The video demonstrates a mindblowing touch-enabling self-organizing map for automatically organizing and browsing a library of 600 electronic music songs.

Marco Kuhn’s Play Box is a multi touch user interface, which, along with his Play Live software, can control Ableton Live.

Play Box Features:

• multi-touch and object interaction
• 22 ” TFT display , 1680 x 1050 pixel
• robust
• plug`n play

Play Live Features:

• GUI Elements support multitouch interaction
• you can control 32 tracks and 127 scenes, that are 4064 clips
• track controls mute, solo, record, send1, send2, pan, level

Kuhn hopes to build and sell Play Box & Play Live. No availability or pricing information has been announced.

More details at the Hi-Pi site and at CDM.

This is a demo of Subsonic Labs’ Low Frequency Entity, a “real-time multi-touch interface to a visualized low frequency sound”:

The various touch configurations control different parameters of the synthesized bass, including filter modulation rate, bit crush, sample and hold, feedback, oscillator phase and fm synthesis.

Subsonic Labs is the creative work of Christian Bannister, a musician & developer based out of Portland, Oregon.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Bannister explains:

I am not analyzing the audio here at all. I am only using the settings on the bass synth to drive the visuals. I broke out certain “effective” parameters from the NI Massive bass patch and worked with those to define the visual characteristics of the entity.

I am looking at an lfo modulation of the filter here, a bitcrush effect, a sample and hold effect, feedback, an oscillator phase parameter, and an fm synthesis control. This gives me a huge palette to work with. I should say I am also sending midi note information to Processing and having that vibrate the form as well.

Once the visual starts making sense then I can begin interacting with it and finding musical ways to engage it or play it like an instrument.

Check out the Bannister’s site for more details.

2009 Summer Namm Show: Red Leaf gives an overview of their TS Control 32 multitouch DAW control surface.

The TS Control-32 is designed to replace the digital audio workstation’s video monitor and allow the operator to perform all the necessary functions needed to mix audio in any software program directly on the screen.

TS Control 32 Specifications:

• Touch technology: Optical Imaging (no special surface coatings)
• Touch method: Finger, gloved hand or any other pointer. Stylus minimum radius 2 mm
  Touch activation force: No pressure required
• Touch accuracy: ± 2 mm (for 40? screen) over 90% of the touch sensitive area, USB reported touch resolution 32767 x 32767
• Touch durability: Unlimited
• Touch response time: 9 ms to 22 ms depending on configuration, typical response time 14 ms
• Environment Operating temperature: 0°C to 55° Storage temperature: -25°C to 85°C
  Operating humidity: 10% to 90% RH, non-condensating Storage humidity: 10% to 90% RH, non-condensating
• Power supply 2nd gen: USB from powered hub, enumeration requests 350 mA
• Power supply 1st gen: 12v AC adaptor
• Calibration Four-point driverless calibration (requires no software), automatic landscape/portrait orientation detection.
  Mac OSX and Linux applications need to use the external calibration button to initiate calibration
• ESD Per EN 61000-4-2 1995: Level 4, contact discharge 8 kV, air discharge 15 kV on USB connector pins
• EMC EN55022, EN55024, CISPR 22, CISPR 24
• Interface USB 1.1 (full speed), HID compliant, plug-and-play compatible
• Operating systems Windows XP, 2000, Vista, Mac OSX, Linux (requires drivers)
• Connection options Standard: USB Series A plug and Neltron 4-way connector on separate flying leads. Includes a small external
• Software: No software required, works with Windows native HID mouse driver
  Touch+ software provides additional utilities
• Warranty 1 year parts and labour

Video Display specifications:

• LCD Panel
• 31.5? viewable wide color LCD TV
• Aspect Ratio 16:9 Wide Screen
• Brightness 500 cd/m2
• Contrast 2500:1
• Response Time 6 ms
• Viewing Angle 178 L/R, 178 Up/Down
• Backlight Lamp life > 50,000 hrs

Video Functions

• De-interlace – 3D
• Noise Reducing Core Technology : 3D Digital
• Comb Filter, Digital Noise Reduction
• Aspect ratio : Normal, Wide, Zoom
• Gamma Fixed Gamma
• Lamp adjustment : Yes
• Picture mode : Custom / Standard / Mild / Vivid /
• Video adjustment : Contrast / Brightness /
• Sharpness / Saturation / Tint
• Color temp. adjust : Cool / Normal / Warm
• Picture Enhancement : Enhanced Color Management

Connections Port

• HDMI 1
• VGA

VGA input support :

• Native resolution : 1920 x 1080
• VGA Max. resolution : 1920 x 1080

Power:
Power Source Input : 90-264AVC, 50/60Hz, 2.4A max
Power Consumption : 180W

Preis 2.495 $

1.754 €

Details at the Dawtouch.com.

Novation has announced Novation Automap for iPhone and iPod touch, a new application that turns your device into a multi-touch MIDI controller.

Description:

The power behind Novation’s SL MkII, SL Compact and Nocturn MIDI controllers is now available for your iPhone / iPod touch, providing an instant and intelligent, wireless, palm-sized MIDI controller. Now you can use iPhone / iPod touch to control all of your music making software.

Whenever you want to control music software and the mouse is out of reach, Automap for iPhone / iPod touch delivers. And the possibilities are endless, give your artist remote control of reverb levels; a hand-held cross-fader for laptop DJ’ing; controlling multi-effects whilst tracking guitar; switching drum kits whilst you’re sat at your V-drums.

The Automap for iPhone / iPod touch app will be available to buy from the Apple app store in July. Combined with Novation’s free Automap 3 Standard software, or Automap 3 PRO, it provides two horizontal faders and eight buttons per page, displayed on a single iPhone / iPod touch screen. However, the number of pages and thus the number of controls is unlimited.

Automap lets you see at a glance how every control on your iPhone / iPod touch is assigned, both on the iPhone / iPod touch itself, and across your computer screen. Combining all this visual feedback with intelligent software browsing also helps you get to the right software fast! Control maps are automatically placed into categories depending on type (instrument, effects, mixer and so on) for quick and easy browsing and selection.

Although Automap automatically and intelligently maps to all major music making software, you will inevitably have your own unique way of working. Consequently, editing maps and re-assigning controls in Automap is extremely quick and easy. Simply click a parameter in learn mode, then touch a control on your iPhone / iPod touch to assign it. Double-clicking ‘learn’ allows you to ‘Click-Touch-Assign’ in quick succession.

Using your iPhone / iPod touch with Automap 3 PRO (available to buy from www.focusrite-estore.com) delivers some extremely powerful additional features.

Firstly, it harnesses the shortcut power of your QWERTY keyboard. It then allows you to assign almost any computer keyboard shortcut, and combinations thereof, to any of the controls on your iPhone / iPod touch. Editing maps is also improved, allowing you to simply drag parameters in the Automap Heads-up GUI from one control to another. Finally, with PRO you can use your iPhone / iPod touch alongside any other Automap compatible hardware controller and it’s all perfectly integrated for seamless control.

Details below.
Key features

• MIDI CONTROL IN YOUR PALM
  Now you can turn your iPhone / iPod touch into a MIDI controller, with multiple faders and buttons easily assigned to parameters in any software that allows MIDI control, and even some that don’t!
• AUTOMATIC PLUG-IN MAPPING
  Instant, wireless, palm-sized control of all automatable VST, AU or Pro Tools format plug-ins in any DAW.
• INSTANT VISUAL FEEDBACK
  See at a glance how every control on your iPhone / iPod touch is assigned, both on the iPhone / iPod touch itself, and across your computer screen
• LEARN AND CLEAR MODES
  Make and delete assignments directly from your computer screen using lightening-fast ‘Click-Touch-Assign’ facilities.
• AUTOMATIC MIXER CONTROL
  Ideal for remote track arming and muting, transport and master level controls in a growing number of supported DAWs. (Control these elements in non-supported DAWs using separate dedicated Automap systems, or your own custom mappings.)
• PLUG-IN AND MIXER MAP BROWSING FACILITY
• Get to the right software fast! Control maps are automatically placed into categories depending on type (instrument, mixer etc.) for quick and easy browsing and selection with hardware or software.

Features exclusive to PRO

• KEYSTROKE ASSIGNMENTS
  Place the shortcut power of your QWERTY keyboard in your iPhone / iPod touch. Automap 3 PRO can assign almost any computer keyboard shortcut, and combinations thereof.
• MULTIPLE DEVICE SUPPORT
  Use your iPhone / iPod touch alongside any other Automap compatible hardware controller, perfectly integrated for seamless control.
• DRAG AND DROP
• Make control re-assignments directly from your computer screen by simply dragging and dropping controls from within the Automap heads-up GUI.

It’s been a long time since Microsoft came out with something cool enough to make people drool, but VPlay could break that dry spell.

VPlay is a multi-touch tabletop application that lets you mix and manipulate multiple video streams in real-time.

According to the Microsoft researchers behind VPlay:

Our aim is to explore how such an interactive surface can support and augment practices around VJing – a form of video performance art that is becoming increasingly popular in nightclubs and other music events. We conclude with observations from a field deployment, which highlight some initial thoughts and reflections on our design rationale.

That description doesn’t really do VPlay justice, so I’ve embedded another demo video below.

Check it out and let me know what you think of Microsoft VPlay!

Click here to view the embedded video.

This video is a demo on how to install and use a touch screen kit with Usine.

Usine is patch oriented sound software, where you can add modules or VST plug-ins and connect them without restriction. The main goal of Usine is to provide a real time analysis of an input signal and let you interact with it and change plug-in parameters to modify the sound.

via tikitpok4Usine.

This is a demo for SuperSynthFX Touch Panel Synthesizer.

The SuperSynthFX (SSFX), is a free Windows software synthesizer and sample player with integrated effects. The SSFX is freeware and was developed mainly for use in conjunction with a Touch Panel PC or Tablet PC.

See the site for more demo videos.

If you’ve used SuperSynthFX, leave a comment with your thoughts!

And check out the free music software section for more cool freebies!

About SuperSynthFX

The SSFX is a VSTi-Plugin and thus also made for regular DAW operation. The goal of this project is to provide an analog control surface, similar to that of old analog synthesizers. The SSFX is using a touch panel to simulate this behavior. In addition, the SSFX offers the sound of vintage analog synthesizers, as well as advanced sound design possibilities, such as sampling.

Instead of using mouse controls, the finger or a pen can be used to control the sliders. Creating your own sounds can be done very intuitively, with the help of virtual sliders, buttons and knobs. Control them as you would control an classic synthesizer with an analog control surface.

A building plan for a cheap DIY Music Touch Panel PC (MTP-PC) and a rudimentary sample library are available at the SuperSynthFX site.

The Dragon Midi Controller features a touch screen panel and real hardware encoders on a LCD screen.

It’s a very interesting combination of software and tactile controls.

Let me know what you think of this! Is this the future of computer music?

via PauloEgidioSilva

The Evolution Control Committee have invented a rear-projected infrared-activated faux-touchscreen mashup controller…hacked from the Nintendo Wiimote.

It’s a bizarre McGyver – but you got to love the giant screen and the “insanely overloaded Ableton Live” running on it.

According to the ECC, the Mashup Controller is ”the secret sauce that makes The ECC’s Wheel Of Mashup live mashup shows possible.”

If you’re not familiar with the ECC, they claim to have been to have been “creating illegal music since 1986, when copyright infringement was done the hard way.”

When they aren’t creating McGyver’d music controllers, they’re coming up with new euphemisms for sex. As if “doing the mashup” wasn’t good enough. 

Let me know what you think of this 4′ wide Mashup Controller!

This is a cool video demo via audiolemon of an interesting DIY touchscreen drum machine project. The audio & video are a little raw, but you can see this project has potential.

Here’s a high level explanation of how this was put together:

If you want to build one yourself you’ll need MAX/MSP. You can download the demo for a month and give it a go. If you’re a student you can get it for $59 for 9 months and the $211 after that. If you are just a working stiff (it’s normally $700) go over to Dance-Tech.net and find out if you can avail of the special offer for artists (same deal as students!!!)

The touchscreen was $65 from http://www.lavatechnology.com. It’s a 5 wire resitive touchscreen overlay. If you buy one from Lava mention this post and I get a free~ish one You can find out a lot about touchscreens if you go to Elotouch. They have a great comparison chart that makes it all pretty easy. 5 wire resitive seemed to suit me the best. It is supposed to be good for a million touchs, works ok in heat and cool (venues) and is pretty cheap.

The last piece was Eric Lyons Potpourri externals for Max/MSP. Although there are some problems for me the simplicity of the sample accurate timing wins out over many other concerns. Download it free from http://www.sarc.qub.ac.uk/~elyon/LyonSoftware/MaxMSP/

The VST effects I use come from Audio Damage. The Reverence and Dubstation are two of my favourite effects. I just find them easy to use and pretty musical. I could have used a reverb external in Max/MSP or built my own feedback delay but I like the Audio Damage stuff so leave well enough alone for now.

This is a demo of a MaxMSP patch which implements the Live API Hack by MDK

It features a 5 x 40 clip grid that grabs Clip and Scene names as well as clip colors from the current Live set. I use it to control Ableton Live with an inexpensive touchscreen monitor.

More on the Live API here.

This is a demo of a couple multi-touch music apps, created by Seth Sandler:

Two applications I created for a multitouch table I am building. Both applications are still a work-in-progress.

Find more on DIY multitouch tables and applications at my blog ssandler.wordpress.com or www.nuigroup.com.

Thanks to Adi, Deej, and Muhneer for making these videos on their tables since mine is still in progress.