Sounds like we have a lot in common! Including Variflute. And scales. Of all types. (Which might also connect to tuning systems.)
Feel free to connect elsewhere (I’m easy to find).
Since I posted this, I’ve been able to vibecode plugins in AUv3, AU, and VST3 formats (instead of patches in Plugdata). Since, unlike you, I’m not a coder, it remains a difficult process. Yet really freeing. Last weekend, for instance, using the inspiration from @xavierriley who had implemented Tymoczko’s voiceleading algo, I quickly vibecoded a plugin which voices a chord to be voiceled from the previous one. Got big dreams about this one, actually.
So, back to controllers…
Like you, I mostly use the Sylphyo for live performance. Jams, especially. It’s by far the most convenient one to bring to a stage. Plug it into the PA with two ¼", start playing. I really like Vocobot, which tends to get strong reactions (so I don’t necessarily start with it). Same with Sylpheridoo, which requires just the right context. I often use the classic subtractive sounds (Sylphatty, Chameleon, etc.). And playing bass synth is fun. Wish I had more control over the sounds and some other effects. One of the people with whom I’ve been playing has been asking for more reverb. To get that, I use my iPad Pro… which makes the setup less compact and convenient. Got a license to the Anyma V softsynth, which is quite close to what’s on the device. Would have been great if we could use it to edit Sylphyo sounds.
Having said this, my favourite windcontroller remains the WX11. To this day, I remain more proficient at it than at the Sylphyo. (And still more proficient on sax than on windcontroller). Quite inconvenient to bring to stage as it requires more wiring and an external sound source. The VL70-m is really nice… despite being quite inconvenient and difficult to program.
The Exquis really did open things up, for me. I’m still not great at it yet I feel like I could develop competence fairly easily. The fact that we can now highlight incoming MIDI notes is exactly the thing which could help. This past week, started using that to learn some warmup patterns from Open Studio Jazz. Got to play these patterns within minutes (though it’d take more practicing to really get them “under my fingers”). A challenge I have, though, is to figure out which fingers I should use when. The “two strands” layout does create some difficulty. (Maybe solutions could be found through a bit of LLM work…)
Been dreaming about playing a polyphonic instrument with both MPE and breath control. Got the Zefiro, which is the least expensive and most convenient breath controller out there. (Had been interested in the Papritech AirMotion Pro. Might just stick with Zefiro.)
Now, Exquis can work quite well with SWAM instruments and such. Playing other sounds with Exquis + breath control is quite interesting. Will have to practice to get where I want with such a setup, as there’s coordination involved (as in playing any wind instrument). There’s also some tweaking to do to make sure the sound source reacts properly. The issue with SWAM instruments, there, is that it kind of “assumes” the player’s intended articulations.
At any rate… going back to Sonic Pi (!).
I still have a soft spot for it. I’d still enjoy doing workshops with it. The tutorial remains one of few examples of music tech learning material that I can get behind. This very user group represents the foundation of a Community of Practice. I still hope that Sam’s work on Tau5 can help Sonic Pi reach its full potential.
And, yes, there’s something interesting in inviting AI agents in our (live)coding.