Introducing: MAINFRAME MIDI Visualizer
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- čas přidán 5. 08. 2024
- Finally, after about 2 years of continuous development I am proud to present MAINFRAME-B, the very first in the MAINFRAME line of audio-visual products.
Being a MIDI Visualizer, music producers can explore the visual domain by creating real-time, customizable light shows synchronized to their MIDI-based music. With MAINFRAME-B you can create a live-show atmosphere without needing expensive or complicated DMX lighting equipment.
A couple of notes:
- I use Ableton myself which is why it's used as an example throughout the video. MAINFRAME-B has been tested with Flstudio and Pro Tools as well. MAINFRAME-B is just like any other external synth/instrument, so if your DAW supports that functionality (sending MIDI out through USB) then MAINFRAME-B will be compatible.
- If you're also wondering about the few clips I had of an LED cube, or my City, those are projects I will eventually turn into products as well (if there is interest). They will be compatible with MAINFRAME-B!
Channeling my inner Billy Mays for this video lol
For more information:
My Website:
syntheticstate.com
My socials:
/ syntheticstate_
/ syntheticstate_
/ @syntheticstate
My email:
info(at)syntheticstate.com
Music by Mel Gibbon, a good friend of mine. Check out his work:
/ s-g03jsosgawy - Věda a technologie
![The moment we stopped understanding AI [AlexNet]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/UZDiGooFs54/mqdefault.jpg)
In case you're wondering, *MAINFRAME-B is available to purchase right now!* Check out my website: www.syntheticstate.com/mainframe
I also have a playlist that I will continuously add MAINFRAME-related videos to: czcams.com/play/PLGSfPwCspK8ZhxIvNEl2x_8oQcpuTY17i.html
A few have asked me when MAINFRAME will be on sale so I just wanted to make it clear that it is available right now. I think we're all a little tired of companies and random kickstarter projects take pre-orders and then give up the project 3 months later, which is something I never want to do to paying customers. If I have something on sale, it means it's ready (but bear with me as I fully iron out the production process, I'm still trying to transform my garage into a makeshift factory).
I'm also frantically trying to shoot and edit more videos of MAINFRAME right now so check out that playlist, subscribe and click that notification bell!
is this no longer for sale?
I feel lucky this ended up on my timeline, this project seems super sweet for when you’re working with livesets
Thanks man! And for sure, I've brought it to a couple of live shows recently and it definitely created an unusually immersive experience. The entire system was also nice and portable, much easier to bring around to live shows compared to bulky DMX controllers and lights :)
This would be so interesting for audio visual installation artworks! Composing music with the visuals as a parallel and integral aspect is a fascinating process as well
I know right! That was one of the several motivations behind this project - usually large-scale lighting installations are either custom-built or using expensive/bulky equipment. With MAINFRAME however, building your own installation is far more accessible.
Glad you also see the vision of composing music alongside the lights, not where the lights are an "afterthought" but done in parallel. The lofty goal is to bring visual instrumentation to a point where both the music and lights contribute equally to the creative process, and composing with just sound makes you feel like something is "missing".
🥸 Very Nice! (I'd wish DIN MIDI also, but there are host boxes.)
Really dope!!!
this is sick
wow the project looks very interesting!! something like that was needed!
I know right?!? Visualizers have a bad rep, but let's change that with a "visual instrument" that actually lets you explore and express the dynamics of your music.
@@SyntheticState For me the only problem is that I would spend 3 days in a rave with one of these in an open air place and at night with humidity and sometimes not the safest and most calm environment... since it is not covered it does not give much sensation of endurance
That's a good point, something I should maybe talk about in a video!
This version has exposed circuitry and made purely from circuit boards, because I wanted to keep things simple manufacturing-wise for the first version. This way I can focus on the software and usability. For use at home and small shows it will be fine, but definitely not designed to be thrown around at a 3 day rave lol.
As part of the product roadmap I want to take what I learn from this version and develop an "advanced" version which among other improvements, will have some sort of a rugged case so it's suitable for "harsher" environments.
This is incredible. Im literally working on a project to try and utilise the translation between the audio and visual domain ( inspired by the tone filter in loop cloud ). You could literally select a sound based on its colour in loopcloud then have that be represented in the same colour when being played through the lights..... That right there is some next level monitoring / mixing. 🤯
Ey that sounds cool, you should post some videos of progress!
call it the mivi
Musical Interactive Visual Instrument
Eyy I like that!
So its in integration with midi... I can imagine a DJ concert where all the lights are being controlled by this ...
my immediate thought is eurorack module, lol
That is in the product roadmap!
Hope this will be commercially successful soon! not 30 years later how it happened to synthesisers 😬
Well I hope so too! Not only for the sake of what a product like this can develop into with some support, but I feel its an inevitable step if our art/performances goes more and more into the VR/Metaverse worlds. At that point I believe multi-sensory expression will be the norm so I'd love to see these sorts of technologies develop soon!
@@SyntheticState - how does this even slightly relate to VR/Metaverse? Like what's the point of a light 'instrument' in the real world if I have a VR headset on? I don't get it.
fair point, I'll try to explain. The idea is you take the core "technology" of MAINFRAME (mapping sensory inputs and outputs in real-time), make a dedicated chip or module and stick it in VR hardware. In a purely pragmatic sense, this can help offload tasks away from the main processor and reduce development time. Let's say in VR you see wind hitting a tree, this dedicated processor can generate the sound of wind hitting each leaf. Or if you stick your hand in water, this processor can handle all the splashing sounds and feedback on haptic motors attached to your hand. I can't imagine the processor overhead and development time burden it would take to generate or program each and every interaction. Maybe this level of detail is not needed, but I believe these details become essential for immersion - to help move VR from "this is fun" to something that can actually simulate reality.
Then there's a whole artistic side, where artists and developers can work with the MAINFRAME hardware in VR to produce interesting and immersive experiences by playing with the system. Feeding different inputs, customizing parameters, observing outputs, networking the modules together, etc.
Hi ! is it possible to use Program Change to switch between the presets of mainframe ?
I think i'm going to buy one for sure !!
Hey! Yes Program Change switches presets. It’s a great way to transition easily between looks without needing to fiddle with parameters.
You should sell a rack accessory for crazy people who want to stack em up 🤤 ( with a manual and wireless switch to move between them )
It is not longer available to purchase?
This is just what I’ve been looking for. I’ve been building a TV head helmet for a year to preform in. The tv has two speakers on top that look like eyes. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to incorporate music reactive leds in them and this seems almost perfect. I wish this could take midi din or even audio in like my Eyesy video synthesizer but I could make this work.
If your device can work with DAWs, can it also work with touchdesigner?
Nice, sounds like a cool project! midi din and audio input will be added for future versions - I've been working on din and the audio side development will begin soon. Not sure when they will be a part of a releasable version though.
I haven't tried MAINFRAME with touchdesigner yet, but I'm pretty sure it would work just like any other external USB MIDI devices would. I found this guide: matthewragan.com/2017/01/23/working-with-midi-devices-touchdesigner/
Awesome. The DAWless crowd will love this when it gets midi input. Couldn’t find the info on your website. What are the dimensions of the Mainframe?
@@_B.C_ Oh yeah they, as well as the modular folks, would love a 5pin input. I wanted to include both USB and 5pin with this version but couldn't get it working, one would break the other. I decided to skip it and stick with USB so at least DAW users can try it out, but I have a 5pin version in the product roadmap!
The dimensions are, W:14cm, L:9cm, H:4cm (to top of knob). Any other info you were looking for but couldn't find? Still trying to populate the website so if there's anything important that I've missed I can prioritize them.
Can i write sort using JCL???
How much does it cost? Could find any information regarding price on your website.
I just built a case as a Dawless setup all driven by a Deluge via midi. Is it possible to make a dedicated midi track to fire the mainframe by the Deluge? Would be awesome if I could light the case up with drum patterns and such things...
yes!
Ahh this version is USB-only so no good for DAWless unless you use some sort of a host box...
But I've been getting a lot of requests for 5 pin so maybe I need to revisit it.. and quickly develop/launch a version with both 5pin and USB
@@SyntheticState The Deluge by Synthstrom is build with both options. But 5pin might be a good way to get the non-usb people into the customer pool 😉
@@n_mi5906 oh for real, the Deluge can act as a USB host and can send midi to external devices through USB? If so then yes MAINFRAME would be perfect for your case lighting :)
5pin in the works now, just mobilized by hardware guy and started planning out the addition! Would hate to leave out the DAWless folks!
@@n_mi5906 sorry, to answer your question specifically, MAINFRAME can visualize three channels at once and you can pick from any of the 16 midi channels. On the Deluge, as long as you can pick the channels to send the midi track(s) through (which I assume you can) then you're good to go.
i have an idea for a simple but very effective hardware interface where would i be able to get in contact with you all
Hey let's hear it! Email me: info(at)syntheticstate.com
So I’m not sure if you have ever heard of Lumin, he is a launchpad youtuber and uses led strips very frequently! In his most recent video he used far more than 2 meters worth of lights, how would I do this withought buying a mainframe for every two meters of lights?
Woah wait until you see the price! it’s extremely reasonable, almost underpriced.
Hahaha yea I bumped down the price because it's a beta and I want as many users trying it out as possible. I didn't want any potential user's budget to be a huge constraint. Plus at this stage feedback and ideas are far more important than profit!
In your opinion, how much should the full (non-beta) version retail for?
can i borrow one please? want to experiment.
EDIT: for real though this immediately brought to mind Amon Tobin - ISAM tour. those visualizations they did were amazing. there is a behind the scenes video on yt that was inspiring
how much added to the cost would a 2x engine version that shared the control hardware a/b or whatever, with just a minimum of global controls and the extra output hardware. you said "get 2", so maybe make 2. haha. i like lights.
Hahaha I was just being cheeky with the 2x MAINFRAME suggestion, but having two outputs is not a bad idea. One dedicated to grids (also functioning as a UI/feedback as sorts) and the other dedicated to strips. I'm not sure how much extra it'll cost but I can look into it for a future version!
Is this VCV compatible?
I think it would REALLY shine there, you could amount the brightness and the patterns through voltages selected upon a module, for instance.
I really like the concept and struggled in the past to get the lighting right for live performances and artistic ambiances. I'll leave this as a suggestion! Hope you sell out! Love from Brazil.
Agreed! I haven't considered MAINFRAME with VCV before because it's been a while since I've touched the app. I just downloaded and tested it though, and yes it works. Just need to use the CV-MIDI module which is part of the free/standard library, and MAINFRAME is automatically detected and selectable as a MIDI device.
gloves
This looks really cool! If you look at my channel, you'll see that I'm a huge fan of music and MIDI visualizers, so I would love to see this in action! I'm sure it will be a tremendous success! I wish you the best in this endeavor! 👍😃
Thanks for the support!