If you've been lusting after a Lemur touchscreen controller but don't have $2495, then you might be interested to see that Apple have just patented a tablet pc/touchscreen/giant iPod thing. Aside from the fact that Jonathan Ive really can't draw hands, what's interesting is that it has multi-touch support, like a Lemur. Multi-touch is the reason why the Lemur is cool - you can push ten different faders up and down at once, and this Apple product will be able to do the same. The cheapo touchscreen monitors you can pick up for a few hundred pounds can only do single-touch, which isn't really the same at all. (Clearer now, Yeti?)
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It's hard not to lust after the fantastically cool and clever Jazzmutant Lemur synth controller. But if you don't have €2190 and an enthusiasm for Max/MSP, Danish developers Livelab's Tablet 2 Midi software could be the next best thing. It's currently beta, but shouldn't cost more than €50. You can pick up a basic tablet PC for £200-£250 on eBay (the Fujitsu Stylistic range is the absolute bottom of the range), and a cheap usb/midi cable. Of course, it will only be mono-touch (the Lemur can take simultaneous movements from ten (or more) fingers. And the Lemur software is the best looking music software I've ever seen. This isn't. And you'll look pretty dorky with a cruddo HP tablet PC. But it's cheap, and until Behringer announce the £150 LM-2000 Multitouch Instrument at NAMM 2006, it's all we've got. (via Matrix Synth)
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If you're lusting after a JazzMutant Lemur controller, but don't have €2,000, here is a cheap alternative. Mono Touch Live runs on any PC with any touchscreen monitor, and it's set up to control Ableton Live. It's not the first, but it's (nearly) a real commercial product, and it certainly has the look. It was developed by Argentinian DJ Pablo Martin (DJ Grobe), and should be available in October. Obviously it's single touch only (one of the many magic things about the real lemur is that you can control as many parameters as you have fingers, simultaneously). It's not user-programmable, and it doesn't come in a super-cute all-in-one controller, but until Behringer release the Marmoset MS1000 multi-touch controller for £99, it's the best we have.
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Tom writes to direct us towards the Erol Alkan forum for the first pictures I've seen of the inside of Daft Punk's pyramid. I'd always assumed they were using two laptops running Ableton and/or Google Mail and/or Linerider, but their setup is wonderfully (and predictably) cool and eccentric: It looks like: 4 x Moog Voyager racks, 2 x Behringer BCR2000 controllers, and possibly 2 x Lemur controllers in the middle (DP endorse the Lemur). Presumably there's also some computers somewhere, but there don't seem to be any keyboards involved at all. Ps: Daft Punk? 290,000 views and counting... UPDATE: Seems my alma mater Mixmag have captured a better shot of inside the Daft Punk pyramid, together with some words from Guy & Thomas.
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How I scoffed. Way back in October, when I first reported on the fantastic-sounding Lemur touch-screen control surface, I sniggered at their claim that they'd be for sale in 2005. Now, Create Digital Music is delighted to report that real, live, great-looking, for-sale, Lemurs are leaving the factory. In boxes! For $2495! It warms my heart. Meanwhile, Summer NAMM starts on July 22nd. Do you think Behringer will have their B-Control LM-1000 touch screen interface ($24.95) ready? (Joke!)
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I was very sceptical back in October, but it looks like Lemur - the great-looking French 12" touchscreen music controller - will be released in 2005. They've done a deal with Cycling 74 to deliver the first Lemurs to customers in April 2005, priced at $2,495. You can buy a 17" touchscreen monitor for £550, so expect prices to drop fast if this thing takes off. (
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If you've lusted over the Lemur, but you can't afford it, and you're not Bjork, so you can't get hold of a ReacTable, help is around the corner. This is an amazing video of the Multi Touch Console in action a some supergeek conference - it was also at the Superbooth at MusikMesse this year. It's an open source design, put together by designers/programmers in Berlin. It runs on a cheap PC, a bog standard projector, an OEM camera, some wood, some reinforced glass, some lights and a projector screen. The software is free. See it for real at the next Dorkbot London. UPDATE: Always the first at the party, Microsoft have now annouced 'Surface', a clone of this product (and ReacTable). It will cost $5-10,000 and comes complete has the lamest sequence of product videos you'll ever see.
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The problem with writing this blog is that people think I am the geekiest man in the world. Fortunately, I know I'm not, because I don't know Max: 1. Scratch monkey This guy has set up a patch (using Miss Pinky) which lets him scratch his own voice, live, using real vinyl records. Does it work? Well, watch the video. You won't forget it. 2. SP-1200 Video Guy turns his classic SP-1200 sampler/drum machine into a video sequencer. 3. Jamie Liddell talking about Max Uniquely, he's using it to make music with both a beat and a tune 4. Sexy Lemur+Max drum sequencer patch When big Mac screens all go multi-touch, we'll all be able to do this... 5. Gamepad-controlled breakcore Just a little bit like Jones in Nathan Barley. 6. Controlling sound using RFID tags Well, yes, that works... 7. Dude with saxophone and twitchy arm Again, does this sound familiar? (Thanks, Steven) 8. Guitar Zeros Nice profile of the band who use Guitar Hero 2 controllers and Max to play live (Contains the excellent phrase "I tweaked out really hard") Here's how to do it yourself. 9. Printball Not actually music, but it uses Max to control a robotic paintball gun which works as a big, slow, noisy, cool injet printer. 10. Paris Hilton Remixed Not her album, but her more famous pr0n video remixed with Max (video pretty much SFW, but turn down your speakers. You've done that already, right?)
Alternatively, for snark-free videos Cycling 74 have a big collection.
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UPDATE: Here is the download. This is what German hacker/student/musician Tob, who created the cool NitroTracker old-school tracker app for the DS has been working on: Software to turn put easy-to-use MIDI into the Nintendo DS using WiFi. Previously, you've had to use hardware. The DS obviously sucks as a keyboard, but is great as a little X-Y controller like a Kaoss Pad, and presumably there's no reason why he can't build a simple XOX drum programmer, a little Lemur clone, or even a virtual Monome. Tob is still developing the software - as you can see from the video, it's in a pretty early stage - but it will be released ASAP. And even if you don't have a DS, stick with this video long enough to hear the guy playing 'We Will Rock You' though the onboard sounds... (via the wonderful Robot Porn blog, which is currently building a MIDI Keytar. Thanks Philip)
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This talk at TED from Jeff Han, research scientist at New York University's Media Research Lab, is an incredible demo of multi-touch interfaces. Jeff's demos go way beyond what the Lemur can do, and suggest a load of exciting musical possibilities. (via Boing Boing, with Jeff previously featured on CDM) UPDATE: All your multi-touch news desires can be satisfied by Chris at Pixel Sumo.
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At the moment it's nothing more than some nice looking renders and a half-finished website, but it's hard not to be intrigued by the Sonoric Synth. The Dutch website is full of gaps and slightly dodgy translation: "As a result of so many new technologies we are now able to create analogue synthesizers, which can be digitally programmed as well as re-programmed. Our synthesizer can be used as an analogue FM, additive, subtractive and wave table synthesizer, with the power of real analogue sound processing." BUT, it's not inconcievable that they've built a synth using Anadigm's new programmable analog chip technology (which James at Retro Thing can explain far better than me). In which case, it would allow you to create a real analog Moog filter, then press a button and re-arrange the transistors into a real analog 303 filter. Maybe. Sort of. Of course, it's equally possible that they're talking about virtual analog, or 'from their arse'. The synth was invented by Cris Badea, who currently works in support for a big music gear manufacturer. Anyway, I was very sceptical about the Lemur (very old link), which is now in the shops. So, if this thing ends up like a kind of Nord Modular with reprogrammable analog components, then that will be lovely, won't it?
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UPDATE: Here's the 2007 Music Thing Christmas Gift Guide
I think it must be pretty much impossible to buy music geek presents for music geeks. But if I had to try...
£8.99 Editors Keys: Little sticky labels to make Cubase/Sonar/Reason much easier
$10-40 T-Shirts for music geeks: Let me know if you find more
$12 An album by Link Wray: The coolest stocking filler you'll ever see
$17.95 Electric Kazoo: Cheaper than a theremin, and twice as noisy.
$23 Buddha Machine: Giving a CD = boring. Giving a tiny electronic music box = not boring
£19.99 Paper pipe organ kit: Will keep you very busy on Boxing Day
$39 Dubstation: I'm not sure software is a suitable festive gift, but this amazing dub box is a great virtual stocking filler
$49.99 GuitarPlug: Add a USB port to any guitar
£35 Mojobow: Single string slide guitar. Rockin!
$55 Speakjet Voice Synthesizer: For talking like Hawking
$59 Pink Flying V Ukulele: The guitar your kids really want
$77/Octave Chromatic desk bells: As used by Meg White
£59 Wesley Perspex Kids Guitars: Perfect 'for the kids'… (May be out of stock)
$110+ Transparent Les Paul: In case you don't have kids.
$100 (per month) Dotcom Modular Synth Subscription: By the summer, you'll be making noises
$149 Hottie Amps: They'll think you've given them a toaster! They'll be wrong!
$154: Paia Fatman: Analog synth kit, if you love the smell of solder in the morning
£100+ A Vintage Reel-to-Reel. Click to search eBay for (revox, studer, teac) +reel, or trawl car boot sales
$140 Blue Snowball: Amazing looking USB microphone. Remember the huge shock mount
$159 Drumometer: Join the world's fastest growing extreme sport: Really fast drumming
$179 Ampeg Scrambler: The originals cost $1000. These don't
$180/octave Bigfoot Keyboard: Batteries not required for more Xmas morning hilarity
£130 Riyaz Master Tabla Machine: Self contained Indian drum machine
$289 Moolon Pedals: Amazing engraved effects pedals from Asia
£220 MFB Synth II: Tiny, cheap analog Minimoog clone with a sequencer
¥39,800 Fernandes ZO-3 Travel Guitars: Available in any colour except boring, although mainly Jap only
$300 TC Electronic Pedals: Just the best looking pedals in the world (I reckon)
$407 Stroh violin:Amazing amplified acoustic violin, used by Tom Waits
$425 Sonar Axe: Just to see the look on Granny's face when they open the parcel on the 25th
$429 Memory Lane: Diamond's very clever analog delay pedal
$499 iMP Tube Amp: The best looking little hifi amp ever (thanks Chris)
£350-ish Moog Prodigy: The best bang-for-the-buck vintage Moog money can buy
$699 Future Retro Revolution: It's roundy, it's white, it's analog and it's bleepy
$729 Moogerfooger Analog Delay: Buy it for your newborn and say it's an investment
€2190 Lemur: Incredibly sexy and clever. Looks like an old computer monitor
What do you want for Christmas? Share in the comments
Another MIT graduate thesis, but I'm not going to shoehorn this one into my getting-old-fast DIY week. Olli from shinerclay.com (and New Jersey) writes to remind me about Audiopad, a truly amazing music interface that pisses all over Lemur. James and Ben took some 'pucks' containing radio transponders, a matrix of antennae embedded in a flat surface and a video projector, and combined it all with an astonishingly cool interface. It's really too great to try to explain in words, so watch this video: QT High/QT Low. It starts out with a bit of student ravey stuff, but stick with it. That interface really is amazing. At the moment, all James and Ben are doing is winning a bunch of awards with Audiopad, but say they're 'looking at commercialisation'. ps: I wish I'd gone to a college where this counted as work and John Maeda was a teacher.
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Thanks again to Tommy Walker III, who tipped me off about the appallingly badly named Jazz Mutant Lemur (yes, it's French). It's a touchscreen control surface. To get any idea of what it does, you'll need to watch these videos: 1, 2, 3, 4. It looks amazing, in a very Jean Michelle Jarre way. No price yet, with availability apparently in 1st Quarter 2005 (but don't hold your breath). More
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If you've been lusting after a Lemur touchscreen controller but don't have $2495, then you might be interested to see that Apple have just patented a tablet pc/touchscreen/giant iPod thing. Aside from the fact that Jonathan Ive really can't draw hands, what's interesting is that it has multi-touch support, like a Lemur. Multi-touch is the reason why the Lemur is cool - you can push ten different faders up and down at once, and this Apple product will be able to do the same. The cheapo touchscreen monitors you can pick up for a few hundred pounds can only do single-touch, which isn't really the same at all. (Clearer now, Yeti?)
Posted by Tom Whitwell. Story permalink. 16 comments 
It's hard not to lust after the fantastically cool and clever Jazzmutant Lemur synth controller. But if you don't have €2190 and an enthusiasm for Max/MSP, Danish developers Livelab's Tablet 2 Midi software could be the next best thing. It's currently beta, but shouldn't cost more than €50. You can pick up a basic tablet PC for £200-£250 on eBay (the Fujitsu Stylistic range is the absolute bottom of the range), and a cheap usb/midi cable. Of course, it will only be mono-touch (the Lemur can take simultaneous movements from ten (or more) fingers. And the Lemur software is the best looking music software I've ever seen. This isn't. And you'll look pretty dorky with a cruddo HP tablet PC. But it's cheap, and until Behringer announce the £150 LM-2000 Multitouch Instrument at NAMM 2006, it's all we've got. (via Matrix Synth)
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If you're lusting after a JazzMutant Lemur controller, but don't have €2,000, here is a cheap alternative. Mono Touch Live runs on any PC with any touchscreen monitor, and it's set up to control Ableton Live. It's not the first, but it's (nearly) a real commercial product, and it certainly has the look. It was developed by Argentinian DJ Pablo Martin (DJ Grobe), and should be available in October. Obviously it's single touch only (one of the many magic things about the real lemur is that you can control as many parameters as you have fingers, simultaneously). It's not user-programmable, and it doesn't come in a super-cute all-in-one controller, but until Behringer release the Marmoset MS1000 multi-touch controller for £99, it's the best we have.
Posted by Tom Whitwell. Story permalink. 18 comments Post a Comment 
How I scoffed. Way back in October, when I first reported on the fantastic-sounding Lemur touch-screen control surface, I sniggered at their claim that they'd be for sale in 2005. Now, Create Digital Music is delighted to report that real, live, great-looking, for-sale, Lemurs are leaving the factory. In boxes! For $2495! It warms my heart. Meanwhile, Summer NAMM starts on July 22nd. Do you think Behringer will have their B-Control LM-1000 touch screen interface ($24.95) ready? (Joke!)
Posted by Tom Whitwell. Story permalink. 5 comments Post a Comment 
This talk at TED from Jeff Han, research scientist at New York University's Media Research Lab, is an incredible demo of multi-touch interfaces. Jeff's demos go way beyond what the Lemur can do, and suggest a load of exciting musical possibilities. (via Boing Boing, with Jeff previously featured on CDM)
At the moment it's nothing more than some nice looking renders and a half-finished website, but it's hard not to be intrigued by the Sonoric Synth. The Dutch website is full of gaps and slightly dodgy translation: "As a result of so many new technologies we are now able to create analogue synthesizers, which can be digitally programmed as well as re-programmed. Our synthesizer can be used as an analogue FM, additive, subtractive and wave table synthesizer, with the power of real analogue sound processing."
"Well, sorta," writes Quentin. "The Nokia 770 will be released Q3 2005, runs Linux and is completely open source. For $350, it sure beats that 'Lemur' thing. I'll be getting two!"
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Another MIT graduate thesis, but I'm not going to shoehorn this one into my getting-old-fast DIY week. Olli from shinerclay.com (and New Jersey) writes to remind me about Audiopad, a truly amazing music interface that pisses all over Lemur. James and Ben took some 'pucks' containing radio transponders, a matrix of antennae embedded in a flat surface and a video projector, and combined it all with an astonishingly cool interface. It's really too great to try to explain in words, so watch this video: QT High/QT Low. It starts out with a bit of student ravey stuff, but stick with it. That interface really is amazing. At the moment, all James and Ben are doing is winning a bunch of awards with Audiopad, but say they're 'looking at commercialisation'. ps: I wish I'd gone to a college where this counted as work and John Maeda was a teacher.
Posted by Tom Whitwell. Story permalink. 2 comments Post a Comment 
Thanks again to Tommy Walker III, who tipped me off about the appallingly badly named Jazz Mutant Lemur (yes, it's French). It's a touchscreen control surface. To get any idea of what it does, you'll need to watch these videos: 1, 2, 3, 4. It looks amazing, in a very Jean Michelle Jarre way. No price yet, with availability apparently in 1st Quarter 2005 (but don't hold your breath). More
Posted by Tom Whitwell. Story permalink. 1 comments Post a Comment