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General Discussion: Pico Wishes

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written by: noj

Is there any update on proposal by Alan regarding the blinking LED's as I have found it a major issue having just recieved my Pico and yes I am also colour blind!

Noj

written by: dmash

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:06:48 +0000 GMT

1. I'm color blind, and the red/green LEDs are impossible for me! I'd like some other color options, after all - many musicians are color blind, and red/green is the most common form. I know this would have to be a custom retrofit - but in future incarnations maybe. I should think this would be the case with the Alpha as well...

2. The keys are VERY sensitive. I'd like a software setting to adjust the response sensitivity, so that I wouldn't accidentally trigger notes.

3. The strap needs to be capable of being longer!

I think the instrument has great potential, and I'd consider moving up to the larger instruments if 1 and 2 were possible...


written by: catoro

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:41:17 +0000 GMT

Hello dmash.

I agree with the first wish, in fact it would be cool to have the leds lighted when key action happens, I guess we will be able to do this with some coding in the near future.

The second wish I will not agree as the best feature on this instrument is in fact its sensitivity, reducing it would be against expresivity. Playing it actually helps you to develop muscle memory (including pressure and accuracy), on my first video many notes were bended on purpose, others not... if I play the tune today I´m positive I´ve gained sufficient control to bend only when I wanted to.

On the strap comment, I recommend getting a Sax strap, they are quite cheap and you can extend them long enough to play confortably.
In my case I use a conference badge strap not because I wanted to have a longer strap, but in my case I wanted to have a thicker one.

Best.

Carlos


written by: geert

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 19:01:04 +0000 GMT

@Carlos, the lightning lights for the Pico seem to be not that easy to do. With the Alpha it's actually done in the firmware of the instrument itself. With the Pico it would require roundtrips between the instrument and EigenD. There will most probably be a latency on the key lights due to this, which might not be what one wants or expects.

Agree on all your other remarks though, I actually like a shorter strap :-)


written by: catoro

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:56:49 +0000 GMT

yep.. you are right Geert ... lights are only a wild guess and once that I think about this I reckon it would need bidirectional massive data going on... but if this is possible from a firmware perspective, the issue will be solved probably by using an external box (like the one that comes in the Tau or Alpha)... I personally love the form factor of the pico and its portability (I can transport it with me inside my laptop bag everywhere) however it would be cool to see a pico pro or just a little external box with a din midi output to use the pico as a controller, such box could do the trick of backlighting the keys.

I can´t wait to see some brave guy having an arduino moment with the pico... ;)
I am to much o a software guy and I truly believe that with the right software-hardware combination you can do really crazy stuff..

Cheers.

Carlos


written by: aaronw

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:52:11 +0000 GMT

Hi all,

I think there are a number of questions here which I will try to answer for you!

Firstly the colour of the LED's. Our LED's are currently only capable of producing the colours you see on the instruments. It is an interesting idea though and our manufacturing team are certainly aware of your request.

When we first launched the Eigenharp Pico we took on board feedback from players about the length of the strap being too short, so we provided a longer strap. If you still find the strap too short we would be interested to know how much longer you think it should be and we will take this into consideration for the future.

The keys on the Eigenharp are very sensitive and as Carlos said it's one of the great features of the instrument. With practice and determination I think you will come to love the sensitivity of the keys.

I hope that answers all your questions.

Cheers

Aaron
Customer Support


written by: alan.mccornack

Sat, 6 Feb 2010 20:23:45 +0000 GMT

I'm sure Aaron is right, we'll stop making awful reed-like Clarinet squeaks with a bit more practice. Nevertheless, control of the tone bending (perhaps On, Half sensitivity and None?) would be a useful feature to add.

I think that the Pico's LEDs blinking (instead of all on steady) could be added in addition to the colours to give the same selection cues. For example, rather than just rely on the green to show what is currently selected, have it blink at about 2 Hz (avoiding the 3-8 Hz danger zone for epileptics). Orange could blink more rapidly (or in a pattern similar to Morse code [like long, short, short]). This would work very well, especially as orange is the product of both Red and Green LEDs being on simultaneously. So I'm proposing:

Red could be on steady (as it is now)
Green could blink at a regular 2 Hz interval
Orange could be strobed in a pattern that is not steady, or is more rapid (like 12 Hz) but visibly "blinky."

Then everyone will be able to tell, because there is more than one way to figure out the status than just the colours. Perhaps it could also be turned off (if the blinking is distracting) via a setting.

Cheers and good morning! It is POURING down rain here in California. I hope that you like the idea, and it can be implemented via software only.

Alan


written by: parasme

Tue, 9 Feb 2010 01:58:20 +0000 GMT

Hi,
My pico wish is that I can plug it in and use it like I can my Akai EWI In other words I dont need all of the features loading each time, I just want to plug it in and use it as a midi controller.


written by: karmacomposer

Mon, 1 Mar 2010 03:12:47 +0000 GMT

The strap is certainly too short. If you could make it longer while being adjustable that would be better. How much longer? For me, at least 6 or more inches. I am very short, but broad and the strap literally puts the pico at my FACE! Therefore, it's back in the box.

I will look for a Sax strap and see if that's a better fit for me.

Mike


written by: noj

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 00:02:00 +0000 GMT

Is there any update on proposal by Alan regarding the blinking LED's as I have found it a major issue having just recieved my Pico and yes I am also colour blind!

Noj



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