Sunday Synth Jam: This video, via Mark Harris, captures a synth jam on the Madrona SoundPlane, controlling the Aalto software synthesizer.

The Soundplane is a computer music controller, designed to have the sensitivity and feel of an acoustic instrument. The Soundplane detects a wide range of touches on its walnut playing surface, from a light ‘tickle’ to a very firm press

Unlike a MIDI keyboard, which typically sends out just one velocity value at the start of a note, the Soundplane communicates three dimensions of information, x, y and pressure, over the entire duration of every touch.

Aalto is a semi-modular software synthesizer with an innovative, patchable UI. The heart of Aalto is a Buchla-inspired complex oscillator, with FM, timbre and waveshape controls that enable a wide range of expressive sounds.

See the Madrona Labs site for more info on the Soundplane and Aalto.