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 Forum index » DIY Hardware and Software » Musical Interfaces
yamaha style mono aftertouch?
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hodad



Joined: Jul 31, 2007
Posts: 41
Location: atlanta

PostPosted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 8:44 pm    Post subject: yamaha style mono aftertouch? Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I have an old Yamaha Sy2 synth with aftertouch. I peeked into the keyboard once, & on one end there's a light, & on the other there's a detector (ldr maybe?), & when a key gets into the aftertouch range, it blocks the light & modulation begins.

Seems simple, clever, & it's also very playable.

I've never really looked into building a keyboard controller, so I don't know what's out there, but is there anything reasonably available that could be made to behave in this manner? Sorry if I'm a little vague, but I've only recently developed any interest in building my own controller, so I'm farily ignorant. If anyone could hip me to some of the keyboard options out there I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks
Tom
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MusicScienceGuy



Joined: Jun 22, 2007
Posts: 97
Location: Vancouver, Canada

PostPosted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 10:40 pm    Post subject: Re: yamaha style mono aftertouch? Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

hodad wrote:
... If anyone could hip me to some of the keyboard options out there I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks
Tom

Here's what I did for my first and second keyboard conversions.
1) made a wearable jammer out of a Yamaha Djx it was fairly hard to do.
2) a table-top version out of a M-Audio Es88 this was easier and worked well.
I'm sure someone can come up with a better version yet.
The Yamaha with after-touch sounds good, but is out of production - Is there a new one out there?

It would be especially good to know if there is a pro-quality reduced-size keyboard out there.
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ericcoleridge



Joined: Jan 16, 2007
Posts: 889
Location: NYC

PostPosted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:29 pm    Post subject: Re: yamaha style mono aftertouch? Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

hodad wrote:
I have an old Yamaha Sy2 synth with aftertouch. I peeked into the keyboard once, & on one end there's a light, & on the other there's a detector (ldr maybe?), & when a key gets into the aftertouch range, it blocks the light & modulation begins.

Seems simple, clever, & it's also very playable.
Tom


That sounds pretty cool. You should try implementing it. I know there are even a few LED/LDR type combos even at Radio Shack. Worth a try.

Another, maybe even more simple, after-touch variation is the one used on the MultiMoog. It's just a pressure sensitive strip underneath the keys. The strips are variable resistors, just like a pot, but a flat strip that attentuates as you press down. I know of at least one company that makes strips like this now; called 'flexiforce'. I asked for and received a sample of one of these-- it works great. The only problem might be finding one long enough to span the entire length of your keyboard.
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MusicScienceGuy



Joined: Jun 22, 2007
Posts: 97
Location: Vancouver, Canada

PostPosted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 7:43 pm    Post subject: Re: yamaha style mono aftertouch? Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

ericcoleridge wrote:
I know of at least one company that makes strips like this now; called 'flexiforce'. I asked for and received a sample of one of these-- it works great. The only problem might be finding one long enough to span the entire length of your keyboard.

This sounds promising - I also see there is a grid sensor that could do the job : http://www.sensorprod.com/tactilus.php
I've sent a message to them, asking if they can interface to Max/MSP or some such.

The flexiforce sounds like it could do - we'd need 60-80 per unit, and the signals would have to be convertible to something a midi controller could read.

I think the midi controllers in the keyboards I've examined read (this is all assumption on my part) the voltage change when a contact is closed on a circuit that has a 5-10 mHz signal applied to it, a diode in the circuit creates a dc voltage. This technique is simple and inexpensive.

Could we do something like this?

Ken.
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