I've been working on a prototype for an instrument that fits an entire keyboard in a compact space.
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@AceArsenault Perfect for playing during the seventh inning stretch on a bus!
@matthewconroy It is portable. : }
Packs a lot of notes in a small space. Also the key widths are 1" so it's standard piano sized keys. Just in two dimensions.
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@AceArsenault This is damn cool work.
@retech : }
I honestly felt really cool playing the freaky fusion jazz.Glad you like the keyboard design! : }
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@retech : }
I honestly felt really cool playing the freaky fusion jazz.Glad you like the keyboard design! : }
@AceArsenault The tune was cool too.
This made me think, Since there always seems to be a mass proliferation of cheap keybards at goodwill and as ewaste. Taking this idea, lowering the bar a lot, but.. making expandable too. So if you had an older rPi and 1 usb keyboard, you could have it mapped to a midi app. Add a kyeboard and increas your range. 2-3 keyboards in, you could have quite the set of keys. Granted, it looks like shit, and you'd have to set it up like an older organ style with stacked keyboards. But it's cheap to produce. There would probably be a range of folks who'd find it useful. Street musicians would have virtually nothing of value to steal outside the amp. Kids can smash them all they want. Circuit benders, well, they do the weird stuff.
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@AceArsenault The tune was cool too.
This made me think, Since there always seems to be a mass proliferation of cheap keybards at goodwill and as ewaste. Taking this idea, lowering the bar a lot, but.. making expandable too. So if you had an older rPi and 1 usb keyboard, you could have it mapped to a midi app. Add a kyeboard and increas your range. 2-3 keyboards in, you could have quite the set of keys. Granted, it looks like shit, and you'd have to set it up like an older organ style with stacked keyboards. But it's cheap to produce. There would probably be a range of folks who'd find it useful. Street musicians would have virtually nothing of value to steal outside the amp. Kids can smash them all they want. Circuit benders, well, they do the weird stuff.
@retech That's actually a pretty cool idea. : }
I know they make keyboard stands to hold more the one keyboard as well. Those are normally on top of eachother.
I always liked the offset staggered layout of electric organs.

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@elsemusic Thank you! : }
I wanted something more compact to sit beside my other gear, but didn't want to go with those smaller 3/4th sized keys.
This gets the entire keyboard in a width of only 12" inches. as compared to 40" inches for a 61 key or 54" inches for 88 keys!
@AceArsenault @elsemusic Clever indeed.
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@matthewconroy It is portable. : }
Packs a lot of notes in a small space. Also the key widths are 1" so it's standard piano sized keys. Just in two dimensions.
@AceArsenault excellent!
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@AceArsenault @elsemusic Clever indeed.
It's also fun to wrap your brain around. Playing bass guitar helps a LOT!
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It's also fun to wrap your brain around. Playing bass guitar helps a LOT!
@AceArsenault @elsemusic I believe it!
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I've been working on a prototype for an instrument that fits an entire keyboard in a compact space.
This is tuned in 4ths like a bass guitar, if only it had 12 strings and a really wide neck.
@AceArsenault That song sounds great, and you make it look easy to play.
Did you model this after the Linnstrument?
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I've been working on a prototype for an instrument that fits an entire keyboard in a compact space.
This is tuned in 4ths like a bass guitar, if only it had 12 strings and a really wide neck.
@AceArsenault That is both very clever and very cool. Love it.
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@retech That's actually a pretty cool idea. : }
I know they make keyboard stands to hold more the one keyboard as well. Those are normally on top of eachother.
I always liked the offset staggered layout of electric organs.

@AceArsenault I always thought the were cool. And the sound in the 60's to early 70's that came out of some of those rigs always blew me away. Your vid, sounded a lot like that. Instant image in my head of seeing that kind of set up... then the pile of keyboards someone gave me. They came with the PCs they purchased and are useless to them. They told me to recylce them. I see a dozen at any goodwill. Truckloads at an ewaste place.
So... that's the evolution of the idea. I'd imagine, someone like a school could get anyone of a dozen places to donate them. It'd be a great project to cross over a few different disciplines.
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@nickzoic @AceArsenault I'm in the thinking and drawing stages of something fairly similar. Probably a Jankó layout as described at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jank%C3%B3_keyboard but also see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isomorphic_keyboard for others. Not so compact because of its redundancy, but allows easy transposition and can be used for microtonality.
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I've been working on a prototype for an instrument that fits an entire keyboard in a compact space.
This is tuned in 4ths like a bass guitar, if only it had 12 strings and a really wide neck.
@AceArsenault Neat, looks a little like this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatic_button_accordion -
@AceArsenault Neat, looks a little like this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatic_button_accordion@alter_kaker I've actually never played a button accordion before, They look like fun. : }
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@Qxkw Yeah. it's a bit like the Harpejji. Just half steps are side to side instead of up and down.
This is like a bass guitar with many strings. : }
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@nickzoic I've never played an button accordion, But they do look neat. : }
I play bass, so making a theoretical "12 string bass" layout was the most logical step for my brain.
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@nickzoic @AceArsenault I'm in the thinking and drawing stages of something fairly similar. Probably a Jankó layout as described at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jank%C3%B3_keyboard but also see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isomorphic_keyboard for others. Not so compact because of its redundancy, but allows easy transposition and can be used for microtonality.
@doctroid @nickzoic That's awesome!
I've seen the Janko layout before. Seems like a cool idea.
Once you get into microtonals, you pretty much have to ditch the old standard 12tone keyboard layout all together.
I wish I had a layout that could play a Septimal harmonic 7th. I play it on brass and flutes all the time, but have no way of playing it on keyboard.
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