Alternate Mode’s programmable drumKat controller allows you to trigger MIDI synths to play drum, percussion, or whatever sounds you choose. You can program individual pads to transmit single notes, melodic lines, or up to eight notes at a time. If you’d prefer a complete instrument, there’s the drumKat Turbo KS, which has a built-in Kurzweil synthesizer. (courtesy of Alternate Mode, Inc.)
Trigger pads are spread out wide on the Alternate Mode trapKat controller. How many pads? If you count — be sure to include the skinny ones around the perimeter and across the front — you’ll get up to 22, but there are actually 24. The pads to the extreme left and right are actually spit in half to serve as two pads each. Connected to one or more capable MIDI sound generators, you can assign up to 16 sounds to each pad and trigger them individually by velocity switching among them, layer them all together, or sequence through them one at a time. Also available is the trapKat 5KS, which includes a built-in Kurzweil synth engine. (courtesy of Alternate Mode, Inc.)
Steel drums have always fascinated me, as well as the music played with them. How would you like to have one that you can play any sounds you’d like on? Introducing the panKat MIDI controller from Alternate Mode. It gives you 128 memory locations to store your assignments of its 30 trigger pads. (courtesy of Alternate Mode, Inc.)
Alternative Mode’s malletKat Pro provides three octaves of trigger pads arranged like the bars of a marimba. The malletKat is also available in two- and four-octave models — the Express and Grand, respectively — and you can get any of them with a built-in Kurzweil synth engine. You can also buy a single-octave pad expander to increase the note range of any malletKat. (courtesy of Alternate Mode, Inc.)
Another marimba-style controller came from Don Buchla, who teamed with percussionist/programmer Mark Goldstein and marimbist/sound designer Joel Davel to create the Marimba Lumina mallet MIDI controller/instrument — Buchla’s final 20th century product. It was available in two sizes, responds independently to as many as four different mallets for gestural control, and features a built-in synth engine for stand-alone performance.
The 12-notes-per-octave equal-tempered scale we’re accustomed to hearing in Western music is in truth a compromise in tuning, adopted during the early 19th century mostly to allow easy transposition into different keys. Whereas such a division of the octave results in unnatural tuning beats in intervals such as a major third or fifth because frequency ratios between the low and high notes are sharp or flat, tunings based on frequency ratios such as 5:4 for a major third and 3:2 for a perfect fifth in Just intonation result in pure, beat-free interactions between the low and high notes. Explorations of Just Intonation and other microtonal tunings — including equal-tempered scales in which the octave is divided into increments such as 53, 41, 31, or 7 — can be fascinating, rewarding, and potentially never-ending.
Not only are Just intonation and other non-equal-tempered and microtonal tunings infinitely easier to do with synthesizers — many of which support different tunings, some more flexibly and easier to program than others — than with acoustic instruments, but there’s also a variety of controllers and instruments specifically tailored for playing microtonal music. The widest variety appears among the offerings in the Tonal Plexus lineup from Hπ/H-Pi Instruments (http://hpi.zentral.zone/tonalplexus). Invented and hand-made by Aaron Andrew Hunt, these complex, colorful instruments range from two to six octaves with blue, green, red, or yellow edge keys. The keyboards are part of a complete system of microtonal music theory that is quite unique, historically speaking (http://musictheory.zentral.zone/huntsystem1.html). A Tonal Plexus can have either MIDI I/O or a USB connector (the U-Plex line), and some are available with built-in General MIDI sound generation and a stereo sound system with internal speakers and a headphone jack. Every Tonal Plexus instrument comes with cross-platform editing software and a ¼” sustain pedal input jack.
The MegaPlex from Hπ/H-Pi Instruments is an experimental version of the Tonal Plexus series with 256 velocity-sensing keys per octave covering six octaves. Built-in are a Mac Mini with all of its connections — HDMI, Ethernet, mic input, two USB ports, and Firewire 800 — accessible on the back panel, a 1,024 by 768 TFT LCD single-touch screen, and a built-in stereo sound system with line-level input and output and a headphone jack. Alongside the MIDI in, out, and thru connectors are six ¼” jacks for foot controllers. Although you can run the Macintosh music applications of your choice, H-Pi’s microsynth comes installed on the MegaPlex’s internal Mac Mini, which requires a USB keyboard and mouse to boot up, but the built-in touch screen works directly with the Mac. (© 2012 H-Pi Instruments)
A close-up look at the built-in touch screen on the H-Pi Instruments Tonal Plexus MegaPlex. (© 2012 H-Pi Instruments)
A view from behind an H-Pi Tonal Plexus MegaPlex. As of April 2015, H-Pi’s Aaron Andrew Hunt reports that he’s taking a break from hand-assembling Tonal Plexus keyboards, which he did from 2006 through 2014. Other than finding a Tonal Plexus on the used market, alternative-tuning enthusiasts who seek a Tonal Plexus keyboard might still be able to purchase one directly from H-Pi in the form of a DIY project (http://hpi.zentral.zone/diy) or prototype (http://hpi.zentral.zone/prototypes). Partially assembled units may also be available (http://hpi.zentral.zone/assembled). You can contact the inventor through the H-Pi website (http://hpi.zentral.zone/email) or on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/hpiinstruments). (© 2012 H-Pi Instruments)
H-Pi Instruments also offers numerous cross-platform (Mac and PC) computer applications. Custom Scale Editor is an editor for tuning individual MIDI keys to a specific pitch using ratios, Hertz values, decimals, constants and functions, code snippets, user-definable algorithms, and more. CSE also allows you to import Scala and .tun files, automatically tune specific temperaments, and export tunings in a variety of tuning formats. H-Pi’s microsynth is a microtonal, 16-part multitimbral SoundFont synth and sequencer designed for composing microtonal music. You can also train your ear to recognize microtonal tunings and explore pitches, intervals, chords, notations, and melodies using Xentone. ScalaVista is a microtonal database that contains over 4,000 scales that you can import into microsynth, CSE, and Xentone. H-Pi’s MIDI Tapper (http://hpi.zentral.zone/miditapper), currently available in beta form for Mac with a Windows version under development, reminds me of the two One Key Play buttons on the Casio VL-Tone VL-1 and other Casio instruments. After you have inserted into a step sequencer the notes you want played, you can trigger them with the nuances you prefer by playing one or two keys on a MIDI keyboard or other controller. MIDI Tapper allows you to import and export Standard MIDI Files; enter into a sequence patch changes and CCs for volume control and panning; edit MIDI data graphically and in list format; loop-rehearse specific passages; and do much more.
If microtonal tunings interest you, note that John Loffink maintains the extraordinary Microtonal Synthesis Web Site (www.microtonal-synthesis.com) with tips, links, and information about working with microtonal scales on different synthesizers, a recommended listening list, and coverage of microtonal composer Harry Partch (1901-1974).
Electronic controllers that you hold in your hands and shake or move about to make music date back to 1986. That was the year Palmtree Instruments introduced Airdrums, a tabletop MIDI controller wired to two tubes that contain sensors for detecting motion in any of six directions. The control box transmits six triggers per tube for playing notes, starting sequences, and generating other MIDI data depending on user assignments. Airdrums started the ball rolling in the development of controllers such as the Nintendo Wii, which some contemporary performers use as a softsynth controller.
Also in 1986, computer-music pioneer Max Mathews (1926-2011) introduced the Radio Baton, which consists of a pair of mallets with built-in radio transmitters and a table surface beneath which are five antennas. As a computer loaded with Max’s conductor software follows movements of the mallets above the table, it generates MIDI output for controlling the volume, timbre, and rhythm of a sequencer playing music.
Don Buchla introduced Lightning in 1991. It has two wireless wands that contain infrared transmitters, a remote infrared-tracking head that can be mounted on a mic stand and senses positions of and gestures made with the wands, and the third component, a half-rack-sized box that contains electronic circuits. You can program the receiver that tracks wand movements to perform actions such as note selection, pitchbends, stereo panning, and volume. Originally Lightning only transmitted MIDI, but the newer version — the Buchla Lightning III — transmits MIDI and also has a built-in 32-voice synthesizer.
Imagine if the batons held by a member of the ground crew to safely direct an aircraft into a gate at an airport controlled the pitch, timbre, and other aspects of sound generated by a synthesizer. That’s essentially what Don Buchla’s Lightning does. This is the Lightning II system, complete with the triangular, optic-sensing head, a pair of wireless, infrared-transmitting wands, and the half-rack control module, which housed a 32-voice synthesizer. Lightning II was introduced in 1996, later to be replaced by the Lightning III. (courtesy of Buchla & Associates)
Synthesizer pioneer Don Buchla — proudly clad in his pin-laden fedora — prowls the Anaheim Convention Center at Winter NAMM 2012. (Mark Vail)
Numerous individuals and companies have made electronic controllers and instruments for drummers and percussionists since Joe Pollard developed the Syndrum in 1977. Soon to follow were the U.S.-built Star Instruments Synare series from 1975 to 1983 and the British-made Simmons pads and sound generators.
Plenty of drum and percussion controllers and systems have come and gone since MIDI arrived in 1983. Among the manufacturers to develop full-fledged electronic kits are Alesis, 2Box Music Applications, Roland, and Yamaha. All of them make modules to go with the drum pads and related controllers — cymbals, too — but of course since they’re MIDI controllers you can trigger any MIDI sound generator(s) of your choice.
Drum controllers don’t have to look like drum sets. Over the years there have been many great percussion controllers and instruments, whether you hit them with sticks — Roland’s Octapad series comes to mind — or your hands — i.e., Roland’s Handsonic series. As of November 2015 Roland’s current Octapad is the SPD-30 (http://www.rolandus.com/products/octapad_spd-30), which contains built-in sounds and can function as a percussion instrument on its own. If you’d prefer an electronic percussion instrument/controller that allows you to sample your own sounds, Roland offers the SPD-SX (http://www.rolandus.com/products/spd-sx). Both SPD models have MIDI I/O for playing other instruments or responding to controller and note data from other MIDI devices, as well as trigger inputs for responding to analog gear that output trigger signals.
Continuing the historic line of Octapads, Roland’s SPD-30 sports features including eight pads, four inputs for triggers from external sources, a backlit LCD, 670 internal sounds, built-in effects, and a three-part phrase-loop sequencer that allows overdubbing. (courtesy of Roland Corporation)
Roland’s SPD-SX allows you to sample and play sounds using its nine velocity-sensitive pads, six square and three across the top. It provides 2GB of internal sample memory, effects processing, a backlit LCD, MIDI and USB connectors, and two external trigger inputs. The SPD-SX comes with computer software for importing, assigning, and organizing samples. (courtesy of Roland Corporation)
Although I’m a poor percussionist and never came close to mastering the drums, Roland’s introduction of the HPD-15 Handsonic at the 2000 NAMM show immediately attracted me thanks to its built-in sounds and controller implementation. Its 15 pads, arranged within a circle and sized between about a quarter of the circle and a few square inches, sense how hard you strike them with your hands and fingers — drumsticks aren’t recommended — as well as how hard you push down afterward. In fact, each Handsonic transmits its own aftertouch data, which means it will work with MIDI devices that detect polyphonic aftertouch — a rare but very effective means of imparting vibrato or a bit more volume to individual notes within a chord. In addition, the HPD-15 has two ribbon controllers — one on each side of the pad circle — that can trigger notes or transmit controller data. Finally, the HPD-15 has a D-Beam controller, a motion-sensing detector placed above the pad circle; it too can trigger notes or send controller data.
While the original HPD-15 Handsonic has been discontinued, as of late 2015 Roland’s flagship Handsonic, the HPD-20 (http://www.rolandus.com/products/handsonic_hpd-20), offers the same pad configuration and D-Beam, although not the side ribbons — which makes it less wide and a bit more portable than the HPD-15. Along with 850 internal sounds, the HPD-20 allows you to import up to 500 of your own WAV-format samples.
Thanks to its responsive silicone rubber pads, great sounds, and extensive programmability, the Roland HPD-20 serves as an outstanding electronic percussion instrument. Hitting it with drumsticks isn’t recommended; use your hands, please. (courtesy of Roland Corporation)
The configuration of pads on John Worthington’s Jambé (http://getjambe.com) reminds me of those on a Roland Handsonic, except that you can hit the Jambé’s with your fingers, hands, or drumsticks and it’s intended mainly as a percussion controller for an iPad or iPhone. Activity on Jambé’s pads transmit controller data including aftertouch. The latest developments in Jambé’s software and sounds are due to be announced at Winter NAMM 2016, from January 21 to 24. It’s a beautiful controller that might work perfectly for you.
Mounted on a drum stand above an Apple iPad is a Jambé percussion controller. You can order a Jambé with its wooden rim stained light or dark. According to the Jambé website, “Within a sustainable hardwood rim sits a ten geometric play zone interface which transforms actions registered by its sensors into dynamic sounds via software running on an iOS device.” (courtesy of John Worthington)
Taking a slightly different controller approach is Titan Reality, whose Pulse 3D music controller (https://titanreality.com) responds not only to direct contact on its surface, but also to movement and hand gestures the performer makes above that surface. You can play Pulse with your fingers or hands, as well as mallets, drum sticks, brushes, and other objects such as a ball. As stated on the Titan Reality Kick Starter site, Pulse is “the musical instrument platform of the future, for everyone to discover and play music at any level. … Pulse is the most expressive music controller ever made, it works in 3D, at very high resolutions and speeds. When connected to a free Titan Reality app you can play instruments with incredible detail and performance. Simply discover thousands of high-resolution musical instruments in a one-click app using our Explore cloud platform. The system is also compatible and fully programmable with all standard music software using MIDI.”
The site describes Explore as “a new digital platform that brings the simplicity of cloud distribution to music makers. Browse, listen, choose, and download any item instantly, so you can setup your ideal music rig in a few clicks.
“You can download any of the new 100+ instruments coming to Explore each month. Discover and play rare, luxury and handmade instruments from private collections or cutting edge electronic instruments in your home, at a fraction of the price. Combine these state of the art virtual instruments with the control of Pulse and play musical history. Explore will be available after our Kickstarter campaign.”
A Titan Reality Pulse controller set up in place of a snare drum with a clear-shelled drum set. (courtesy of Titan Reality)
Another exciting new instrument/controller going through an IndieGoGo Crowdfunding campaign as of November 2015 is the Synesthesia Mandala Drum V3 System (http://www.MandalaDrum.com). It’s an advanced drum-pad controller system co-developed by engineer/inventor Vince De Franco — maker in 1997 of the Interactive Light Dimension Beam, which Roland subsequently licensed and incorporated as the D-Beam controller in the HPD-15 Handsonic and other electronic instruments — and drummer Danny Carey of the band Tool. So sensitive is the Mandala V3 pad at tracking the position and force of individual hits on its surface and rim that you can trigger and control thousands of samples from a single pad.
You can connect up to seven V3 pads to a single V3 Module. Synesthesia’s V3 Virtual Brain Software — which can function as a stand-alone application or as a plug-in for Ableton Live, Logic, ProTools, Cubase, Digital Performer, and MainStage — allows you to assemble and trigger non-proprietary MDA sound files consisting of a single to thousands of location, velocity-switched, and round-robin samples. Mandala Drum V3 System creators incorporate a patented membrane switch that reportedly detects the position and velocity of any touch on the surface or rim with no false triggers. They intend the Mandala Drum V3 System to expand a drummer’s creative, compositional, and performance capabilities with integrated hardware, software, and included MDA sound-file library, as well as additional MDAs available from the company’s online library.
A close-up look at a Synesthesia Mandala Drum V3 pad. (courtesy of Synesthesia Corporation)
Included here to his left in Tool drummer Danny Carey’s drum kit are two Synesthesia Mandala Drum V3 pads. Carey worked with Vince De Franco to develope the Mandala Drum and plays seven Mandalas in his official Tool drum kit. (courtesy of Synesthesia Corporation)
This graphic depicts the process Synesthesia conducts to create an MDA based on a snare-drum sound from late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham for assignment to a Mandala Drum V3 pad. (courtesy of Synesthesia Corporation)
A visual layout of a Mandala Drum V3 system. What’s referred to here as the Mandala MIDI Module corresponds to the Mandala V3 Module. (courtesy of Synesthesia Corporation)
One manufacturer has been making percussion controllers since the mid 1980s in Chicopee, Massachusetts, originally as Kat and now as Alternate Mode (http://www.alternatemode.com). Their ten-pad drumKat is an expressive controller that has gone through numerous updates since its early ’90s introduction. The bigger and more extensive trapKat provides 24 trigger pads across its 41.5″ by 19″ surface. Both supply user memories and lots of programmability in a single unit that’s far easier to tear down, transport, and set up than an entire electronic drum kit.
Alternate Mode’s programmable drumKat controller allows you to trigger MIDI synths to play drum, percussion, or whatever sounds you choose. You can program individual pads to transmit single notes, melodic lines, or up to eight notes at a time. If you’d prefer a complete instrument, there’s the drumKat Turbo KS, which has a built-in Kurzweil synthesizer. (courtesy of Alternate Mode, Inc.)
Trigger pads are spread out wide on the Alternate Mode trapKat controller. How many pads? If you count — be sure to include the skinny ones around the perimeter and across the front — you’ll get up to 22, but there are actually 24. The pads to the extreme left and right are actually spit in half to serve as two pads each. Connected to one or more capable MIDI sound generators, you can assign up to 16 sounds to each pad and trigger them individually by velocity switching among them, layer them all together, or sequence through them one at a time. Also available is the trapKat 5KS, which includes a built-in Kurzweil synth engine. (courtesy of Alternate Mode, Inc.)
Alternate Mode’s panKat has 30 pads primarily arranged in a circular pattern like the playing surface of a steel drum, only on a flat plane instead of being concave. Alternate Mode also offers the malletKat — in versions with two or three octaves of pads — for xylophone, vibe, or marimba players interested in using MIDI. The malletKat 7KS has a built-in Kurzweil synthesizing soundcard, making it a stand-alone instrument.
Steel drums have always fascinated me, as well as the music played with them. How would you like to have one that you can play any sounds you’d like on? Introducing the panKat MIDI controller from Alternate Mode. It gives you 128 memory locations to store your assignments of its 30 trigger pads. (courtesy of Alternate Mode, Inc.)
Alternative Mode’s malletKat Pro provides three octaves of trigger pads arranged like the bars of a marimba. The malletKat is also available in two- and four-octave models — the Express and Grand, respectively — and you can get any of them with a built-in Kurzweil synth engine. You can also buy a single-octave pad expander to increase the note range of any malletKat. (courtesy of Alternate Mode, Inc.)
Another marimba-style controller came from Don Buchla, who teamed with percussionist/programmer Mark Goldstein and marimbist/sound designer Joel Davel to create the Marimba Lumina mallet MIDI controller/instrument — Buchla’s final 20th century product. It was available in two sizes, responds independently to as many as four different mallets for gestural control, and features a built-in synth engine for stand-alone performance.
Another beautiful and powerful touch controller, this one featuring 150 rectangular walnut keys arranged in a five-row by 30-column matrix laid within a 29″ by 8″ by 1-1/4″ block of Washington alder and weighing 4.6 pounds, is the Madrona Labs Soundplane Model A (http://madronalabs.com). Each key senses velocity, position, and pressure and the controller, which has a USB jack for direct connection to a computer, scans the playing surface with high bandwidth at a rate of 975 samples per second for precise control. Separate modes allow the Soundplane to sense individual key activity or the entire surface as a continuous controller. The Soundplane comes with Mac software that converts performance data into MIDI and OSC, Madrona’s Aalto patchable softsynth, and Max/MSP objects. Software for Windows and Linux are in the works.
Other than its high-speed pressure sensor, high-bandwidth DSP computer, and related electronic hardware, Madrona Lab’s Soundplane Model A USB controller — shown here connected to a MacBook Pro running calibration software — is made of wood to give it the feel of an acoustic instrument. (courtesy of Madrona Labs)
Drum-machine pioneer Roger Linn’s LinnStrument is a pressure-sensitive, multi-touch MIDI/USB controller that he intends as an expressive alternative to a typical MIDI keyboard controller (http://www.rogerlinndesign.com/linnstrument.html). LinnStrument’s surface detects the movement of individual fingers polyphonically in three dimensions, left to right, forward and backward, and pressure. Roger contends that learning to play LinnStrument with its sensitive three-dimensional tracking will allow you to replace envelope generators and LFOs with manual control for expressive vibrato, tremolo, pitch bends, timbral variations, and other musical gestures. You can play LinnStrument either as a tabletop unit or using a strap to play it like it’s a guitar. For complete wireless control, Roger recommends Airpower3 from Starr Labs (http://www.starrlabs.com/product/airpower3). He says many LinnStrument users play specially crafted patches for MainStage in Apple Logic Pro.
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Roger Linn’s LinnStrument MIDI/USB controller independently tracks movements of numerous fingers on its surface in three dimensions: pressure, left-right, and forward-backward. These motions are typically assigned to control volume, pitch, and timbre, respectively, providing expressive manipulation for each note independently. (permission to copy freely granted by Roger Linn Design)
Prepared to reveal the MIDI controller magic inherent in his Linnstrument on the first day of Winter NAMM 2016, here’s Roger Linn. (Mark Vail)
Front-panel buttons allow you to change sounds, transpose by octaves, vary the output volume, and more, and there are two assignable ¼” pedal inputs. The LinnStrument requires a Mac or Windows computer to generate sounds, connecting to either platform via USB. It comes with sound-generating software that will also generate MIDI data and OSC messages and allow you to customize the LinnStruments organization of virtual keys, configure custom scales, create a virtual pitchbend ribbon, and assign a space that you can rhythmically touch to retrigger guitar strums or arpeggiate notes in a chord.
In October 2015, Symbolic Sound announced plug-and-play support for LinnStrument in Kyma 7 (http://kyma.symbolicsound.com/latest-press-releases/kyma-7-support-for-linnstrument-and-mpe), which combines the patchability of modular synthesizers and state-of-the-art synthesis, sound-design, DSP, and composition software running on a dedicated, multiprocessor computer platform. Kyma is an environment in which you graphically patch together virtual synthesis and processing modules to create sounds and compose music.
Another flexible USB pad controller comes in the form of the QuNeo from Keith McMillen Instruments (http://www.keithmcmillen.com/products/quneo). Equal in size to the original Apple iPad, the QuNeo has a controller surface covered with a variety of sensors, each illuminated with an LED capable of glowing in 251 different colors. There are 16 square trigger pads capable of sensing 127 velocity levels along with pressure and location on an X/Y axis. Two rotary sensors measure the angle and pressure of touch. Nine touch-sensitive ribbons function like sliders for controlling fader levels or effects parameters, and each is lit with multiple LEDs to make them work as level meters. Seventeen pressure-sensitive buttons that serve as switches are intelligently located around the other surface controllers. You can program all of the QuNeo’s controllers to respond according to your needs, and it comes with presets, templates, and scripts for applications including Ableton Live, Serato Scratch Live, Native Instruments Traktor and Battery, Apple Logic Pro, and Propellerhead Reason. Add the Rogue, which attaches to the QuNeo’s underside, and you now have a wireless controller with a 60-meter range. It also powers the QuNeo for six to eight hours of continuous operation.
The QuNeo from Keith McMillen Instrument measures a mere 9.45″ across by 7.28″ deep by 0.39″ high and weighs only 14 ounces. (Tom Ferguson, courtesy of Keith McMillen Instruments)
For those interested in a controller with pads arranged in the traditional keyboard configuration, Keith McMillen Instruments introduced the QuNexus in 2013 (http://www.keithmcmillen.com/products/qunexus). The affordable, small-footprint QuNexus, measuring 10″ by 3.5″ by 0.5″ and weighing less than a pound, provides two octaves of illuminated, pad-like keys that respond to velocity, pressure, and finger location, plus octave up/down buttons and a pitch-bender button. On-board connectors include micro USB for power and communication, analog gate and CV outputs, a pedal/CV input, and a multi-pin connection for the optional MIDI Expander, which provides standard 5-pin MIDI in and out jacks and also works with QuNeo and other Keith McMillen Instruments products.
QuNexus, from Keith McMillen Instruments, can function as a USB and analog-output controller, as well as a controller for MIDI hardware units with the addition of KMI’s MIDI Expander. (courtesy of Keith McMillen Instruments)
The 2010 release of Apple’s iPad, its popularity, and certain iOS applications may have resulted in the JazzMutant Lemur being discontinued. Lemur is a programmable, multi-touch, touch-screen device with multi-tasking capabilities and a gorgeous display, and it complies with the OSC networking protocol. It works really well with Ableton Live, Symbolic Sound’s Kyma, Native Instruments Reaktor, Cycling ’74 Max/MSP, SuperCollider, and many other applications. Fortunately, Liine introduced an iOS version of Lemur for the iPad in late 2011.
Although it’s been discontinued, the JazzMutant Lemur introduced touch-screen capabilities similar to those later provided by the Apple iPad. (courtesy of Stantum Technologies)
A screenshot from the JazzMutant Lemur. (screenshot courtesy of Stantum Technologies)
Within the multitude of alternative controllers developed over the years, one of the more deceptively simple but potent for creating step sequences (among many activities, including lighting control, gaming, and whatever task you want to create via open-source software) is the Monome (http://monome.org). It’s a tabletop box that typically has a grid of 64 or more backlit silicone-rubber buttons — “keypads” in Monome-speak — and a USB port for connection to a computer. Brian Crabtree made the original prototype in 2001 as a controller for Cycling ’74’s Max/MSP (https://cycling74.com). He teamed with his wife Kelli Cain a year later to begin production of Monomes, including models with 128, 256, and 512 keypads and one containing an accelerometer for motion detection.
Synthesist/composer Gary Chang demonstrates a 16-by-16 Monome. (Mark Vail)
A variety of Monome clones has also appeared, sometimes fortified with continuous controllers such as LED-encircled rotary encoders that also serve as pushbuttons. Some were specifically designed for Ableton Live (https://www.ableton.com). For example, Livid Instruments offers a lineup that currently includes the Base II (http://lividinstruments.com/products/base). In 2008, Yamaha introduced the Tenori-On, which combines a Monome-like matrix of light-flashing buttons with built-in sound generation, sampling, and transmission of MIDI data for controlling external gear. There’s now an iOS version for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch called the TNR-i.
Not only has Ableton encouraged other companies to design Live controllers with similarities to the Monome, but they’ve even collaborated with two manufacturers to design and make them. Novation’s Launchpad series includes the original, Mini, and Pro versions (http://us.novationmusic.com/launch). Each has a mullti-function, backlit 64-keypad grid, various combinations of assignable and fixed-function buttons, and a USB jack for power and class-compliant operation.
The second manufacturer is Akai (http://www.akaipro.com/category/ableton-controllers), which has developed numerous Live-focused controllers, most with a grid of buttons, some with sliders, some with knobs, and one with a two-octave mini keyboard. The two original controllers were the APC20 and APC40, both of which are still in production. Measuring 11.61″ by 13.11″ by 2.24″ and weighing 3.8 pounds, the APC20 is slightly bigger and heavier than the Launchpad. While the latter has a bigger grid — eight rows by eight columns to the APC20’s five rows and eight columns — the APC20 includes nine faders, one for each column plus a master level fader, along with a Cue Level knob and significantly more function buttons. The APC40 offers a five-by-eight grid of backlit keypads alongside gobs of knobs, buttons, sliders, and a DJ-style fader. It measures 16.88″ by 13.13″ by 2.62″ and weighs 5.8 pounds.
An Akai APC40 controller connected to an Apple MacBook Pro running Ableton Live software in Gary Chang’s studio. (Mark Vail)
Numerous other controllers have emerged for Ableton Live, including the new-as-of-2015 Push 2 from that company itself. Ableton’s Push 2 (https://www.ableton.com/en/push) is a table-top unit measuring 14.88″ x 11.96″ x 1.65″ and measuring 6 pounds. Not only does the Push 2 have 64 backlit, multi-colored silicone trigger pads, but it also sports dozens of backlit control buttons, eight assignable encoder knobs, a 6.6″ ribbon controller striped with 31 location LEDs, and a beautiful hi-res RGB display for — among many functions — in-the-machine sample editing and complete control of Live running on a Mac or PC. Ableton is marketing Push 2 as an outstanding controller for “hands-on creation of melody and harmony, beats, and song structure.”
Abundantly clad with multicolored backlit pads, fixed and multifunction buttons, rotary encoders, and a striking high-resolution display, Ableton’s Push 2 may be the most comprehensive control surface for that company’s popular Live music performance and composition software. (courtesy of Ableton AG)
Here’s a link to the final article in the Alternative Controllers chapter from The Synthesizer by Mark Vail.
A keyboard isn’t the only means of playing a synthesizer. Synthesist/multi-instrumentalist/composer Kevin Fortune (http://www.kevinbrahenyfortune.com) is one of many who enjoy using alternative controllers. He believes the kind of controller you use not only directly influences the type of music you create, but it also can lead to “something less habitual and more spontaneous,” Fortune submits, than you’d otherwise play on a standard piano or organ keyboard. Kevin is grateful for manufacturers and individuals who actively create more kinesthetic controllers because they lead to music that is different and more expressive.
The universe of alternative controllers is vast and the following list is nowhere near comprehensive. It’s intended to get you started on a path of discovery to find the alternative controller(s) with which you’ll enjoy making music. Since the subject of modular synthesizers often comes into play here, I’ll refer you to my favorite modular website — Modular Grid (https://www.modulargrid.net) — where you can learn about the different formats and nearly every module available.
There are two very popular instruments — guitar and voice — I won’t cover here because players must drastically adjust their performance techniques in order to successfully convert their performance input into reliable MIDI data. Purposeful and essential inflections such as pitchbends and vibrato can significantly confuse a conversion device and lead to unexpected and undesirable results. For example, I’ve tested and reviewed a few voice/pitch-to-MIDI convertors and discovered that, in order to get accurate pitch detection, I had to sing with absolutely no vibrato and even certain vowel sounds can cause problems. In the end, I wouldn’t want anyone to hear the boring voice I had to sing with in order to get accurate results from a pitch-to-MIDI converter, and I’m sure there are similar obstacles with which to deal in guitar-to-MIDI converter systems. That said, many singers and guitar players may still want to try out such devices themselves and might have good or at least acceptable success.
If you want an expressive MIDI controller that looks and straps on like a guitar, Starr Labs (http://www.starrlabs.com) may have what you’re looking for within its Ztar lineup. Instead of actual guitar strings, their Z6s (http://www.starrlabs.com/product/z6s-in-stock) has what they call “string triggers” that you can pluck and strum to your heart’s content. Where there are frets and strings on a guitar, on the Z6S you’ll find buttons arranged in rows of six on a pseudo-fretboard. The Z6S also sports a joystick, knob, and connectors for MIDI and controllers.
Musicians who crave a guitar-like instrument capable of more accurate MIDI note generation than many MIDI guitar controllers should check out the Z6S controller from Starr Labs. (courtesy of Starr Labs)
Lacking the string triggers and looking less like a guitar — unless it’s one of the cigar-box varieties — but sporting 144 velocity-sensitive, backlit, multi-colored LED buttons laid out on a guitar-like fretboard and capable of transmitting MIDI wirelessly is Starr Labs’ Clipper (http://www.starrlabs.com/product/clipper-in-stock). It reportedly works really well with Ableton Live’s Session View mode to record and launch clips and scenes, and its LEDs can display text and images and add visual spark in performance onstage.
The latest MIDI guitar from Starr Labs, the Z7S (http://www.starrlabs.com/product/z7s-in-stock), looks more like the Clipper than the Z6S, but it features six string triggers along with a matrix of 6×24 touch-sensitive keys on its fingerboard.
Within Starr Labs’ keyboard series are controllers with various arrangements of non-piano-like keys. For example, the Microzone U-648 Generalized Keyboard (http://www.starrlabs.com/product/microzoneu648) sports a Matrix Hex array of 288 keys arranged so a musician can explore different tonal and fingering systems and microtonal divisions of the octave (more on that below in the Controllers for Microtonal Tunings section). The Starr Labs ZB12 Z-Board (http://www.starrlabs.com/product/zboard) offers a 12-row by 24-column key arrangement that combines the aspects of both the guitar fretboard and piano keyboard. Its little brother, the ZB6 Z-Board Array keyboard (http://www.starrlabs.com/product/zb6), has six rows by 24 columns of keys. Finally, the ZB2424 Z-Board Array controller (http://www.starrlabs.com/product/zboard2424) provides a matrix of 24 rows by 24 columns of keys.
Starr Labs also carries a variety of other products, including Airpower wireless MIDI systems (http://www.starrlabs.com/product-category/airpower-wireless).
Don’t forget to explore the DIY controller market. Among the great resources are Eowave Electronic Arts & Sensor Systems (http://www.eowave.com), I-CubeX (http://infusionsystems.com), and Livid Instruments (http://lividinstruments.com/products/builder), all of which offer plenty of tools for exploration in this field. In October 2015, Livid Instruments introduced the Builder Boxes series (http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2015/10/27/livid-instruments-debuts-diy-builder-box-midi-controller-kits/#more-66692), prime DIY kits for soldering-proficient and explorative makers.
One of the most popular wind controllers, Nyle Steiner’s Electronic Valve Instrument (EVI), has been around since the 1970s, is favored by many brass players who want to play electronic sounds, and is still available in refurbished and occasionally new forms from Patchman Music (http://www.patchmanmusic.com). Nyle has hand-made many EVIs himself and, in 1987, Akai manufactured the EVI1000 controller and EWV2000 synth module, which were based on a custom EVI and synth-in-a-briefcase system called the EVI Steinerphone.
The prototype of Nyle Steiner’s Electronic Valve Instrument, or EVI, which he assembled in 1973. It took a few years before he started making them to sell to others. (courtesy of David Kean/The Audities Foundation)
Steiner’s goal was to create an electronic instrument that would play as expressively as a solo acoustic instrument like the violin, trumpet, or oboe, allowing the performer to produce human-influenced vibrato and breath-controlled dynamics. The pre-MIDI EVI functioned so well at translating the performer’s expressions into CVs and gates to drive analog synthesizers that Steiner was initially reluctant to rely purely on MIDI, considering it “an absolutely absurd idea because of the resolution of MIDI,” he admits. “There are only 127 steps, and when you do a crescendo you can hear it zipper. But numerous manufacturers of current sound modules have been able to smooth the response by interpolating between steps, so now I totally embrace the idea of playing using MIDI alone.”
The original production version of the Steiner EVI was the first synthesizer controller built specifically for trumpet players. While Nyle Steiner designed a model for Akai to produce, those he’s made himself are hand-built and each is in some way unique. Nyle also designed the Electronic Wind Instrument (EWI) for woodwind players. (courtesy of David Kean/The Audities Foundation)
Besides hosting the Nyle Steiner Homepage (www.patchmanmusic.com/NyleSteinerHomepage.html) and a comprehensive wind-controller website (www.patchmanmusic.com), Patchman Music’s Matt Traum has played, collected, repaired, and programmed synth patches for EVIs since nearly the beginning. He’s quick to share his enthusiasm about the EVI: “In addition to providing a huge pallet of sound possibilities for any brass player, Nyle’s EVI has been a blessing to brass players who simply can’t or don’t want to play its acoustic counterparts.”
Since 1987, Akai has manufactured several versions of another Nyle Steiner creation, the Electronic Wind Instrument (EWI, http://www.akaipro.com/category/ewi-series), designed for woodwind players who want to explore the electronic-music universe. As of October 2015, Akai offers three models: the EWI USB, which supports plug-and-play functionality on Mac and Windows computers; the EWI4000S, which has MIDI output and a built-in analog-modeling synth engine; and the EWI5000, a sample-playback instrument introduced in 2013 that transmits audio wirelessly and offers MIDI and USB connectors for controlling external gear.
To provide an expressive voice for his Electronic Wind Instrument, Nyle Steiner designed a portable, two-oscillator, analog synth module during the mid 1980s. Kevin Fortune assembled five prototypes in attaché-sized flight cases for Nyle in 1984, including this one and the EWI that Kevin built for himself. (courtesy of Kevin Fortune, © 2004 Heartcall Music)
Woodwind players who want to play MIDI instruments should check out Akai Professional’s flagship wind instrument/MIDI controller, the EWI 5000. Besides coming with three gigabytes of sounds, it can transmit audio wirelessly for ultimate onstage mobility. (courtesy of Akai Professional)
Martin Hurni of Softwind Instruments (http://www.softwind.ch) has been producing a more traditional-looking woodwind controller, the Synthophone MIDI sax, for decades. He converts a Yamaha YAS-275 alto sax into a beautifully expressive and potent MIDI controller by hiding all of the electronics inside the instrument.
Although now you’ll only find them on the used market, in the past Yamaha made a line of woodwind-style MIDI controllers, including the WX5, WX7, and WX11. Their design was inspired by the pre-MIDI Lyricon. Not only can you buy refurbished WX controllers from Patchman Music, but Matt Traum also programs and sells wind-controller-specific patches for a wide range of synths. He recommends wind-controller players and those interested in taking it up check out the Wind Controller forum at groups.yahoo.com/group/windcontroller.
Some of the earliest alternative controllers came from Don Buchla, who has mostly avoided implementing standard organ-style keyboards on his synthesizers. Beginning with the first modular synthesizer he developed for the San Francisco Tape Music Center (I highly recommend this book: http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520256170), Don incorporated some form of touch-plate — two on the original 100 Series. “The input devices were an important aspect to that system,” he explains. “They were all capacitance-sensitive touch-plates, or resistance-sensitive in some cases, organized in various sorts of arrays.”
Morton Subotnick, co-founder of the San Francisco Tape Music Center with Ramon Sender in 1961, describes Buchla’s original touch-plates as being “pressure-sensitive. One had 12 keys and you could tune it straight across the board. You could get a chromatic scale if you chose to. It had three control voltages per position. The other one had ten keys and one output per key. We often used this one to control the amplitudes of musique concrète tapes during playback. You could literally play ten loops with your fingers.”
The 1970s-era Buchla Model 219 Compound Touch-Controlled Voltage Source, from Don Buchla’s original Series 200 modular systems, has 48 touch-sensitive surfaces configured like keys on a piano, notes C to B. It can generate control voltages monophonically and polyphonically — up to four voices — and the key pads respond to pressure. The 219 also has a separate eight-key section of independently tunable keys, two joysticks for single-point control of two variables each, three keys with independent pulse and pressure outputs, adjustable portamento, a bipolar CV output applicable for pitchbends and vibrato, and a buffered digital output to interface with external digital processors. (Rick Smith, Buchla Restorations, www.electricmusicbox.com)
Serge Tcherepnin, who began designing Serge Modular systems in 1974, also avoided organ-style keyboards. The Touch Activated Keyboard Sequencer (TKB) is the biggest and most complicated Serge module. Along with a matrix of 16 columns by four rows of knobs, the TKB sports a couple of switches, 30 banana jacks, and a strip of 16 touch-plates along the bottom of the panel. Not only will the TKB function as an analog step sequencer, but you can also select a specific column by touching one of these 16 buttons, making it a voltage programmer for triggering different notes or selecting a different arrangement of knob settings. Drew Neumann often turns to the TKB in his vintage six-panel Serge Modular system. He finds that not only is its touch-plate pressure sensitive, but it’s also unpredictably mood-sensitive. Its response can vary depending on the humidity, how dry your skin is, or the static-electricity and grounding conditions determined by whether you’re wearing socks or going barefooted. “Sometimes,” says Drew, “if you touch two TKB buttons you’ll get different intervals depending on which buttons you touch; other times you’ll get a garbled response. It depends on your overall resistance, the mood of the machine that day, or whatever.”
Numerous touch-activated controllers have appeared in the Eurorack modular format. Pressure Points from Make Noise (http://www.makenoisemusic.com/pressurepoints.shtml) is a four-column controller with each column providing a pulse-wave-like squiggle of copper at the bottom that senses finger pressure. There are three knobs to set CV levels to be output by each step. You can chain up to four Pressure Points together and with Make Noise’s Brains module (http://www.makenoisemusic.com/brains.shtml) you can convert one or two Pressure Points into a four- or eight-step analog sequencer. Tony Rolando of Make Noise also created René (http://www.makenoisemusic.com/rene.shtml), described as “the world’s first and only Cartesian Sequencer.” René features two four-by-four matrices on its front panel, one of touch-plate buttons and the other of knobs. It has four clock inputs, two CV inputs, and outputs for quantized voltages, non-quantized voltages, and two gate/pulse streams.
The Make Noise René Cartesian Sequencer. (courtesy of Make Noise Co.)
Tony Rolando of Make Noise poses with a Eurorack modular system containing some of his noise toys and controllers at the January 2010 NAMM show. (Mark Vail)
Synthwerks (http://www.synthwerks.com) offers several varieties of force-sensing touch-plate controller modules for Eurorack. The smallest is the FSR-1N, with a single finger-size pad; the equivalent of four of these make up the FSR-4, available in Classic (through-hole circuitry) and MkII (SMT and thus shallower) versions. Four larger force-sensing squares appear on one of the two modules in Synthwerks’ FSR-4C/B package. You can touch the squares with your fingers or cover them with included rubber pad overlays and strike them with drumsticks without damaging them.
On display at the January 2011 NAMM was this tabletop Eurorack controller panel filled with Synthwerks modules. Synthwerks designer James Husted and engineer Steve Turnidge both refer to the package as a “skiff” and tell me its enclosure consists of scrap Plexiglas and spare Schroff rails. From left to right you see a custom module that connects via a seven-pin DIN connector to the main modular cabinet for power and to conduct four busses of CV and gate signals; two FSR-4 MkII force-sensing touch-plate modules, clearly the newer version made with surface-mount technology for a shallower profile, not the Classic version with through-hole components and socketed ICs because it would be far too deep to fit in this enclosure; a dual-component FSR-4C/B combo, comprising the output section and a four-pad sensor module; an FSR-1N single-channel Force-Sensing Resistor module; and a Lamp-1 module, which combines a four-way mult with a dimmable gooseneck LED lamp that isn’t visible here. (Mark Vail)
In August 2015, Sputnik Modular introduced the Multi-Touch Keyboard Controller (http://sputnik-modular.com/multi-touch-keyboard-controller), an 84hp Eurorackable touch-plate instrument with 29 pads laid out in keyboard fashion; Moog-standard one-volt/octave CV output; a pressure-sensitive ribbon for generating control voltages; two-, three-, or four-foice polyphonic and monophonic modes; an arpeggiator that will sync to internal or external clock, up, down, and random note-generation modes, hold, and a trigger input; and all of the necessary CV inputs and outputs in the form of 3.5mm jacks.
Sputnik Modular’s Multi-Touch Keyboard Controller. (courtesy of Sputnik Modular)
Within BugBrand’s (http://www.bugbrand.co.uk) version of the FracRak universe — banana connectors instead of 3.5mm jacks — comes the BugBrand CTL1 Touch Panel. It combines four touch-plate “keys” with four-step sequencing and Tom Bugs’ special approach to clock-sync, which involves combining clocking signals from multiple sources to create a clock train that’s synced to a master yet avoids repeating a 4/4 pattern ad nauseam. Tom admits his interest in metric variety comes from his drumming background and says he loves odd polyrhythms.
The BugBrand CTL1 Touch Panel is a FracRak-format module that combines touchplate and sequencing capabilities. Its four tactile “keys” generate CV output signals whose voltage levels depend on how much skin comes into contact with the keys themselves, also commonly referred to as “pressure.” Touching a key also results in the CTL1 transmitting gate and CV signals to common outputs and activating one of the CTL1’s four stages — identified as Columns A through D. Each stage transmits three CVs out of independent Row 1 through 3 outputs, their voltage levels determined by the corresponding knob in that row. A two-way switch allows you to set Row 3’s knobs to cover a range of either two or ten volts. Pipe in a clock signal and the CTL1 becomes a four-step sequencer, allowing you to switch to left or right playback direction, or stop sequencing altogether. If you touch a stage key while the sequencer is engaged, the CTL1 will stay on that column as long as you keep touching the key. It exclusively bears banana jacks, which is common for nearly all audio, CV, and gate connections throughout the BugBrand module range. (courtesy of BugBrand)
Beyond modular-specific controllers, there’s a wide range of touch-activated alternative controllers from which to choose. Don Buchla extended his application of touch-plates in 1990 with Thunder, which offers serious performance programmability and 25 touch-sensitive performance pads, some of which can be split into two or three different response sections. Its configuration of touch-plates also appeared within the Buchla Series 200e as the Model 222e Multi-Dimensional Kinesthetic Input Port. Since Thunder, Buchla touch-plates have not only been pressure-sensitive, but many of them also track the position of a finger across their surfaces.
Buchla’s Thunder MIDI controller came out in 1990. You can split 13 of its 25 performance pads to transmit two independent MIDI notes per pad, and you can split another pair three ways, allowing a total transmission of 42 different notes. Every performance pad senses both velocity and pressure and can transmit MIDI control change commands and other data along with a specific note on any of the 16 MIDI channels. There’s internal memory for eight Thunder configurations, and its built-in “riff” function allows the storage of 99 notes divisible into eight riffs. You can create riff sequences ahead of time or capture and loop them improvisationally during performance. (courtesy of David Kean/The Audities Foundation)
Although it isn’t a dedicated controller, Teenage Engineering’s OP-1 — a tiny (11.1″ x 4.02″ x 0.53″, 1 lb. 4.4 oz.), battery-powered workstation packed with a variety of digital synthesis engines, effects processors, filters, audio recording and sampling, sequencing, and other capabilities — becomes a unique MIDI and CV controller with the addition of TE’s Oplab (4″ x 4″ x 1.25″, 9.5 oz. in its optional aluminum case). Oplab is an open-source “musical experiment board” that connects to the OP-1 via USB; provides MIDI I/O, a DIN-sync output for synchronizing pre-MIDI drum machines, a multi-pin expansion I/O rail, and CV and gate I/O for analog connections; and comes with a wall-wart power supply to run it alongside the OP-1. (The OP-1’s battery reportedly can run the device on its own for up to 16 hours.) The 24 Chiclet-style OP-1 keys don’t respond to velocity or pressure, but engaging any of its various sequencers can work effectively to drive and synchronize MIDI and analog instruments to make impressive sounds and music.
An overhead view of the Teenage Engineering OP-1. Its graphic display is phenomenal, so much so that I wish the OP-1 had a hi-res video output so an audience could see what’s happening on the screen during a performance. (courtesy of Teenage Engineering)
A Teenage Engineering’s Oplab, enclosed in its optional case, sits on a glass shelf to the left of an OP-1, beneath a Eurorack modular system, and above an Arturia BeatStep Pro in the author’s studio. Connected to the Oplab is a MIDI cable, the USB cable attached to the OP-1, and three cables connected to Eurorack modules. (Mark Vail)
You’ll get randomly triggered notes using the OP-1’s Tombola sequencer, a hexagon in which notes you play appear as blips that fall according to the level of gravity you dial in. You also adjust the spinning rate and direction of the hexagon and can open it up to eventually or quickly release all of the notes. Somewhat more conventional is the arpeggiator-oriented finger sequencer, which displays two virtual onscreen players that trigger programmed note patterns when you touch one or two OP-1 keys, plus a drum sequencer with two ape-like characters that play intricate drum patterns. There are also 16-step grid and 99-step digital sequencers, as well as an Etch A Sketch-style sequencer that generates notes according to two-dimensional drawings you make using the OP-1’s four digital-encoder knobs.
The Tombola spinning sequencer in Teenage Engineering’s OP-1 inserts dots inside the hexagon when you play notes. These fall toward the bottom at a rate determined by the gravity value you set using the OP-1’s green knob. Note masses, which you adjust using the orange knob, determined how hard they bounce off the inside surface of the hexagon, and the harder they bounce the louder the notes. The blue knob adjusts how fast the hexagon spins clockwise or counterclockwise. Enable “crank” mode by holding the OP-1’s shift knob and turning the blue knob; it’s called that because, using the optional crank device that slips over an OP-1 knob, you can manually spin the knob and control how fast the hexagon turns. Turn the white knob opens and closes the hexagon, allowing notes to drop or be thrown out through the openings. (courtesy of Teenage Engineering)
Two graphic players appear onscreen with the finger sequencer in the OP-1’s synthesizer mode. Play a single white note on the OP-1’s button keyboard and one of the players begins playing a sequence; add another note and the second player accompanies the first. Modes are also available to alternate between the players or have one player perform a fill pattern. You can enter up to 32 notes in finger patterns. (courtesy of Teenage Engineering)
In the OP-1’s drum mode, the finger sequencer features two gorillas who play drum patterns. In both modes, the green knob sets the level of playback swing, the white knob adjusts the length of the sequencer pattern, and the red knob can turn on hold so that patterns continue playing when you stop holding keys. (courtesy of Teenage Engineering)
Mono- and polyphonic patterns of up to 16 steps play under your interactive control in the OP-1’s 16-step grid sequencer mode. Using the instrument’s knobs, you can change the length of the playing pattern, shift notes one way or the other, enter and erase notes, change playback direction, and add swing to the playback feel. (courtesy of Teenage Engineering)
Use the OP-1’s knobs to draw freeform sequence patterns much like you’re using an Etch A Sketch. How do you erase a pattern? Pick up the OP-1 and shake it, just as you’d erase an Etch A Sketch drawing. (courtesy of Teenage Engineering)
Another groundbreaking alternative controller that offers rewarding musical expressivity is the Eigenlabs Eigenharp (http://www.eigenlabs.com). There are three Eigenharp models to choose from: the original, full-size Eigenharp Alpha, the mid-sized Eigenharp Tau, and the smaller, educational-oriented Eigenharp Pico. Performers can carry any of them around during performance. The larger Alpha and Tau each come with a supportive neck strap and have a “cello spike” if you’d rather stay in-place and play the instrument like a double bass. As for the Pico, it’s small enough to hold like a clarinet. One of the Eigenharp’s controllers is a breath pipe with an interchangeable mouthpiece for shared use. Another is at least one ribbon, depending on the model. You play notes using the Eigenharp’s keys, each of which senses velocity, side-to-side finger movements, and pressure. Pressure sensing is polyphonic for individual note expression. The Eigenharp Alpha and Tau connect via a multi-conductor cable to a Basestation interface, which comes in Standard and Pro versions. The Basestation is where you’ll find all of the interfacing connections.
Eigenlabs’ flagship Eigenharp Alpha, shown resting on its optional stand. The Alpha sports 120 note keys, 12 percussion-trigger keys, and two ribbons. (courtesy of Eigenlabs.com)
The most affordable Eigenlabs instrument is the Pico, which has 18 keys, four mode buttons, and a ribbon. Although you can’t tell from the photo, this is a Pink Pico, which costs a bit more than those with silver or black finishes. (courtesy of Eigenlabs.com)
A host computer — Macintosh or Windows PC — generates sounds for the Eigenharps, each of which comes with physical models of cello and clarinet, synthesis and sample-playback engines, a 6GB collection of multi-sampled Steinway grand piano and Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric pianos, and 1,500 drum and percussion loops. An Eigenharp can also trigger user sounds and software instruments. According to Eigenharp designer John Lambert, most of its players use Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, Apple Logic, or another host for AU and VST plug-ins. The Eigenharps allow extensive MIDI control and provide a routing matrix to eke the best out of the MIDI protocol. Lambert has been working with Steinberg so that the Eigenharps can drive their Note Expression feature via MIDI as well, supporting numerous ways of dealing with individual note expressivity including polyphonic aftertouch and channelized notes. Eigenlabs is also working on an extensive Open Sound Control (OSC) networking implementation to go with MIDI I/O. Jordan Rudess raves about Eigenharps, pointing out that they have the most responsive keys of any instrument he’s played and lightening-fast in touch response.
Eigenlabs’ Eigenharp Tau represents the midrange of their instrument lineup, having 72 note keys, 12 percussion-trigger keys, and one ribbon. The stand shown here is optional. (courtesy of Eigenlabs.com)
A view of the connection panel of an Eigenlabs Basestation Pro, revealing multi-pin jacks for the Eigenharp and an Extension, MIDI in and out, a USB 2.0 jack for connection to a computer, two ¼” input jacks for footswitches, two sets of ¼” jacks to serve as inputs and outputs for foot pedals, and a grounded IEC AC power jack. (courtesy of Eigenlabs.com)
If you’d prefer a surface that’s stretched much further, consider the Haken Continuum Fingerboard (http://www.hakenaudio.com/Continuum). Its control surface feels like silk and looks like a wide ribbon with alternating scarlet and maroon stripes. Designed by Lippold Haken, the Continuum goes beyond two dimensions. Its low-friction surface responds to finger positions from side to side (X-factor) and front to back (Y-factor), as well as the exerted pressure (Z-factor) — polyphonically for up to 16 fingers! The Continuum is available in two sizes — about as broad as four- and eight-octave keyboards — and later models come with a built-in synth chip for stand-alone operation. All Continuums have MIDI I/O. Optionally available is the Continuum Voltage Converter (CVC), which outputs gate and control voltages for the X, Y, and Z coordinates over four voice channels, allowing you to control analog synths that have CV and gate inputs.
A half-size Haken Audio Continuum and its Control Voltage Converter (top) set up with a Serge Modular Blue Fun Station panel on top of a prototype of the Continuum Stand at the January 2007 NAMM show. (Mark Vail)
Synthesist/composer Gary Chang is a devoted Continuum user who finds it a very expressive controller that’s easy to play in monophonic mode, but more challenging to control polyphonically when all three axes are simultaneously active. Disabling one of the axes makes its response more manageable. Chang also reports that traditional keyboard fingerings can feel awkward since such gestures on a flat surface offer no physical feedback like a mechanical keyboard does. However, he says the Continuum’s Rounding function, which quantizes the initial pitch, can help. “I especially appreciate the Continuum’s build quality,” Gary adds. “It’s built for the ages, which is important because I see the Continuum as a lifetime commitment.”
The same Haken Audio Continuum setup viewed from the side. Sarah Dobbin of Fathom Labs and Edmund Eagan of Twelfth Root co-designed the Continuum Stand. (Mark Vail)
While the Haken Continuum Fingerboard uses different colors to designate note ranges in widths like the keys of a piano but on a flat surface, Roli’s lineup of Seaboard controller/instruments features three-dimensional keybeds that feel spongy and are arched — Roli describes them as “Keywaves” — but arranged precisely like the keys on a piano (https://www.roli.com). Although there’s no mechanical action, the keybed senses the velocity with which you strike the surface, how hard you press down once you’ve hit a “key” for both aftertouch response and polyphonic pitch-bending, and the individual positions of your fingers on the surface so that you can slide from one note to another like a cellist. In addition, there are horizontal, flat ribbons stretched across above and below the keybed that allow you to smoothly glide pitches up and down in frequency.
As of October 2015 Roli offers three Seaboard Grand models, each of which comes with Equator and FXpansion Synth Squad Player software instruments for Mac; you can transfer Equator sounds into the Seaboard Grand for stand-alone use. Each model has three ¼” footpedal jacks, ¼” L/R and stereo headphone audio outputs, and USB connectors for interfacing with a computer and MIDI I/O. As for the number of keys, the Seaboard Grand Studio has 37, Seaboard Grand Stage has 61, and Seaboard Grand Limited First Edition has 88.
Introduced in early 2013, the Roli Seaboard Grand provides a soft, three-dimensional surface consisting of ridges — Roli refers to them as “Keywaves” — arranged like the eighty-eight notes on an acoustic piano keyboard along with flat, ribbon-like bands that stretch across above and below the “keys.” Each segment responds to velocity, pressure, and location, allowing the Seaboard Grand to transmit control data for pitch, volume, and timbre through its USB connector. It also provides an input jack for footswitch control. (Juan Trujillo, courtesy of Roli)
A view from the front of the Keywaves on a Roli Seaboard Grand. (Juan Trujillo, courtesy of Roli)
Toward the left on the back of the Roli Seaboard Grand are three ¼” footpedal jacks and ¼” left and right audio outputs. On the right are USB connections. (Juan Trujillo, courtesy of Roli)
Roli developed Equator, shown here running on a Macintosh computer, for producers, performers, and sound designers to create sounds and map them to respond to Roli Seaboard instruments. If it’s a Seaboard Grand, you can upload your sounds into the instrument for stand-alone use. (Juan Trujillo, courtesy of Roli)
A close-up look at Equator parameters, including those for oscillators, filters, and a parametric equalizer. Access to parameters for controller assignments appear below. (Juan Trujillo, courtesy of Roli)
Roli introduced the Seaboard Rise USB controller in September 2015. Along with 25 Keywave keys that function precisely like those on a Seaboard Grand, Rise features USB I/O, a foot-controller input jack, and supplemental controls to the left of the keybed. It comes bundled with Equator for Rise, a cross-platform software synthesizer.
The Seaboard Rise from Roli provides potent USB controller facilities in an affordable package. (Juan Trujillo, courtesy of Roli)
Located on the left end of the Roli Seqboard Rise (L to R) are an assignable foot-pedal input, USB A and B jacks, and the power input jack. Although you won’t find conventional MIDI connections, the Rise is capable of transmitting MIDI data wirelessly via Bluetooth technology. It can also run on batteries. (Juan Trujillo, courtesy of Roli)
Roli founder Roland Lamb joyfully plays a Seaboard Grand. (Juan Trujillo, courtesy of Roli)
Although originally known for their faithful software recreations of renowned vintage synthesizers, Arturia has also developed a variety of music hardware — including the DSP-based Origin Desktop and Keyboard synths, the monophonic analog MiniBrute and MicroBrute synths, the Spark line of drum machines, and the AudioFuse audio interface. Along with their KeyLab series of keyboard-based USB/MIDI controllers, Arturia makes two pad-controller/sequencers that bear the name BeatStep. First came the original, by that name alone, in early 2014 (http://www.arturia.com/products/hybrid-synths/beatstep/overview). Its multi-color, backlit array of 16 velocity- and pressure-sensing pads (two rows of eight), 16 companion rotary encoders, transport/MIDI/channel?memory/mode buttons, tempo/transpose knob, USB connection, and MIDI, CV, and gate outputs — all three 3.5mm, with standard MIDI connector adapter included — introduced flexible controller and interactive step-sequencing capabilities in an affordable and well-built package.
Arturia’s original BeatStep packs considerably potent controller and step-sequencing functions in compact and well-built package. (courtesy of Arturia)
By mid 2015, Arturia had developed the follow-up machine, the BeatStep Pro (http://www.arturia.com/beatstep-pro/overview). Whereas the original BeatStep provided a single sequencer with up to 16 steps, 16 memories each for sequences and pad assignments, and two analog outputs, the newer model has two step sequencers with which you can program up to 64-step patterns, a 16-track drum sequencer, and a bevy more. There are analog pitch, velocity, and gate outputs for each step — Arturia also refers to them as “melodic” — sequencers, eight analog drum-gate outputs — all 16 drum sequencer tracks are also transmitted via MIDI, where velocity data will be included with notes — and clock I/O for synchronizing other devices to the BSP or it to an external master clock. All of the analog connectors are 3.5mm, which make the BSP ready to interface with Eurorack and FracRak modular and many patchable synthesizers. The BSP has non-standard 3.5mm MIDI jacks, but the unit comes with adapters to connect MIDI cables. Besides acting as the power input, the USB jack also allows interaction with a computer. The BSP is class-compliant, so Mac and PC will recognized it as a controller and it will readily interact with many digital audio workstations.
Rotary encoder knobs, pads, buttons, displays, indicators, and the cool Roller/Looper strip cover the surface of the powerful, well-constructed master controller/sequencer from Arturia, the BeatStep Pro. (courtesy of Arturia)
Like the original BeatStep, the BSP has 16 rotary encoders and 16 pads that sense velocity and pressure. It also sports transport buttons, LED displays for tempo and each sequencer, and an all important Tap Tempo button for immediate changes to playback speed. There’s also the Roller/Looper strip, a touch ribbon that allows you to repeat a note in a sequence associated with a specific pad or repeat a certain section of a sequence — loop it — at a time division that depends on where you’re touching the strip.
Across the back of Arturia’s BeatStep Pro (L to R): sequencer 1 pitch, velocity, and gate outputs; sequencer 2 pitch, velocity, and gate outputs; drum gate outputs 1 through 8; clock input and output; MIDI in and out; USB port; and power switch. The sequencer and gate outputs are conveniently color-coded. (courtesy of Arturia)
Arturia intends the BeatStep Pro to function as the main controller for an entire electronic-music system whether or not it’s computer-based. I’ve heard rave reviews and look forward to working with one myself.
“Manipulate the state of your mind” using Light Scape sequences. Enjoy the psychedelic color experience that the eLSD is inducing. It gently pulses light and color in front of your eyes, influencing your brain waves and the state of your mind. Create your own Light Scape sequences (The eLSD is a USB-MIDI device).
We have seen lots of MIDI devices, but this has to be one of the most unique.
Here what the inventor of the MIDI Googles says about the benefits.
Benefits for you:
Increase your creative potential – super charge the creative power of your mind – intensify your “awake” state – be in control of your creative energy – turn ON your creative mind when you need it … and be the best you can be !Be in total control of the Light Scape experience – take your electronic Light Scape Device anywhere – be part of the new wave of mind expanding electronic devices – make your own personal Sound and Light Scape – share your Sound and Light Scapes with others on www.eLSD.com.au … and let others participate on your creation.
Enjoy the psychedelic color experience the eLSD is inducing – train your mind for a lucid dreaming experience – slow down your brain waves before going to bed for a better sleep – use the electronic Light Scape Device as a relaxation and meditation aid or use it as a potential learning aid for accelerated learning of languages and more.
by www.eLSD.com.au
It sounds pretty whacky, but there is actually a good deal of hard science about Brain Entrainment
