Sensel Morph

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1152958674/the-sensel-morph-interaction-evolved/description

Anyone else back this? It’s a pressure sensitive xy pad that you can use for all sorts of things and has a sdk/api.

Looks to be shipping soon. Looking forward to experimenting with it.

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This looks absolutely killer! It’s available now for $300 plus $35 per overlay pad. I could see all sorts of applications for this in all sorts of areas – but specifically relevant here would be stuff for Elektron synths. There is a general configurable midi interface already, but i’m thinking making some custom overlays like the screens in Overbridge or a 64 button sequencer with pressure sensitivity, both would be cool. You can custom print your own overlays with a 3-D printer. This has fine sensing of position and pressure, with multiple touch and fast motion sensing.

The sensitive area is 5.45" x 9.45".

I’m just reeling tons off ideas for this as i think about it.

Maybe you’ve seen this already:

Not exactly very musical, but inspiring on what sort of things might be done.

Could be really interesting. I’d like to see some overlays that are less sticky and more clicky.

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Needs to be compared with the still unfinished Joué

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This is an interesting vid for an music interface app for the Mac called Audioswift. Rather clever the way they made so many different interfaces selectable.
All these features could be implemented on the Sensel Morph as well.

I wonder how fragile it is though. It looks cool but I can’t imagine it’s a great idea to have 20000 tiny tiny sensors. Interesting bit though. Pair this with that e touché thing and you’ll be able to grope your way to a number one hit. I wanna see someone get all these and a roli seaboard and make the worlds most expressive jam

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How fragile? i am about to find out – it’s bouncing around on a fedex truck right now heading my way. Stuff i’ve read says it’s rugged enough.

Bought it on Black Friday, with several overlays . Plus i intend to develop new interfaces and 3-D print them. I like that it’s got hooks to Max/MSP and M4L. I’ve got a few different interfaces that i plan to play with and pull together for a variety of things.

And i intend on getting a Touché sometime too.

Keep us posted. It’s cool that you can make your own overlays, seems a bit like lemur meets Keith mcmillen gear. You can probably somewhat emulate a linnstrument too. How can it tell what overlay is attached? Some kind of chip?

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RFID is my guess.

RE: How the Overlays are identified

And your guess is wrong, wrong, wrong!

I think i’ve worked it out, it has to do with the position of small magnets in the overlay. I checked the magnet placement detail from the overlays i have – i’m thinking there will be thousands of unique ids. This is probably an inexpensive way to identify the overlay using the built-in capability of the hardware to detect pressure and position.

Just got started with it, but so far i give it thumbs up. It should be great for the right applications.

You’re right jb the big competition to this would be with things like Lemur. There is also something similar to Lemur from Cycling 74 (now owned by Ableton) called Mira. There is definitely advantages to the interface display being dynamic. The advantage to the Sensel Morph is first off the third dimension of force, and secondly the tactile element, you can feel the interface with the edges and ridges and valleys on the overlay.

Anyone seeking more info can check the sensel forum.

ADDED: It’s made in the USA!

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Nice, I’m a huge fan of lemur so expanding on that would be great. So many possibilities. I can definitely see myself grabbing one of these. Hows the editing software for it?

Sensel is working on an easier way to customize an interface called Overlay Creator. There are ways to do it already which require use of their API and either printing on paper and using the Innovator’s Overlay, or 3-D printing an overlay.

Still digging in to this all.

I seem to be allergic to touch-controlled devices.

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Sneeze! Sneeze!

Sensel made two announcements today.

One is the new feature to change the event type in response to all overlay maps, so for instance you can set the Game Pad overlay to send midi, or even better use the Video Editor overlay to do the same.

The second is MPE!!! It’s only an alpha release so far so this is more about announcement of a future product. (MPE => Multidimensional Polyphonic Expression)

The Video Editor Overlay:
Sensel Video Editor Overlay

Sensel need to offer an economic way of delivering more custom overlays at cost according to user design and continue their journey toward easy implementation & programmability options. A nice home-bake silicon kit would be good to mould and press your own designs…

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New detail about using a Sensel Morph for control with just an Arduino!

Hmmm, Arduino’s can do DIN Midi too … what sort of stand alone midi controller would you create?

Plus

Drum Kits for Ableton, Reason and Logic and Sensel Morph

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A demonstration using MPE with Bitwig on the Sensel Morph.