Looper's Delight Archive Top (Search)
Date Index
Thread Index
Author Index
Looper's Delight Home
Mailing List Info

[Date Prev][Date Next]   [Thread Prev][Thread Next]   [Date Index][Thread Index][Author Index]

Re: MIDI Tuba



Wow!  Thank you all for the amazing input!  Couple of clarifcations:
I'm playing multitimbrally quite alot on the old FunkEngine by doing
the sing+buzz vocalization trick... maybe this wouldn't capture that
well, which would be fine, just a different constraint.  Totally agree
on the low frequency problems, i'm often playing Bb 2 octaves below
the bassclef staff... it's like 33hz..

I also agree with staying off the midi tip... i'm trying to stay more
in loop(ableton)+vst+mic to pedals to guitar amp sort of things.. the
sticky is big big octave shifts to be able to play melodies up in
normal ranges and not have it sound like a hamster is stuck in my
mouthpiece.  Or, bail out from up there, and just loop next to richard
on stage and let him handle everything above 250hz :)  which brings us
back to the two loopers working together conversation, sync, and all
those lovely issues. So much fun!!

On 6/15/07, Mech <mech@m3ch.net> wrote:
> At 3:00 PM -0400 6/15/07, Bill Fox wrote:
> >Sorry Richard,
> >
> >The hex pickup you mention is an electric guitar pickup that depends
> >upon a metal string vibrating.  It won't work otherwise.  However, I
> >would suggest to Richard that he get a contact mic and feed it to a
> >pitch-to-MIDI converter.  I don't know what devices are out there
> >these days.  The Roland VP-70 from the '80s might work although it
> >is meant for voice input.  Considering the low register of a tuba,
> >you might be plagued by excessive conversion times.
>
> Bill's spot on with his write-up.
>
> What might also be an interesting experiment, though, would be to
> wire up a contact mic/piezo element to one terminal on a 13-pin cord,
> then try running the signal into a modelling processor like the
> Roland V-Bass, which is tuned to handle low-frequency content.
>
> The GK pickups are designed to split each string into its own
> individual signal.  As Bill pointed out, these pickups -- just as
> conventional guitar pickups -- are dependent upon a vibrating metal
> string.  However, we know other sources can work.  There are
> GK-compatible piezos, for instance, that work fine for nylon-string
> guitars.
>
> Since you'd just be sending a single signal, figure out which one of
> the 4 - 6 bass strings most closely matches the range of a tuba, then
> wire a cheap contact into that pin of the 13-pin plug.  Since it's an
> experiment, you'll most likely want to borrow a V-Bass for an
> afternoon, but I'd bet you'd get some interesting results.
>
> Oh, and I'd probably stick with physical modelling technology and
> stay away from MIDI.  Even if you manage to get decent tracking
> (well, a tuba is a monophonic signal) the long wavelengths being
> processed by a "pitch-to-glitch" converter are likely to cause an
> irritatingly long delay.
>
> Otherwise, I've heard good things about the IVL PitchTrack (hard to
> find) as well as the old Fairlight (impossible to find)
> pitch-tracking unit.
>
>        --m.
> --
> _____
> "I want to keep you alive so there is always the possibility of
> murder... later"
>
>


-- 
---Miles Ward