This man just saved all of us 200 bucks for a comercial one. Imagine what you can do with a 3D printer. This is amazing, thank you so much for sharing!!!!!!!!
I'd like to make a much simpler, analog version of this for Yamaha vintage synths. It seems that early wind controllers, like the Yamaha BC1, originally designed for the DX7 were simple analog sensors. I guess the processing went on in the synth. Yamaha had a system where you'd plug in a BC1, BC2 or BC3 into a 3.5mm jack on some of their synths. This jack was labeled breath controller. The last Yamaha synth that used this as far as I know was the VL-70m which was released in 1996.
What a great solution! Thanks for your innovative and simple-to-implement ideas! Your channel is a treasure trove. I'm collecting pieces for my own EWI and while reading articles, I see MPXV7002DP (which I already have) or MPX5010DP being used. Have you actually tried one of these? How does your sensor compare, regarding sensitivity and general sense of pressure? I'm mostly concerned about two things with your sensor: - the feeling of backpressure might get somewhat uncomfortable when playing for longer periods of time; you know that dizzy feeling when having to blow lots of birthday balloons... - saliva and condensation issues. The parts will get moist soon and there is no drain. Yeah, it's gross, but unfortunately, all woodwinds have to leak saliva out somewhere. Even the high-end Akai/Roland EWIs have drain tubes. Also, I'm wondering how to create a more complex mouthpiece with bite / lip pressure sensor, to control vibrato or pitch bend of the synth, as Akai/Roland EWIs do. In theory, it should be doable with the same technique - light sensor and rubbery reflective surface. BTW. which Teensy versions have you been using in your MIDI projects? I can buy Teensy 4.0 for the same price as Teensy 3.2, so I thought v4 might be more powerful for the price. However, I saw a few forum threads about Teensy v4 USB driver support being just recently released, so I'm not sure if v4 is reliable enough.
Thanks for your kind words. First of all: This video was the first presentation of the concept, and there have been many updates and new designs since then. For more info, check out my other videos about wind instruments, especially the KLIKsophone, which features an optional pitch bend enabled mouthpiece that can be adapted to include other sensors. You also might find this playlist of short videos interesting: ruclips.net/p/PLCejzxWlLD_ybX0R1CpkwIb5D1jcsiq2- Especially the mouthpiece that measures tongue position with an optical sensor. As for your specific questions. I haven’t experimented with the NXP sensors you mention, but I’ve tried some on other peoples instruments. I honestly prefer my setup, specifically because of the things you mention: Back pressure and hygiene, plus sensitivity and responsiveness. The thing with this kind of sensor is that you can customize it completely to your liking, by varying three factors. Entry hole size, exit hole size and balloon tension. Here is an example of extreme sensitivity and responsiveness: ruclips.net/video/evYnI6XT6q4/видео.html As for hygiene, you can easily disassemble the sensor completely and clean all parts, change the membrane or whatever you feel you need to do. Can’t do that with an NXP sensor… I’ve used the Teensy LC, Teensy 3.2 and Teensy 3.6. The T4 won’t work for me, because it doesn’t have touchRead() functionality, which I use a lot. Best of luck with your projects!
@@dekoningtan No, the KLIK2 is sold out, and it's very hard/expensive to buy the Teensy 3.2 right now, so doesn't look like I'll restock. However, I'm planning a limited release of the KLIK3 beta version, which is based on the ubiquitous ESP32. That will be for sale at kontinuumlab.com quite soon, so stay tuned.
I don't really do anything, except try not to spit while I play. The moisture that accumulates in a breath sensor is mostly condensation from the humidity of your breath, unless you're doing something very wrong with your saliva... A well made breath sensor has an exit hole in the pressure chamber, which let's condensation run off. Also, once in a while, I change the balloon membrane, and clean the inside of the pressure chamber of course.
Mr continium lab, I have a question, I want to make a stringed midi instrument and I need to hit a string with a Pick ir fingers but I need to do a continious reading with veliocity measurement, a piezoelectric could work for the task? Greetings from mexico
Piezo might work for that. But remember that a string responds when you let it go, not when you first hit it..... I saw your other comment, and it seems like you want to do everything with piezo sensors. I don't think that's a good approach. I make MIDI strings out of capacitive sensors, and they work quite well: ruclips.net/video/zTlreE5oemQ/видео.html
@@Mike77154 oh, you want to read actual acoustic strings. That might be possible with a piezo sensor... have you considered an actual guitar pickup? Capacitive sensors on the Teensy chip are not "on/off", they provide gradual output, which is how I make my MIDI strings sensitive to intensity.... It's a hack, but it works
Warning: this comment might get a little long, I have several things I want to say here. Perhaps this comment is a little late as I just now saw this video, but this is pretty cool! (even if I've no intention on actually using something like this) Unfortunately I am visually impaired (completely blind, to be more precise), so I cannot actually see what's going on here. If/whenever you reply, would it be possible for you to give an explanation of how the air-pressure sensor is actually working? I have some kind of idea of what might be going on... but every sensor is different :). Actually, I have an idea in my mind that's closely related to the very concept of a MIDI wind instrument: You know, an instrument I've been rather fascinated with lately is the bagpipes; the way they work is rather fascinating to me. So with that in mind as well as my fascination with MIDI, I thought "hey, why not have a bagpipe-style MIDI controller"? These do exist, but there's one thing that sort of irritates me about them: I've done research on some of these electronic bagpipes... and... well... many of the electronic bagpipe models I've seen really don't accurately simulate how bagpipes are actually played. I'll elaborate more: The main appeal of bagpipes in my opinion is that they involve a bag that you blow up with air. The pipes that actually make sound are connected to the bag. Once the bag is blown up enough, squeezing/pressing on the bag causes its air to get transferred to the pipes to make sound (in other words, you just deflated the bag after you initially inflated it!) The whole objective of bagpipe playing is to keep the bag inflated to keep the sound going (the challenge, though, is to do this while not actually lowering or raising the pressure your arm is applying to the bag which would cause the sound to become unstable). This is where you can really start to see the uniqueness of this instrument; blowing into the instrument with your mouth doesn't actually make the music, like how most wind instruments are played. Well, the issue I've seen with some of the electronic bagpipe models I've seen is that the "bag" portion doesn't actually behave in this way. All it is is just a pressure sensor you press on with your arm (in other words, you do not actually blow it up with air!) This is why these types of "bagpipes" are very unrealistic. Now I'm not saying all of them are like this; there are certainly some models that actually involve you blowing up a bag, and squeezing it, and coordinating your breathing and squeezing and your fingering on the melody pipe, just like on actual acoustic bagpipes. Perhaps, if you were interested, it could be interesting to see you make your own electronic bagpipe-style MIDI controller and post it on this channel! The bag part shouldn't have to be anything special either; it might even be something as simple as a grocery bag or something :) The pipes could be made from whatever material you see fit. Since this would be a MIDI controller, the reeds that make sound in an actual bagpipe would be replaced by switches or some other sensor that reacts to the pressure/speed of the airflow from the bag (like the sensor you demonstrated in this video). Each of the pipes could send out their own MIDI data. Alternatively (and perhaps preferably), the pipes could be connected to a separate box that converts their analog signals (the signals from the air-pressure sensors) into MIDI. This box could be held under the arm that's not squeezing the bag. In this way, the pipes are acting more like the pads for an electronic drum kit, in that they're merely sending out analog signals. The separate box would be acting as the "drum module" or "brain" of an electronic drum kit, in that it would be detecting those analog signals and converting them into MIDI. The bag isn't contributing anything to the generation of MIDI data, it's only acting as an air reservoir and as a method of supplying the airflow to the pipes and the sensors in the pipes would react to the speed/pressure of that airflow. Would love to get your thoughts on this idea; feel free to reply whenever it's possible for you to do so! Justin Naramor
Hi Justin. Thanks for your comment. I put off answering, just because it's so long, and then I forgot .... Anyway, your ideas are really good, and I might try out something like what you're talking about at some point. I have messed around with a concept for an accordion, which presents some of the same challenges. Anyway, stay tuned to the channel, and I'll hopefully get around to it at some point.
The mouthpiece/breathsensor made out of a bottle top is an ongoing project, heavily featured in my new wind instruments. It's the most sensitive and responsive breath sensor that I know how to make. If you put it together right, it can pick up incredibly subtle techniques like flutter tongue: ruclips.net/video/dEl8F3xtkuU/видео.html&t=759
disculpa amigo, pienso conectar el modulo a un arduino uno, sin embargo tengo una duda, si conecto todo en este caso mandando el pin de señal a una entrada analoga (A0 por ejemplo), puedo usar ese mismo código sin cambiar nada?, sinceramente no conozco mucho acerca de programación
Hola Armando. El Arduino uno puede leer este sensor sin ningun problema. Podrías cambiar el código donde pone "int breathPin = 25;" para poner "int breathPin = A0;" El problema es que el Arduino Uno no hace "MIDI por USB". Para usar el código tal cual, necesitarás un microcontrolador Teensy. Recomiendo el Teensy LC, que es el más económico. Podrias hacer servir un Arduino Micro, Pro Micro o Leonardo, pero adaptando el código bastante.
@@KontinuumLAB Ok entonces en pocas palabras, si quiero usar el programa tal cual esta necesito el teensy lc, en dado caso logré conseguirlo acá en México, puedo usar el teensy así solo o requiero de otro componente adicional? Ahora, en dado si solo uso un Arduino, tiene que ser de lo modelos que mencionas y modificar el programa... Disculpe las molestias con mis preguntas sin embargo la verdad soy bastante inexperto en esta area y en mi localidad no tengo a nadie que me asesore....
@@armandog.4474 En este video hablo de la diferencia entre "USB-MIDI" en el Teensy y Arduino: ruclips.net/video/RIy_9cbbUm8/видео.html - Sí que necesitas una de las placas que menciono. Personalmente recomiendo el Teensy. Necesitarás el circuito del sensor CNY70 también. En este video explico como hacer un módulo con el CNY70: ruclips.net/video/6GP9X0xT6cg/видео.html Más facil es comprar el kit de KontinuumLAB con todo lo que necesitas, aqui: www.kontinuumlab.com
Muchas gracias amigo por toda la información y por el asesoramiento, ya checaré todo y espero poder crear este fabuloso instrumento, un saludo desde México...
Depends on the keyboard. These breath sensors are MIDI controllers, so they will work with any synth that accepts a MIDI breath signal. If your keyboard is a MIDI instrument as well, then plug them both into the same synth...
No vendo ningun instrumento terminado, pero sí el "KLIK", un kit para hacer instrumentos facilmente. Incluye los sensores necesarios para hacer instrumentos de viento. Mira www.kontinuumlab.com
This man just saved all of us 200 bucks for a comercial one. Imagine what you can do with a 3D printer. This is amazing, thank you so much for sharing!!!!!!!!
Wow I’ve been searching for a long time to find a alternative way to duplicate the BC1 Breath controller
Thanks 😊
NO entiendo como un canal tan bueno tiene 70 likes!
this is perfect. i've been wanting to make a synth melodica and your sensor setup would be perfect for it! many thanks.
Cool. This setup will work great in a melodica :) Good luck with it!
I'd like to make a much simpler, analog version of this for Yamaha vintage synths. It seems that early wind controllers, like the Yamaha BC1, originally designed for the DX7 were simple analog sensors. I guess the processing went on in the synth.
Yamaha had a system where you'd plug in a BC1, BC2 or BC3 into a 3.5mm jack on some of their synths. This jack was labeled breath controller. The last Yamaha synth that used this as far as I know was the VL-70m which was released in 1996.
What a great solution!
Thanks for your innovative and simple-to-implement ideas! Your channel is a treasure trove.
I'm collecting pieces for my own EWI and while reading articles, I see MPXV7002DP (which I already have) or MPX5010DP being used. Have you actually tried one of these? How does your sensor compare, regarding sensitivity and general sense of pressure?
I'm mostly concerned about two things with your sensor:
- the feeling of backpressure might get somewhat uncomfortable when playing for longer periods of time; you know that dizzy feeling when having to blow lots of birthday balloons...
- saliva and condensation issues. The parts will get moist soon and there is no drain. Yeah, it's gross, but unfortunately, all woodwinds have to leak saliva out somewhere. Even the high-end Akai/Roland EWIs have drain tubes.
Also, I'm wondering how to create a more complex mouthpiece with bite / lip pressure sensor, to control vibrato or pitch bend of the synth, as Akai/Roland EWIs do. In theory, it should be doable with the same technique - light sensor and rubbery reflective surface.
BTW. which Teensy versions have you been using in your MIDI projects?
I can buy Teensy 4.0 for the same price as Teensy 3.2, so I thought v4 might be more powerful for the price. However, I saw a few forum threads about Teensy v4 USB driver support being just recently released, so I'm not sure if v4 is reliable enough.
Thanks for your kind words.
First of all: This video was the first presentation of the concept, and there have been many updates and new designs since then. For more info, check out my other videos about wind instruments, especially the KLIKsophone, which features an optional pitch bend enabled mouthpiece that can be adapted to include other sensors.
You also might find this playlist of short videos interesting: ruclips.net/p/PLCejzxWlLD_ybX0R1CpkwIb5D1jcsiq2- Especially the mouthpiece that measures tongue position with an optical sensor.
As for your specific questions. I haven’t experimented with the NXP sensors you mention, but I’ve tried some on other peoples instruments. I honestly prefer my setup, specifically because of the things you mention: Back pressure and hygiene, plus sensitivity and responsiveness. The thing with this kind of sensor is that you can customize it completely to your liking, by varying three factors. Entry hole size, exit hole size and balloon tension. Here is an example of extreme sensitivity and responsiveness: ruclips.net/video/evYnI6XT6q4/видео.html As for hygiene, you can easily disassemble the sensor completely and clean all parts, change the membrane or whatever you feel you need to do. Can’t do that with an NXP sensor…
I’ve used the Teensy LC, Teensy 3.2 and Teensy 3.6. The T4 won’t work for me, because it doesn’t have touchRead() functionality, which I use a lot.
Best of luck with your projects!
underated video !! btw how do you solve the likely moisture build up ?
Thank you.. New sub!
Your videos are cool!
Thank you!
@@KontinuumLAB Are you still selling the kits? The website said sold out!
@@dekoningtan No, the KLIK2 is sold out, and it's very hard/expensive to buy the Teensy 3.2 right now, so doesn't look like I'll restock. However, I'm planning a limited release of the KLIK3 beta version, which is based on the ubiquitous ESP32. That will be for sale at kontinuumlab.com quite soon, so stay tuned.
This is a great explanation! However when I try to replicate it, my sensor can’t detect anything under the darkness of the cardboard. Any idea why?
Hard to say without seeing your setup. Probably an error in the circuit...? Or maybe in your code...?
@@KontinuumLAB thanks for your response, i was looking at the sensor from above instead
Of below that caused my confusion
What do you do about spit from mouth controllers?
I don't really do anything, except try not to spit while I play. The moisture that accumulates in a breath sensor is mostly condensation from the humidity of your breath, unless you're doing something very wrong with your saliva... A well made breath sensor has an exit hole in the pressure chamber, which let's condensation run off.
Also, once in a while, I change the balloon membrane, and clean the inside of the pressure chamber of course.
Mr continium lab, I have a question, I want to make a stringed midi instrument and I need to hit a string with a Pick ir fingers but I need to do a continious reading with veliocity measurement, a piezoelectric could work for the task?
Greetings from mexico
Piezo might work for that. But remember that a string responds when you let it go, not when you first hit it..... I saw your other comment, and it seems like you want to do everything with piezo sensors. I don't think that's a good approach. I make MIDI strings out of capacitive sensors, and they work quite well: ruclips.net/video/zTlreE5oemQ/видео.html
@@KontinuumLAB I want to work with vibration, something using a string and intensity, But i know that capacitive sensors are only on/off switches
@@Mike77154 oh, you want to read actual acoustic strings. That might be possible with a piezo sensor... have you considered an actual guitar pickup? Capacitive sensors on the Teensy chip are not "on/off", they provide gradual output, which is how I make my MIDI strings sensitive to intensity.... It's a hack, but it works
Warning: this comment might get a little long, I have several things I want to say here.
Perhaps this comment is a little late as I just now saw this video, but this is pretty cool! (even if I've no intention on actually using something like this)
Unfortunately I am visually impaired (completely blind, to be more precise), so I cannot actually see what's going on here. If/whenever you reply, would it be possible for you to give an explanation of how the air-pressure sensor is actually working? I have some kind of idea of what might be going on... but every sensor is different :). Actually, I have an idea in my mind that's closely related to the very concept of a MIDI wind instrument:
You know, an instrument I've been rather fascinated with lately is the bagpipes; the way they work is rather fascinating to me. So with that in mind as well as my fascination with MIDI, I thought "hey, why not have a bagpipe-style MIDI controller"? These do exist, but there's one thing that sort of irritates me about them:
I've done research on some of these electronic bagpipes... and... well... many of the electronic bagpipe models I've seen really don't accurately simulate how bagpipes are actually played. I'll elaborate more:
The main appeal of bagpipes in my opinion is that they involve a bag that you blow up with air. The pipes that actually make sound are connected to the bag. Once the bag is blown up enough, squeezing/pressing on the bag causes its air to get transferred to the pipes to make sound (in other words, you just deflated the bag after you initially inflated it!) The whole objective of bagpipe playing is to keep the bag inflated to keep the sound going (the challenge, though, is to do this while not actually lowering or raising the pressure your arm is applying to the bag which would cause the sound to become unstable). This is where you can really start to see the uniqueness of this instrument; blowing into the instrument with your mouth doesn't actually make the music, like how most wind instruments are played.
Well, the issue I've seen with some of the electronic bagpipe models I've seen is that the "bag" portion doesn't actually behave in this way. All it is is just a pressure sensor you press on with your arm (in other words, you do not actually blow it up with air!) This is why these types of "bagpipes" are very unrealistic. Now I'm not saying all of them are like this; there are certainly some models that actually involve you blowing up a bag, and squeezing it, and coordinating your breathing and squeezing and your fingering on the melody pipe, just like on actual acoustic bagpipes.
Perhaps, if you were interested, it could be interesting to see you make your own electronic bagpipe-style MIDI controller and post it on this channel! The bag part shouldn't have to be anything special either; it might even be something as simple as a grocery bag or something :) The pipes could be made from whatever material you see fit. Since this would be a MIDI controller, the reeds that make sound in an actual bagpipe would be replaced by switches or some other sensor that reacts to the pressure/speed of the airflow from the bag (like the sensor you demonstrated in this video). Each of the pipes could send out their own MIDI data. Alternatively (and perhaps preferably), the pipes could be connected to a separate box that converts their analog signals (the signals from the air-pressure sensors) into MIDI. This box could be held under the arm that's not squeezing the bag. In this way, the pipes are acting more like the pads for an electronic drum kit, in that they're merely sending out analog signals. The separate box would be acting as the "drum module" or "brain" of an electronic drum kit, in that it would be detecting those analog signals and converting them into MIDI. The bag isn't contributing anything to the generation of MIDI data, it's only acting as an air reservoir and as a method of supplying the airflow to the pipes and the sensors in the pipes would react to the speed/pressure of that airflow.
Would love to get your thoughts on this idea; feel free to reply whenever it's possible for you to do so!
Justin Naramor
Hi Justin. Thanks for your comment. I put off answering, just because it's so long, and then I forgot .... Anyway, your ideas are really good, and I might try out something like what you're talking about at some point. I have messed around with a concept for an accordion, which presents some of the same challenges.
Anyway, stay tuned to the channel, and I'll hopefully get around to it at some point.
@@KontinuumLAB Hey, thanks for your reply! Forgot I even wrote that comment :))).
I look forward to seeing what you come up with. Thanks again!
I'm getting myself a Klik when it comes out
That's a great idea! :)
There have been some corona virus related delays, but progress is being made on the K.L.I.K.
can you elaborate on the sensitivity in depth?
The mouthpiece/breathsensor made out of a bottle top is an ongoing project, heavily featured in my new wind instruments. It's the most sensitive and responsive breath sensor that I know how to make. If you put it together right, it can pick up incredibly subtle techniques like flutter tongue: ruclips.net/video/dEl8F3xtkuU/видео.html&t=759
disculpa amigo, pienso conectar el modulo a un arduino uno, sin embargo tengo una duda, si conecto todo en este caso mandando el pin de señal a una entrada analoga (A0 por ejemplo), puedo usar ese mismo código sin cambiar nada?, sinceramente no conozco mucho acerca de programación
Hola Armando.
El Arduino uno puede leer este sensor sin ningun problema. Podrías cambiar el código donde pone "int breathPin = 25;" para poner "int breathPin = A0;"
El problema es que el Arduino Uno no hace "MIDI por USB". Para usar el código tal cual, necesitarás un microcontrolador Teensy. Recomiendo el Teensy LC, que es el más económico. Podrias hacer servir un Arduino Micro, Pro Micro o Leonardo, pero adaptando el código bastante.
@@KontinuumLAB Ok entonces en pocas palabras, si quiero usar el programa tal cual esta necesito el teensy lc, en dado caso logré conseguirlo acá en México, puedo usar el teensy así solo o requiero de otro componente adicional?
Ahora, en dado si solo uso un Arduino, tiene que ser de lo modelos que mencionas y modificar el programa...
Disculpe las molestias con mis preguntas sin embargo la verdad soy bastante inexperto en esta area y en mi localidad no tengo a nadie que me asesore....
@@armandog.4474 En este video hablo de la diferencia entre "USB-MIDI" en el Teensy y Arduino: ruclips.net/video/RIy_9cbbUm8/видео.html - Sí que necesitas una de las placas que menciono.
Personalmente recomiendo el Teensy.
Necesitarás el circuito del sensor CNY70 también. En este video explico como hacer un módulo con el CNY70: ruclips.net/video/6GP9X0xT6cg/видео.html
Más facil es comprar el kit de KontinuumLAB con todo lo que necesitas, aqui: www.kontinuumlab.com
Muchas gracias amigo por toda la información y por el asesoramiento, ya checaré todo y espero poder crear este fabuloso instrumento, un saludo desde México...
Can it go negative... +64 -64?
i think it is possible to set up. like blowing/sucking for positive/negative values
how can i use this on a real keyboard? like can i just plug it in to my keyboard and it works?
Depends on the keyboard. These breath sensors are MIDI controllers, so they will work with any synth that accepts a MIDI breath signal. If your keyboard is a MIDI instrument as well, then plug them both into the same synth...
HOLA QUE TAL TE DEJO MI FACEBOK ME INTERESA EN CUANTO LO VENDES
No vendo ningun instrumento terminado, pero sí el "KLIK", un kit para hacer instrumentos facilmente. Incluye los sensores necesarios para hacer instrumentos de viento. Mira www.kontinuumlab.com
@@KontinuumLAB esque si semen hase difisil eso de haser el i trumento