The first video on this page essentially blew my mind.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/16/eigenharp-alpha-pico-demo-and-mind-blowing-concert-hands-on/

Free hands technique would work!!!

WOW !! THAT THING IS AMAZING !!
I LOVE IT !

This seems to be the most advanced controller on the market. I would not call an instrument, because it "just" triggers the sounds and let the player modify those sounds in real time.

Incredible...And I thought 2 Keyboards, a Breath Controller and 2 Expression Pedals would be more than enough to keep a musician busy

I love inovativ minds like the inventor of this controller.

Thanx for posting.

By the way: How much is one of those? I heard it is around 4.000 - 5.000 $!

The small model is much more affordable. I believe you need a Mac and dedicated hardware to run these "harps". Which raises some questions about compatibility.

I lost interest when I noticed that a lot of the beats weren't actually being played, just triggered loops. I'm waiting to see a busker appear with one of these - I'm sure it would be a good money spinner!

Cheers,
Andy

The alpha (the one shown in the vids) is almost 4000 GBP so around 5800 usd
With shipping and taxes it will be a very expensive toy...

Cheers, Daniel.

I tried one for a bit at NAMM, it's a pretty impressive controller and the touch sensitivity is amazing (the buttons are sensitive along 3 axises and as responsive as a guitar string- you barely have to touch it to trigger it). You could conceivably "tune" it like a Chapman Stick on separate halves, although for my mirrored 4ths tuning the buttons are a bit too far apart for it to be practical, but you can really set it up however you like.

It is very much like learning a new instrument though and I think it requires quite an investment in time to get the most out of it (at least for the advanced Alpha model). I'm the kind of person who becomes unproductive (or at least doesn't have the time) when there are SO many possibilities and experiments to delve into- between the instrument and whatever instrument you plug it into (a "lite" version of Camel Audio's Alchemy synth, which I helped develop, is bundled with it) you could be tweaking endlessly. Still, it's a fascinating instrument and I love seeing new ideas like this become reality.

Very interesting, but for me there is nothing like being able to feel an actual instrument vibrate in your hands. Just saying.

Yes, I feel the same.

And yes again(to Rob)...To much choices drive me crazy aswell. I'd rather spend 4 hours with my stick than 1 hour tweaking sounds of a synth.

A great sounding Stick with a nice ambience effect and a lttle compression is more than enough for me. There is so much to explore without ever leaving this kind of "restriction"...Well, for me this is the way it is.

Having said this, I have a lot of respect for people that create new sounds and new "pictures" whatever tools they use and I enjoy their art.

Cheers

You did??
I'd be more than willing to beta test for you...

(seriously, i am)

Indeed an exciting instrument. But I wouldn't afford either the price tag or the time to learn it. As for playing electronically designed sound sources my Akai EWI 4000s is the best option I can imagine. It is because I have the EWI I don't want MIDI on my Stick )

@robmartino,
Thank you for the work on Alchemy - it is my favorite synth! Still laptops are not powerful enough to run it safely on stage for live playing with an EWI but in a couple of years.... wow, man.... In the studio I use it a lot with the EWI; love those cluster micro tonal tunings! And it is so versatile; a sampler, a synth, a vector pad performance setup and a granular synthesis laboratory in one piece of software!

As for string instruments - like the Stick and the Guitar - I agree with Jeff; there's nothing like physically feeling the vibration while playing. Speaking about that, for a while I used a Sustainiac Model-C for electric guitar. It is a physical vibrator clammed at the instruments headstock that makes the entire neck vibrate with the note you are playing. You almost feel the pitch in your arms instead of just hearing it.