randy's Recent Posts
In Aalto it's more like a modulation matrix. There are as many source/destination pairs as you want. Except I guess there is only one mod amount parameter per destination in Aalto rather than an amount for each modulation pair.
This is right. Each of [sources x destinations] slots in the matrix would only need one bit representing whether a patch cord is there or not. Then each destination has a level amount.
That would 14 x 31, or 434 matrix parameters, in the current version of Aalto. So, more than you ever want to scroll through and see! I am sure there is a better solution, and I'll find it for version 2.
I am completely sold on the utility of this---it would be super fun. But it's a little harder than you suggest. The thing is, in Aalto you can plug as many cables into one destination as you want. So using MIDI it's hard to see how to automate the cables individually. There are just too many parameters.
With NRPNs ( a little-used feature of MIDI, but like controllers ) there is enough data to do the job, but some popular software (Ableton and others) simply does not support them.
The trick is to do it in a way that not only works, in some imaginary perfect MIDI environment, but is actually useful in most DAWs and helps people make music. I welcome any ideas, truly.
Decibel Festival is one day away. Eek! I'm busy making software and hardware so I won't go on and on about it, but this year's lineup has some really amazing treats and the weather actually promises to be amazing. The town is quivering with potential. Wish me and my liver good luck.
There's also a great lineup for the conference part of the festival which is bigger than ever. I'm excited to talk and demo the Soundplane on a panel this Thursday. And even more excited that Roger Linn, one of my heroes in the world of electronic instruments, will be aboard for stimulating discussion. Also joining us will be artist / inventors Moldover and Tim Thompson.
The panel is at the Broadway Performance Hall at 1 pm Thursday. Get the full details here:
I survived! Now back to the shop.
It should be very soon! Just a few bug fixes to do now. I've been hoping to finish up for some time but Soundplane work keeps needing to happen. Thanks for your patience.
Extreme slime bursts! Pow!
working hard on it!
Not long now!
i would love to see some sort of preset system or user defined startup template for the soundplane client so when you set and save it every time you open the software it opens the same configuration.
This is planned Real Soon Now but I've been working more than expected to get the few remaining Soundplanes out. Sorry, I know the lack of this feature is a little annoying. I'll get to it as soon as I can.
I guess you mean for Aalto. I'll probably do one in late Fall again.
All the surface area of the strips is needed. It's a parallel plate capacitor on each junction. So a wire would not give any appreciable surface area.
If you want to make something different but based on the same principe, it's easy to experiment with. I would try setting up a single-point sensor and seeing what happens.
I don't know much about raspberry pi. Probably just about any computer could do one junction. As you do more it takes more processing power, and it takes a pretty fast DSP to do what the Soundplane does (8 x 64).
I seem to remember trying this and not having it do anything useful. Good suggestion though. Maybe something to revisit.
I will work with fxpansion to test the beta if possible, though I can't promise they will have any time to test it. If not, hopefully I can find some users willing to beta test with PT. This will take less of my time than installing ProTools here, and will not force me to violate my moral code by using an iLok. (just kidding) (kind of)
Meanwhile, glad to hear about the Reaper solution!
Hi,
I'm just back from vacation and getting to this reply-- if the answers are too short for you, please feel free to ask for more clarification.
I'll announce more about the second round of Soundplanes in a couple of weeks.
X and Y precision are determined from pressure information via a fairly complicated piece of software. Because results from many sensor points are used for a single touch, the question of resolution in those axes is not a simple one to answer. The best thing to do is probably measure it and make a video. In my experience there is sub-cent resolution.
You can map the surface to any tuning or combination of notes you like. If you want one semitone per x space only, then yes there are 30 such divisions. I would probably have to sell a lot more Soundplanes at the current size before I made a bigger one. It seems so far that there is less demand for that. But I see no big technological barriers to doing so. Between the Continuum, Soundplane, and the forthcoming Linnstrument, there will be quite a few choices in pressure-sensitive instruments soon, and of course I hope this leads to the instrument category being more visible and widely understood as a more sensitive alternative to MIDI keyboards.
I am going to rethink this substantial software challenge when there is time. A physical prosthetic would not help. The difficulty is between sensors and data, not mechanical. There is definitely a lot of improvement left to gain.
Thanks for your comments.
-Randy
Marking a big day in a project that has been over three years in the making, I just gave the first ten Soundplanes to a UPS driver. They've all been play tested, and I know more than ever that they're instruments with amazing expressive potential. I can't wait to hear what their owners do with them. And to spend some time playing mine.
(click images for closeups)
Hi Bob,
Good to hear from you. Your list seems correct, all these quantities come out as signals in the Aalto for Soundplane pre-beta I sent.
The Max example patch here in the forums should show the OSC data. I'll see what I can do to polish it up and add a Max MIDI patch in the next day or two.
-Randy
Thanks for the good report-- others have reported this and I am working on a fix for 1.3.
Hey there. It's two more midi CC outputs . because I want to keep the UI simple and not take any more space, they are set to the channels n+1 and n+2 where n is the "mod cc" channel set by the dial.
In short, lots more MIDI control!
Makes sense. Thanks for the suggestion.
My goodness, what exciting noise! There's an Aalto Soundcloud group too, often with some cool stuff in it.
Os of Expert Sleepers sent out this informative video this morning, showing how to use the Soundplane with the new OSC features in Silent Way version 2. This setup is the way to go for anyone who wants to play voltage controlled instruments using the Soundplane. OSC provides direct control over the envelope of each voice, so the player can articulate each note independently as you see here. Analog sounds with next-level control.
Expert Sleepers Silent Way and Madrona Labs Soundplane from Andrew Ostler on Vimeo.
Shipping the Soundplane has been, undoubtedly, the most difficult and the most risky thing I've done with my work life. And now that some people have their instruments, it's turning out to be the most rewarding.
When I see reactions like this, I feel like people are actually getting what I set out to do, and that I might have some company out on this long limb after all. And so it makes me want to get more work done for the brand new community of Soundplane owners—I have more instruments to deliver, and a ways to go in making the software experience live up to what the hardware offers.
Another thing I need to do, though, is have a party to celebrate the occasion of this audacious project actually shipping, and to offer a beverage and a big round of thanks to everyone who has helped get it here. Thanks to the music lovers at software design / development group Substantial, the party will take place at Substantial’s HQ in the heart of Seattle’s Capitol Hill. The address is 900 E Pine, Suite 202. We will be there from 7-10 pm on Wednesday, August 29. If you haven't tried a Soundplane yet, this will be a great chance to try one in a relaxed atmosphere. Hope to see you there.
Oh yes, there will be more synths.
The Library going away seems like part of a larger move at Apple towards explicit file management going away, and everything being saved transparently. To the extent that they can do this really well, I think it's good because computers should be more like appliances, most of the time.
but... what if I make more synths?
I am guessing you updated to Lion or newer? These systems hide the preset directories by default. You can search for "Lion hides Library folder" to get more info.
Still they would show up in Aalto's menu if they are in the right place. I can only guess at what's happening because it depends on where you saved and how you backed up. The default directories in /Library... and ~/Library... , but you can save patches anywhere you like.
The voices indicator is the same---the lights disappear when they get so small, is all. The patcher outputs are translucent as placeholders while I'm working on them.
As we move into late Summer, the Soundplane has moved from work-in-progress to shipping product, and more and more people are finding out about it. I've been refining the software that converts raw Soundplane data into expressive touches, and releasing updates every week or so. Last week I added plug-and-play support for the Kyma sound design environment, and bar|none used it to make a video:
Resonations from bar|none on Vimeo.
Thanks in part to bar|none’s video posted over on Create Digital Music yesterday, I've gotten quite a few requests about Soundplane availability.
I am currently waiting on some additional parts that were needed to complete the first batch of 30 instruments. I expect to get these, and ship all the remaining instruments by mid-September. At that point I'll be able to do all the math on timing and pricing for the next batch.
Meanwhile, if you'd like to get on the wait list for this next batch, let me know. I am currently just keeping a list of interested people in order with no obligation. At some point a prepayment will be required to hold an instrument.
The price will be slightly higher than the prerelease price of $1,695, but less than $2,000.
To see what else is possible over OSC (Open Sound Control), check out this video of Jordan Rudess using an early version of Aalto for Soundplane.
Stay tuned for news on the Aalto 1.3 release with Soundplane support and other goodies, coming soon!
Details to follow in mid-September. Best. r.
Sure, I can hook this up in the morning. There's even a label change from "mod" to "mod cc#" in your honor.
Yup, as you discovered, the maximum folder depth in there is 1.