Full disclosure; I haven't played one. I'm just some dude that plays harmonica when no one is looking. Honestly, it's probably not my place to criticize those that are building the instruments, but here I go anyway. The thing that kinda throws me off is that it only has 1 slider.
One of the most exciting developments in harmonica hardware (in my opinion) is Brendan Power's twin harmonica system. The drawback being there are just too many ideas I'd want to try before I ran out of money.
With the leap into midi that MD48 is taking, it seems to be limiting itself to the sort of control a regular chromatic has. I don't mean to understate the innovation. It's midi, so it's sounds are limitless. I'm talking about on the fly control. You get the notes you've pre-selected, a slider, and the chops you brought with you.
Why not put a second slider on there like Brendan did with his chromatics? Why not a third? Can the slider play the notes as a chord like when you press the slider on an acoustic only halfway?
There's probably a ton of stuff that the slider could be doing. If instead of just a button it had some depth to it, so you could fade to the note rather than just toggle to it.
Call me crazy, but sometimes I feel like we're in the middle of some fast evolution of the harmonica. It kind of makes me wonder what it was like when Leo Fender was first putting magnetic pickups in a bass. History buffs, go easy on me. The bass not only changed forever, but also became a platform for creativity, not just for the music, but for the capabilities the instrument allows.
That's all I got. I hope the DM48 is a success because I see a lot of potential.
I too have not yet tried the DM48, probably will get a chance to at SPAH. Here's something good about it--one of the biggest challenges with the amplified harmonica is getting it loud enough to compete with other amped up axes. Guess what? This unit can do it. Granted it's not a harmonica, it's a synth controller--you will be heard!
There is a second button on top of the DM48, easily placed under the left hand pointer finger, that can act like a second "slider" and trigger more notes!
I am loving that option on mine!
Both of these "sliders" are digital, however, so there's no "half way."
8 notes per hole... or 16 if you program the bends right!
The sliders interact as transpositions of the non-slider note. So, if blow is C, slider 1 is E-flat (up 3 half steps, or +3) and slider two is E (up 4 half steps, or +4) you can play C, E-flat, E or G (3+4=7 half steps from C... or a perfect fifth). This also means you can play both C major and minor arpeggios without changing holes, or even breath directions!
By taking advantage of this slider flexibility, I play all of the walking bass patterns plus the various organ chords in the "Last Night" video using only four holes. The remaining eight are still available for soloing....
That's pretty great! Thanks for the reply. One of the tunings I've been wanting to try on a double chrom is an arpeggiator tuning. Say blow 1 is a C, pressing different buttons would play E, G, or B. Then, on the draw you'd have D, F, A, and C. One entire octave in a single hole. If you're saying that this thing can do that and be configured to any key in the menu, I guess I'm buying!
With the double slider approach there's a learning curve for sure, and if you want to do "extra fancy" things there may be both music theory and/or math involved (same thing really) as the slider notes are not completely independent.
Some patterns are more of a puzzle than others. One setup that would work for your example above isn't too bad though: Blow would be C, Slider 1 would be E, Slider 2 could then add 7 half steps to either of those (a Perfect 5th) making C+P5=G (Slider 2 in) and E+P5=B (both Sliders in).
So, playing a C, E, G, B arpeggio would be: C = Blow E = Blow+Slider 1 G = Blow+Slider 2 B = Blow+Sliders 1&2
Then will be the learning curve also involving practice and coordination of breath and sliders.
Fun!
I'll post another video tonight or first thing tomorrow that demonstrates the power of the two sliders even further.
Also, I will be doing a much more thorough video later this week for Bluesharmonica.com
What do you mean by the slider notes are not completely independent? Are the slider intervals static across all the holes? If that's the case, I wonder if the inventor will make the source code available because it sounds like the hardware is all there.
Also, in my head the tuning would be less of a binary order for the buttons and more of a gray code. Blow+no sliders= C Blow+first slider= E Blow+both sliders= G Blow+second slider= B
Where in binary the button order would be 00, 01, 10, 11 In gray code it would go 00, 01, 11, 10 I imagine that would make more sense ergonomically.
You’re right on about the ergonomics of that scheme.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work quite that way.
Each slider is really an interval from the base note. When the two sliders are used together, the intervals sum.
You could, however, also think of schemes where slider intervals are negative….
Erik has put a lot into this personally and is not going to be releasing the source code. He has been very open to user input, however, and has already made changes to the OS based on input from Brendan Power, and now me (coming soon)….
Interesting discussion. Great to have MIDI-savvy players like John Shirley exploring the possibilities of the DM48. Even for a MIDI neophyte like me it's an incredible instrument, but for those who have a background in MIDI the huge range of options will be easier to see and access.
Configuring the top round button as an extra 'slider' was my suggestion to Erik, (inspired by the DoubleChrom) and it does open many cool possibilities. Having it under your left finger is good too, as you can coordinate better between them.
What blew me away in my Beta Testing role for Erik was the amazing flexibility of this instrument. Just about anything I requested, Erik could add in a new menu - and there it was!
The custom tunings facility is bliss for an alt tunings junkie like me. I can now have all my tunings, in all keys, one one harmonica. I normally carry about 50 around, diatonics and chromatics, but now they are all emulated in the DM48.
It's rugged and user friendly too, no reeds to break, tune, set gaps for, or valves to stick and rattle, and very even-playing in all octaves. As Gary said, you can turn up to 11 with zero feedback. Silent practice with headphones is very handy as well.
An area I'm exploring is adding an extra mini controller, for even more options. I'm focussed on pitch bending, but it could be configured into other uses. This could be the 'third and fourth slider' you mention, Mahcks.
Sounds like you're a digital dude, you will love this thing. Looking forward to hearing your experiences down the road.
I emailed Erik and he indicated that the main slider is completely customizable across all holes, but the secondary slider is not. My fingers are crossed that it will change.
That said, Erik and I discussed that possibility already and both acknowledged that it would make onscreen programming a lot more cumbersome (some owners have already noted how laborious this can be currently). While you and I would likely be ok with that, others may see it as a real negative.
The release of a firmware update is pending, however, that will allow remote programming of tunings from a computer. I am using a beta now and love it!
I should point out that Erik has been regularly adding features and making the DM48 even better. And each of these updates has been available for free to all owners!
No, but with this next update any MIDI sequencer or DAW will be able to edit, store and upload tunings to the DM48. In fact, you may be able to play in a tuning from a MIDI keyboard!
There are a number of free MIDI sequencers out there, and some really cool ones for relatively short money.
