[sdiy] Matrix keyboard idea

[steve jones]

Hi,
On Scott Rider's page:

http://www.mcs.com/~syzygy/webdoc/mpx61.html

he describes his design (from 1985) for providing MIDI in for any MATRIX 
keyboard. Has anyone worked on this idea since then?

(A bit of background before I put my foot in it: I have little knowhow or 
equipment for electronics - let alone micro-electronics - my subscription to 
this list is to keep up to date with the custom made PCBs and kits available 
out there and the options for modifying the synths I have.)

About five years ago (before I found this design) I was looking at matrix 
based keyboards - ie. the "cheap 'n' nasty" end of 80's analogue - Jen, Siel 
etc, usually with 3 octave keyboards, trying to think of an alternative to 
sampling them or using a midi retrofit - which often involved replacing the 
DCO(?). I wanted to sequence with them via MIDI and concluded that although 
a huge 'hand' of MIDI controlled pistons or solenoids would look superb 
hovering over the keys and banging away at my basslines, a better solution 
would be to electronically close the switches beneath the keyboard - (little 
spring touches rail).

This train of thought brought up a few interesting and, correct me please, 
previously un-realised possibilities for live hands-on sequencing / sequence 
manipulation. Consider this: if each note
on the synth is 'keyed' individually by a switch or relay (whatever) then 
this gives the possibility to switch off individual notes and stop them 
responding to the sequencers output. I pictured toggle switches, one for 
each key; A preprogrammed complex sequence could then be revealed one note 
at a time for that Minimalist development thing / trance acid techno thing 
(whatever) - the key element being *live hands-on control and performance*. 
I have always preferred an 'organic' jamming approach, instead of making 
decisions in advance - surely this enjoyment is key to the knobs and faders 
world of analogue or we'd all be using presets.

To take this further: if this was doubled up (3x 4x...?) for a second matrix 
synth, ie. they fed from the same sequence but had their own sets of toggle 
switches, the 2 synths could *interact* - think of the possibilities for 
portamento, release, doubling, octave splitting, polyphony etc. ALL ON THE 
FLY. Set a looped midi sequence going - monophonic or polyphonic - and you'd 
have development and metamorphosis at your fingertips. Perhaps start with a 
random sequence and then home in on the interesting bits. Not only would you 
have control of the synthesis and the sequencer, but also how the synth 
listened to the sequencer. Yes, thats right, MORE switches! I'll stop there.

Any help to make something like this would be welcome. These ideas could be 
the basis for a 'new' type of instrument if the reality lives up to my 
imagination: The Switched Matrix Seq-O-Tweaker. Yeah well us newbies gotta 
dream....

Regards,
Steve Jones,
Manchester, UK.

Q: How do you make a statue of a dinosaur?
A: You start with a big lump of rock and chip away all the bits that don't 
look like a dinosaur.
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