2016 NAMM Show: French startup Expressive E will be introducing Touché, described as an ‘innovative controller with unmatched sensitivity’, at the Winter NAMM Show.
Today, they shared this teaser video for the Touché, which features EMS founder Peter Zinovieff sharing his impressions of the new controller and sharing his thoughts on why new types of electronic instruments are needed:
Here’s what Expressive E has to say about the Touché:
Blending traditional mechanisms with modern technology, Touché is a revolution in how you play with any synthesizer or VST.
Its wood surface was designed to react to the smallest vibration, the slightest pressure of your hand, allowing you to shape sounds spontaneously as with an acoustic instrument.
Synthesizers allow for a vast variety of complex sounds. Nonetheless, knobs and faders are sometimes not suitable for expressive play. Touché’s wood surface has been designed to react to the smallest vibration, the slightest pressure of your hand, allowing synth players to shape sounds spontaneously, like an acoustic instrument. Its companion software allows for customisation of parameters, while MIDI, CV and USB ports allows Touché to control any digital or analog synthesizer, with or without a computer. That’s why Touché is the perfect device to use with a synthesizer for more inspiration and fun!
Expect more details to be available at the Winter NAMM Show, being held January 21-24 2016.
I think he should remake the VCS3/AKS. That to me would be more exciting then anything. Really, a dream..
Robin Wood is still making them new in Cornwall. Yours for £5K and an 8 year waiting list….
Guys its a controller, it will probably cost a lot of money, there is no need for teasers. Just let us see what you have, if we can afford it and it is interesting we will buy it. This is not the 90’s
You might be surprised !
Good to see two new products, Snyderphonics Birl & Touché, both aiming to provide more expressive controls for synths – along with the Roger Linnstrument and ROLI Seaboard RISE in 2015 – this is becoming a real trend!
Is this a MPE? Talk of expression, sensitivity, vibration, pressure, small movements, big movements – but that could all be on the same axis. This may not even have polyphonic aftertouch, never mind be a MPE – why they hooking up with a dude famous for mono synths?
The fact they don’t see the relevance of talking about multidimensional-expression in terms of it being the most expressive controller makes me think this just has highly sensitive pressure for soloing a mono synth, and most likely isn’t a MPE. I hope I am wrong.
I’m just going to say it: the name is a little bit too close to douche.
coconuts and lolly pops they wont
Don’t discount the significance of that accent on the last é! The correct pronunciation is “tooshay” – at which point it’s quite a long way from your shower gel. Touché?
(that’s you’ve been speared by your fencing opponent).
translates as “touched”
It looks like you put your thumb in the knob to the left, and your fingers rest on the wooden plate.
i realize (dolefully) that expressive controllers are still a niche and avant-garde branch but with a little good-will in all parties involved they could really challenge and one day maybe replace those old, limiting “on-off” keyboards soon. as they should. yes, a proper stage piano will always have its rightful place, but creativity, expression and natural flow are now being given such a breath of life and opened up to this world of opportunities, just take a look at what roger linn and geert bevin are providing with this board of sensors and arduino in the bowels!
the major players need to organize and collab and set basic, universal standards and really push this major opportunity onto the market. music will benefit greatly by an organic, less constrained human input. it NEEDS to become mainstream.
Touche a douche! 😉
They have a demo video up now…kind of interesting: https://youtu.be/QFCDblT4Lh0