Long Arms Required, Electronic Trombone

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sX4Dleqz_0&feature=player_embedded%5D

Sadly, the video above is the only information we were able to find on the “Double Slide Controller” trombone, built by composer Tomás Henriques. As well as, the instrument took first place in the Georgia Tech Center Guthman Musical Instruments Competition. Right in front of a Bluetooth bow for violins, and a circuit bending group from New York, and…wait; it beat out our favorite modified didgeridoo? Better luck next year.

23 thoughts on “Long Arms Required, Electronic Trombone

  1. lol the crowd looks so enthusiastic

    sounded kind of like the begining of “shine on you crazy diamond”

    my guess as to what he’s doing is using two ribbon controlers (soft pots) for pitch bend then the buttons on the grips send note on msgs.. the joystick either controls knobs in the softsynth or selects different knobs or program changes
    also a breath controller

    i don’t know what the main board is, but the smaller board looks like a MidiTron

  2. Ok not to be a downer here, but am I the only one who thought it sucked.

    I like the part about the electronic trombone, but that background music (if that is what you would call it) drowned out the trombone sound, and still played even though he was doing nothing. Sounded like too much re-verb.

    Take that out, and only play the sound he is playing and maybe it would of sounded better.

  3. Geez hackaday, don’t use the internet much do ya?! ;-) There is more information on youtube:

    http://www.youtube.com/user/thenriques1videoout

    The Double Slide Controller is a new electronic instrument whose playing technique is based on the acoustic slide trombone. It has 2 independent slides and two versatile hand controllers that allow free motion in three spatial dimensions. In this clip the right hand slide is generating the pitches which are triggered by the breath of the player while the left hand slide is controlling the pitch of some drone tones.
    Several sensors built into the hand controllers allow the player to modify in real time the sound of the drone tones.
    In this example the software (MAXMSP) directs the melodic material via MIDI to a Yamaha VL-70m synth while the sustained notes are produced by a softsynth (NI Massive).
    One can also hear some delay+echo type effects on the main melody. These are controlled by a joystick on the right hand controller

  4. Why do they always have to have instruments like this play the crappiest music? I play trombone, and it is a full ranged instrument with a beautiful tone. This thing sounds like crap. Sure the tech is impressive, but it’s like a car that is technologically impressive, but is hideous to look at (Prius what?) Any MIDI instrument could play that bunk. Gimme an example of technology that stimulates BOTH sides of my brain, please.

  5. @spyder_21 and everybody below, I totally agree. The music sucked big time. If he was just to make it play regular music it would be so much more appealing. If he wants it to play that garbage then go ahead, after he showcases the real musical abilities.

    Did anybody think it sounded like the menu to Halo when it just loops endlessly?

  6. The K-Bow sounded more impressive to me. Honestly, I’m not really a huge fan of the midi-controller genre of instrument. As many have said, the real instruments themselves sound beautiful. I would personally like to see more electronic control of either existing instruments or instruments made to work with the control. Things like the auto-strumming instrument featured a long while back.

  7. I’d be more impressed if he played MUSIC on it, and not just out of tune industrial noise. (which is probably why the audience was half asleep) Pretty much sounds like a whole lot of nothing.

    Oh, and those of you pissing on midi apparently never heard of pitch bend, channel aftertouch, and the dozen other properties you can send like flutter tongue, growl, modulation, etc.

    See the EWI USB when combined with a good softsynth like “The Sax Brothers”. It sends midi over USB and has no problems with each musician sounding ‘unique’.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6bWKpF10NQ
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8nFUO1hCv0

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6D4qpY_65M — this guy is on a Yamaha WX he kitbashed using clarinet parts to ‘look’ more like a real instrument.

    There’s more to midi than just sending note-on, note-off; were that more people using it REALIZED THAT!

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