![]() ![]() The limited number of parameters makes working with the single knob and LED not too painful, but the company also provides software for Mac and Windows that shows all of the parameters simultaneously, as well as a live display of the box’s output, and it lets you name and save presets on your computer (see Figure 2). If you want to send data on more than one channel or more than one MIDI controller, you can combine up to four presets to work in parallel. Parameters are stored in a preset, of which the box holds 25. There are also settings for “attack” and “release,” which slow down changes in the data to make for smoother dynamic changes, and “boost” settings, which override those last two for dramatic dynamic changes the attack boost kicks in when you blow sharply into the mouthpiece, and the release boost takes over when you suck in. The sensitivity or “drive” parameter can be set to negative values, in which case the output value goes up when you breathe in. The parameters include MIDI channel, controller number, minimum and maximum output values, and data density. The system provides 12 parameters for massaging the data, which are accessed and adjusted on the control box, using a rotary encoder with a button underneath it, a second button, and a three-digit LED display. This allows the system to be used in a variety of different configurations: It can send data directly to a computer over USB it can send MIDI to a computer or a synthesizer it can be inserted in the path between a MIDI keyboard and a hardware module or computer interface, merging its data with the keyboard or it can, itself, be a MIDI-to-USB converter, also merging its data with an input source. The box, also stainless steel with rare-wood end pieces, has a USB input, which can connect with either a computer or a power adapter. It is wired to a control box, using 4-conductor ⅛" plugs, which processes the pressure information and translates it into MIDI. This contains the actual pressure sensor, which reads both positive (blow) and negative (suck) pressure. The air outlet from the metal tube connects with a thin silicone hose to a 1.5" long flattened cylinder of wood and stainless steel that hangs around your neck. A bulb made from a rare European tree is the mouthpiece (the company supplies two in different sizes), which screws onto a metal tube with an adjustable vent, allowing you to set the backpressure, and it also acts as a drain. This is a serious piece of gear, designed for maximum flexibility and longevity. Hornberg is a German company whose first product is the hb1 breath controller. The best MIDI pad controllers 2020: the best beatmaking and sequencing hardware Hornberg HB1 MIDI Breath Station.The best MIDI keyboards 2020: Mac, PC, iPhone and iPad MIDI controller keyboards for beginner and pro musicians.Two are from new companies and are for non-wind players who want to use their breath expressively, while the other is a wind-powered instrument from a company you know well, but is new to this area of controllers. This company started out making a converter box for BC controllers to make them compatible with non-Yamaha instruments, but now they make their own breath sensors, too, filling the vacuum–so to speak–that Yamaha left behind.)Īnd that brings us to the topic at hand three new items for introducing breath control into your MIDI system. (Musicians who pine for a BC3, but who baulk at the $300+ price it fetches on eBay, should look into a Turkish company called MRTaudio. The last model, the BC3, went out of production in 2011. It was followed by later models with more features, such as a headband, and adjustable threshold and slope controls. The first, the BC1, was introduced in 1983 along with the DX7, which had a ⅛" input jack for it. Yamaha also made breath controllers that were not instruments themselves but were air-pressure sensors designed to be used with keyboards. All of them can be played either in EWI or EVI mode.Ī few other companies have dipped their toes into the breath-controller stream–Casio with its not-quite-a-toy DH series, and the impressive but short-lived Synthophone, which was an actual alto sax packed with sensors and electronics–though none were able to achieve any market longevity. Today Akai makes one model that is just a controller, the EWI USB, and two that have built-in synths. Akai first licensed his designs in 1987 and sold complete controller and synthesizer systems. ![]() Steiner, a trumpet player, started with the Electronic Valve Instrument (EVI), which used an interface based on a trumpet, and followed it with the Electronic Woodwind Instrument (EWI). Akai makes instruments designed by Nyle Steiner, whose first electronic wind instruments date back before MIDI. ![]()
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