Yup - you can do pretty much anything in Max/MSP.
I'm trying to avoid it. It feels like using a steamroller to crack an egg. If only I could download Max/MSP patches onto a guitar pedal - then I'd be happy.
Pitch to CV, and related.. TECHNICAL! Part 2.
Posted: 4/25/2009 7:49:52 AM
Fred wrote: [i]Working on my SkyWave Theremin, this has become the most difficult area to resolve - I have realised that there is good reason for the small number of knobs on Theremins - Unlike synths, where the player occasionally has a spare hand, one does not have this luxury..[/i]
I think part of the problem is that the theremin has feet in both the classical music and the electronic music camps.
To characterise its use as a classical instrument (based mostly on comments posted here and on levnet over the last few years) - that a theremin has more than one voice is a bonus in the classical world, which is largely populated by acoustic instruments that by their nature have a single timbre. References to changing timbre mid-performance are rare and are mostly restricted to choosing a preset on the etherwave pro to either complement or contrast with other instruments in an ensemble. Mostly timbres used are not too far away from other classical instruments. I look forward to being corrected by a classical thereminist, but I think a few carefully chosen presets would cause their cup to overflow. Say: a few classic theremin voices - RCA, tVox, ethervox for instance and "brassy", "stringy" and "woody".
For the electronic musician my opinion is that presets are an undesirable aspect of electronic music - the synth users I know would rather spend time developing a timbre specific to a piece than resort to using a preset. I suspect that for the dedicated electronic musician it does not matter how many knobs the instrument has - there will never be quite enough, but that a few programmable presets would make their life easier during a performance to enable them to switch quickly between the sounds they have developed.
And - as Thierry suggested a couple of weeks ago - only 20% of the sound comes from the waveform - the other 80% is in the player's hands.
I think part of the problem is that the theremin has feet in both the classical music and the electronic music camps.
To characterise its use as a classical instrument (based mostly on comments posted here and on levnet over the last few years) - that a theremin has more than one voice is a bonus in the classical world, which is largely populated by acoustic instruments that by their nature have a single timbre. References to changing timbre mid-performance are rare and are mostly restricted to choosing a preset on the etherwave pro to either complement or contrast with other instruments in an ensemble. Mostly timbres used are not too far away from other classical instruments. I look forward to being corrected by a classical thereminist, but I think a few carefully chosen presets would cause their cup to overflow. Say: a few classic theremin voices - RCA, tVox, ethervox for instance and "brassy", "stringy" and "woody".
For the electronic musician my opinion is that presets are an undesirable aspect of electronic music - the synth users I know would rather spend time developing a timbre specific to a piece than resort to using a preset. I suspect that for the dedicated electronic musician it does not matter how many knobs the instrument has - there will never be quite enough, but that a few programmable presets would make their life easier during a performance to enable them to switch quickly between the sounds they have developed.
And - as Thierry suggested a couple of weeks ago - only 20% of the sound comes from the waveform - the other 80% is in the player's hands.
Posted: 4/25/2009 8:48:58 AM
From: Eastleigh, Hampshire, U.K. ................................... Fred Mundell. ................................... Electronics Engineer. (Primarily Analogue) .. CV Synths 1974-1980 .. Theremin developer 2007 to present .. soon to be Developing / Trading as WaveCrafter.com . ...................................
Joined: 12/7/2007
[i]"For the electronic musician my opinion is that presets are an undesirable aspect of electronic music"[/i]
Replying to this, I realize it is a long way off the topic of this thread.. so perhaps best to move it to here (http://www.thereminworld.com/forum.asp?F=3&T=3966&cmd=p&p=1)
Replying to this, I realize it is a long way off the topic of this thread.. so perhaps best to move it to here (http://www.thereminworld.com/forum.asp?F=3&T=3966&cmd=p&p=1)
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