What's next for Striso?

Striso
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I love my Striso board, but playing with both hands gets a bit awkward. So I went to the shop in hopes of getting another one, but unfortunately they’re out of stock.

So, first of all–congrats on this. It really shows that the world needs Striso.

Second, I’m really looking forward for the next thing. Be it just another batch, or something else entirely.

I also want to share my list of things that will make me even happier as a Striso player.

1. 19 buttons per octave

17 buttons is great for 12- or 17-EDO, but 19-EDO requires departing from the Wicki–Hayden layout or transposing each time you need those 3# and 7#.

19 buttons per octave will allow playing in 19-EDO perfectly well, and adding two buttons per octave is not that huge of a change compared to, say, having 31 buttons per octave :smiley:

My calculations show that it will make a nice set of 69 buttons. I will also gladly accept the same 61 buttons, but in 19-EDO arrangement–sacrificing the range–if 69 buttons is unviable for some technical or economic reasons.

2. More buttons across the board

When playing licks with one hand, the Striso board is just awesome. However, playing even some of the simplest piano or guitar pieces can be impossible because of the narrower range.

Having at least 4 octaves can really change what is playable on Striso.

That being said, I can see that Striso, having an F for the lowest white note and all that expressive power, is closer to a sax than piano, so maybe more range is not what Striso needs most, especially at the price point, especially since my #3 is dual Striso.

3. Easier dual boarding

The layout, the range, the size–there are many ways in which playing with both hands on Striso board can be awkward. So far the best way out I see is to just play two of them at the same time.

Currently, there is no off the shelf solution for that. I would very much like an accessory or even some built-in means for joining two Striso boards together mechanically, so I can play both while standing.

And another Striso board, please. Seriously, if you can sell me a Striso board, let’s talk.

I also have plenty of ideas about the firmware, so once I have a bit more time on hand I might prepare a couple of PRs for things like remapping the glissando key or configuring the onboard synth.

Share in this thread what your dream Striso is.

And @pierstitus, thank you very much!

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You can configure the midi/expression pedal port to act as an audio in port. So you can connect one Striso to the audio in of the next and then your headsets or speakers to the audio out of the second one and hear both without a separate mixer.

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Oh, I wasn’t clear, sorry.

What I meant is to join two boards mechanically, so that I can play both at the same time while standing.

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I enjoy this kind of speculation very much! I wonder if you have checked the “Striso Duet” search results, to see Didie’s great work from the beginning? I bet Piers Titus would put two boards together, if you need it done for you. OTOH, it seems that the two screws (halfway down the back of your Striso) invite attachment to some sort of adjustable pair of “arms” (I know there’s a real name for this, but can’t remember it) made of light wood, metal, or plastic, with some sort of sliding adjustment and a knob or wingnut to hold it where you like, in terms of “opening” spacing. You might also look up “Dualo” for another similar configuration of keyboards. An hour or two of “hobbyshopping” without much heavy equipment might do it?

I am imagining something sort of similar, but want to use for the left hand something I have already purchased. I like the QuNexus Red and the LumiKeys both a lot, but neither has the range for a “sole solo” instrument. Either, however, would give me two octaves of “bass” and since I use them all mostly with the iPad and software synths/mixers, I could easily play them with no other hardware. I’ll see if my idea gets to “prototype” for this combination. While I look at the Striso and the Lumi on my lap as I write this, I imagine a short (two board) “pile” with a common corner pivot point, say, the bottom right corner of the Lumi and the top left corner of the Striso. Then, if I can with live the difference in playing height of an inch or so,
I could make the pair open “like a pocket knife” to the desired angle.

How would you like your pair of Strisos to relate to each other: “side by each?” Opposite sides of an "easel?? Some otherhow?

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Ah ok. There are holes for screws on the back (and fitting screws in the package) but right, making a common casing is up to the player currently.

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Didn’t know these screws can be use to mount something, thanks!

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Yeah, Striso Duet is what made me think about a second Striso board rather than just a larger one. For now though my greatest challenge is to find where to get another Striso board itself :slight_smile:

As for hobbyshopping, it’s not really a thing in my country, unfortunately.

I imagine putting two boards on a kind of a hinge, so that they could be closed like a book buttons-to-buttons, ports to ports, and then opened more than 180 degrees in order to assume the play position. I presume this is your “like a pocket knife” as well?

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“I presume this is your “like a pocket knife” as well?”

Well yes and no…It would fold on that hinge point, but the playing surfaces when deployed would be more parallel to the floor (horizontal) than vertical, like the ends of a concertina or button accordion. While I do play the concertina, I like the horizontal/parallel to the floor position of the Striso when I play it on my lap or a table, and so do I prefer that position for the piano-like LumiKeys. What I want to experiment with is the angle between the two, when both are more-or-less flat to a table or similar. Do you know the computer typing keyboards that are cut in half so the user can have their hands and wrists at a more comfortable angle of their own choosing? That’s what I am aiming for, or so I think today…I wish I had a good CAD system, and I’d draft up a little “cartoon” of an idea or two. But of course, I am not burdened by existing skill on the piano, nor frankly, skill with the left hand in any application.

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Go post in the “Sell/Buy” category if you want to make progress on that front.

The LinnStrument (128) also has a similar modification project called the Midimech.

https://gh.bloatcat.tk/flipcoder/midimech/tree/offsets

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Ah, that’s what you meant. I haven’t ever see a concertina IRL, let alone play it, but the split computer keyboard is definitely up my alley :smiley:

I like that idea, when–and if–I have the chance, I wanna try it myself.

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I’m glad the “split computer keyboard” analogy worked. And I just realized that the concertina reference might have been confusing because of my syntax, anyway. The concertina keyboards are not parallel to the floor or table, but they are perpendicular to it. And the extra benefit of the split computer keyboard, for me, is that I can see everything in front of me. While my hands do learn to “find” the buttons on the concertina, it is (especially early on) really useful to have visual feedback, too.

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Been playing around with extreme bends, and figured another thing I’d like to see in the next striso board model:

Less slippery buttons.

Now wide bends a-la Gilmour require quite a lot of pressure, but if the buttons were of a different material, or, more likely, had a texture or a dent, it would be another level in terms of replicating some of the expressivity of the electric guitar.

PS In other news, I’ve ordered my second Striso board. Can’t wait to play it!

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Honestly I think the current texture is perfect… Unless of course there are two different styles of button and I’m not aware of it? Mine have a rough, kind of sharkskin, texture.

If your play style inclines toward extreme bends, why not just increase the sensitivity? Or use the glissando button?

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We might have different button textures. “Rough” is the last thing I’d say about mine.

Of course, I use the highest sensitivity setting available. Using a separate button to play the bends is a bit tricky, but when playing with one hand it should be doable–thanks for the tip!

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I’m either suffering from Mandela effect or just over imprinted on some of the pictures on the striso.org page. My buttons are smooth too. I think I just don’t go as hard as some do on the x/y axis.

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