How To Use AC Sabre As A Gestural Controller For Moog Model 15

Air Craft Media Ltd shared this set of videos, demonstrating how you can use their AC Sabre iOS MIDI instrument as a gestural controller for Moog’s Model 15 iPad app.

AC Sabre is a an app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices that uses the device’s built-in gyroscope and accelerometer, and translates movements into MIDI. This can be used to play melodies, ‘conduct’ automation in realtime and more.

Air Craft founder Hari Karam Singh says that AC Sabre unlocks capabilities within Model 15, because Model 15 is capable of a broader range of expressive control than a standard keyboard or Model 15’s touch keyboard allows. 

Here’s a video that covers the technical details of how to use the AC Sabre control app with Model 15:

AC Sabre Features:

  • Rich Musical Vocabulary
    • Scale-synced, velocity sensitive note play
    • Harmonies, trills, arpeggios…
    • Gesture-based vibrato
    • Note shift (for playing out-of-scale notes)
    • Circle of Fourths/Fifths key changes
    • Note range and octave shift
    • Legato and Portamento modes
    • Note-clamping pitchbend
    • A Drone for sustain and guitar “tapping”-style effects
  • Professional Features:
    • Low latency (<10ms), 50m+ range via Wi-Fi
    • QuickPanels allow realtime access to most common parameters
    • Save/load/export configuration Patches
    • Wi-fi/Bluetooth support + Bonjour auto-detect
    • Supports multiple devices running AC Sabre as separate MIDI inputs into your DAW
    • MIDI Learn wizard for quick CC assignment
    • MIDI channel selector for playing multiple instruments
  • Powerful Expressive Control:
    • 6 assignable Motion Controls
    • Pitch, Roll and Yaw angles
    • Linear Shake & Shuffle
    • Play Intensity
    • 2 configurable Touch Ribbons
    • 1 configurable User Button
    • Vibrato on Shake
  • 150+ Musical Scales:
    • Major, Minor and Pentatonics
    • Jazz modes: Dorian, Phrygian, etc
    • Bebop Dominant, Octonic, Nine-tone scale and other exotics
    • World scales like Hungarian Gypsy, Hirajoshi, and Mississippi Blues
    • Arpeggio scales like Dominant 7b5
    • 1-4-5-b7 and other Bassline scales
    • Indian Raag scales
  • Tweakability:
    • Vibrato amount from 1/4 step up to full PB range
    • MIDI CC’s and output range are fully customisable
    • Motion range calibration
    • Virtual MIDI support, play other apps

Pricing and Availability

AC Sabre is currently available for US $4.99 (60% off, through Jan 31, 2017).

6 thoughts on “How To Use AC Sabre As A Gestural Controller For Moog Model 15

  1. Seems awesome. If you are wondering, it requires iPhone 4s, (iPhone 5 or higher recommended), iPod touch 5th gen+ running iOS 8.1+. They say, “while playing on the app is especially tailored more for smaller handheld devices like the iPhone, the app works splendidly on the iPad. Windows users will need a copy of rtpMIDI for connecting AC Sabre to their computer.”

  2. Pretty cool/interesting, but it seems to me if you want to do this kind of multiparameter performance thing, TC-data is a wayyyyyy better bet…

  3. I wonder if you can attache 2 controllers to the 1 moog for even FURTHER control? That would be interesting… .
    Something to think about/work on, perhaps. Or how about a KINNECT interface for the moog modular in virtual reality? Far out, man!

  4. Gestural controllers suck. The entire concept is nothing more than a stupid gimmick. There’s no skill involved, it’s capacity for expression is extremely limited, and it often is mapped to nothing more interesting than what you could do with a fader. It’s less skillful than painting by numbers.

  5. @The Brain: I disagree about the skill involved – You might mistakenly say the same thing about a harp (what the AC Sabre’s physical modelling was actually based on). On a harp one can play notes that sound pleasing (i.e. scale locked) with no skill whatsoever. However, choosing notes that are musically interested with expressive timing is where the skill comes in. Also playing more sophisticated articulations than just a mere pluck requires skill. AC Sabre occupies a similar technique domain.

    As for the fader, well, playing notes and controlling up to 6 faders at a time would be quite a juggling act. That’s exactly what AC Sabre allows. Also don’t underestimate the advantage of having expressive control so kinaesthetically linked to your body movement and so close to the gesture of note articulation. The combination is a magic formula, well beyond gimmick, at least in the Sabre.

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