Hardware pitch-to-MIDI worth obtaining?

[459]

I'm on a lookout for a hardware pitch-to-MIDI device and would like to know whether anyone here has any experiences of such devices. I'm planning to use such device to create some experimental off-the-wall synth soloes with whatever stable-pitched sounds I can get off from my mouth i.e. by singing, humming or whistling.

 

Thus far I've found only one option and that is the "M/G-Midi

Audio/Pitch to Midi-Converter" listed at http://www.bluemler-online.de/HMB_TEC_shop/index_shop.html page. The price in German eBay appears to be 162.90

[The Real MC]

I've been around gear since the 1970s.

 

I have never seen a hardware pitch to MIDI converter other than the guitar synths.

 

There are hardware pitch to CV, but this was a tough nut to crack back in the 70s/80s. Fairlight used to make a pitch to CV converter as did a company called Gentle Electric back then with reputed decent tracking, but very few exist and the critical components were encased in epoxy.

 

A subject of which little is known, I'm afraid.

[mytee2.0]

 

I've been around gear since the 1970s. I have never seen a hardware pitch to MIDI converter other than the guitar synths. There are hardware pitch to CV, but this was a tough nut to crack back in the 70s/80s. Fairlight used to make a pitch to CV converter as did a company called Gentle Electric back then with reputed decent tracking, but very few exist and the critical components were encased in epoxy. A subject of which little is known, I'm afraid.

 

 

only thing I can think of is combining a doepfer frequency->voltage module with this...

 

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep04/articles/analoguers300.htm

[pogo97]

A pitch-to-MIDI VST might be a fruitful area to search--wouldn't be hardware, of course. Not that I know of one.

[C#minor]

A pitch-to-MIDI VST might be a fruitful area to search--wouldn't be hardware, of course. Not that I know of one.

 

Google is our friend

http://www.digital-ear.com/digital-ear/index.asp

[Cygnus64]

 

I've been around gear since the 1970s. I have never seen a hardware pitch to MIDI converter other than the guitar synths.

 

 

I actually owned one. It was made by IVL and I had it around 1987. It was monophonic. It had quite a bit of latency, unnacceptable for anything except pads. My goal was to use it for violin, and it was a waste of money.

[DigitMus]

 

I actually owned one. It was made by IVL and I had it around 1987. It was monophonic. It had quite a bit of latency, unnacceptable for anything except pads. My goal was to use it for violin, and it was a waste of money.

 

 

I still do own one. It's an IVL Pitchrider - they made a number of different models over the years (later are better - obviously). The one I have is from about '88 or '89, and while I wouldn't call it useless, it certainly is "finicky".

There are a number of different settings for accuracy and latency, as well as how it deals with sliding notes - bottom line: it's always a compromise. It tracks better on higher frequencies, and it's a good idea to use some heavy compression on the signal going in, as it doesn't like much dynamic variation.

 

It's a fun toy, but it's not gonna turn your voice into good MIDI controller.

 

Scott

[Cygnus64]

It's a fun toy, but it's not gonna turn your voice into good MIDI controller.

 

My solution was learning how to play keyboards. I'm not Van Cliburn but I can get around. When I was putting together my first rig in the 80s I desperately wanted a midi violin and none were available or too expensive. Even today, the midi violins dont work all that great, so I have an electric with a lot of effects boxes.

[synthguru]

I still have one, too - but, it is a Breakaway Vocalizer 1000.

It was sold at Sharper Image stores for a while and later distributed by Tascam.

It has MIDI out and works as well as anything else I've seen and is more portable than the rest as it is self-contained with a speaker and tone generator (based on an Ensoniq chip) so you can hum into it pretty much anywhere you like.

 

Roland also made one for a while called the CP-40.

 

So, there are a couple you might find on the used market.

[girevik]

 

I'm on a lookout for a hardware pitch-to-MIDI device and would like to know whether anyone here has any experiences of such devices. I'm planning to use such device to create some experimental off-the-wall synth soloes with whatever stable-pitched sounds I can get off from my mouth i.e. by singing, humming or whistling.

 

 

Are you sure you really need MIDI? How about just running your voice through effects?

 

I knew a guy who used an old Roland VP-70 with a mic to extract MIDI Note Number and either MIDI Volume or MIDI Velocity values out of his trombone playing. This MIDI data was analyzed by his custom music software - it would "listen" to him and use the data in creating its own improvisations. Obviously, this was not the same as having his trombone trigger a synth directly.