Products of Interest

Syntact Musical Instrument with Tactile Feedback

Syntact is a musical instrument that features contact-free tactile feedback (see Figure 1). The feedback is created by what the developer calls an airborne ultrasound force field. The detection of hand movement is done via a USB camera so the ultrasound output from the device is purely used to facilitate the playing of the instrument by providing a tactile force field.

Syntact is circular and its shape resembles a plate, with a slight dip towards its center. The surface has an array of 121 ultrasonic transducers that project their acoustic energy towards a single focal point, above the center of the surface. The audio output signal from the instrument is used to produce an ultrasound signal that reflects the pitch and temporal characteristics of the music or audio being produced.

As the usermoves their hand above the instrument, their gestures are analyzed in real-time and converted to MIDI data, which can then be used to control audio processing software or hardware. A control panel gives the user access to the gesture analysis component and allows them to view the detection of parameters such as bounding box, coordinates of fingertips, angle of fingers, and the area covered in real-time. The MIDI produced is based on MIDI files provided by the user. Instruments are triggered to output the MIDI pitch and time events in the files.

Figure 1.

The Syntact musical instrument with contact-free tactile feedback.

Syntact is listed for US$ 3,000. Contact: Ultrasonic Audio Technologies, Vodnikova cesta 28, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; telephone (+386) 59 010 305; electronic mail info@ultrasonic-audio.com; www.ultrasonic-audio.com/.

Samson Carbon 49 USB MIDI Controller with iPad Slot

The Carbon 49 from Samson is a 49-key USB MIDI controller and keyboard with an integrated slot for an iPad (see Figure 2). The keys are semi-weighted and velocity-sensitive; transpose and octave buttons can be used to expand the range. Pitch bend and modulation wheels are also included. An assignable data encoder, volume slider, and an edit button allow the user to control up to 14 performance parameters. A three-digit LED display is used for real-time value display. A MIDI output, USB output, and sustain pedal input are provided on the rear panel.

A slot on the top panel of the controller is provided for use with an iPad. The device is slotted into the groove and can be then be connected to the controller for use with iPad applications. The iPad can be powered from the Carbon 49 controller.

The controller is packaged with Native Instruments' Komplete Elements (which provides tools for music production and composition) and 3 GB of samples.

The Carbon 49 is listed for US$ 89. Contact: Samson Technologies, 45 Gilpin Avenue, Hauppauge, New York 11788, USA; telephone (+1) 631-784-2200; fax (+1) 631-784-2201; Web www.samsontech.com/.

Soniccouture Ondes Martenot Plug-In Instrument

The Ondes Martenot was one of the first electronic instruments ever created and is still in use today. The keyboard instrument produces sound using oscillators. It has a ring controller, a metal ring worn on the finger that functions like a ribbon controller when the keyboard is not being played. In ring mode, this ring controls pitch, and an intensity button on the control drawer determines the tone by controlling the instrument envelope. The timbre of the instrument is controlled by the oscillators. Three loudspeakers are used to amplify the Ondes Martenot. The main loudspeaker reproduces the Ondes Martenot sound, a second loudspeaker acts as a reverberation unit, with strings stretched across the inside panel, and the third loudspeaker produces a metallic ringing sound.

The Soniccouture Ondes is a Kontakt Player plug-in instrument which can be used with hosts that support VST, Audio Units, and RTAS formats. The main panel features a seven-octave virtual keyboard, send-level faders for each loudspeaker, a line-out level control, faders to control each of the seven oscillators available, ADSR envelope control, a brightness control, and detune, width, and saturation faders. Impulse responses have been recorded for each...