u-he

aaron aardvark · Post by **aaron aardvark** » Thu May 07, 2015 4:58 am

I just got the latest Keyboard magazine (June) in the mail. Jordan Rudess has a one page article called "The Fretless Keyboard", where he talks about non-conventional/alternative controllers. Rudess said that u-he, and a few other software developers have made their synth plug-ins "friendlier" to the Roli Seaboard. Just wondering if Urs/u-he had any comments on that. Here is a cool sample of the Seaboard:

bmrzycki · Post by **bmrzycki** » Thu May 07, 2015 5:29 am

The ROLI FAQ states it uses polyphonic after touch for per note expression, a feature u-he synths have had for quite some time. It's much more common for synths to only support channel pressure (which is a bit like another modwheel and applies to all sustained notes). That's my guess at least.

Who knows, maybe there exists a ZebraRO that hasn't been announced yet...

Tjivory · Post by **Tjivory** » Thu May 07, 2015 5:32 am

Amazing video

anyone know of any videos showing how to play a guitar like that on the keyboard -- which the pitch bend glide action going on. Insane

thetechnobear · Post by **thetechnobear** » Thu May 07, 2015 12:37 pm

diva,bazille,ace, hive are all 'voice per channel aware', so can be used with continuums, eigenharps, soundplanes, linnstruments and seaboards for expressive performance.
(just waiting from Zebra3

)

so yes U-he are (unsurprisingly) ahead of the game as usual, probably the best expressive experience out there (along with Madrona Labs Aalto/Kaivo, and the Continuums Eagan Matrix)

Urs, are you going to update to support the Multidimensional Polyphonic Expression (MPE) spec? http://bit.ly/mpe-spec (draft)

will make it easier for newcomers to these devices just in and start using Uhe synths,
and already supported by linnstrument, eigenharp and soundplane ( and I believe Seaboard/Continuum will come)... also bitwig are supporting in 1.2 beta

oh, and thanks again Urs/Uhe for leading he way, and providing awesome instruments for us to use

zvenx · Post by **zvenx** » Fri May 08, 2015 2:36 am

Tjivory wrote:Amazing video

anyone know of any videos showing how to play a guitar like that on the keyboard -- which the pitch bend glide action going on. Insane

Agreed. And one hell of a band when Jordan is imho the weak link of the keyboardists. And by that, I mean everyone is grooving, playing soulful...tasty, spaces ..........the more the merrier.
sigh
rsp

diaper@ky · Post by **diaper@ky** » Sat May 09, 2015 7:34 pm

So where's these great features being demo'd?
I get more out of my controller using aftertouch than I heard during that (yawn-yawn) entire demo.

Gonga · Post by **Gonga** » Sat May 09, 2015 10:39 pm

That second video was funny as hell - but see how the synth is the butt of jokes? I'm surprised they didn't show a "keytar."

It doesn't appear that they really demo'd the poly aftertouch too well, but more the Seaboard, which they did really well. It would prolly be easier to demo PA in a solo performance, since it's often more subtle. I thought the guitar sound was OK for a demo but unfortunate. The synth can do at least a few things a guitar can't, so it's unfortunate that we're always trying to "emulate" guitar too closely, imo. If we do that, then the synth will never measure up to people's expectations. But I enjoyed the piece and it appears the players and audience did too, which is ultimately the most important thing!

Urs · Post by **Urs** » Sun May 10, 2015 9:03 am

Funny enough, there was an industry panel about finding a name for the way MIDI is used to identify notes and assigned controllers by their channel. I suggested to call it "Guitar Mode" as this was what it's often been called in the 80ies. Pretty much everyone in the room was against it - it was dismissed before I finished my sentence.

But then, most of the demos sound just like keyboard players trying to sound just like guitar players. Hence, at u-he, we might just call it "Guitar Mode".

Gonga · Post by **Gonga** » Sun May 10, 2015 1:48 pm

Sure, why not? One of the perks of being you Urs, is the right to make arbitrary decisions which affect the industry for years!

aaron aardvark · Post by **aaron aardvark** » Mon May 11, 2015 5:29 am

Urs and everyone else,
Thank you for all of your comments!

diaper@ky · Post by **diaper@ky** » Mon May 11, 2015 9:15 am

GMode immediately correlates to seperate strings/Channels.
I think PAT demos should harken back to the CS-80 where polyphony was first introduced.
You could use extra pressure to add a fitler sweep to a single voice of 4 note chord. Or just make asingle voice of a chord louder like Vangelis and Porcaro did.
I actually liked adding PBend using PAT instead of globally like a Pedal Steel synth.
Having such a great technological advantage needs more than one handed bass and guitar attempts and certainly is a natural calling it Guitar Mode.

aMUSEd · Post by **aMUSEd** » Mon May 11, 2015 9:51 am

XILS Synthex has a Guitar mode like that.

Gonga · Post by **Gonga** » Mon May 11, 2015 1:50 pm

Funny how the CS-80, an "ancient" analog beast, is still considered by so many to be the "holy grail" of synthesis. I have to say I am really happy that we are turning our attention back to the controller. It's the neglected stepchild of synthesis. And thankfully we have a few great software companies like U-He and Xils and others that are helping push us in that direction. Even something as simple as assigning pitch bend to only the first note played (like FM8) can make a huge difference in the musicality of a synth. And for the record - it's not just guitars that can do "open strings" and bend a note up to another that's "open," all string instruments can do it - like Hendrix on Manic Depression (and Jan Hammer in the late 70s), Jean Luc Ponty has been doing it for about 50 years with the violin!

diaper@ky · Post by **diaper@ky** » Wed May 13, 2015 12:20 pm

As a teeny bopper I got lucky and got with a group already signed. Only had a Rhodes and a D6 but soon got a CS-80 and it was really the Ring Mod, Ribbon, PAT and Super BPF that made that synth a real treat. Next came the Oberheim XPander.
I am damn close to those 2 using Solaris and Zebra 2 HZ.
With a QuNexus MIDI'd into Solaris I can do CS-80 style synth work with more filters and more modulation sources/destinations. The Ribbon and Joystick make it too sweet.
Think I will start using the Q with Zebra 2 and see what I can achieve.
Not the best PAT but due to the large keys I can select a note to use PAT with and Solaris growls like a Lion.
Is there some links I can check out to see more about the PAT treats from u-He...?

Thanks

Gonga · Post by **Gonga** » Wed May 13, 2015 3:01 pm

Impressive! The Solaris is a monster. Have you noticed any aliasing or stepping with it?

u-he

KVR Audio

Jordan Rudess/Roli Seaboard/u-he in Keyboard magazine