monome experience

[steinbruchel]

[mfischer]

i've been using a monome (sometimes two) in my live set up for about 2 years now.  i've used it in a variety of ways....
triggering clips in Live, step sequencing, sample chopping, midi triggering, virtual faders, and video triggering. 
i think that the beauty of the monome is in it's inherent simplicity but hidden complexity. the monome itself is a very simple instrument to get the hang of... it is the apps that can be little tricky sometimes. 
one of the biggest benefits of monome is the amazing community that has sprung up around them.  the monome forum is by far the most friendly and helpful community focused place i've ever seen on the internet (or in real life for that matter).  i think that it is in no small part due to Brian + Kelli's business philosophy and focus on openness and almost utopian vision of design and social practice. 

i'd love to help answer any questions you might have about their use and how you could integrate one into what you do.
just let me know.

[billygomberg]

I've found the monome somewhat challenging to program for (accurate and interesting , in my experience programming it for someone else.  Based on the range of my needs, it is not something I'd insert into my setup.

there are quite a few patches out there that will give you some places to start, but my real recommendation is to go demo one (preferably somewhere where you can hack up a patch of yr own and see if it is relevant)

[steinbruchel]

yes, basically one of my main problem (or question mark) at the moment is if the monome controller can do what i'd like it to do. and yes billy, the programming part is the fact that scares me most. i'm really not into programming and don't have the time or the will to dig into stuff like that... rather just make some tunes, ey 

in my live setup i'm using a simple max/msp patch with which i can load upto 14 sounds into single buffers and control the loudness and the pitch. thanks to kim cascone by the way who helped me a lot to program that patch years ago...

at the moment i'm using a doepfer controller to control the volume and pitch of each layer. but in the future i'd like to perform electronic music without touching the computer and be able to control everything from one interface (eg. maybe or maybe not the monome controller). my idea would be to load all the sounds in max/msp into single buffers and be able to control them with whatever controller. a longer while ago i've also spent some time thinking about acquiring a lemur...

here are the main features which i'd like to be able to control:

- trigger the sounds
- skip through the folder of sounds in max/msp (without using the trackpad of the computer)
- load and delete sounds
- make volume changes (longer and shorter fades)
- controll pitch (through 0.5 octave steps)
- be able to control the eq of each sound (something i can't do at the moment)
- start and stop several sounds togehter (define groups of sounds)

these are more or less the most important aspects that come to mind. my biggest fear with the monome is that it seems to be aimed to be a great step sequencer, but i don't know if it can also be used for more quiet and none pattern oriented music. for instance how can i make a long fade with it? with my existing doepfer controller has endless knobs so i just can use a knob per sound and set the volume of each layer with that...

of course i'd be happy for any other controller suggestions.

thanks much!

[billygomberg]

in my live setup i'm using a simple max/msp patch with which i can load upto 14 sounds into single buffers and control the loudness and the pitch. thanks to kim cascone by the way who helped me a lot to program that patch years ago...

just from reading this I can tell you, from my knowledge of yr music, that the monome is probably not the controller you are looking for.  but let's continue....

at the moment i'm using a doepfer controller to control the volume and pitch of each layer. but in the future i'd like to perform electronic music without touching the computer and be able to control everything from one interface (eg. maybe or maybe not the monome controller). my idea would be to load all the sounds in max/msp into single buffers and be able to control them with whatever controller. a longer while ago i've also spent some time thinking about acquiring a lemur...

here are the main features which i'd like to be able to control:

- trigger the sounds
- skip through the folder of sounds in max/msp (without using the trackpad of the computer)
- load and delete sounds
- make volume changes (longer and shorter fades)
- controll pitch (through 0.5 octave steps)
- be able to control the eq of each sound (something i can't do at the moment)
- start and stop several sounds togehter (define groups of sounds)

these are more or less the most important aspects that come to mind. my biggest fear with the monome is that it seems to be aimed to be a great step sequencer, but i don't know if it can also be used for more quiet and none pattern oriented music. for instance how can i make a long fade with it? with my existing doepfer controller has endless knobs so i just can use a knob per sound and set the volume of each layer with that...

I think that the monome will confirm yr trepidations.  I don't know much from the Lemur (apart from "it seems to be really cool") - I'm reasonably certain that you have to program that device as well as it's interaction w/Max, but if you want "really super custom"...there you go.  I mean yr gonna be doing some programming however you decide to resolve this.  The best thing may be to find an additional controller that will complement yr Doepfer - you've already got the Doepfer + Max ready to go.

I've got a lot of mileage from my Novation Nocturn (esp for the price) - it has been great for playback control and volume control.  Buttons + Knobs you know.  it has a lot of pages you can scroll through for a range of control sets.

I'll write it again, you are in for some programming no matter what interface you choose...there's a lot of options you have in Max for this kind of thing, but yr definitely going to have to "tune" yr patch.

but check out this beast
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SLmk2zerod/

[mfischer]

not sitting behind the computer staring at the screen was one of the big things that happened for me once i started using monomes in my live performances. i can't tell you how liberating it is. most of what i do is quiet and none pattern oriented music and i feel that the monome has suited me well.  

there is a set of monome control objects that someone put together to simplify the process of building interfaces.  you can find them here...
http://docs.monome.org/doku.php?id=app:monomecontrol
for smooth fades there are virtual faders (a row of buttons) that you could set the range and the fade time for.  

i'm sure if you were willing to share your max patch some people in the monome community would totally help you adapt it. they are good like that.  people make requests all the time.  many custom patches have been happily made for members of the community with no programming necessary on the part of the requester.

[steinbruchel]

thanks for all the replies. lots of stuff to dig through and think about. i've also been doing a bit more research (again) about the lemur. my feelings are that this comes closest to what i have in mind (if it weren't for the price). i'm just a bit hesitant to carry such an expensive piece of equipment around on the road...

i'll give updates on my progress (if theres any  actually the controller problem has been following me since a few years now and i've tried several different ones, but none of them completly satisfied my needs (yet).

there are also rumours on the street that apple will launch a big version of the iphone technology on a larger flat screen.

[mfischer]

no problem, you can email me if you would like to pick my brain more about monome stuff.  marc(at)unrecnow. com

a larger apple touch device running something like touchosc (http://hexler.net/software/touchosc) would be a great lower cost lemur like solution.

[pascal savy]

Hi, I have a monome 40h and a bcr2000 (32 endless knobs with visual feedback) and make slow music as well. I find this setup perfectly ok. I think the monome would suite your needs for most of your requirements if it happens you have ableton live. In that case Ableton would take care of all your samples and fx. Otherwise I guess you would have to build a patch yourself but I don't think it would be too complicated to adapt from what you have got already. Happy to help if you have more questions.

[billygomberg]

there are also rumours on the street that apple will launch a big version of the iphone technology on a larger flat screen.

i think this announcement is coming later this month - there are a few apps that let you communicate w/Max that could also suit yr needs...I haven't used any of these, but could be a way around $$$-out for a Lemur

[nathan m]

one of the first things that you may want to do is figure out if you want a touch screen or if you prefer "real" buttons... particularly for live situations "performance" there is something to be said for being able to feel your way around the interface. for anyone with a background with an acoustic instrument you know that you don't spend the entire time looking at your fingers and the keys, strings...
next is how many buttons do you need? there are a few other matrx style button controllers worth looking at. such as:
http://www.lividinstruments.com/hardware_ohm64.php
http://www.lividinstruments.com/hardware_block.php
as other have said; i wouldn't worry too much about actually programing any of these, there are a plenty of people online who would be willing to help you out with the various stages no matter which hardware interface you go with and i don't think it will take too long. + playing with new things is fun.

after years of "an apple multi-touch tablet is coming soon" unless it is magical like a bloody chitty chitty bang bang i am going to be underwhelmed.

[steinbruchel]

one of the first things that you may want to do is figure out if you want a touch screen or if you prefer "real" buttons... particularly for live situations "performance" there is something to be said for being able to feel your way around the interface. for anyone with a background with an acoustic instrument you know that you don't spend the entire time looking at your fingers and the keys, strings...
next is how many buttons do you need? there are a few other matrx style button controllers worth looking at. such as:
http://www.lividinstruments.com/hardware_ohm64.php
http://www.lividinstruments.com/hardware_block.php
as other have said; i wouldn't worry too much about actually programing any of these, there are a plenty of people online who would be willing to help you out with the various stages no matter which hardware interface you go with and i don't think it will take too long. + playing with new things is fun.

after years of "an apple multi-touch tablet is coming soon" unless it is magical like a bloody chitty chitty bang bang i am going to be underwhelmed.

[taylordeupree]

ralph, you may want to check out some of the more commercial offerings out there.... like the novation launchpad

http://www.novationmusic.com/products/launchpad?option=1


or the akai apc 20

http://www.akaipro.com/apc20


they take a lot of the same approach as the monome.. minus the programming... but may be less flexible (?).. i don't know much about these... but, i, too, am often looking for ways to expand my live performance beyond the computer screen.

i've even considered a Lemur.. but, they're quite heavy and bulky to travel with.

[steinbruchel]

ralph, you may want to check out some of the more commercial offerings out there.... like the novation launchpad

http://www.novationmusic.com/products/launchpad?option=1

or the akai apc 20
http://www.akaipro.com/apc20

they take a lot of the same approach as the monome.. minus the programming... but may be less flexible (?).. i don't know much about these... but, i, too, am often looking for ways to expand my live performance beyond the computer screen.

i've even considered a Lemur.. but, they're quite heavy and bulky to travel with.

thanks, taylor. i've already had a quick look at those before, but not in detail yet. i was always a little put of as they seem to be completely made for ableton live and first have to check out a bit more how flexible they are. but a solution minus the programming would be definitely more for me 

[nathan m]

i think that do to max4live both of these should be very compatible with max/msp. and i think that both, other than the look are pretty basic midi devices (i could be wrong about this) with a special edition of live that comes with each.
there is a decent amount of information on the launchpad at create digital music.
http://createdigitalmusic.com/2009/10/02/novation-launchpad-impressions-video-questions-and-answers/
and a tone of videos of people controlling max patches for the monome with a launchpad on youtube.
the monome is still such a lust worthy little box though. and i honestly have never heard anyone say anything bad about it.