Eigenharp Google+ Community Archive

Hooray, we have a new home! (G+ is being axed by Goggle in April 2019,) A group of Eigenharp owners have created a new community forum, to replace this G+ group. PolyExpression is a place to for all musicians interested in expression in electronic music using Expressive Instruments, like the Eigenharp. Having a broader user base will allow us to benefit from experience from a wider range of musicians, whilst stil appreciating the unique character of each. Please join us, and lets keep the Eigenharp community we have built here together, and also gain some new friends who also appreciate the important of human expression in Electronic music. personal note: I (thetechnobear) will use PolyExpression for support of the community version of EigenD and also MEC. Special thanks to David Jameson for providing us a space to host our new home. https://community.polyexpression.com

SOUL - SOUnd Language Interesting stuff from JUCE/Roli, aimed at being OpenGL for Audio. early days, and lets face it most of us have seen these kind of claims before, but I try to be not too sceptic about new stuff :) https://youtu.be/-GhleKNaPdk?t=904 https://youtu.be/-GhleKNaPdk?t=904

Tracktion Engine open sourced note: not the DAW (waveform) just the engine, which is built on Juce (unsurprising given both owned by Roli) What does it mean? Not sure, still processing potential , its a layer above just using Juce... so I guess potentially allows you to build your own daw/performance environment - with the kinds of things you expect in a modern daw. is that interesting? perhaps? of course, the question is, how much simpler it makes things, how flexible it is... but definitely worth a future dig around the source code... the flip side, is perhaps allows open source developers to potentially contribute to waveform (indirectly) by submitting pull requests. (not that we know if they are likely to accept them ?!) https://www.kvraudio.com/news/tracktion-daw-engine-now-open-source-43264

macOS High Sierra 10.13 - EigenD. anyone tried to run EigenD on 10.13? Geert Bevin? BTW: this is NOT a suggestion to try, I have not upgraded any machines yet, so have no idea. any issues with other (music) software? I guess, I'll upgrade my MBP or iMac for testing/fixing, but which, really depends on how many applications/drivers are likely to have issues... this also might drive the timing a little bit, e.g. I might wait for 10.13.1

Expressive Organelle ft. Pico some of you saw me demo this at 3e, but here it is for others... my dream of a fully portable solution for the pico, running off a small usb battery, that can last all day :) I show two uses, first is using my own Pure Data patch on the Organelle (comms via OSC), second is using an Axoloti (comms MIDI MPE over usb) with audio coming back into the Organelle (running a granular patch) don't worry, its not just about Organelle and picos. - works for all Eigenharps, - also runs on a rPI3 (best to have an audio interface, Id recommend the PiSound by Blokas.io, very cool) p.s.since 3e, I fixed some things, so its now much better to play! no hanging notes, much improved PB control. EDIT: Important Note. Ive just tested Organelle with the Alpha, Tau, (and Soundplane) and its not working. appears to be a USB bandwidth issue, specific to the Organelle. (BBB/rPI when tested previously worked fine.) https://youtu.be/xX7WNbCSMx https://youtu.be/xX7WNbCSMx4

Pianoteq v6 released - 29 euro upgrade. used by many of us ... cant wait to dig in this evening :) features: improved engine, authorised by steinway model D & B (!), refined tuning. and my favourite.... ARM support, so you can now run on (e.g.) a Raspberry PI3, all I can think is wow, a great pocket piano! can't wait to try this, with my pico/pi setup ... and the organelle too :) https://www.pianoteq.com/pianoteq6 https://www.pianoteq.com/pianoteq6

Physical Audio - Derailer (AU/Mac only) In beta at the moment, but worth checking out, Physical Modelling with MPE support (they call it X mode) , what more could we want? :) A quick play it seems to deliver, the UI is pretty complex (ok, Ive not read the manual), I particularly like the bowing presets... some of the others I find a bit hit n miss on strike, might be I need to fine tune my MPE setup. if they can sort this out, then it could become a favourite. (hmm, perhaps the final release, can lets us reduce the reverb level a bit ;)) https://physicalaudio.co.uk/PA3.html https://physicalaudio.co.uk/PA3.html

EigenD developers update. ====================== Im continuing to move the toolset for EigenD forward to up to date apis/tools. EigenD community git repo (branch 2.1), has the following changes completed: - upgraded to JUCE 5.0.2 - windows upgraded to VS2015 ( VS2012/3 is no longer compatible) - osx/linux , now using std:c++11 - Steinberg , lastest VST SDK - upgraded to latest SCONS Ive prepped it for version tag 2.1.8, but wont be releasing till after more testing, and probably other changes... Ive also got to consider moving away from deprecated apis, this could involve moving the min target to macOS 10.9

At Apple's WWDC, Apple have announced the new macOS High Sierra will be the last version supporting 32bit, and from June 2018 App Store will be 64 bit only. So the days of 32 bit are now limited....

Windows 10 setup tips? finally got myself a windows laptop for windows dev/testing and a bit of music making :) any tips for setting up for music making? (and/or dev side?) I guess, I'm probably also going to need a usb audio interface, suggestions? (any usb-c ones yet? only 1 full size usb port which I'm using for controllers ;))

Axoloti MPE - using new MI modules I thought Id share this, as its a lovely video by a contributor on the axoloti forum - although its on a Linnstrument, it obviously works on the Eigenharp too. its a couple of nice patches that are now in the community library. the heart of one of the patches is based on the new 'brds' object, which is a port of mutable instrument braids. the great thing is, we also ported other MI objects, including rings, elements and clouds, warps. after seeing this I dug into braids a bit more, and found just a couple of objects, and you can get some really nice stuff e.g. braids into rings/reverb. (I'll do some videos too soon) ... and of course its all 'standalone' no computer needed ... a perfect match for stuff I'm doing on the rPI :) https://youtu.be/XNx5zb3PuAw https://youtu.be/XNx5zb3PuAw

MEC - surface mapping, thoughts? the technical aspects of MEC are now working. so I'm now turning my attention to surface mapping, aka splits , musical scales etc. I thought Id ask here for any ideas you may have... here are the basics of what Im planning, so far - multiple devices - configurable scales (allowing microtonal) - splits and zone switching/layering (note: the terminology may change, e.g. surface, perhaps will be 'zone'... and I dont like row/column, as its a bit confusing) the way I current envisage it is: device , something like a eigenharp/soundplane/osc/mpe, this exposes a number of 'surfaces' (e.g. keys as one, strip 1, strip 2 , breath as others), then mapped into other surfaces, then on to a musical scale (optionally) something like : eigenharp 1 | |- surface 1 | - surface 10 - > scaler 1 | | - surface 11 - > scaler 2 | |- surface 2 - --- -- --- -- --- ---- --- -- ...

a good illustration of Strobe 2's new MPE features. its a really good approach, allowing you to adjust response rates on all dimensions for individual patches, useful for all controllers. its interesting playing the roli patches on the Eigenharp (and Soundplane) as you can really feel the patches need to be adjusted to take into account their unique nature. this is not surprising, but its just so evident how much difference this really makes... and I can now understand why Roli and Haken are reluctant to release their synths for other MPE controllers... the presets just wont translate that well. anyway, great free update if you already have strobe 2 :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YqIsTY_EFw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YqIsTY_EFw

mec-max , a new option for using MEC so this completes the five options Im planning on (for now) mec-app - light-weight standalone app for mac, linux, arm (rPI,BBB) mec-vst - a VST supporting MEC and VST hosting mec-max - a max 7 external mec-bela - embed mec in your bela projects. mec-api - C++ api, you can include in your own applications. all are working with both soundplane and eigenharps. from here I'm going to be adding further controller support , and general improvements to the MEC project. update: today, Ive added midi mpe and osc (t3d) support to mec-api (and so all 'dependent' app) p.s mec-api, mec-app,mec-vst, mec-app are now universal binaries (so 32 and 64 bit support)

What do we have here...? clues: - mec is getting bigger and better ;) - i could have used any DAW, but chose ableton for a good reason - the midi output being checked, is a red herring - but useful for other daws p.s. sorry I accidentally deleted the original post, whilst trying to update the image.

NAMM 2017: Expressive E Touché quite like the way that are interfacing with software (vst/au) seems nicely integrated, looks very sensitive, and this demo is better than last years at showing why it might be useful... 399 euros - thoughts? nice for mono synth lines, where you only need one hand playing, and the other can be on the touche. (good for modular with cv) I think its something id quite like if the tech was embedded in a keyboard... Roland/Korg/Moog should license the tech :) EDIT: there website also contains more details, the design page is interesting... https://www.expressivee.com/touche/design Im intrigued by the 'feedback' cylinder, active feedback on electronic controllers is pretty rare/unique , no? and could potentially add an interesting dimension. I think Ferdinand mentioned once, mounting a speaker too things like soundplane/linnstrument to give this kind of dimension... something Ive not yet got around to doing, but I think a great idea. https://youtu.be/u...

Raspberry PI... before Christmas I released MEC, and explained that its primary target is microcomputers like BeagleBoneBlack / RaspberryPI. I didn't do a good job of explaining why... now fortunately Tracktion are joining in the fun, and at NAMM explained why, better then I can :) Its going to be a fun yeah for Pi/BBB/Bela this year. p.s. MEC has had quite a few updates, getting more useable by the day :) https://youtu.be/V2MTUpji8Uw https://youtu.be/V2MTUpji8Uw

Bitwig Studio 2 - announced (end feb release) Ive been using BWS 1 a bit, and its never quite felt 'there' yet... despite it having support for MPE... the VST3/per note expression is a nice feature. its a pity the full modular experience is still not there, instead we get a bunch of new 'modulators' I've applied for a beta license, so will get a better idea of whats new if/when it arrives. (Id guess they'll release the beta after NAMM, and the associated 'press frenzy') see https://www.bitwig.com/en/bitwig-studio/bitwig-studio-2 https://www.bitwig.com/en/bitwig-studio/bitwig-studio-2

MEC source code Id like to support +Geert Bevin initiative of creating a new solution for the Eigenharp (and other controllers) that is simple to develop for, and completely open source. In the spirit of collaboration and cooperation, Ive a small present for the Eigenharp community just in time for the holidays... Today, Ive released the source code for MEC (Micro Expression Controller) which contains code Ive been working on for quite awhile (in different guises) Im not suggesting this is used, but perhaps some elements may (or may not) be useful, so very much take and discard as you wish. current state: - runs on mac/linux (including PI/other micro controllers) - outputs midi and OSC - supports Eigenharp pico, tau, alpha * - supports Madrona Labs Soundplane - initial support for push 2 - initial key layout support for Eigenharps some notes: - Tau is untested (I don't have one) - Pico is 'stubbed' out, I need to add a license free 'decoder' support (this is worki...

TouchKeys general release, now a commercial company... perhaps a way to add a bit more 'life' into your existing keyboard. limitations are: - not 3d... missing pressure, which is probably what I use most. - seems a little expensive, DIY kit - 49 keys = 600 GBP, 61 keys = 780 GBP. - install looks a bit 'fiddly' ... sticking things nice and straight to 61 keys, thats a lot to get wrong/right. tricky, if you have a hardware synth which your using as a keyboard controller too, perhaps this is a nice way to extend its usefulness as a 'master controller', whilst not taking up more space in your studio. sure, its not going to turn it into a Seaboard, but still, it would be fun to say control u-he diva with cutoff on Y from your keyboard. anyway, more MPE exposure, 2017 is looking hot :) http://touchkeys.co.uk http://touchkeys.co.uk