Still looking for Mr. Yasser

"I think the Thummer was about 19 tones. I can't find info
about that or availability on the website, but here it is:

http://www.thummer.com/ <http://www.thummer.com/>

Graham"

Thanks for the link, Graham. Unfortunately, what I'm looking for is a
"keyboard" -- as in a traditional organ/piano/harpsichord keyboard, only
with split accidentals. It really amazes me that not a single
manufacturer of MIDI controllers even makes a DIY kit for a non-12 MIDI
keyboard of the kind I'm searching for, despite its obvious utility.

I've found weird MIDI controllers and keyboards that have 7 bazillion
more keys-per-octave than I either want or need. Light controllers,
movement controllers, MIDI controllers that count the number of oxygen
molecules you breathe and translate *that* into music info. I've found
all kinds of 7-white/5-black MIDI keyboards/synths/samplers that will
permit me to choose my favorite 12-of-whatever tuning (I have a couple)
-- but no one seems to have considered a MIDI keyboard with the
more-than-useful-but-less-than-dazzling 17-24 keys/octave range.

If I seem a bit bitchy about this -- OK, *really* bitchy -- it's because
of the frustration. I can easily get my microtones served up by the
dozen, but if I routinely use 17-19 for my music I must resort to
software (though I prefer live acoustic instruments) -- or pay out $2-4K
for a generalized keyboard with pitch-per-octave overkill. Or perhaps,
force myself to use the unacceptably clumsy,
one-tuning-divided-by-X-number-of-instruments method. Feh!

I have no doubt whatever that an inexpensive 19-tone keyboard would
prove quite popular and marketable. Why am I the only one who seems to
think so?

jls

> If I seem a bit bitchy about this -- OK, *really* bitchy -- it's
> because of the frustration. I can easily get my microtones
> served up by the dozen, but if I routinely use 17-19 for my
> music I must resort to software (though I prefer live acoustic
> instruments) -- or pay out $2-4K for a generalized keyboard with
> pitch-per-octave overkill.

What do you see for $2K? I'd like one of those.

It's not the extra buttons that cost more (well, not much more).
It's the low production volumes.

> I have no doubt whatever that an inexpensive 19-tone keyboard
> would prove quite popular and marketable. Why am I the only
> one who seems to think so?

How many people do you know would buy one?

-Carl

Hi Jon,

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "J.Smith" <jsmith9624@...> wrote:

> I have no doubt whatever that an inexpensive 19-tone
> keyboard would prove quite popular and marketable. Why am
> I the only one who seems to think so?

Actually, about 8 years ago, Yamaha attempted to patent
19-edo because they planned to build such a keyboard.

I don't know what ever happened to that plan, or if a
patent was ever granted for their keyboard, but of course
they should not be able to receive a patent for the tuning
itself.

I sympathize with your frustration, because i have played
in 19-edo a lot myself -- it's one of the tunings that
we've used a lot when we (Jonathan Glasier, Brink, and
sometimes myself and Bill Wesley) perform at the
Sonic Arts Gallery. It's fairly easy to get used to
19-edo mapped onto a regular 12-edo keyboard, but yes,
it would be a lot nicer to have an actual 19-per-octave
keyboard.

-monz
http://tonalsoft.com
Tonescape microtonal music software

Around 1988 or so, I spoke with Scott Hackelman about the possibility
of building a keyboard like that on the H-H clavichords, and using it
to trigger a production line midi instrument stripped of its plastic
7+5 keyboard. At that point in time, it seemed a reasonable
proposition, one that would certainly come under USD2000 (as the rest
of the clavichord was missing, and if the keytops could be done by
machine rather than handcarved as Scott did his two instruments). The
idea of a midi keyboard with those beautiful hard wood keys remains an
attractive one, and the resources of synthezised sound might even be a
better aesthetic fit for they keyboard, which always struck me as a
bit robust for a gentle clavichord.

Perhaps if someone is still in contact with Scott, he might be asked...

djw

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Carl Lumma" <clumma@...> wrote:
> What do you see for $2K? I'd like one of those.

Four octaves 844 keys Tonal Plexus TPX4s
preorder = 2018 USD + shipping

<http://www.h-pi.com/TPX28buy.html?o=4&c=b&s=yes&q=1&browse>

Yours,
Aaron Hunt
H-Pi Instruments

Hi Jon,

Honestly, I would absolutely love to work with you to develop
a subsemitone MIDI keyboard. But who has the $ it would
take to develop it? I don't.

Of course I want to see H-Pi take off so stuff like that can
actually happen. To do that we need to sell stuff - lots of
stuff, so we can pitch the business to investors and they will
want to give us the big bucks.

Until then we will continue doing all we can with as little as we
have.

Yours,
Aaron Hunt
H-Pi Instruments

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "J.Smith" <jsmith9624@...> wrote:
> It really amazes me that not a single
> manufacturer of MIDI controllers even makes a DIY kit for a non-12 MIDI
> keyboard of the kind I'm searching for, despite its obvious utility.
>
> I've found weird MIDI controllers and keyboards that have 7 bazillion
> more keys-per-octave than I either want or need. Light controllers,
> movement controllers, MIDI controllers that count the number of oxygen
> molecules you breathe and translate *that* into music info. I've found
> all kinds of 7-white/5-black MIDI keyboards/synths/samplers that will
> permit me to choose my favorite 12-of-whatever tuning (I have a couple)
> -- but no one seems to have considered a MIDI keyboard with the
> more-than-useful-but-less-than-dazzling 17-24 keys/octave range.
>
> If I seem a bit bitchy about this -- OK, *really* bitchy -- it's because
> of the frustration. I can easily get my microtones served up by the
> dozen, but if I routinely use 17-19 for my music I must resort to
> software (though I prefer live acoustic instruments) -- or pay out $2-4K
> for a generalized keyboard with pitch-per-octave overkill. Or perhaps,
> force myself to use the unacceptably clumsy,
> one-tuning-divided-by-X-number-of-instruments method. Feh!
>
> I have no doubt whatever that an inexpensive 19-tone keyboard would
> prove quite popular and marketable. Why am I the only one who seems to
> think so?
>
>
>
> jls
>

> > What do you see for $2K? I'd like one of those.
>
> Four octaves 844 keys Tonal Plexus TPX4s
> preorder = 2018 USD + shipping
>
> <http://www.h-pi.com/TPX28buy.html?o=4&c=b&s=yes&q=1&browse>
>
> Yours,
> Aaron Hunt
> H-Pi Instruments

Is it shipping?

-Carl

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Carl Lumma" <clumma@...> wrote:
>
> > > What do you see for $2K? I'd like one of those.
> >
> > Four octaves 844 keys Tonal Plexus TPX4s
> > preorder = 2018 USD + shipping
> >
> > <http://www.h-pi.com/TPX28buy.html?o=4&c=b&s=yes&q=1&browse>
> >
> > Yours,
> > Aaron Hunt
> > H-Pi Instruments
>
> Is it shipping?

Soon. The first shipment of new keyboard PCBs just arrived on
Monday : ) Please check the website for the most up to date info.

Yours,
Aaron Hunt
H-Pi Instruments

> > Is it shipping?
>
> Soon. The first shipment of new keyboard PCBs just arrived on
> Monday : ) Please check the website for the most up to date info.
>
> Yours,
> Aaron Hunt
> H-Pi Instruments

Please post here when you're shipping!
Keep up the good work.

-Carl