New “WARBL” MIDI Wind Controller

Tech
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Given that just such a thing is used for wireless USB keyboards & mice, I suppose components are available. The receivers are those little USB dongles already available to stick in a port. You’d still have the issues of battery power and possible increased latency due to transmission.

Also bluetooth versions of the dongles, like: https://www.dx.com/p/Ugreen-Mini-Bluetooth-V40-Wireless-USB-Adapter-Dongle-Music-Sound-Receiver-Bluetooth-Transmitter-for-Computer-PC-Black-916489777

Speaking of which, how fast is RFID reading? Could one use active RFID as a sensor & transmit to a reader?

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Hi all,

Sorry for arriving late here-- I’m the developer of WARBL. I’ve been working on it off and on in may spare time for about three years, going through lots of iterations, starting with a large tube with capacitive sensors and arriving at its current form with optical sensors in the past year. I build stringed instruments as my main job but have really enjoyed playing with this. My main goal was for something to practice silently with, and it sounds like there’s interest here for that same reason.

Thanks to Michael for helping to get the word out and testing for me. We’ve come a long way in the few days that he’s had the device! His apps are perfect companions for it.

I don’t have a firm release date or price, but I’m hoping some time in the spring, with an introductory price in the $200 range. Feel free to contact me at info(at)warbl.xyz with questions, or if you post them here they may benefit others as well.

I don’t know too much about the options for wireless mentioned above, but searching for “usb wireless midi adaptor” brings up some possible interfaces. I’m sure many of you have more experience with those sorts of things than I have. I opted for no battery for the sake of simplicity, lower cost, and lower weight, but I’d agree there are always tradeoffs. It doesn’t draw much power, so it’s easy to power with a portable device.

Adding more breath control options has been on my list, so hopefully I’ll get that enabled at some point. I think you could get some nice (and even more realistic) sounds if you modulate pitch and volume a little bit with pressure (in addition to the octave control).

Anyway, I just wanted to chime in. I’m delighted to hear that there’s some interest in this (so I’m not crazy after all?), and please feel free to contact me with other questions.