Chiff and Fipple Forums

Hi, after looking at this http://www.fagerstrom.com I'm wondering
if such a thing exist for to emulate a whistle (or uilleann pipe)....

im also interested.
I was thinking of making one a while back using off-the-shelf 1cm proximity detectors for the holes and an air pressure sensor for the wind.... then run it all into the laptop.

One day (long ago), in a fit of futility, I thought to myself:

"Maybe an electronic whistle ! That uses earbuds ! I could practice in virtual silence !"

Radio shack ? Home Depot ? It could be done....



Proximity sensors would be wayyy better !

Actually, I thought I read somewhere that there is a "whistle" app that uses the microphone for wind-sensing and pad-areas on the screen to mimic tone-holes.

Good luck !
(it really was futile . . .)

You might want to check this out http://www.ocarinaboard.com/bb/index.php?topic=1902.0

been thinking about this myself as I have a lot of fun with my Deger electronic GHB. have a look at this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EWI you can adjust the fingerering to the instrument of choice (flute, sax, clarinet etc) and what I like about it is that you use breath control for the dynamics. You are also able to put in a variety of sounds with the right setup



Should I, shouldn't I?

You should.

The Yamaha WX5 wind controller is along the same lines. The keywork of the Akai looks a bit less complex.

http://usa.yamaha.com/products/music-pr ... llers/wx5/

thanks for the push I have...

Impempe wrote:Should I, shouldn't I?

Yeah, I keep looking at these but haven't pulled the trigger yet.

One thing to be aware of in looking at these wind controllers is that they do not generally work on their own. But thankfully things are getting simpler.

The Yamaha WX5, AFAIK, uses a proprietary cable to interface to dedicated Yamaha tone generators. It is more like old school MIDI controller. So that's a significant additional expense to think about. Using the MIDI out port of the tone generator you can access any hardware or software synth. Not a big deal if you already have a synth equipped studio.

The Akai EWI now comes in a USB version. It plugs into a PC via a USB port using a virtual synthesizer to generate the sounds. It comes with a dedicated Garritan software synth application but should work with any virtual synth. I think you should also be able to plug into any hardware synth that uses a USB based MIDI interface as well. Smartphone apps can't be far off (probably there already).

The AKai EWI 4000s has a built-in synth module. You can use headphones directly with that one. But it does cost a bit more than a muted red top Gen. It does sound quite versatile though. Just add a looper.

Should I or shouldn't I?

Feadoggie

Feadoggie wrote:
Should I or shouldn't I?

Feadoggie

Yes - do it, I did

I've been giving this a lot of thought lately
while working on embedded projects using
the Arduino. I think it would be pretty easy
to create a system on a dowel to slide into
a Generation tube. Supposedly there's a way
to use an LED half the time as an emitter and
half the time as a detector, so I think by
placing 6 LEDs attached to the dowel so one
LED sits under each hole, I could detect the
presence of fingers over the holes.

For breath detection, I thought I could file
down the ramp and place a small mic over
the windway or inside the mouthpiece to
detect air movement and probably velocity
while not making much noise. With the right
processor, I think I could turn those sensors
into MIDI, but it would probably require a
separate box with a chord running to it from
the whistle.

I'm sure I'll get around to building it by the
time somebody else already does it or no one
cares anymore.

trill wrote:

That looks pretty sweet. What did you use
for air detection? Pressure sensor?

Have you checked out the vPipes?

http://www.vpipes.com/

Kevin Carr had a set at our tionol in 2010, I had a chance to sit down with them for a test ride. They are amazing.

To me, all virtual instruments (including my own iOS apps, Roland V-Accordions, Variax modeling guitars, Yamaha WX) feel fairly remote and lifeless to play with the sound coming out "over there". I want to feel the wood vibrating under my fingers.

The vPipes are definitely a useful tool, and I would imagine for someone who <has> to have a working instrument in a reed-unfriendly environment, like being in the band for a Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil show, they could be a lifesaver.

Charles Young in Middleton, Midlothian, Scotland has been making electronic whistle-pipes for 20 years or so. He'll do pretty much any fingering system on request. I've played one he made for Lindsay Porteous, which works like an ordinary whistle but has an octave-shift button on the bottom end of the chanter .

For anybody going the midi route (the WX5, WX7, EWI, etc.) checkout patchman music to get the best sounds possible. Patchman specializes in making synthesizer sounds that are designed specifically for use with a wind controller. They are excellent.

If you really want the most life like sounds you can get, check out the soundbanks they created for Native Instruments Kontact4. The tin whistle sound is a sampled Generation C, the recorders, and the bass clarinet especially sound amazing.

http://www.patchmanmusic.com/kontakt.html

If you explore around a little they also have a FAQ on wind controllers in general so you can get a grip on some of the differences.

For what its worth, i've been playing a WX7 (the predecessor to the WX5) for about 17 years. I've used half a dozen different synths over the years and put the patchman patches in all of them.

Chris
* Disclaimer * I'm not affiliated in any way with patchman music, just a happy customer.

any thoughts on Arduino vs. Phidgets for a whistle?

Im pretty handy with hardware/software but dont have much of a background in electronics. Phidgets appears more "plug and play". It looks like the inputs are taken into laptop software through USB. So, im guessing the processing and sound generation would be happening on the laptop. Would Arduino be standalone? I cant be trusted to figure out the right resistor for a component... i need electronics for smart dummies!

Thoughts?

fearfaoin wrote:I've been giving this a lot of thought lately
while working on embedded projects using
the Arduino. I think it would be pretty easy
to create a system on a dowel to slide into
a Generation tube. Supposedly there's a way
to use an LED half the time as an emitter and
half the time as a detector, so I think by
placing 6 LEDs attached to the dowel so one
LED sits under each hole, I could detect the
presence of fingers over the holes.

For breath detection, I thought I could file
down the ramp and place a small mic over
the windway or inside the mouthpiece to
detect air movement and probably velocity
while not making much noise. With the right
processor, I think I could turn those sensors
into MIDI, but it would probably require a
separate box with a chord running to it from
the whistle.

I'm sure I'll get around to building it by the
time somebody else already does it or no one
cares anymore.