Can the Eigenharp Pico be used with MaxMSP?
Calling all Pico owners, I know there was a thread on this quite a while back but I can’t seem to find a concrete answer on this so I’ll start fresh here:
Is it possible to get MIDI messages from the Eigenharp Pico into MaxMSP? I’m really considering getting one and have so many ideas brewing for how I could make use of the device, I just want to see if anyone’s done it before!
Thanks a lot, any feedback will be appreciated.
since the eigenharp is really a controller in instrument skin, it should be a snap. i’ll be interested in other input…
looks that way, it says "MIDI in/out via USB MIDI Interfaces" so you should be all set, Max will see it just as it sees any other device (though it will have its own set of yummy control values from the key pressures, probably).
Also it looks like it will play through au plugins, and send out its own audio (from internal samplers). You’ll be able to do a lot…you can also check out the new au~ object in the "Edge" forums.
For all that valuable information, I fully expect to receive one from you asap! :)
in all seriousness, this looks like an awesome device. Pity they didn’t go with some kind of wireless setup for the data, that cord could get annoying. Though they’d need a battery then too, so…
Thanks for the responses!
I figured it would probably be ok but I wasn’t sure if Eigenharp might be one of these ‘our software only’ type hardware people. When I win the lottery, everyone on the forum can have a Pico on me! If I do end up getting one I’ll be sure feedback on my results.
With regards to the cable issue, it’s something that I thought might be a little restrictive too. Although if you think about the amount of controllers that don’t offer any wireless functionality and consider the product’s price (far lower than its ‘bigger brother’ models), it doesn’t seem so bad!
Cheers again, also anyone who can offer any info from experience with the device do speak up too!
So I got a Pico (turning 21 does have its benefits), it’s pretty sweet but it there’re a few issues (a mini slightly OT ‘early impressions’ review follows):
For starters, there was a little confusion in the device’s accompanying software, although getting the most recent version seems to have made things a little more simple. My main gripe is that a lot of the device configuration is done on the device, which is alright but, when I’m in the stages of early exploration, I’d like the option of choosing what I want using software without constantly having to refer to a booklet for which keys to press to get to which mode and which keys control what in what mode etc. (you start to get what I’m talking about) The amount of visual feedback isn’t really helping either, with a little ambiguity sometimes in the red/orange LEDs.
After getting a grip with how the modes work and with all of the included instruments (the Clarinet and Cello are seriously nice) I began following some online support tutorials/how-tos for getting MIDI data into DAWs and other software, Max was after all my primary destination for this instrument. I was having little joy when following their stages for setting up the EigenD software to work with an IAC bus, mainly as nothing in instructions seemed to match what happened when executing them. After a while I chanced opening up Max and noticed that, since I’d updated the software, EigenD came straight up as a MIDI input. This was great but I’d loved to have known that this had been added since the update, given that I’d already tried this as soon as I got the Pico. The support page is a little hard to navigate for a new user, or at least I felt a little lost.
Now that I’ve got the data into Max I’m pretty pleased. I’ve been remapping and adjusting some controls of some of my older patches to work with the breath controller and the keys are a pretty cool way to play synths and trigger audio etc. I’m having a little trouble with the data from the key ’tilts’ (used for pitch bending on the included instruments) although I’m going to keep exploring and see what can be done.
Overall I was hoping for something a little more ‘instant’ and well documented but it’s definitely something I’m going to enjoy using.
sounds awesome, green with envy here…
Wondering if some kind of data-smoothing would help with the key tilt issue. This thread has a great example patch for various smoothing techniques and is a good exposure to some clever ways of doing things. Always a good one to re-post as it can help in a lot of interactions:
http://cycling74.com/forums/topic.php?id=15180
enjoy!
Cheers for that, It might be just what I’m after. If I get anything worth showing off I’ll get some videos online!
I’d love to see some videos, very jealous too! Have bookmarked your website, do you have an RSS feed I can subscribe to for when you post updates?
http://jamesmedd.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss although it may be slow going for the next few months, I’ll hopefully be able to channel plenty of spare time into getting some recorded!