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Alpha: I'm working on a review of the Alpha

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written by: geert

Thanks Tene! :-)

written by: geert

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 11:18:15 +0100 BST

Hi everyone,

I thought I'd let everyone know that I'm working on a detailed review of the Alpha with pictures and maybe some video fragments. It looks like it will be around 20 pages of text and I'm about 80% done.

Is there something in particular that people would like me to cover? Do you have any particular questions that you'd like my point of view on? Anything that existing Alpha users really want to communicate and that you might want me to include in the review?

I hope to have a draft version of the text finished during the weekend and I will post a link to it here so that interested people can give it a read-through.

Thanks,

Geert


written by: mikemilton

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 11:51:08 +0100 BST

I look forward to it.

The thing I find in showing the Alpha to people is that it is difficult for people to grasp a) it is not just another controller and b) the notion of splits and keygroups and how these are used and really matter.

When (if) they do get it, they get really excited and there is a sudden switch from 'what the heck is this and why isn't it doing what I expect' to 'hey that is something that makes a difference to what I can do and I gotta have one'

I think I'm saying that providing context is as important as (perhaps more important than) examining the details.

As an aside, I enjoy John's interviews where he speaks to the motivation for the eigenharps for the reason above but they are mostly expressed as goals (because the question is 'why did you create this thing'). I'd love to hear the answer to the next question, which is 'how does this thing meet those goals' because I think the answer is more about the architecture than the bricks and mortar

Of course, "Talking About Art is Like Dancing About Architecture." -- David Bowie.


written by: 0beron

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:27:31 +0100 BST

I look forward to reading it :)

Are you restricting the review to the Alpha and the basestation, or is it also covering EigenD (which arguably is a large part of the 'Eigenharp experience')?


written by: geert

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:29:25 +0100 BST

@mikemilton, very good points, I'm indeed trying to each time tie everything back to a real context as a musician, so that it's not just an enumeration of features

@0beron, Also covering EigenD ... but only to a certain extent since it's still a moving target.


written by: geert

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 18:12:49 +0100 BST

Here's a first draft of the review, it still needs a lot of proof reading and error correcting. All suggestions and comments are more than appreciated. I'm going to be taking pictures and recording some videos now to illustrate it all.

Thanks!

http://www.eigenzone.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Eigenharp-Alpha-review.pdf

PLEASE DON'T LINK TO THIS YET, it's not finished


written by: barnone

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 18:45:31 +0100 BST

Great review!!

This will benefit Eigenlabs a lot since there are no recent and detailed reviews that give you an idea how the instrument and software actually work together.

The only thing I would add are some decent detailed photos of areas of the instrument. If you want I can help you with this.

Maybe we can get a few shots of yours and mine since they are nicely contrasting finishes.

Cheers,
Chris


written by: geert

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 18:48:29 +0100 BST

That's exactly what I was thinking of, each time I discuss something I was going to show a close-up of that area. Given your photography skills it would indeed be great to collaborate on that! :-)


written by: Tenebrous

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 19:54:06 +0100 BST

Excellent review Geert, you went into loads of detail there, very very nice.

If you want any photos of a piano black one let me know ;)


written by: geert

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 21:44:55 +0100 BST

Thanks Tenebrous! This gave me an idea, it would be kind of cool to have pictures of our different Alphas at the end of the review in all the different finishes. That could be a nice 'family picture' :-)


written by: geert

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 10:55:36 +0100 BST

Hi everyone, here's a near final version of the review with all the pictures, etc. Any final comments or suggestions?
http://www.eigenzone.org/2010/06/21/eigenharp-alpha-review-after-three-months/

(note that it's still not public yet)


written by: Tenebrous

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:58:55 +0100 BST

Geert,

Sorry, should have posted here as well as directly via twitter ;) - however I think that your review is excellent, and the pictures really help out too, especially with the playing positions etc. Great job!

Tene


written by: geert

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 18:09:25 +0100 BST

Thanks Tene! :-)



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