roger that

Since I record my music live, rather than either solely or primarily sequencing/automating it, controllers are really important to me.

It was replacing a dead MIDI keyboard with a Microbrute that got me back into synth hardware after going software-only for so long.

The Soma Lyra-8 got me thinking about touch/pressure controllers, leading to the 0-Ctrl (as well as the loosely-related Strega and the more closely related Elmyra).

The Polyend/Dreadbox Medusa was my introduction to grid controllers and MPE, which led me to the Novation Launchpad… which wasn’t MPE but had poly aftertouch, but it didn’t feel satisfying or precise. Which led me to the Roli Seaboard Block, where both pressure control and pitch slides are very precise and satsifying…

…except when the pressure drops out or goes intermittent as it does on my unit. This must not be a common problem because I haven’t heard of this specific issue anywhere else online, and I did buy mine used so I don’t know how it was treated or what abuse it may have suffered in transit (though it seemed well-packaged). I have heard some general gripes about the reliability and longevity of Roli stuff though.

With Black Friday November discounts in mind, I started thinking about replacing my Seaboard. A new one isn’t that expensive and might solve my problems. Or it might develop the same or other problems after a couple-few years of use. Meanwhile it would have the same limitations:

  • Slides on the Y axis don’t feel natural, so I rarely take advantage of them. The whole playing surface could be about 2 inches from front to back (accounting for black keys and at least one non-key slide strip), as far as I’m concerned.
  • Two octaves is usually fine, but a bit limiting at other times. However, I do need to keep things compact to fit in the available space.
  • The squishy playing surface feels pretty good for pressure-oriented playing like I tend to prefer, but not so much for percussive, velocity-oriented playing (which I might want to do once in a while if the controller was more amenable, at least for jamming).

The Aodyo Loom was going to be my alternative controller. Compact and still just two octaves; relatively cheap; not squishy but apparently both velocity- and pressure- oriented, with a couple of extra playing areas/ribbons for other purposes. Alas, the production costs exploded, the money may not have been spent wisely, and the Kickstarter fell through and disappeared its backers’ money.

The Erae II, whose production was delayed, is supposed to finally ship to its Kickstarter backers in December, and they have opened general preordering as well. But I am more suspicious of how this technology feels to play, after disliking Roli’s little Blocks, and at the price I would certainly want to try one in person before committing. The original Erae Touch had some loyal followers but it was more of a niche thing I think.

Based on its looks, descriptions and reviews I bet the Haken Continuum feels great to play — a sort of smooth mesh fabric surface that squishes a bit differently than the rubber of the Roli instruments. It’s quite large and very expensive though. Even the Mini is pretty expensive, and too long to fit in my available space — and is merely duophonic.

The Linnstrument though… it comes in two sizes, the smaller of which fits my space. The price of a used one is a bit less than a new Erae II. The instrument has been around for 10 years, with minor revisions to the playing surface, mature and stable firmware (which is also open-source and has a robust community), and a track record of reliability. It is loved by most of its users (*), sensitive and configurable, and its designer, Roger Linn, has been one of the better-known names in electronic instrument design since the late 70s (and personally supports the instruments and community in a way that’s great to see).

The Linnstrument is a grid controller, inspired by string instrument fretboards, with a default interval of a 4th between rows, like a bass. That allows isomorphic chord shapes and options for alternate fingerings. You can also split into two zones, or use the bottom row for alternate control purposes. The surface is a thin silicone mat, not squishy like the Roli or Haken instruments, but reviewers say the pressure response is very precise and playable anyway (and some but not all say it’s also well suited for percussive playing). There are configurable LEDs and also subtle Braille-like bumps to identify note positions and scales, but unlike many other grids you can smoothly glide pitch like a fretless instrument (or, I’m told, with a light touch get a sort of fretted feel to slides).

I have heard from a few reviewers that the Y axis on the Linnstrument is not amazing, and… honestly I think that’s more because it’s just not as natural a motion as side-to-side or downward pressure, and it’s probably true of every MPE controller. It doesn’t much matter though. The grid layout seems like a much better use of vertical space than the Seaboard, extending the playable range and encouraging a different kind of melodic exploration.

(*) Where people don’t get along with the Linnstrument, it’s generally because they find they really want a piano style keyboard layout or action. I’m not worried about that.

So, I have a used one on the way now, in hopes that this will be the “keyboard” for me as it is for a lot of others.

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