Touchram controller

flickr by rylos51

full size

"Touch control panel for music synthesizer being used with a Yamaha DX7. Real-time dynamic control makes all the difference in the world."

See this post for more info on the Touchram.

DX7IIFD Controller?

Anyone know what this is? Title link takes you to the source image.

via woggler in the comments of this post.

Update via woggler in the comments. More info via this electro-music.com thread (I pulled the info below in case the thread expires like other forums).

Via Rylos, the creator of this device:
"Since the TouchRam controller outputs midi, which is software-driven, it could be made to operate about any midi-controlled device. The native inherent resolution is about 20 times higher than the DX7 can use, so it had to be scaled back in the software to match the synth. It uses a patent-pending electrical noise rejection design, which enables it to respond with no perceptible delay, and gives it a snappy, responsive "look & feel".

The limiting factor in using it with the DX7 series synth is that the DX7II will suffer buffer overload if you try to cram midi data into it at anywhere near the maximum data rate, so the software had to be crippled enough to slow down the data rate. Tried it first with an original DX7, but that unit would stutter & fart whenever you changed parameter data while playing a note. The DX7II lets you change parameter values while playing. Multiple control strips can be operated at the same time. It operates by touch, not pressure, so it won't wear out.

When you call up a patch from memory, the display bargraphs immediately show the values of the parameter settings. To tweak any parameter you simply touch on the display where you want the value to be. Couldn't be any simpler. Makes it easy & fun to learn & use FM. After you use it a while it gets pretty intuitive to operate, so you get used to playing the sound parameters as well as playing notes. Instead of a multi-step procedure to tweak sounds, you can do it without having to think about how to do it. Much more efficient way to play than having to mentally task-switch to menu dive!

Here are some samples of the real-time sound morphing a lowly DX7 can do. This is just a bit of noodling around (not any real songs) using only the touch control panel. Anyone who has played a DX7 will appreciate the difference from the usual lack of real-time sound dynamics.

http://www.rentaltechnologies.com/audio/noodle-1.mp3
http://www.rentaltechnologies.com/audio/metabass_mutate-1.mp3
http://www.rentaltechnologies.com/audio/epiano1_morph-1.mp3

It's home-made, and the technology is available for licensing. So as soon as some synth producers can be persuaded to build it into their products synths will suddenly become much more expressive. And cooler-looking!"

One more image:

I mirrored the mp3s here.