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MIDI Concertina


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The general concept has been explored and implemented in recent years, but I don’t think this particular story about a glowforge approach has been otherwise highlighted here.  

 

https://community.glowforge.com/t/concertina-midi-controller/43946/14

 

This related video offers some practical perspective.

 

https://vimeo.com/354102197

 

Edited by Bruce McCaskey
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I knew nothing beyond what I'd posted, but today after stumbling around in the links within the story I found some additional details of the construction and the author's name, Dave Ehnebuske.  I've run across a couple of ways of contacting him by email if you are a member of certain groups, and also one that doesn’t require membership but uses a business email.  I don’t think it is appropriate for me to post those details here, but I will send you a PM.

 

i was going to check to see if he might be a forum member here but can’t find a way to do that.  I know there used to be a way but I suppose it may have gone away in more recent years - or maybe it’s still there and I just don’t recognize it.

Edited by Bruce McCaskey
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Three things about this project were of particular interest to me.

 

First, this looks like something that might not be as expensive as a custom built traditional style instrument.  Admittedly that's only a guess and I may be well off the mark, but I like to imagine that someone with access to a Glowforge might be able to cut the needed pieces and put together a full kit of parts with instructions and market it for under $1,000.

 

Second, it connects by Bluetooth, thus eliminating dangling wires and making the connection process very simple.

 

Third, he mentions that he’s using Fluidsynth on a phone for the sound synthesizer, eliminating the need for another piece of hardware and making the whole setup very portable.  I assume at this point one could easily route the sound to headphones for quiet practice in the presence of others, or to a speaker system if a louder sound is desired.

 

I don’t play English, but I assume that if an English model of this sort ever becomes available commercially an Anglo version won’t be far behind.  I don't think something like this would be satisfactory as a replacement for a traditional instrument, but if the price wasn’t too prohibitive I could see it being a fun novelty or secondary instrument.

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Oops! I initially posted this in the wrong thread! Sorry!

 

Satisfy my curiosity please. Are there any MIDI concertinas available on a commercial basis?

Has anyone approached any member of the small but highly skilled group of concertina makers

with a view to getting them to build a MIDI concertina?

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1 hour ago, Takayuki YAGI said:

This reminds me of Wakker midi (archive.org), but it seems to be discontinued. ?

Wim dropped his midi concertina line because the buttons had a short lifetime. 

 

Most electromechanical switches (buttons) are only designed for a few hundred or a few thousand button presses. 

Edited by Don Taylor
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15 hours ago, Don Taylor said:

Most electromechanical switches (buttons) are only designed for a few hundred or a few thousand button presses. 

Which gives a pointer to probable answers to my question. No and no. Thanks Don.

Edited by lachenal74693
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3 hours ago, Don Taylor said:

Wim dropped his midi concertina line because the buttons had a short lifetime. 

 

Most electromechanical switches (buttons) are only designed for a few hundred or a few thousand button presses. 

As noted in the other thread, certain Cherry switches, as used in computer keyboards, would be ideal except that they are a bit too big to fit the spacings required for concertina buttons.

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4 hours ago, Don Taylor said:

Wim dropped his midi concertina line because the buttons had a short lifetime. 

 

Most electromechanical switches (buttons) are only designed for a few hundred or a few thousand button presses. 

I developed my MIDI concertina back in early 1990s - I never used electromechanical switches for precisely this reason.  I used optical sensors to detect the button movement - they worked well, but were a nightmare to set up since each sensor required its own circuitry.  But since they had effectively no moving parts, they were good for many 100,000s of button presses.

Edited by SteveS
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