New Continuum MIDI Controller

[zvonekcontinuum]

Hello everyone,

I'm excited that after more than a year of design work, I have completed my own Continuum model - Apropos.  You can check it out here:

www.zvonekcontinuum.com/apropos

I still need to add a lot of information (just created the page yesterday).

I think it's about time Haken had some competition to reel in his out-of-control prices.

-John

[BlobVanDam]

Cool. I just want to make a couple of notes. I don't want to scare you off with criticism, but I think these are legitimate points that are going to come up if you want to compete with the Haken Continuum. I know you just added the page yesterday, so I don't know what you're still going to add.

1. I'm not sure if Continuum is trademarked as far as the instrument is concerned, but it's an established name of a particular product. Is there an issue with you having the word continuum there?

2. It looks like your controller only has one axis. Is that the case? I can see it has X for pitch, but does it have the up/down Y axis, or detect the Z axis for pressure? Even one axis is fine, but I think you need a more complete description of the MIDI capabilities of the device in terms of what every control does.

3. Your picture is only a rough 3D render of the instrument. Have you constructed any real test instruments yet to demonstrate how well it works? I'd be wary of buying anything that feels like it's only at the idea phase.

[zvonekcontinuum]

Thanks for the feedback.  I appreciate it whether it's positive or negative.  Also, sorry for taking so long to respond - I haven't checked this forum in a while.

1. I don't think Continuum is trademarked, but it shouldn't matter anyway.  The name of my business is "Zvonek Continuum", which is legal and registered in Michigan.  The name of the MIDI controller is "Apropos" (which taken from a command in Linux).  As a side-note, Haken appears to have one patent related to his tuning pedal.  My model has a knob that performs a similar function, but does not infringe on the patent.

2.  You're right, it does have only one axis.  Check the website again - I think I've added more since you posted.  Let me know if you think it's still not clear.  I have many plans for this instrument, but after over a year of design work, I need to start selling some units to pay for itself.  I wish I could mention the plans for future models because they're honestly different from anything else out there.  Right now it's essentially a basic version of a Haken Continuum, but eventually it will take a completely unique path.

3.  I understand and agree with your point here.  Although, it's not a rough rendering of the instrument, it is a very precise 3D CAD model that I use for design work.  I constructed the first working prototype about 8 months ago, and am now on the third incarnation (finalized).  It is complete, working, and looks virtually identical to the CAD model.  I have plans to post some youtube videos, but the finished Continuum I built is not stained and I'm pretty horrible at playing it.

-John

[rumborak]

To be perfectly honest, I don't think Haken will be your biggest problem. Both Kurzweil (with the rbn1) and analoguehaven (the r2m) sell a product virtually identical to what you're building, with very similar pricing.

rumborak

[zvonekcontinuum]

Alright, I've finally got a video on youtube of me playing my continuum:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLFaUOmB8kk&context=C3c8c760ADOEgsToPDskK2pVrB1-49MR5N-AjBO8Zt

The video quality is horrible, so I apologize, but the sound is fine.

I'm now offering an inexpensive kit so that overall the instrument is cheaper than the competition.  I'm selling the Arduino board with the Continuum code pre-loaded for $38 (of course there are other parts required from other vendors).  Total cost for the kit with everything is about $81.

[rumborak]

Ok dude,

this post will make me sound like a dick, but I have the impression nobody outside BlobVanDam and I give you actual feedback.
So here it goes:

- You're calling this thing "Continuum" all over the place, and you can bet Haken has a trademark on that. At the very least you're begging for a Cease and Desist from them
- The video doesn't exactly entice you to buy this thing. At no point are you able to play even a simple melody. The problem isn't that your skills aren't up to par, the problem is that the software doesn't anchor towards certain notes. And without scale marks on the ribbon you'll never find the right pitch without slowly sliding into it. That heavily limits its use.
- It's rather obvious that vibrato doesn't work, despite you trying
- the ribbon is so narrow that you slide off accidentally

And a few words on professionalism: When you look at the YouTube video, you see all your other videos, the top 1 being" In this video my idiot brother doesn't say poop". It didn't occur to you create a separate account for showcasing your product?
Also, having a used air cooling duct on sale next to the board looks ridiculously unprofessional. Sell that stuff on eBay.

rumborak

[BlobVanDam]

I have to agree with rumborak.

First of all, I saw many missed note presses. As the creator of the instrument, if you can't master it, that won't put faith in others who you expect to purchase it.

Also, none of the notes were sliding. I'm not sure if this is the patches you chose, or the device itself, but it seemed to simply retrigger notes whenever you slid around, defeating the entire purpose of the continuum style fingerboard. The key selling point of this device over a regular keyboard is the ability to play expressively with those inbetween pitches for sliding and vibrato, and I simply wasn't hearing any of that in your video.

There were too many key presses that made me wince a little because it wasn't snapping to the note. It came in microtonal and off pitch. The Continuum snaps to an on pitch note on first press, and is a necessity if you want a device like this to be playable musically.
And there was the fact that you can't see what notes you're pressing. You're blindly playing in the dark essentially. It needs some kind of note markers, otherwise it's not going to be a playable instrument. You can't expect players to just guess where an interval like an octave is.

The beauty of the continuum is that you're essentially taking someone's existing keyboard playing abilities, and adding extra elements of expressiveness to their playing. Your video doesn't even show that it can function as a basic keyboard, let alone add continuum style features.

I'm essentially just repeating rumby here, so I won't go on. I'm not trying to put you down. The continuum wasn't perfect when it came out either, but they took the constructive feedback from the users and improved upon the design to get to where they are today. Even at this cheaper price, you'll have to do the same if you want to market this.