Click, turn, push+turn. Use the Luminth to generate melodies, percussive grooves, and ambient soundscapes. Make dramatic changes to the music with a single click. Dive deeper to make refined, subtle adjustments. Or let the software work autonomously to create music that morphs over time.

The Luminth is the new product from NTHSynth, a collaboration between Kevin Holland (sineqube.com) and John Staskevich (highlyliquid.com).

The Luminth is a minimalist USB control peripheral. To use the Luminth, simply click, turn, and push+turn. The Luminth changes color with the music.

Luminth Orbiter is a generative music software application. Make dramatic changes to the music with a single click. Dive deeper to make refined, subtle adjustments. Or, let Orbiter work autonomously to create music that morphs over time.

The Luminth is the best way to control Luminth Orbiter software, but Orbiter is fully functional with or without the Luminth.

The Luminth and Luminth Orbiter will be available for purchase at 12:01AM EST on Thursday, May 16. Check nthsynth.com on Thursday for a link to the Kickstarter project page and purchasing information.

More from Eric Szollosy, Design, Animation & Interactive Professional: web, YouTube.

The latest MSA firmware is a great fit for MIDI guitar amp and loop control projects.  Many examples, including the iPatch guitar pedal switcher, can be found at the MSA support forum.

The original Sqwerl announcement can be found here.

All of the project details including parts list, MIDI CPU configuration files, Reaktor ensemble file and FL Studio dashboard file can be found in the excellent project article by Labelwhore.  Additional discussion can be found in the project’s HL forum thread.

M.O.T. Minimalist Organic Tech from Disappearing Cowboy on Vimeo.

King’s description of the system:

Drums

• kick, one actuator.
• snare, one actuator.
• ride cymbal, two actuators to account for the high volume of repetitive patterns typically played on cymbals.
• toms, two actuators, again to account for quarter/sixteenth note repetition.
• crash, one actuator with a very long throw to really smack the crash cymbal so it stands out.

 M.O.T. Rig

• bass, mute, and distortion control. (big muff)
• guitar, Moog LP ladder filter into an eventide stereo digital delay. The stereo output then goes to two different amps with independent mutes.
• synth, only one string goes to a Roland GR-30, which has its own mute as well.

M.O.T. Batar

• has three outputs. Bass, guitar, and synth.
• tuning E (bass string), E,B,E,B,E. (five other strings)
• top three strings are attached to a modified Bigsby tremolo which creates a relative detune effect.

Because everything is controlled by MIDI, we can shift scenes and tempos for each song, or even in between songs. The vocal delays and guitar delays are in perfect sync with the tempo which the drums precisely adhere to. If the tempo is at 135, everything is locked at 135.

 

I originally controlled everything with a laptop, but found a karaoke device that plays back MIDI files to use instead.

 

All the different scenes and transitions are triggered automatically. And the entire set is set up like a playlist. We hit one button and the entire show plays without any foot controllers or input like that of any kind. It’s all automated, with the exception of playing the instrument, of course.

The rig employs two Highly Liquid MSA-P MIDI decoders to trigger drums, route audio signals, switch amplification channels and control effects.  An MPA MIDI decoder is used to automate control of the Moog ladder filter.

The new Disappearing Cowboy album, Revolute, is available from every major online music distribution platform including Amazon, iTunes, Soundcloud, and several others.

• Store and recall compound MSA output states (presets) using MIDI commands from any footswitch (program change, CC, or note).
• Change individual MSA output states independently using specific CC or note commands.
• Specify that certain MSA outputs respond to both preset recall and individual control, while other MSA outputs respond only to individual control.

The MSA (“MIDI Switch Array”) is a MIDI decoder with 8 on/off outputs that respond to almost type of MIDI input message.  It operates from a 9V battery or other 9VDC power supply.  The MSA-P and MSA-R offer SPST relay output.  The MSA-T offers NPN transistor output for relay or solenoid control.

The source files can be found at the Highly Liquid Forum:

• MIDISpeak design source
• MIDI2600 design source

For those interested in Atari 2600 retrofits, the MD24 (joystick control) or UMR2 (keypad control) can be used.