I thought the Instrument 1 supports MIDI over Bluetooth?
Could be wrong. It’s been a while since I’ve looked at one.
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It doesn’t have Bluetooth built in, but I just found a thread about connecting it via a Bluetooth adaptor. Maybe that’s the answer…
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Just noticed a free course on leveraging that integration:
(We probably need a dedicated Glover thread at some point.)
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I just got round to uploading a demo of the Aetherharp…
It’s a MIDI controller based on the discontinued “Airpiano” invented by Omer Yosha around 2008.
The electronics and programming were done by John Dingley, inventor of a MIDI hurdy-gurdy called the DigiGurdy.
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Well guys been forever and I am fast developing a new genre I call hypnotech using a rather unique combination of gesture, slides, hand waves and mouse clicks with a guitar lol.
I haven't forgotten my desire to create an instrument, but it's a tad difficult to think of a design that would allow me to further my musical quest to completely abolish convention and be ergonomic and retain some musicality
I use a morph, leap, got mimu glove coming and sometimes the linnstrument but I’m a get rid of that for an eigenharp if I can.
I will be back in another day or two to catch up, I gotta learn usine real quick but I do have some intertesting observations now that I’m getting better with the notion tech
I have completely broken out of the theory trap although I eventually have to go back to fundamentals just to keep it grounded. Got some online jams that could be pop hits and I’m tempted to sneak my confusing multi tempo poly meter micro tonal chaos into the closed mind of the masses via the simplest of styles just to spite the corporate moguls
I think I am going to try to get patronage to go to France and the art and music scene there as my unique but quite deep style would be appreciated more there.
I do a lot of cartoony /soundtracky stuff so I can get my bread and butter that way 🤷 I would really like an instrument that is just as off the beaten path but hell now we're looking at expensive tech, lol
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ok technobear have you an interest in being able to examine two items that both have a malfunction an espresso e e controller and a morph?
The morph battery died and the damned thing just never turned on again, the esspressive e thingy uses motion sensors and the front one doesn't work never had. I missed out on sending it in on warrant. Most likely just a bad cell, but it does actually present an opportunity to examine the tech.
I am primarily using the leap and morph, I would like to come up with a design that uses those incorporated with a guitar. The leap is really just a camera and could be improved on with a way to adjust tracking sensitivity.
Sensel will allow people to use their tech for of course a slice of the pie, and the morph is mad sensative, think only the haaken would be more sensative than that.
Much as I pound my brain I have yet to receive the eureka moment in freaky instrument design but I do know that is where I need to go, I create some seriously unreal textures and I am a baby in this. It's scary to think what I could do if I really knew what I was doing lol.
let me know I would like to have them working if you are into repairs and you don't get much opportunity yet to look at the guts of these babies, of course parts and labor go without saying.
I understand electronics but my soldering is the worst and I just don't have the temperament for micro electronics at all lol
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honestly, I don’t think I have time, or probably skills 
Sensel Morph - does it have a battery?
unfortunately I don’t think there’ll be anything serviceable in the Morph, given its size, it’ll all be tiny tiny smd components !
you mean one of the Touche, have you tried contacting Expressive E about repair - alot of these manufactures are really good at repairs/replacements.
yeah, I know what you mean… these things open up so many options, it can be bewildering enough thinking about how to use one, let alone more than one !
it reminds me stories Ive heard from Imogen Heap on the development of the ‘Gloves’,
the tech is has so many options…
the fantasy/dream is you dancing around waving with your arms/hands to control/influence the music.
but when you come to actually set it up, its so much harder…
they talked of spending alot of development time just determining what gestures would work…
it’s quite hard, so many factors, to make playable/performable…
- repeatability / precision
- memorable (so you player knows what to do)
- meaningful to audience ( ie… actions lead to something identifiable to music)
- visual to audience (like meaningful , but gestures need to be large enough to see)
- ergonomic… so you can do continuously without getting too tired.
and thats just gloves… other controllers have different criteria - but I remember playing with my Leap, having very similar questions/problems.
I think this is a reason these gesture controllers aren’t so popular , its hard to go beyond the basics (waving around to change cutoff frequency )
The Theremin is a good example, in theory is waving your hands around to control pitch and amplitude, but anyone having tried it , will soon realise you need extreme precision (thru practice) to do anything really musical (like Carolina Eyck !)
so yeah, don’t be too hard on yourself , its not easy … but if you strike a winning combination it’ll be awesome !
yeah, I can just about cope with large smd components,
but these days manufactured items will use stuff so small you need a microscope to see … and my eyes aren’t good enough, nor hands steady enough
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yes, but it’s integrated and not meant to be exchanged by the user.
@Infinate_sorrow Have you tried to power the Morph on while it is connected to a charging station via usb? I can’t imagine that it draws more power than delivered over usb (usually the battery charges and doesn’t decharge when it’s in use). If nothing works anymore it might be best to contact Sensel - sounds like a defect then.
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Does anyone have any recommendations for an internal synth engine for a DIY instrument…? I was just looking at Axoloti but there seem to be supply problems. A friend is trying Daisy Seed but finding it difficult to get started. I was wondering about Bela…? Or Pisound…?
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depends what you want… I did a bit of a summary a while back in a video…
(though you probably know much of it already 
)
basically you need to prioritise:
- startup time
do you need instant on, or is 30 seconds ok ? - processing power etc (cpu/ram)
what dsp do you have planned? - ease of connectivity to extra hardware
usb? wifi? analog io? - latency
microcontrollers are low, rPI is high, Bela is a good compromise. - programming language/environments
if you using c/c++, not an issue - but higher level language/patching is limited in some environments. - budget
not really much in it, but things like Bela get a bit pricey… - size of unit
for some applications size of unit is pretty important
For sure I think Daisy is a really good option, because it doesn’t need an external codec.
But is always pretty much C++, even thinks like PD/gen~ are ‘cross compiled’ to C++… biggest issue with PD is heavy (PD compiler) is pretty limited in scope.
… that does means a steeper learning curve if you’re not a developer.
a raspberry pi (w/ Pisound or similar ) has tons of options on what dev platform to use, easy to setup and get going, and is very powerful, has advantages of usb/networking … but additional IO its a bit tricky (esp. when using Pisound, as it uses up a lot of the rPI io already) . and is relatively slow to boot (45-60secs?)
Its quite a good option if you want to combine existing controllers together into a larger instrument to make it standalone.
Bela is somewhere in between…
different models - but generally, it has really good IO support, more powerful than MCU (but less that rPI, though I think you can now use BBB AI). there is a boot time, but its a bit quicker than rPI.(20-30 secs?)
note: just be careful to specs on Bela Mini vs ‘full fat’ Bela. e.g. Bela Mini has no analog outputs (iirc)
I think Bela’s support and documentation etc is second to none.
basically you can ask a question on the forum and there is one of the original dev on hand to answer.
(I think you can tell this is a spin off from an educational establishment … education is important to them)
finally don’t discount arduinos if you have limited needs (things like teensy), there are so many projects documented for these, you can often ‘copy’ someone else to get where you need to go.
so, depends really…
if size/boot time is important, I think Daisy is worth the effort… but for sure, there is a chance you might get frustrated learning it.
if you don’t mind something a bit bigger, and would like a few options and want IO, then I like Bela.
(Id really like to try with the new BBB AI, as I admit I found the BBB not quite as powerful as Id hoped… I think the rPI spoilt me )
and as I say, think carefully about what you are going to code this in… as that also defines what you’ll use.
overall, my suggestion if this is new to you - try not to be too ambitious to start out…
like anything, its better to start out with simple projects, not biting off too much , and get some success under your belt.
I think most people fail because they go in with a lot of enthusiasm and optimism, and just hit brick walls in all directions (hardware, compiling, dsp) , just too much to learn all at once.
so they get disheartened, and slowly do less and less, until it’s an abandoned project.
(hell, I still do this occasionally too )
so if this is all new to you, you could consider something like Bela , to make it easy initially, to get a few projects under your belt. if its not 100% suitable, then you can consider it a prototyping tool (always a good idea to build prototypes anyway!) … then move to a Daisy later, and you new knowledge will make it an easier transition.
btw: Ive not really looked much at the Daisy forum in recent times, so it may be it has better ‘beginners’ material than there was at the start - so could be you can just ‘get stuck in’
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Great summary, thanks!
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…I’ve been curious about Daisy ever since it launched on Kickstarter, so based on your recommendation I just ordered a Daisy Pod. Stand by to be pestered with questions when I can’t get it to work. I posted a similar question on the “Lines” monome forum (another interesting music tech community) and was interested to see that someone had attempted a port to Teensy, though it sounds like a work in progress. (“There is still some class hierarchy that’s not quite right and I’m not good enough at C++ to figure it out.”)
I was recently introduced to Teensy LC and used it for a simple project converting a set of organ pedals to MIDI. I might pick up another to mess around with sample playback.
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a bit off topic - but not since you mention daisy… 
eletrosmith are teasing (facebook) that they are going to release two things tomorrow…
its tagged eurorack diy and development board…
you have to assume its going to daisy related…
I wondering (hoping?) from the picture that it might be perhaps a smaller ‘daisy patch’
… perhaps a bit closer to the form factor being used by noise engineering for their versio range
though, id hope for a display/encoder (like patch) , since Ive noticed with Bela Salt, more complex ‘patches’ really do need a display.
(or perhaps I should just get a Daisy Patch )
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appears I was pretty close
(you need both… essentially the patch submodule is the daisy in a different form factor)
as predicated, a more compact form factor closer to the NE Versio series.
however, its not ‘compatible’ with versio firmwares, as there are differences e.g. 4 knobs vs 6.
(its also slightly different from Daisy Patch )
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This is the latest collaboration with John Dingley who built the “Aetherharp” above.
It’s a bow-operated MIDI controller called the Eviola. Quick demo…
John Dingley’s “promo” video…
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This looks great! How many parameters can the bow control?
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At the moment it just sends bow speed, but there’s an FSR under the thumb which I’m planning to map to bow pressure.
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Nice, sounds promising! There was a guy who built a bowing mechanism for his Eigenharp some time ago. He even wanted to make a product out of this. Unfortunately it didn’t work out.
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…yes, Dylan Menzies.
It looked interesting, but the project seems to have been abandoned.
John Dingley builds various MIDI controllers such as the DigiGurdy, a MIDI hurdy-gurdy, which has a Facebook group.
He came up with an idea for a MIDI bow controller called the “Airbow”, and I blagged a prototype to try with a MIDI keyboard.
I then asked him to build the “Eviola” as a standalone controller, but the “Airbow” could be adapted for other projects. It would be interesting to try one with an Eigenharp. You could get in touch via a PM on his Facebook group if you were interested in finding out more. His original “Airbow” video is here:
I think it’s quite an exciting project because there’s nothing else like this currently available. It’s early days at the moment though.
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Yes, that was the project I remembered. Thanks for the hint, the Airbow looks interesting!
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