
Music 'hackers' unleash new generation of instruments - e7mac
http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/14/tech/innovation/music-hackers-unleash-instruments/index.html
======
anigbrowl
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](http://meeblip.com) \- a small but aggressive
substractive synthesizer, very affordable as a starter project.

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

Midibox Seq - [http://ucapps.de](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/](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/](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...](http://electro-
music.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=48872&postorder=asc)

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

------
rhizome
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.

------
gtani
A couple i might consider buying:

Seaboard: [https://www.roli.com/seaboard/](https://www.roli.com/seaboard/)

EMR pickup:
[http://zvukolom.org/instruments/elektrosluch/](http://zvukolom.org/instruments/elektrosluch/)

and from Stanford a Flowbee: [https://www.yahoo.com/tech/ge-wang-who-has-the-
most-high-lev...](https://www.yahoo.com/tech/ge-wang-who-has-the-most-high-
level-intersection-85023162364.html)

[https://ccrma.stanford.edu/groups](https://ccrma.stanford.edu/groups)

____________

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

~~~
e7mac
jordan rudess of dream theater is really into the seaboard

~~~
anigbrowl
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.

------
Ryanmf
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/](http://madronalabs.com/)

[1] [http://monome.org](http://monome.org)

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

~~~
anigbrowl
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.

~~~
Ryanmf
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.

------
timc3
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..

~~~
analog31
I wonder if music itself is a "hack" of our sensory and cognitive apparatus.

~~~
e7mac
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
Also see NYU's Interactive Telecommunication Programs course, NIME (New
Interfaces for Musical Expression):

[http://itp.nyu.edu/nime/](http://itp.nyu.edu/nime/)

~~~
e7mac
Jeez that's such a confusing name to pick. NIME
([http://www.nime.org/](http://www.nime.org/)) is an annual conference in
music tech!

