Posts made by Peter Ostry

The Sylphyo currently maps CCs 0-119. This can be a problem if you play directly to a synth that is hardwired to a bunch of CCs. Those are often in the lower range.

An example:
I play to a Blofeld which has these unused CCs:
3 6 8 9 11 63 119 124 125 126 127
And I play to a Typhon with these unused CCs:
10 32 and 99-127
Unused in both synths: 124 125 126 127

At the moment I cannot play directly (DIN MIDI) to the synths because the default Movement CCs of the Sylphyo modulate a lot of parameters automatically, which is undesirable. I would need to change the Sylphyo configuration for each particular synth preset.

For the example above, Movement mappings of CCs 124-127 would do the job and won't interfere with a synth. MIDI hardware mapping boxes are expensive and have usually only one output. So I ask for Sylphyo mapping possibility covering the full 1-127 range.

What is the Blofeld setup to play smoothly with a Sylphyo? Nothing special, just a basic setting.

In the Blofeld I tried to route CC2 to several "… Level" parameters and/or "Volume". I am not really happy but I have to admit that I don't fully understand the numeric factor between source and target.

Any hints?

Velocity should be on a very small value on the Sylphyo.

Of course not every preset will work the same with CC2, I just need a starting point. Currently searching for sounds in the factory presets, maybe you play one of these:
C 87 Mellow Tron
D 11 Patagonia
D 13 RoundTheHorn
D 65 Bach Whistler
F 38 Jazz Creeper
F 39 LA-Pipe
G 35 Poly Flute

• MIDI Mapping
     Btm. slider ctrl. "AT"
• Slider
     Btm. edge "Ctrl."

Does not work, AT is not sent.

In the Slider Btm. edge submenu we can select CC and Pitchbend, they work. I guess AT is filtered out?

I also tried "Nothing" in the Slider Btm. edge submenu just to see if AT goes through because it is already set in the Mapping menu. But no, nothing is nothing.

So far I see, the Link box does not react to CC 123 0 (all notes off).
Not even a Program Change stops a held note. Had to remove power.

I think the Link should react to CC 123.
Or at least kill notes when the program gets changed.

@drfritzon said in Anyma Phi Updates:

@laurent_aodyo Well..expression? X, Y and Z could be mapped to a wide variety of options ...

Such as? The channels of the standard MPE system cannot be determined, the numbers are automatically rotated according to some algorithm. Parallel streams of pitchbend, aftertouch and CC74 left without channel definition sounds more like problems than creative possibilities.

@reidid789 said:

new sounds are gadgets for me to work on the train or on the plane. To work seriously I am with respiro.

Oh. Oops.
Not sure if Aodyo likes to hear that ;-)

But this touches the point I am most interested in:
Will the Sylphyo's evolution go more to the sound or more to the controller? I don't expect an answer, I'm just curious.

Ok, I think I got it.
Is this diagram acceptable for a rough overview?

Mhm, not sure if I understand everything correctly:

The sensor data get processed, then manipulated/scaled by the settings, then they feed the internal synth and the sound goes out via the audio jack. From the same data MIDI gets generated in parallel and is sent out via USB.

If we use the Link box, we get basically the same control data as the Sylphyo-Synth over the radio link and the Link-Synth plays exactly the same.

Is this correct?
Is it correct, that MIDI is generally independent from the synth?

... and Link-MIDI is generated inside the Link box, from the received synth-control-data, or does it come via radio?

... and the Link knows nothing about the settings we have in the Sylphyo but rather relies on readily processed control data for it's synth?

... and when we send data to the Link's MIDI input, they go through a special interface which converts MIDI to synth-control-data but probably "wrong" because the Link does not know about Sylphyo settings?

Ojojojoj ... I wanted to draw a rough block diagram but the longer I think about the system the more I see that I know nothing ;-)

@clint
The Sylphyo is always a bit late. I'm pretty sure it's due to the physical implementation of the pressure sensor. With most other wind controllers you blow into a very small enclosed space where pressure builds up very quickly. The Sylphyo lets air through and measures somewhere on the side. Even if you completely plug the bottom hole, the pressure chamber, the entire tube, is still way too big to get close to the almost percussive sounds that are possible with other wind controllers.

This slowness translates into a longer attack phase (I wouldn't call that latency) and further translates into unrivaled low- and mid-pressure sensitivity. Maybe that was the basic idea for the instrument. Anyway, that's the only reason I play it. I don't know of any other wind controller that controls the sound with airflow alone as well as the Sylphyo.

Conclusion?
Well, maybe the same as with your native flutes. You know each instrument and what it does. Why do you have more than one flute? Why do you have only one wind controller?

—

Clint, I would like to repeat your request, maybe '@join' will hear us at some point:
Aodyo, maybe you could briefly describe the signal path internal to the Sylphyo?

Give us a block diagram. It would really help us to understand the whole system.

Aodyo needs to sell the Anyma Phi. The Sylphyo alone, as a niche poduct, cannot feed more than one person and I doubt that even that is possible. We are lucky that the Sylphyo is not computer software dependent at the moment. As long as the sensors work and USB and MIDI plays, the Sylphyo will play.

Unfortunately, Sylphyo and Anyma Phi are not a happy family. It was a clever move to borrow Mutable Instruments Algorithms and go for modern sounds, but this does not support the Sylphyo. On the other hand, Aodyo could not risk do invent a completely new and specialized wind synth as their second product and keep sitting in the wind controller niche with a handful of customers.

I changed my mind about feature requests for a Sylphyo software editor, or another communication between Sylphyo and Link, or weird special modifications that "may" be interesting. I rather want this instrument in a solid state. I am willing to talk about every single feature request, sort out what is not really necessary and finally pay a moderate amount for a good firmware update. I am definitely not interested in an eagerly programmed editor with hundreds of features but destined to end it's life in the jungle of permanently changing operating systems and new computers. I prefer to play this instrument as it is and just want to get a solid update from time to time to make it even more solid and, if possible, a little more flexible.

Otherwise, where would we go? I would not buy another WX, lost two because of hardware and/or electronic problems. I would not buy another Eigenharp, lost one because of software problems. Aerophone, Warbl? Nope. I would save myself to an Akai EWI for half the price of a Sylphyo and add a wireless MIDI box. This works for sure and is backed by a big company. But I don't like the idea because I have good reasons to play the Sylphyo.

@bo2
The left and right channels carry different sound elements. You need to hear both channels to get the right stereo sound. Second, connecting the Link output to a headphone jack would be a bad idea, these are two outputs. I don't know your Bose Soundlink speakers, but according to the website this device should have a 3.5 mm stereo Aux input. This is what you want to use.

Maybe it works to go from the Link's headphone output (1/4" stereo) to the speaker's Aux input (3.5 mm stereo mini-jack), although the output of the Link could be too high. If you have such a cable or an adapter, just try it.

The Link's left and right output are on moderate line level. You have several options to combine the two channels to a 3.5 mm stereo mini-jack. For example a long cable from 2x 1/4" mono to 3.5 mm stereo mini-jack. Or a short Y-adapter from 2x 1/4" mono to 3.5 mm stereo mini-jack female or male, plus an appropriate long cable with 3.5 mm stereo mini-jacks. Or a Y-cable 2x mono 1/4" to 1x stereo 1/4" plus an adapter from 1/4" stereo to 3.5 mm stereo. I think you got the picture: 2 big mono jacks get combined to 1 small stereo jack.

Ah, wrong interpretation on my side. As Clint guessed, it's not about the octave, it's about the tuning base.

On the Sylphyo we are curently bound to 440 Hz, at least I don't see a way to change that. I added a feature request to the update thread.

@join said in How about a Sylphyo update now?:

Are there specific things you're waiting for?

Another feature request:

Adjustable tuning base.
We are curently bound to 440 Hz, at least I don't see a way to change that. This can cause problems when a Sylphyo plays with acoustic instruments.

With C3 called the middle note, shouldn't you go up to Bb3, theoretically? This descriptive language refers to a musical system, not the sound of an instrument.

Unlike real instruments, electronic instruments do not have a natural pitch range, but are tuned to suit the programmer's preferences. There are circumstances where you need to turn an electronic instrument up or down some octaves to reach a given pitch. If it doesn't sound good anymore, you can't use that sound or you have to adjust it or play it differently.

@join said in How about a Sylphyo update now?:

Are there specific things you're waiting for?

Bug/Check:

• Dynamic velocity works with legato playing but not with single notes.

• Key reaction time 0 requires octave reaction time 0 (should be independent).

• When we tilt the Sylphy down, "Compass" output goes haywire. There should be a fixed "Elevation" limit that switches the "Compass" output off when the Sylphyo is too low (please implement hysteresis for that).

Feature requests (with dependencies):

• MIDI Thru for the Link if it is doable via software.

• Possibility to block Program Change output.

• Add Pitchbend to output messages.

• Consolidate all MIDI control parameters/menus. Every menu should have None, Aftertouch, Pitchbend and CC numbers.

• Individual range options (0-127 scaled down, could be percentage) for Pitchbend, Aftertouch and (all) CCs.

• Individually selectable MIDI channels for Notes, Pitchbend, Aftertouch and (all) CCs.

Receiving/sending MIDI settings (with an editor or without) via SysEx/NRPN/CC requires a separate discussion.

@clint I do not know how to map in Kontakt but I think, for general use, you will need a program to remap MIDI data. There must be some software available for your operation system.

Bending is indeed a problem for Sylphyo. You are right, we can only key-bend the lowest finger position. But think of less precise players than you are. If all keys would bend, these people would have a constantly whining instrument because they cannot hold all ideal finger positions all the time. And you cannot tell them "if you can't play properly, you cannot bend."

Older standard windcontrollers have pitchbend on the mouthpiece (WX7, WX5) or/and on a spring-loaded rocker (WX7, WX5) or on easy to reach contact plates (EWI). The Sylphyo does not have this opportunities, so Aodyo invented something else and we are not really happy with that.

I will stick to the bidirectional Roll function for pitchbend. It bends any note how I need it. But hearing you playing native American flutes, I am pretty sure that "Roll Bending" is not what you want. Hmmm ... I have no solution to offer.

@clint
Just to say anything:
I can't say anything.
At least not something that explains anything.

You compare the two paths in a clean way and you tried everything you can. Unless someone tells us about the signal- and processing paths (block-schema?) of the Sylphyo and the Link, we can not even guess what is going on.

—

But, aside of your technical interest, are you complaining about the 12 ms latency or worried that the time via cable and wireless route is different, or do you feel that the jitter of 1-12 ms affects your playing? If I were a perfect player, I would be worried about the random jitter that cannot be compensated while playing. But I don't feel it.

Don't talk them into a new device. I have no money for that ;-)

I don't have pixel errors, no moisture problem and I use internal sounds as well as MIDI. I do not play every day and no long gigs, so my experience may be different from other people.

But – although I do not hold back from criticizing a device or it's programming (positive and negative), I don't find much in the Sylphyo. It plays well since I got used to it.

Don't forget, there is only one programmer. Ok, this is risky, but the Sylphyo is unique on the market. If you insist on an instrument with more support and a larger user base, take the Akai EWI. For harmonica, take the Lekholm, for a plastic sax take the odisei. Like it simple? Take the Warble. If you are adventurous and don't mind a broken device every 2-3 years (if you are unlucky like me), take and old Yamaha WX7 or WX5. If you want an instrument that can react to every breath nuance and to body motions and if you do not necessarily need a sensitive mouthpiece, take the Sylphyo.

I found only one instrument that allows better and polyphonic control and with a greater potential in internal sounds, at least for my taste. The Eigenharp. But they went out of business before a general overhaul of the software could happen.

However, I am waiting for a Sylphyo update too. There are some issues and room for improvement we already discussed here.

Same problem here on a kind of pedal board. Not with Anyma Phi but with a Sylphyo Link. No MIDI Thru.

I do not understand why a device with DIN MIDI in and out does not have a thru function. MIDI was invented 40 years ago and is industry standard since 20-30 years or so. Why do modern designers think that USB could replace DIN and don't implement MIDI thru, after myriads of in/out/thru devices over decades?

Same goes for Waldorf, their desktop Blofeld doesn't even have a MIDI out jacket.

Terrible ideas which make our musical live harder and force us to spend a lot of additional money for MIDI splitters and mergers.

Oh my God ...
... and the Link follows the Sylphyo volume ...

I apologize for giving wrong information!

At the moment I play only software instruments and forgot about this volume setting.

@cbec
With Apple EarPods I have almost the same volume on Sylphyo and Link. Pretty loud. I don't have a special adapter from 6.35 mm 3-pole to the 3.5 mm 4-pole plug. A standard 3-pole (stereo) big-to-small adapter works well.

I do not know a way to adjust the headphone volume, neither on the Link nor on the Sylphyo. I think you should discuss this issue directly with Aodyo support, your Link box may not be ok.

If you want other headphones, try any affordable studio headphones between 30 and 80 ohms, closed or half-open, whatever you prefer. The less ohms, the louder. I wouldn't go lower than 30 ohms just to avoid overloading the headphone outputs. Check if the phones have the small plug and a 6.35 mm adapter. Most have. An angled small plug is fine for the Sylphyo.

@clint
No problem here with CC5 on Roll, it works.
Maybe there is something on the path, that swallows CC5. Another mapping somewhere, restriction in the receiving program etc.

Hm ... pretty large standard deviation ...
What can be the cause for such variations and do they play a role for general latency?

That's maybe Jitter. The higher the breath rate, the more jitter you get. Here are MIDI Jitter measurements from a Sylphyo connected via USB:

The first graph is just a breath example for the test, don't compare it to the other graphs. Please do not trust the 1000 Hz graph because this seems to go beyond the border of my measurement possibilities.

If a "jitter interpreter" drops unrealistic jumps instead of interpolating the history, you may get less "good" events and therefore, in an unlucky moment, more latency with a high breath rate than with the tamer jitter of lower rates. An unlucky moment could be right at the start of playing, at least this may be part of explanation why you get the best attack at the lowest rate, where almost every event counts. This is just a wild theory but as good as many others :-)

But the most important question, after you switched back from technician to musician again:
Do you actually feel a better attack with the lowest breath rate? It's clear that slow rates do not allow advanced techniques like flutter tounge, but is the overall feeling different? Specifically for the attack I would expect a timing difference between Sylphyo's audio out and any MIDI process but not so much between settings of MIDI processes. Well, for a MIDI guitar the attack is very important, but for a wind instrument ... ?

I'm not a trained horn player, but I can't create a puff of air that is comparable to the attack of a string or a key.

@join
The built-in delay of the Harrachi sound did not matter in my test. I just recorded audio from the Sylphyo and parallel via the link and measured the distance of the two attacks in a DAW. I just needed a sharp attack from both at the same time, no matter what they were thinking before (!) they sound.

There is however another uncertainty. For the first test I felt free to assume, that both devices have the same synth and both synths are triggered by MIDI. But I do not know if this is true. The Sylphyo could get controlled directly by converted sensor data while MIDI generation happens somewhere else, in parallel or not. Then the Sylphyo may be at a disadvantage, timing-wise. Maybe you can provide a block/flow schema to help us understand the principle.

@Clint
Wow. What a tough job.
I will also need a while to study your text and possibly add comments

MIDI:
Sylphyo>USB and Wireless>Link>DIN MIDI: Link is 4.4 ms late (average).
It can become more sometimes, I don't know why.
This fits to your theory of 4.35 ms for the radio link.

Audio:
From Link and from Sylphyo to the interface: Link is 2.1 ms late.
Oops. The difference should be over 4 ms, not? There are wireless MIDI and a synth in the path.

I tested audio with high notes from the "El Harrachi" sound. The attacks are clearly visible in the DAW and I measured 102 samples difference at 48 kHz.

The radio link must be faster than 4 ms, rather around 2 ms. But I've never seen audio arriving faster than MIDI. Maybe my single measurement was not correct or the Link box eats up MIDI speed.

Not quite a rig schematic, but a rigging schematic, somehow :-)

This is the first part of my Sylphyo interface to play with software instruments.

Originally I wanted it in Logic or Mainstage or another DAW I own, but the basically simple task went more complicated than I had expected. So I decided to make my own Sylphyo DAW in Max and enjoy the graphical possibilities.

Screenshot overview:

Top left, Sylphyo MIDI comes in through moving faders and is routed by a 12x12 matrix. Horizontal top is incoming, vertical right matrix border is outgoing. Each matrix output can be scaled, slowed down (Glide) and can have a curve applied. The right side of the screenshot is the graphical live display and shows all used Sylphyo messages after processing. Breath is the filled circle, blue background is Elevation, the two lines are Roll and Compass.

The screenshot tells that the Sylphyo is blown with medium force (thin outer circle is maximum). The instrument is held down and slightly rolled to the left with a bit of left Compass. The played note is a G4 with velocity 115. All other values are also shown in several colored faders.

—

Have not played much yet, but it seems to work well. Not many refinements needed, just a little technical elegance is missing (you have to look at the backside of the screenshot to see that).

Click on the image to show it in original size.

Next part to do are connections and mappings to a handful of virtual instruments.

@join In case you want to fix this:
Breath sends values 0-126 (not 127)

ad 1. Slider
Instead of just looking at numbers I tried with playing now ;-)
I agree, starting to modulate from the thumb's position is better.

ad 2. Key-bend CC
Thanks, this works. I will use it. Since I route incoming events in Max, I can now switch Key-bend on/off from there by mapping Key-bend CC to pitchbend or not. Nice.

While working on my new Sylphyo interface in Max I have seen two things:

1. Slider values are sent reversed. When I move the thumb up, the value goes down and vice versa. I am not sure if I have noticed this before. Maybe my Sylphyo is in an odd state? Or am I in an odd state myself and just feel it reversed while playing?

2. The Sylphyo does not send Key-bend CC although this is set in the device.

@jdickerson Thank you for sharing this information. I did not know about HS codes and wondered why I sometimes pay duty costs and sometimes not, for similar devices. From your story I learn that we should not be too submissive but insist to check the HS code. Everybody can communicate directly with the customs office if the transportation company cannot help.

It gets very irritating and it increases constantly. Please block those IPs or set new users to moderated or whatever the forum software supports. Or at least look more often into the forum and delete these users. Thank you.

I hope the software is not really from 2015 as the copyright note says? It would be a magnet for spammers.

Congratulations!

@fhenryco said in playing sylphyo without the hands:

probably the bite-sensitivity signal might be converted into sound pitch

You cannot play exact notes over an octave or two based on the data of a pressure-sensitive device. The movement is too small and therefore the resolution is to coarse. With appropriate conversion and depending on the device a reliable playing range may span 3-5 notes at most.

If you neither want a MIDI harmonica, no arranging your own breath sensors in a pan flute-like shape and build a converter, you could whistle or sing into a microphone and use a vochlea Dubler or sonuus G2M for conversion. This doesn't give convincing melodies though, it's more for effects.

Maybe you are better off by reversing your approach. Find another way to play the chords and get freedom for your hands to play the instrument of your choice.
 
 
@fhenryco said in playing sylphyo without the hands:

i dont really like artificial sounds and i really would like to use the sylphio to play the sounds of all kind of real wind instruments

Beside of the Sylphyo there are for example the WARBL controller or the Akai EWI, which are pure controllers and don't include synths. For natural virtual wind sounds you can look at the well-known SWAM libraries at audiomodeling.com

Just a recommendation:
Before you buy a dedicated wind controller, look at it's features and look at the features of the software or hardware you want to control. Otherwise you may buy an expensive sound generator just to find out that your controller can only handle half of it. Or vice versa, you may buy an expensive controller, but finally discover that your existing keyboard works fine for your favorite sounds.

MIDI bass pedal with 13-17 keys (=pedals) like Studiologic MP-113, Studiologic MP-117, Ketron K8 or other, plus a breath controller, preferably with bite-sensitivity, for example from Tecontrol.

Or one of those funny roll up piano keyboards on the floor – if you don't mind to wear very pointed shoes or high heels.

Or some body sensors if you are in experimental music.

You would feed the Sylphyo Link box with MIDI notes and controller data. It contains the same synth as the Sylphyo. You may need an additional box (or software) to convert the data to play in the correct range. And you cannot use the movement functions of the Sylphyo, which make it unique. And until we get an editor, you can not configure the Link box without a Sylphyo. And the feeling is completely different.

On the other hand, you can play any hard- or softsynth this way with your mouth and feet. For example the Aodyo Anyma Phi, the brother of the Sylphyo. Or is it a sister? Don't know.

Bending up and bending down with different fingers and different movements on different touch plates will never work well for all aspects. It is ok for occasional ornaments, some whining- and "woah" effects, but not for precise bending. I am not sure about the internal sounds, but for MIDI controlling the beta key-bend and the thumb-down bend can remain as they are and I see no need for refinement. This is the fun stuff. But what about precision?

I believe, rolling the thumb upwards/downwards on the slider could work with a good degree of precision, but the slider's location is too low for a natural grip. Unhappy with currently available bending and in absence of a sensitive mouthpiece or a mechanical rocker for the thumb (both old Yamaha style), I tried to use a foot pedal for bending. Couldn't find one with a middle position and the coordination feels odd anyway.

Finally I use the roll movement of the Sylphyo. The standard mode has two drawbacks:

1. the hysteresis ('platform' between left and right) is too wide for smooth bending across the midpoint and
2. it is hard to start higher or lower and bend towards the target note.

At the moment I am happy with bidirectional absolute roll mode. For some reason this mode does not allow range setting and I have to scale the data in software. Normally my roll maximum is about 40 degree left and right for 1 semitone and I adjust the synth accordingly. For larger ranges I use relative roll instead of absolute. For wild effects the absolute mode with a wide bend range is worth a try.

I have visual feedback of my data, but don't need it for bending. It is natural and easy to find and keep the neutral position of the Sylphyo. And most musicians have ears ;-) An additional advantage is the possibility to stretch octaves, typical for many real instruments. You can play low sounds a little left (lower) and high sounds a little right (higher). In absolute rolling mode, the Sylphyo controls that really good.

My suggestions for development:

1. Leave thumb-down bend as it is.
2. Leave key-bending (beta) as it is, maybe make it just less accidently and add CC output.
3. Make pitchbend a selectable output for all movements.
4. Allow range scaling in all absolute movement modes.

At the moment we cannot talk to the devices about configuration.

But I think a three-way communication between an Editor, Link and Sylphyo plus a bidirectional communication between Sylphyo and Link, when the Editor isn't here, would be a tough job for the developer and personally I would not need this. One direction would be enough for playing.

For my usage:

1. The Sylphyo should accept CCs and/or NRPN and/or short SysEx strings for single parameters. And SysEx of medium length for setting-presets. The simpler the syntax the better.

2. If we send the data to the Link, it should a) store them, and b) forward them to the Sylphyo.

This way we can send configuration data over wire and wireless. People who love to change settings directly on the Sylphyo can still do this.

Regarding the other direction, from the Sylphyo to the editor program:
It is desirable that the editor follows the Sylphyo, the instrument would send the same data in realtime. This is also a great help for custom software controllers. For receiving this data I would accept a direct cable connection to relief the Link box (actually to reduce the burden on the programmer).

Regarding preset storage:
Storage of presets from within the instrument (dump) is commonly a separate process and does not happen during a performance. I would not mind to connect an USB cable for that. Stored presets can be managed by the editor program. There is a drawback of course: Players without a computer/controller cannot load presets on stage.

I think the data need special organization. Short messages (SysEx and/or CC or NRPN) for single parameters. Medium length SysEx for "settings" storage. And the big dumps for complete configuration including the sound engine.

@clint said in Request; Sylphyo Editor:

(Sorry if this topic has been discussed previously ... I seem to recall some discussion about this, but cannot locate it in the forum logs)

In the Anyma Phi thread "Maxforlive device?"
was a discussion CC vs NRPN vs SysEx.

We did not come to a conclusion but I would still prefer a combination of CC and short SysEx, like the Waldorf Blofeld does it. Most important on CC, every single parameter via 10-Byte SysEx strings. Best of both worlds. Long SysEx only for dumps.

I need at least two swabs. One swab alone does not dry the plastic of the Sylphyo sufficiently. The BG A36B is about the size of the Aodyo swab, which is also a BG product and just a little asymmetric.

You could take two of the A36A (the long one), or one each of the A36A and A36B.

@gromit
The linked mouthpiece swab won't work. You need more fabric, longer cords, and a weight at one end.

I use Oboe swabs and they work well.

@robst247
I would give it back to the dealer because it does not work.

Nobody knows what the previous user has done to the instrument and if it ever worked, but I doubt that Aodyo accepts that as a warranty case. Cost of repair may overshoot the price difference to a new instrument.

The dealer is responsible, he sold a non-working product. I think you should reclaim your money.

@dr-vibes1 said in Breath control:

... settings or the parameters to be able to make the crescendo/disminuendo

Normally your breath. Blowing progressively harder is crescendo. Blowing progressively softer is decrescendo.

If you control other software like instrument plugins and hardware synths, velocity can be important. The optimal setting depends on the instrument. You can set velocity to a fixed value and use breath for a volume parameter or/and you set velocity to "Dynamic", where it follows the breath, more or less.

Correct. With standard settings, Roll CC is only sent when the Sylphyo plays (either blowing or in "shake" mode).

If you set the Roll parameter to "Absolute", it always sends CC, but you cannot set a range in absolute mode.

—

I thougth the "Movement > Always On" setting would switch on all movents permanently. But it does not make any difference here, at least nor for MIDI output.

@steviek said in Rig Schematics:

mixing three different signals

Are the mix ratios of the signals fixed or do you change them while playing? If dynamic – do you control the signals by Sylphyo movements?

@clint
I don't know a perfect method for rig and rack documentation. Sometimes I use only pictures, symbols or blocks, sometimes a functional overview as above and sometimes cable plans with all available in- and outputs and plug-types. I would prefer a combined view but everytime I tried it, it became huge and too complicated.

@Clint
Nice setup and beautiful documentation!

I have just a technical drawing of my setup for several instruments. I left what can be used for the Sylphyo and removed other instruments and the power supplies.

Physically it is a pedalboard with three levels. One floor board and two boards mounted above, on a kind of rack made of metal tubes. The boards can work independently and can be connected via small custom patchbays.

The floor board has two patchable buffers (one with a wah pedal), a bass preamp and two independent paths with stomp boxes. Mainly for guitars, but also usable for the Sylphyo. Compressors, equalizers, volume pedals, a sustain pedal and a bass preamp. On the middle board are a Line6 "HX Effects" with Eventide PitchFactor and TimeFactor as inserts. The upper board holds the Sylphyo Link, a Blofeld synth and a TriplePlay Controller for MIDI Guitars.

The MIDI part is controlled by a Gordius footcontroller with 4 pedals. Audio outputs for playing and recording go to a digital mixer (Soundcraft Ui24R).

CC 1-119 and Aftertouch are currently available in Sylphyo MIDI mappings.
Could you please add Pitchbend to the mappings?

Explanatory statement:
Pitchbend down by slider and pitchbend up by key-bend (beta) is nice, a little coarse and requires acrobatic finger movements. On every other instrument pitchbend is much easier to handle. Now I found out that using "Roll" works pretty good for pitchbend. Set to bidirectional and a range of 5-10° bends smoothly and quick enough for most music and ist much easier to play. This is a welcome relief especially for pieces with many bends. Neutral position is effortless due to the built-in hysteresis (kind of "platform" in center position). As an added value, if we had pitchbend available in all mappings, players could also use it for slower and more generous movements with elevation or compass, even breath force. And maybe an important possibility for many of us: easy pitchbend during fast fingertechniques like trills and mordents. Currently I convert in software from the Roll-CC to pitchbend but I think pitchbend should be in the mapping for universal usage.

Line inputs are not optimal for the Link's outputs.
Microphone inputs work very well.

With two TS cables from the Link, I get maximum levels of -19 dB to -14 dB in an RME Fireface line input, depending on the selected sound and the sound volume set at 80-100% in the Sylphyo. As a peak line-level this is clearly on the low side.

I think the designers wanted to make it as compatible as possible with usual playing- and recording chains and in my opinion they did a good job. The output level fits for guitar/keyboard amps, most effects and stomp boxes and works well with microphone inputs on mixers and interfaces. Line inputs are not that common on stage. Due to the nature of instruments we rather use DI-boxes and/or mic inputs.

Almost all audio interfaces have mic inputs and these are perfect for the Link. Since the Link's outputs are unbalanced, for long cables a 2-channel DI-box right after the link is a good idea.

If line inputs are your only choice, you may consider a preamp. But beware of the quality, especially with cheap small mixers. The Link has a low noise level and a preamp should not be worse than it's source ...

@paul-flute
Yes, Max can probably do more than you will ever need but this is normal. Nobody uses all of the program. Some people build MIDI routers and processors, some build synthesizers, sequencers, audio effects, generative patches, museum installations, sensor applications etc.

However, Max is expensive and it really takes a while to learn the basics. The fun comes afterwards. You could risk 1-2 months subscription if you are not convinced after the 30-day trial period.

@paul-flute said:

I would love to hear the things you have done... do you have any examples to share?

Example
MP4 movie: Generative Text
A demonstration of a generative music system I tried in Max. The idea was, that rhythmic melodic text should produce rhythmic melodic music. The first half plays capital letters and pauses. The second half plays upper- and lowercase letters as notes and makes pauses after syllables, words, sentences and paragraphs. The sound comes from two AU plugins, one for uppercase and one for lowercase characters. Notes and weighting per character are in a kind of table, based on the German language (simple statistics).

I think the example covers some of the bandwidth Max is capable of. Sometimes you need a bit of a programmers brain, sometimes technical creativity. And you must not get scared of endless possibilities.

The "Help" files and the "References" for each single object right in the program are invaluable sources for learning and refinig the skills. YouTube provides Max tutorials. The Max forum is pretty good but not really friendly to beginners. You rather want to read and search in the forum before you start with questions.

@paul-flute
I don't know Max 4 Live but I use Max for many years now. It is the biggest and most powerful graphical programming environment available for MIDI, Audio and Video. It can do anything from generating and processing MIDI and audio to sound & light installations and video effects. But it has a steep learning curve. You can do simple patches on the first day and there are tutorials available, but it may take a couple of months to get familiar with it. There are always a couple of ways to reach a target.

Max and Logic are a good team, I use them individually and together, often generating/processing MIDI and sound in Max and recording, mixing and adding other elements in Logic.

Sylphyo bench, for example, is a Max application but too old for many of todays computers. You can interface the Sylphyo yourself in Max. Definitely a good, not too difficult and expandable project.

@paul-flute said:

generating different notes and chords from CC messages and midi notes etc. I have a KMI softstep (hardware/software)

This is one domain of Max.

(Btw, the KMI Softstep editor is a Max application, but they messed it up and made it over-complicated. A while ago I had a Softstep and made my own interface in Max, just with the things I needed.)

@join said in Maxforlive device?:

patch parameter via NRPNs

Why NRPN? Isn't a simple SysEx syntax better for most people who want to make their own editors and controller systems? Something like the Waldorf Blofeld has (10 Bytes per parameter, no long strings except for dumps).

I don't have an Anyma Phi yet but a Sylphyo and I think there will also come an "editor language" sooner or later. I find SysEx chunks for parameters better than the message groups of NRPN.