Hello,
we would like to have your opinion on our latest creation, a synth, a guitar or a bass, a groove box and whitch also makes the coffee!
no, that’s not true she doesn’t make coffee, well not yet
eh.
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I’m going to be honest. The video marketing you made for this thing(especially the first video) don’t make sense to me in the aspect of what the itch that only this thing can scratch is.
Off the bat, I can tell that there probably is a itch for this thing, but I can’t really figure out what that is.
Right now, it feels like what’s demonstrated is the worst of both worlds between a synth(with keys laid out in a logical manner) and a bass/guitar(a little bit hidden unless you’re used to it)
If its meant to be flashy(for performance) then its shape and look appears less cool than a keytar.
Still for being an independent creation and selling this niche method of music making for around 1000 is pretty impressive. And I certainly wouldn’t dream of being able to make and sell hardware- so congrats on that!
I just don’t understand from the easily digestible marketing why this thing needs to exist.
You felt that it should enough to make and refine the thing- so maybe try to think about how to communicate why this is an enhancement to peoples workflows/performances?
Good luck!
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I vote coffee machine
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Why should this thing exist? Basically to have the pleasure of the type of guitar playing (you hold it against you you can play with the energy of typical guitar playing) and the sound palette of a synth.
I believe that the origins are just a passion for both types of instruments and the desire that a mixture of the two could exist!
But it looks less tactile than a midi guitar?
How would this product benefit someone over that?
Sure, maybe the argument could be made that a midi guitar doesn’t have an embedded synth engine.
But a midi guitar has the same tactile feel of a guitar- with strings, active strumming, and still looks like a guitar for stage performances
There are also pedals that can convert the music played on a guitar to midi for external synths.
How would ones performances be enhanced by this?
Can the sliders be programmed to adjust user designed parameters to more closely interact with the synth components? Are there inputs for expression pedals to expand the performing interface of the synth engine?
If not, why not? That would be an argument for why this thing?
If yes, why isn’t it communicated?
Also, there’s a couple mentions of “groovebox”(from your OP) and on the site. CAN this thing act as a groovebox? Would you be able to compose multiple layers at once from this device? THAT might make an interesting argument for this thing.
If yes, why isn’t it communicated in your videos?
It’s interesting, but I’m assuming the market is quite small.
There are a lot of great guitar to midi interfaces out there already so my honest thoughts are: nice idea, but extremely niche.
I think it would be more appealing if you could also use it as a regular synth and not have to play it like a guitar all the time.
Thank you for all your insightful questions!
can we program the sliders? yes they can be programmed to act on any parameter of the sound engine!
For the expression pedal, there is no input in the hardware today. but a specific expression pedal for Elyra is being studied, it will use MIDI input.
With up to 16 voices polyphony, spread across 16 instruments/layers and with is powerful sequencer, I think we can say that Elyra has the capabilities of a groove box!
You can have one instrument with 16 voices or 16 instruments with one voice and everything in between.
Drum sounds are only produced with the synthesis engine using 1 voice for each drum sound
we are going to publish lots of videos demonstrating the multitimbral capabilities of the machine as well as its groovebox feature!
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Interesting! Okay…I’m seeing a case for this thing more.
I recommend, for future videos where demonstrating this, maybe try to make more energetic/exciting sounding music?
Its a synth Guitar. Your promotional pictures of this thing looks more exciting/vibrant than the actual demonstration videos 
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This makes a lot more sense to me! Nice
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This says it all. You need much more thorough and systematic demo videos.
I have a long experience with cross-handed tapping (Chapman Stick and Ztar MiniZ), which I’ve given up on because nothing has proved both good and practical enough. Even with more detailed videos, I know beyond a doubt that I would have to have this in my hands for a week to give it give the ergonomics and practical playabiity a fair evaluation.
To answer the question why this and not some form of digitized guitar: an instrument like this benefits from uniform fret spacing. On Chapman Stick, for example, like a guitar, the bass notes are spaced wide and the upper frets are spaced very narrow. That poses the standard challenges of technique that something like the Ztar eliminates. Chapman Stick is also big and bulky and unwieldy and is designed to be played in a certain optimal playing setup and position, just the same as, say, a bassoon.
The Ztar’s disadvantage is that the switches just never respond with a good feel, making the thing a better idea than an instrument. Your instrument’s upgrade to the latest tech might address these ergonomics and playability issues well, but it’s impossible to tell for sure without playing one. More elaborate videos and a thorough user manual might inspire the desire to try one out, I think, because as this sort of thing goes, that’s a reasonable price.
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Only because you asked…
It looks a lot like a LinnStrument to me; only less elegant, less focused, and less flexible.
The company name reads similarly too, which doesn’t help.
For starters, going on pure aesthetics alone, as someone who tours with a LinnStrument in a professional capacity, I can tell you that I have never and would never strap it to my chest like a washboard—especially a design like this, wherein it’s not just the playing surface, but the transport controls, data knob, and screen facing the crowd as well.
Don’t get me wrong, there are people who still play the keytar too; but frankly, that is an acquired taste, a very niche market, and at this point meant to be ironic, fashionably speaking.
Anyway, I’m not trying to be harsh, just honest; as I am (at least in terms of theory and application) your target audience.
Cheers!
*Edit: On a more positive note, if you were content to develop the synth engine, on its own; I know that I would be interested in a small, standalone synth, designed specifically with expressive play in mind, that could accommodate MPE controllers, complete with a host port for both power and MIDI.
The coffee thing is a solid idea too, and a close second.
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Yes, that looks interesting. The big difference from Linnstrument is how Elyra lets you hold notes, then articulate rhythmically by striking it, or whatever it is you’re doing. Linnstrument is designed to respond to pressing, not striking. I did spend a lot of time with mine setting it up as a percussion controllers, then playing it by tapping/striking, which worked in an interesting way with a little practice by melding striking with pressing.
I think Elyra could fill a niche here, but it does look a bit clumsy to hold. Linnstrument has guitar strap pins, which I’ve tried, but they seem to have no more point than a concession Roger Linn made to some demanding users who never used it. I’ve seen one guy on YT who does some cool stuff with a Linnstrument strapped on, but the playing position adds nothing: you can only play a strapped on Linnstrument with one hand, the other needed for support. Elyra, while more limited from a controller point of view, uses two hands in a way that switches things up enough to make me want to try it.
They were smart to limit it to four “strings” rather than try to emulate the Linnstrument’s eight rows: that left hand already looks awkward enough covering four rows. Alas, the look has even less vibe than a keytar and doesn’t have the history to work ironically. Everything, then, rides on its functionality, which I could only understand by having an Elyra in my hands.
I’m curious how the control-looking stuff at the top half of the instrument can come into play during performance.
“Strum” mode on the LinnStrument accomplishes this, and works exactly the same way as they have it implemented on the Elyra. There’s also a “restrike” mode on the LinnStrument.
Two-handed play is absolutely possible with the LinnStrument on a guitar strap. You don’t need to support it with the other hand at all. It just depends on how you position the LinnStrument.
Exhibit A)
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These are automated on the Linnstrument, as I recall. It looks to me like Elyra is designed to enable one hand to do a striking rhythm as it pleases, while the other chooses notes, the way I’d slap a bass. If Elyra’s more narrowly purposed design offers the kind of percussive bodily interaction you get with a bass guitar, that would be interesting. Feel is very important, but it would take quite an effort to communicate that via videos.
No, it works the same way: i.e. fret note or notes, pluck or strum string or strings (rows in this case); the highest fretted note per row sounds, allowing for pull-offs, hammer-ons, open strings, etc.
You can even combine this with the restrike function on the low row, to do all manner of rhythmic playing, with just about any articulation you need.
Cheers!
I’ve never tried out an Eigenharp. It’s strictly a controller, so doesn’t compare here 100%, but it would be interesting to hear @thetechnobear’s opinion on this topic since he has experience with a variety of instruments.