Touch Screen Midi Controllers Revisited

In my quest assemble the ultimate midi controller setup, without a doubt the question of touch screen controllers comes up. And why wouldn't it? The perks of touch screen lye in the flexibility, versatility etc. You simply cant beat a device which is completely customizable from the ground up- no more toying with having to upgrade a midi controller because it lacks what you need. Rather it requires a knowledge of programming and then you can rework your device to suit your needs. This is definitely the future of music production, although i still wouldn't trade everything in just yet.



These devices come with a few flaws that put me off a little, well enough to want to wait a bit. The first issue i have is cost, these devices are so bloody expensive ( see jazz mutant lemur) some running as high as (albeit the price has come down) $2000. Now of course there are other alternatives to this problem of cost, which is where monotouch live comes in. I had previously mentioned in an earlier post about monotouch live, mostly because it is really the only alternative to the lemur. and wow what a cost....free all you need is a monitor with touch screen capabilities and you are ready to go. well sort of. You still would need a copy of Cycling 74's Max Msp. And then theres more,

you need windows,
your computer must be able to support multiple monitors,
what if i want more than one...
then i would need a more powerful graphics card/cards......



The list goes on of problems that i find with this solution of using a touchscreen monitor as a midi controller, rather than a dedicated device. Which is where this comes in. This is called the Nanovision MiMo USB Monitor, thats right folks USB. The monitor is quite small too, boasting 7" and 10" models- a little smaller to the size of a lemur (which is at 12"). And runs at the price of about $220. Now of course this is just the start of the touch screen phenomena which seemed to burst when Daft Punk used a set of lemurs for their Grammy Awards Performance with Mr.West, but i can already see where this is going...and it will change how people produce and Dj again.

Cheers,

Azzo