Re: Octophonic sound system

["Dennis Leas" <dennis@mdbs.com>]

Cool stuff, Richard!  Inspiring to hear about it!

A pan control seems to be a problem in general for immersive sound set-ups.
I suppose there's probably a better word than "panning" since we mean
placement in 3-space.  Maybe a joystick with a pot on the stick's top.
Moving the stick from side to side and forward to back places the sound in
2-space; twisting the stick (or rather the pot on top of the stick) adjusts
the "altitude" of the sound.

For a live performance, I've thought about a more visually appealing 
panning
interface -- The performer stands (or sits) in a space analogous to the
house.  He or she picks-up a token of some sort (we'll call it a
"control-egg" for our discussion).  The egg has one or two buttons on it 
and
a link (probably wireless) to a control processor.  The performer also
selects a particular channel of sound to control.  When one button on the
egg is pressed, the 3-space location of the selected sound follows the
location of the egg.  For example, as the performer moves the egg in a
circle, the sound pans around the room.  Releasing the button "freezes" the
sound at that location.  This controller is similar to a Buchla Lightning,
but with an added dimension of control.

Great fun could be had (I suspect) by building an "industrial strength"
control egg and tossing it to the audience.

Dennis Leas
-------------------
dennis@mdbs.com