Hey Guys!
It’s my first post, but I couldn’t find something similar in the forum, so I’m hopefully not asking something that has already been asked.
I saw the Morph at NAMM for the first time (I believe I saw the kickstarter video before and somehow ignored it for some reason before). It is what I have been dreaming for years! and this is an understatement.
Let me tell you about my small journey;
I have been trying to build software and hardware instruments since 2006, and for the last few years the sensors for what I needed was the bottleneck.
I have tried everything from piezos to flex sensors to force pressure sensors for the instrument that I would like to build. Here is a version with piezos: http://www.onuruzunismail.com/portfolio/items/instrument-design-bumdrum/
I’ve been trying to recreate a midi version of hangdrum, but with simple midi and sensors the nuances had been lost.
Now I feel like with MPE and Morph all the nuances can be captured, and beautiful and expressive instruments can be created.
My only concern is that the Morph is small, and the surface is flat, instead of having a slight curve. It would be awesome if the sensors were some sort of a rubbery pad that I put on top of the instrument body I would create, and then program the rest.
I know this might not be feasable at all to a lot of people, but I truly believe that there might be a market for such a version.
The problem with most of the digital instruments is that up until roli, the expression was lost and for me I constantly miss the feeling of truly playing an instrument.
Thanks for your time!
O
Looking forward to seeing what you create with the Morph - have you bought one yet? Like you, I’m an instrument builder who has been waiting over a decade for the “right” sensor technology to appear. The Morph is so close-to-perfect that it’s tempting to desire the absolutely-perfect sensor packaging to do exactly what you want to do, but please don’t let that prevent you from exploring its current packaging, which can be embedded in a custom enclosure to approximate the ergonomics you desire. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-jUvLaHZZ4 for my example. I’m really looking forward to see what you create with the existing Morph, it deserves to be used by people like you who understand how amazing it is.
Hey Tim!
Thank you very much for your reply! I have seen your work before with the kinect sensors, and yesterday saw your 3 morph set up, I think your works are awesome! Will dive into the code part (and your github) as soon as I have more time.
I haven’t bought Morph yet, I had a chance to touch it at NAMM and today I got the email that the $50 discount is still available, but my main concern is the size.
I also read this paper https://nyuscholars.nyu.edu/en/publications/impad-an-inexpensive-multi-touch-pressure-acquisition-device which basically explains how such a system would work and am willing to try it on a bigger scale.
I think one huge aspect of expressionism in an instrument is the fact that it is not so small. I do respect that the size of the morph is actually not small at all, but I want to have an instrument that is at least 10 x 10 inches (maybe more around 12-13 inches). I would like to hear your thoughts on that too.
anyway, the paper tells that basically there might be a way to achieve something similar (most probably a lot shittier than morph) with a diy approach. I might want to try that too, but will definitely get a morph, too bad I missed the remix contest, I wish i was told at namm there was a contest to win one.
I want to have an instrument that is at least 10 x 10 inches (maybe more around 12-13 inches). I would like to hear your thoughts on that too.
I think that would be very nice, but I fear that it would not sell enough in the short term to keep Sensel independently profitable. Most people don’t need 88-note keyboards, so most controller-makers focus on smaller versions that will sell better - larger keyboards/surfaces can be “flagship” products, but those kind of things can derail a smaller company. The last time a small company had a product this ground-breaking (IMO - I’m talking about Fingerworks), they had a very unfocused approach with lots of different products, and they got bought by a very large company that recognized the ground-breaking aspect. The big problem then was that this very large company took the original product off the market, and for more than a decade that kind of technology has been largely buried and is only available in that large company’s products. In order to stay in business independently and continue doing more “open” products like the Morph, Sensel needs to sell product now, and selling into the existing controller market (focused on buttons, knobs, and sliders) is a way to do that. Please buy one and show their current customers what it can really do.
You might also try contacting KMI Labs (makers of BopPad) to see if they’d like to experiment with a new application of their smart fabric sensor technology. https://www.keithmcmillen.com/labs/
Can I ask you about your video screen? It’s clearly not the common rectangular type. Can you tell us about it, what it is and where a person might get something similar?
re: the screen - I assume you’re talking about the large oval screen? It’s a standard flat-panel TV (VIZIO M471i-A2 47-Inch) with a custom frame that gives it the oval look. If you have access to a large (4’x8’) CNC machine (like a ShopBot) and want to make your own, I can send you the CAD files.
A circular 10inch version would be ideal for me too. As has been mentioned, I imagine this won’t happen.
I’m also very interested in getting a morph for percussion and I’m torn between the Bop Pad and Morph at the moment. Layout is better on the bop Pad, although still a bit small, but the Morph seems to offer a lot more in terms of flexibility.
Has anyone tried pressure mapping of hand gestures to various midi notes or events? For example, a finger to note C1, palm of your hand to D1, etc.
Basically, can you set the Morph up to recognize different hand shapes as you strike it?
