Music 'hackers' unleash new generation of instruments

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/14/tech/innovation/music-hackers-unleash-instruments/index.html

by e7mac • 12 years ago

43 19 12 years ago

cnn.com

timc3• 12 years ago

Not sure why this is news worthy, it has been happening since the beginning of making music.

Every instruments has come from a “hack” of sorts..

sp332• 12 years ago

And it ignores earlier, similar instruments like Futureman's "drumtar", a keytar with the guts ripped out and replaced with MIDI keys (usually configured with drum samples). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_Man

analog31• 12 years ago

I wonder if music itself is a "hack" of our sensory and cognitive apparatus.

e7mac4• 12 years ago

One of my professors had once told me that the people handling cutting edge technology in every era were inevitably into music, and that's why music tech has always sat at the cutting edge of tech. Still remember that, 2 years on!

Volscio• 12 years ago

Also see NYU's Interactive Telecommunication Programs course, NIME (New Interfaces for Musical Expression):

http://itp.nyu.edu/nime/

e7mac4• 12 years ago

Jeez that's such a confusing name to pick. NIME (http://www.nime.org/) is an annual conference in music tech!

gtani• 12 years ago

A couple i might consider buying:

Seaboard: https://www.roli.com/seaboard/

EMR pickup: http://zvukolom.org/instruments/elektrosluch/

and from Stanford a Flowbee: https://www.yahoo.com/tech/ge-wang-who-has-the-most-high-lev...

https://ccrma.stanford.edu/groups

____________

(these are all interesting, but I'm going to stick to piano, clarinet, mandolin and cello, i think)

e7mac4• 12 years ago

what do you think of the flowbee?

e7mac4• 12 years ago

jordan rudess of dream theater is really into the seaboard

anigbrowl4• 12 years ago

He's into everything that has an endorsement deal attached, to the point that he's become a bit of a punchline in electronic music circles.

winestock• 12 years ago

Then there's the Eigenharp.

http://www.eigenlabs.com/

rhizome• 12 years ago

I'm much more excited about live-coding environments that foster new structural forms, like Extempore and its siblings, over Tesla coils and triggering techniques that are much, much more in line with traditional innovations.

Machover's Biomuse is over 20 years old and dot-matrix Star Wars is at least 10, and I don't really see those progressing beyond gimmickry, or at the high end engendering loop-pedal and sample-trigger (MPC, et al) artists that tend to hew to standard forms. Sadly, the heretofore promises of computer environments such as MAX/pure-data and even Ableton (when stretched) have caught their more experimental practitioners in a vortex of randomness, likewise let's-see-where-this-goes algo composers under compiled environments like SuperCollider. I'm all for the death of the author, but the book still needs to be legible.

Of course, all of this speaks only to my own preferences. None of us can predict the future.

Suffice it to say that I think the most meaningful musical statements tread a line between tool-exercise (because-I-can sound generation) and songwriting, and playing AC/DC with a Tesla coil really doesn't say much in that context. Now, treat a Van De Graaf generator like headphones so that the person touching it can experience the sensations of static electricity as a component of music, as a frequency-oriented tactile instrument, and I might start turning my ears (and hair) toward the welder-tunes crowd.

Ryanmf3• 12 years ago

The Soundplane from Madrona Labs[0] certainly merits a mention here. Pairs exceptionally well with their software synths Kaivo (physical modeling and granular synthesis) and Aalto (the closest thing to a Buchla in VST form).

I kind of assume at this point that most people who have an interest in this sort of thing know about monome[1], though I was surprised that there hasn't been more interest from HN in their most recent release, aleph[2], a (mostly) open source sound computer that can interface with just about anything that produces sound, cv, or bits.

[0] http://madronalabs.com/

[1] http://monome.org

[2] http://monome.org/aleph/

anigbrowl4• 12 years ago

Aleph is massively overpriced. For the same money you could get a laptop, a knobby controller, and a copy of Max/MSP or Reaktor, or Reason. Or a bunch of Eurorack modules of similar capabilities, or [fill in one of many blanks]. I think it would have to get under $700 to sell well; further more the tiny form factor is actually a negative because it doesn't give you a whole lot of hands-on control, nor is it suitable for performance ergonomically. The reaction I've heard from other electronic musicians has been essentially 'a solution in search of a problem.'

While Monome were among the first to innovate in this area, the steep price premium isn't justified when you can get similar or better functionality for less than half the price for most of their offerings.

Ryanmf3• 12 years ago

I sort of agree.

On one hand, if you have no use for CV i/o aleph is basically a non-starter. Additionally, there are other CV solutions e.g. Expert Sleepers or the Kenton MIDI > CV boxes that get the job done a lot cheaper.

As you note, a substitute (of sorts) for anything they make can be had cheaper. Brian & Kelly et. al. have never been a concern oriented towards being the budget provider of anything, as they readily admit:

"monome is operated on a human scale. we use local suppliers and manufacturers with whom we've created long-term, trusting relationships. environmental and economic sustainability are critical considerations in our design process. we believe in beautiful design and quality craftsmanship. editions are produced in short runs according to demand. staying small affords the flexibility to pursue interesting new directions, not simply commodify established trends."

There is something to be said for the blank slate, raw unadulterated OSC, it only does exactly what you tell it to do design ethos. When I bought a monome I had never seen or used anything like it before. Though it should be noted that I sold my monome and kept my Launchpad, at least in part because the monome could be sold for exactly what I bought it for, and I'd be lucky to get $100 for Novation's hunk of molded plastic.

However, $1400 doesn't get you very far in Euro (especially if we're including the aforementioned ES modules to emulate aleph's USB>CV capabilities). One sound source, an EG and a filter? Maybe an additional source of modulation if you budget well? Not to mention power, rails and cases, cables and other accessories, etc. Ultimately, I defy anyone to find anyone with any experience in the matter who doesn't think modular synths are a money pit.

For that matter, Reaktor is basically just a springboard to spend more money on more Reaktor ensembles—largely because there are some teams doing really great stuff for that platform—and Max, plus an audio interface, plus a cheap plastic box of knobs and faders leaves you maybe $700 to buy a computer? It's not as if aleph is way out of line with the alternatives on price.

Where it does stand alone, and the reason I find it compelling, is that aleph is the first all-in-one box I'm aware of that offers the sound/data processing and marshaling capabilities of a computer without the "dude checking his email on stage" aspects of a laptop. That's something that I believe people have been awaiting anxiously, and although it's far from perfect, it's a start.

anigbrowl4• 12 years ago

Dreadful article - as someone in the comments said, the only 'hack' here is the person named in the byline. Surprisingly, the writer completely overlooked the growing popularity of open source/open hardware instruments, ie fully formed devices with functionality equivalent to a commercial product that you can build yourself. If you're no good with a soldering iron it's easy to find people who'll help with the physical build. Here's a (very partial) list:

Meeblip - http://meeblip.com - a small but aggressive substractive synthesizer, very affordable as a starter project.

Sonic Potions - http://sonic-potions.com - the LXR has often been desribed as a 'poor man's machinedrum'

Midibox Seq - http://ucapps.de - probably the most advanced pattern-based hardware sequencer in existence other than the Cirklon, but commercial resale/licensing is extremely restrictive and the project owner's DIY ethic is so strong that kit options are fragmentary.

MIDIsizer - http://midisizer.com/ <- this guy is also lead engineer at Evernote. No word on whether you will be able to send emails with your guitar any time soon, though :-p

Mutable Instruments - http://mutable-instruments.net/ - a variety of instruments, without outstanding documentation and beautifully engineered source code.

Special mention ofr Bruno's Nord Modular G2 open source editor, which works a treat and provides access to several incomplete models that are not accessible from the official editor, like a modelling oscillator, as well as developing tablet implemtation: http://electro-music.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=48872&postord...

Ryanmf3• 12 years ago

I love Mutable Instruments so very much.

And somehow I'd missed the SP LXR, thanks for the link.

anigbrowl4• 12 years ago

BTW the above should have said Mutable Instruments stuff comes WITH outstanding documentation, not without outstanding...you get the idea.

sitkack• 12 years ago

I thought it was pretty excellent for CNN.

Music 'hackers' unleash new generation of instruments

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