MATRIXSYNTH: MIDI INNOVATION AWARDS

Showing posts with label MIDI INNOVATION AWARDS. Show all posts

Sunday, July 20, 2025

Lucky Dip #4 : What's possible with just an oboe and rain SFX? & The MIDI Association Innovation Awards

video upload by MIDI IN

Congrats to MIDI IN for being included in this year's MIDI Association Innovation Awards!
P.S. If you are curious about the latest slew of new innovative MIDI products & makers directly below, that's where they came from. :)

Video description:

"I've been procrasting on this one for nearly five weeks. I nearly re-rolled because I couldn't figure out what to do with just an oboe and rain sfx and a fast tempo.

The MIDI Association Innovation Awards:
https://midi.org/innovation-awards
The Commercial Hardware category:
https://midi.org/innovation-awards-2025-co...

0:00 introduction
1:28 the MIDI Association Innovation Awards
2:10 the track"

The Moon Performance System by LI ZILU

video upload by matrixsynth

A 2025 MIDI INNOVATION AWARD entry

"The Moon Performance System is an innovative music creation tool launched in 2023, combining hardware and software design principles. It integrates a MIDI controller, FM synthesizer, and drum machine sequencer into a unified system. At the core of the system is its dual-circuit board MIDI controller, designed symmetrically, with the left section controlling the sequencer and the right section controlling the synthesizer. This design makes the controls more intuitive and efficient while providing aesthetic harmony throughout the controller. Furthermore, the controller’s dual circuit boards can simultaneously connect to two computers, allowing for independent control of the synthesizer and drum machine sequencer, with the ability to switch instantly and perform concurrently, greatly enhancing flexibility for live performances and music creation.

The software component of the tool is built within Reaktor, with developers utilizing its powerful modular construction tools to create highly customizable and flexible audio and control modules. The Moon Performance System’s drum machine sequencer is powerful, allowing users to adjust drum tones and pitch without needing additional sound packs. Users can select from a variety of effects and perform mixing, making it versatile for different musical styles.

The Moon FM Synthesizer is equipped with an advanced frequency modulation (FM) engine that allows modulation between oscillators for precise control of FM sound colors. The XY-axis visualization interface makes envelope and filter adjustments more intuitive, and when combined with effects like distortion, delay, and chorus, it easily creates captivating sounds. The Moon Performance System not only meets the diverse needs of music creation but is also especially suitable for live performances, as its sleek design allows creators to focus on music creation and performance without worrying about complex operations. The project won an Excellence Award in the Music Technology category at the 2024 IEMC International Electronic Music Competition, showcasing its outstanding performance in sound innovation and technological integration."

[pictured]
Moon MIDI Controller
Moon Sequencer
Moon Fm Synthesizer

via onedrive, via Midi.org

Meet the Neoharp! Simpler Than a Keyboard Synthesizer

video upload by Neoharp

A 2025 MIDI INNOVATION AWARD entry

"The Neoharp is the intuitive digital instrument for those who dream of playing. Accompany yourself and impress friends in minutes, not years."

via Neoharp

Pre-set chord buttons ensure every note fits perfectly in harmony — no more worrying about wrong notes!

Control of chords and rhythm
This electronic instrument's settings allow anyone to play perfectly tuned chords without needing to know music theory.

Ergonomic Tone Keys Layout
Use tone keys in various combinations and rhythmic patterns to enrich chords with layered notes.

The tone keys produce only the notes of your selected chord from low to high. By combining and repeating these chord sounds, you can create rich musical textures.

Neoharp is easier to master and offers the same range of digital samples as keyboard instruments.

Dedicated App
Dedicated synthesizer application with visualization and other unique features.

Features
Playing 3 or more digital instruments simultaneously
3 Chord buttons modes:
Change chord
Chord and/or Bass accompaniment
Arpeggio
2 Tone keys modes:
Chord note
Strum simulation in guitar mode
15 chord types available instantly
Ergonomic chord buttons arrangement: related chords are close to each other
Built-in protection against playing incorrect notes of a chord
Settings and visualization via mobile app

Colors: OAK Wood Black & Walnut Natural

MIDIMesh

video upload by Asep Bagja

A 2025 MIDI INNOVATION AWARD entry

"The prototype of MIDIMesh. It shows how the sequencer in Ableton Live can control Eurorack modular synth by using MIDIMesh over UDP network. I'm implementing the new specification of Network MIDI 2.0 (UDP).

You can notice when the sequence is changing, then the oscillator changes the pattern too without noticeable latency."

Skapa Sound AIR Infra-Red Proximity Controller

A 2025 MIDI INNOVATION AWARD entry

via Skapa Sound

"An Infra-Red proximity controller that boasts innovative, single-handed operation and an easy to read LED level meter.

True to the Skapa Sound ethos, AIR offers an intuitive means of control through an easy-to-use UI and is presented in a beautiful hand-crafted, natural wood housing.

The key features of AIR include:

* Infra-red proximity detection, enabling you to control the parameters of your favourite synths with a simple wave of your hand.
* A bright, onboard LED meter showing your parameter level. Designed to be easy to see, whether in the studio or in a live setting.
* Lockable parameter level with a simple hand gesture.
* Output to both MIDI and CV simultaneously - both using 3.5mm mini-jack sockets (MIDI requires mini-jack to 5 pin DIN adaptor).
* MIDI channel programmable (channels 1 to 16).
* MIDI Control Change (CC) setting programmable between 16 values.
* CV output range 0V to +5V.
* USB powered (USB-C)

More details to follow soon.

Status: In development"

MEMLNaut - Total sound control with machine learning

video uploads by MEML

A 2025 MIDI INNOVATION AWARD entry

"Bring your sounds to life with the MEMLNaut, the first neural symbiotic controller for synths and effects: discover new sounds instantly, live, with any rig."

Learn more about the MEMLNaut and Musically Embodied Machine Learning: https://musicallyembodiedml.github.io/

Some info saved for the site archives:

"MEMLNaut is a musical instrument and research platform for exploration of musically embodied machine learning. It can process and generate sound, it’s extensible with a wide range of IO and interfaces, and it can optimise and run machine learning models on it’s dual core microcontroller chip.

MEMLNAut is open source, you can find all the Kicad files on our github"

"MEML is funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council. It is an investigation into the musically expressive potential of machine learning (ML) when embodied within physical musical instruments. It proposes ‘tuneable ML’, a novel approach to exploring the musicality of ML models, when they can be adjusted, personalised and remade, using the instrument as the interface.

ML has been highly successful in allowing us to build novel creative tools for musicians. For example, generative models that bring new approaches to sound design, or models that allow musicians to build complex, nuanced mappings with musical gestures. These instruments offer new forms of creative expression, because they are configurable in intuitive ways using data that can be created by musicians. They can also offer new modes of control, with techniques such as latent space manipulation. Currently, to train a ML model, standard practice is to collect data (e.g sound or sensor data), create and pre-test the model within a data science environment, before testing it with the instrument. This distributed approach creates a disconnection between the instrument and the machine learning processes. With ML embodied within an instrument, musicians will be able to take a more creative and intuitive approach to making and tuning models, that will also be more inclusive to those without expertise in ML. Musicians can get the most value from ML if the whole process of machine learning is accessible; there are many creative possibilities in the training and tuning of models, so it’s valuable if the musician can have access to the curation of data, curation of models, and to methods for ongoing retuning of models over their lifetime.

We have reached the point where ML technology will run on lightweight embedded hardware at rates sufficient for audio and sensor processing. This opens up innumerable additions to our electronic, digital, and hybrid augmented acoustic instruments. Our instruments will contain lightweight embedded computers with ML models that shape key elements of the instruments behaviour, for example sound modification or gesture processing, responding to sensory input player and/or environment. This project will demonstrate how Tuneable ML creates novel musical possibilities, as it allows to create self-contained instruments, that can evolve independently from the complex data science tools conventionally used for ML.

The project asks how instruments can be designed to make effective and musical use of embedded ML processes, and questions the implications for instrument designers and musicians when tunable processes are a fundamental driver of an instrument’s musical feel and musical behaviour."

Morphonium: Expressive Gestural MIDI Controller

video upload by Morphonium

A 2025 MIDI INNOVATION AWARD entry

"The Morphonium Family is a 3-part MIDI controller used together to continuously shape sound in realtime. Consisting of the Alpha 'wheelboard' with a unique keyboard-like layout of over 100 wheels & switches, the Delta keyboard with a suite of novel gestural controls & the Omega pedalboard, allow the player to continuously shape and add nuance to sound. The beauty & depth of expression achieved is unrivalled in the world of MIDI controllers and provides a system to compose, perform, record, teach & notate music in the electronic domain."

The Morphonium consists of three parts:
Wheelboard (timbre control)
74 wheels and 30 buttons for MIDI notes and continuous controllers
Touch screen for programming and feedback
Keyboard (melody)
4 octave velocity sensitive keyboard
"Vibe bar" for vibrato and calibrated pitch bends
"Gliss strip" for up to 2 octave glissando
"Tron" for theremin-like continuous control of pitch and volume
"Pusher" (up/down) and "Spinitt" (rotary) expression controllers
"Transer" shifts octaves based on proximity of the hand to the back of the keyboard
Breath controller to articulate volume and brightness
Pedalboard
Continuous expression pedal for filter / brightness
Sustain pedal (continuous or digital)
4 digital pedals for loop control

See https://www.morphonium.org for additional details.

The Sonoclast Plastic Pitch MIDI Microtuner Unlocks Pitch for MIDI Synthesizers!

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by Sonoclast

A 2025 MIDI INNOVATION AWARD entry

Playlist:

1. The Plastic Pitch MIDI Microtuner Unlocks Pitch for MIDI Synthesizers!
2. MIDI Pitch Bend and the Plastic Pitch / Microtuning Multitimbral Synths
3. MIDI Tuning Standard and the Plastic Pitch / Microtuning the Moog Sub37
4. How To Arpeggiate The Harmonic Series / A Plastic Pitch Musical Experiment
5. Using the Plastic Pitch MIDI Microtuner / Walkthrough
6. The Plastic Pitch Does MPE x2! Microtuning with Linnstrument and Fred's Lab Manatee

via this Reverb listing

"The Plastic Pitch is an award winning* MIDI microtuner with an intuitive interface made for experimenting with pitch. Create a custom scale with the twelve black and white tuning knobs, and play the scale with a standard MIDI keyboard or other MIDI controller. The tuning knobs operate at a one-cent resolution and can also be quantized to a Scala tuning. Tune multiple synths and multiple voices simultaneously using the four MIDI inputs and four MIDI outputs.

The Plastic PItch receives input from MIDI controllers and transmits microtuned output to MIDI synthesizers. On the input side, use any combination of an MPE controller, basic MIDI keyboard, or other MIDI source like a DAW or sequencer. On the output side, MIDI tuning is accomplished using MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE), basic MIDI pitch bend, and/or MIDI Tuning Standard (MTS)--the tuning method is user-configurable and independent for each of the four MIDI outputs.

The Plastic Pitch is a complex device with many user-customizable options. Be sure to check out the video demos on the Plastic Pitch webpage or our YouTube channel to see examples of how it can be used.

* An earlier prototype was awarded Second Prize at the MIDI Innovation Awards in 2021."

Plastic Pitch Webpage"

Gamma Mini Synth by this.is.NOISE inc

video upload by thisisNOISEinc

A 2025 MIDI INNOVATION AWARD entry

"Gamma is a mini synth that is always in key and instantly ready to play.

Trigger chords and notes with the keys, access effects/manipulations with the thumbsticks, and evolve your own virtual pet on the 1.3" OLED screen.

Easy to pick up and play, but deep enough to inspire professionals.

Check out our landing page for more details and where to purchase 👇

https://thisisnoiseinc.com/pages/gamma"

Expected to ship August 2025
Regular price $299.99 USD

Chords & Notes
Gamma's unique layout allows you to play a chord with one hand and a melody with the other. The chords and notes are completely independent of one another - have the two sound exactly the same, or entirely different! 🎶

Always in Key
There are no wrong keys! Gamma's 7 chords/notes are mapped to a diatonic scale and will always sound good together. Quickly jump between major and minor scales with the key selection encoder 🗝️

Thumbsticks
Easily manipulate your sound on the fly with Gamma's thumbsticks. Choose from a variety of effects and chord variations to add dynamics to your performance ✨

Knobs
Need more control? Both the chords and notes have two dedicated knobs each. Map these to different parameters for precise control over the sound 🎛️

Gamma...Gotchi?
Hold on to your fanny packs - Gamma has virtual pets! Watch your new friend evolve as you play. Collect all the different evolutions to complete the full library 👾

Menu System
Access presets, parameters, mappings and more via Gamma's menu system. Dive deep into the settings to get the most out of Gamma! ⚙️

CLICK FOR MORE »