Re: [Harp-L] MIDI Harmonica - revisited

[Slim Heilpern <slim@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Richard -

Richard Hammersley wrote:
> There are certainly quite a few computer-based systems that will 
> convert tones to MIDI, from voice etc. 
Can you name a piece of software that will do this in real time with 
reasonably low latency and do it well? I'd like to try it. I'm not 
looking for something that sort of works. I'm looking for something that 
does this particular task extremely well.
> But why use MIDI rather than working with the digitized acoustic 
> signal itself? 
Because MIDI is the standard way to control almost any synthesizer. I 
would like to layer a synthesizer on top of the harmonica. Perhaps a 
Prophet '08 (http://www.davesmithinstruments.com/products/p8/)...
> In my view, MIDI is being supplanted by real time processing of the 
> acoustic wave form, which gives greater flexibility. Nowadays this 
> processing can occur in real time.
I think we're talking apples vs. oranges here. You're not going to find 
a processor that can add (for example) the sound of a cello to a 
harmonica sound, but with MIDI, that's a no-brainer.
> It used to be that computers tended to be fragile for live performance 
> but modern laptops are tougher 
...

Sure. And I used to use a computer live on my 6 nights per week lounge 
gigs when they _were_ quite fragile. However, even today, they are not 
quite as convenient to set up as a simple stomp box ;-).
> For instance John McLaughlin live uses an Apple power book in 
> preference to an effects rack. He doesn't always use a guitar to midi 
> converter, but also processes the acoustic signal in the computer, 
> including synth sounds.
> http://www.johnmclaughlin.com/
If the internal software is tracking his guitar and triggering a synth, 
then it is most likely using MIDI internally to route the performance 
information to the soft synth, in which case we're really talking about 
the same thing (pitch-to-MIDI), just without the MIDI cable.
> Given that McLaughlin not only delivers a very high (and varied) 
> standard of sound and plays extraordinarily fast, a set-up like his 
> would probably work for anyone. It seems to be made entirely of 
> industry-standard bits of software and hardware.
Guitar synth pickups are common, but the pitch-to-MIDI conversion that 
happens in hardware or software for a guitar synth is not, to my 
knowledge, available for use with a microphone or line input -- with a 
few exceptions. I have an old Axon guitar synth controller that does 
have a line input. And it works terribly -- it is unusable -- so bad 
that they no longer include it on their more recent controllers.

My point is that the technology exists, but does not seem to be 
available for use outside of the guitar synth world.

...
> Richard
- Slim

www.slidemanslim.com