Yes, I totally agree with that. My Grandmother feels more alive than many other synths I currently have around. Still eyeing the Matriarch for that reason as well. Moog really nailed it by revisiting some of their modular circuitry and utilizing those circuits, or some similar circuits, in the Grandmother and Matriarch.
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No, E-Bow does not work. While synthetic strings with steel core are commonplace on electric violins and viola, there isnāt enough steel in the string to respond to the E-Bow.
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Probably because we have not talked about electro-acoustic instruments on this forum until very recently.
There was a lot of talk about it on other forums when Stevie Wonder was first seen playing his live around 2009. It was based on John Starrettās Starrboard designs. I heard about him when I was lurking on a microtonal music forum, as he was experimenting with microtonal tunings .
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Iām a piano player thatās starting out in synth world. So I understand you completely! Iāve never felt the same connection to anything else than a piano.
My solution was to get a weighted piano (Yamaha cp300 in my case) and add some pedals. Then play it with the delays and effects like you would play a guitar. Iād recommend checking out chords of Orion on YouTube for inspiration. Heās showing you how to use pedals with a guitar but the techniques are totally applicable to an electronic piano.
For pedals I think something like el capistan, big sky and hologram microcosm would be great starting points.
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What about getting your drum/synth outputs into a little quality analog mixing unit and 
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Nice, Iāll check that out myself!
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Thereās a waiting list for this instrument.
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For me that āinstrumentā is: Oxygen Pro 49 + DN + AH
Oxygen Pro has semi weighted keys and for the price you canāt beat it.
Playing Keyscape is quite like playing that piano you mentioned and getting lost for hours.
Maybe your answer isnāt an instrument.
Itās a MIDI controller?
Harold Budd interviews shed some light on his philosophy and practices in applying piano to effects. Rather than just slapping a reverb or harmoniser on a piano composition, heād play in response to the affected audio, letting the affected sound compose the session.
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Rather coincidental naming with Starr Labsā MIDI controllers, which the OP might be interested in.
As I watched the Harpeji production video, I prepared myself for the sticker shock of a boutique handmade guitar, and the price came in 25% over that. I have an RSI problem with basses, so Iām actually interested, by luck, in the least expensive model to use as a bass guitar. I see they once set it up as a bass model, so it can be done. One issue is that Harpeji has the footprint of a full-sized synth that always has to stay front and center. Also, I know from long experience that tapping instruments donāt work for common kinds of rhythmic and percussive playing (compare how difficult it is to play repeated note rhythms on a piano vs. a bass guitar), and thatās a requirement for me. If you can actuate the string in locations other than where you fret itāwhich does look possible on the HarpejiāI might seriously consider one.
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I notice Stevie Wonder and Cory Henry have their Harpejjis off angle instead of front and center, in their stage setups.
Marcodi claims you can pluck, strum, and slap on a Harpejji. Slapping like on bass seems the most doable - just fret with your fretting hand and slap with appropriate part of your palm/thumb like on bass. Thatās how it works on Stick. Strumming and plucking look less ergonomic on Harpejji.
For quick repeated notes, you could probably just hammer-on a fret with one finger, then hammer on the same pitch but different fret with another finger. On guitar, a similar approach is fretting the same pitch on the G and B strings, picking the G string with a pick and picking the B string with a free finger. The same could be done on other pairs of strings, but the reach is shortest on G&B.
Generally though, I think the Harpejji would benefit more from a Clavinet style of playing than guitar/bass styles if you want to get funky on one.
Hereās a guy playing one of the most iconic funky Clavinet parts ever at 1:24
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Proof of the pudding: if I could just demo the thing, Iād know within minutes if its ergonomics will suit me physically, then some weeks to see what I can do with it. They have the 10-day tryout period, but all things considered, it looks like a low percentage play for me so that I hesitate to put them and myself through all the trouble of an overseas transaction.
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some of the synths that have āfelt likeā instruments to me:
buchla 200, with 200e and 100.
buchla easel.
korg modular
monomachine and machinedrum.
Ensoniq asr10/eps.
machinedrum
mpc 2000xl
juno6
Jupiter 6
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Fair enough.
Repeated bass notes on Chapman Stick were not easy for me - at least the technique of drumming the note on the same fret with alternate fingers. Repeated notes by hammering on different frets was even more difficult because the 5ths tuning moved the same-pitch frets further apart. Using the other hand to pluck repeated notes was most comfortable, but then I had to give up playing notes on the melody side of the stick, because the hand that would have played those notes was now stuck with plucking duty.
Guitar and modular synths provide me with that experience the most. Every time I create a new patch on my Eurorack system itās a new experience.
The rumble module is a must-have for the OP-Z!
Together, this combo is just a miracle - holding it in your hands and crafting beats to nice vibrations.
While the OP-Z by itself feels very cheap and rather like a plastic toy - with the rumble module inside, the OP-Z suddenly is a really cool unit with more weight to itā¦ having beats and melodies vibrate in your hands is just: fantastic. The haptic connection is definitely there.
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yeah. I had two Sticks for years and had exactly the same experience: itās everything you expect of it, but not a substitute for a bass guitar. Hammering the same fret is very limited (my piano analogy), and the alternate strings technique sounds great, but really narrows the Stick down so that you might as well play a bass unless youāre mixing techniques like a soloist and not holding down rhythm duties (or youāre Tony Levin). Same with strumming: you can do it, after a fashion, but itās no playerās substitute for rhythm guitar, which is all I ever do on guitar. It looks to me like the Harpeji is most likely in exactly the same territory, though Iād like to verify that for myself.
Epic!
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