Eigen wondering, if 64 gets us there

Eigenharp
#1

Hi-
Snagged a used PICO last summer, not so cheaply, but wanted to be sure before committing to an Alpha. Well, after a load of gyrations I got it sort-of-working, in/with/under 32-bit EigenD thanks to that bear guy, thank goodness for bears. But if the originators have needed supplanting in the programming division, it might not bode well for those of us that perhaps imagine an Alpha IRL. Anyway, not that I understand the software (yet), but considering neither Commander nor Browser are 32-bit capable and will never be, hoping for a 64-bit complementary breakthrough is probably de rigeur. So now ranging over this new territory with nothing but a Mac Pro and High Sierra, and no cash backing the efforts of our favorite bear (nor those of his congerners at E-labs), maybe one should just move on - the net is teeming with eager and often highly productive controller-designers, they pop up every here and there, and while the Eigenharp will not be exactly repeated, there is and will always be plenty to incite CGAS otherwise.

Here the installation (32-bit for now) was far from smooth, and only after not seeing anything inside the Browser (which opens, showing nothing) did it become apparent that while this project holds a great deal of promise, and in the right hands the objects of our affection might make the millions fairly swoon to never-before-heard otherworldly sound currents, still the chance of wrecking a taxed system MP5,1 from 2012 by installing something which may never pan out exists. Still, hard to resist the chance of getting the bear’s 64-bit gift safely installed.

Are there any here other than the bear himself who have succeeded at getting it all to work at that resolution? Apple nabbing Alchemy not so long ago put a wrench in that works of course…

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#2

Welcome :slight_smile:

The 64 bit Mac build is still marked as experimental but works well for several people, just follow @thetechnobear’s installation instructions:
https://github.com/TheTechnobear/EigenD/releases/download/community-2.1.7/releasenotes_updated_v2.1.7c.pdf

Many things that EigenCommander and EigenBrowser were needed for in the past can now be done with Workbench (which works in the 64 bit build).

I think it’s most realistic to consider EigenD as is at this stage. @thetechnobear is (beside the original dev team) certainly the most knowledgeable person - the EigenD source code isn’t for the faint of heart. But if it won’t run anymore on a new OS at some point I think there are a number of Eigenharp owners who would be willing to contribute to try to get it running again if it’s feasible with realistic effort (including me). But to be on the safe side it is probably a good idea to consider the computer that is able to run the software as part of the instrument and just keep it in this configuration.

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#3

Hi, thanks for the support. Not having a manual makes knowing many specific relevant facts precarious. I thought the Browser was the main portal (for ordinary mortals) for configuration, changing sounds, effects etc. hard to otherwise understand the extremely long plugin-scan that took place before I could get any sound. Now I can get a piano, a clarinet, a synth, and the audio is great, but very shifty getting any effects etc, routing audio.

But to simplify: what wss the latest OSX which had all functions working incl the Browser? And which version of the EigenD would be needed? Noticed that the ios apps are no longer available…

Thanks again!

Resyn

#4

I think 10.14 (Mojave) was the last version with 32 bit support - but not sure.
Windows would also be an option.
But imho it would be better to get familiar with Workbench. Workbench allows pretty much the same things as EigenBrowser+EigenCommander. With the main difference that you see a visual representation of the full setup and that you can point and click instead of having to play Belcanto commands via Eigenharp.
(The initial idea was that Belcanto, the configuration language of Eigenharps is “played” as part of an interactive performance - e.g. John brought the example of one person playing and one person reconfiguring the setup with the first one having to react to the changes in an improvisation-like manner. But learning Belcanto is almost like learning a (simple) language - not many became proficient enough to use it at that level. And additionally you need(ed) quite some imagination (without Workbench) to imagine the full setup in your head and how the commands would modify it.
If you want to play around with Belcanto you can still use it, some default setups have the Interpreter linked. Or you can create your own with Workbench, you’d have to pull the “Interpreter” agent into your setup and wire it up to a keygroup)

The documentation is online here: Eigenlabs Wiki

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