{"id":678,"date":"2013-04-27T00:56:32","date_gmt":"2013-04-27T10:56:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/way.net\/waymusic\/?p=678"},"modified":"2013-10-23T19:04:41","modified_gmt":"2013-10-24T05:04:41","slug":"a-soft-step-a-hot-hand-and-my-control-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/way.net\/waymusic\/2013\/04\/27\/a-soft-step-a-hot-hand-and-my-control-issues\/","title":{"rendered":"control issues."},"content":{"rendered":"

(n.b., If you just want to see and hear the Hot Hand in action, scroll to the video at the bottom of the page<\/em>)<\/p>\n

I have control issues.  Guitarists have it rough in the all-digital world.  Both hands are full with the playing of the thing.  The foot (two is harder) is useful on stompboxes and wah pedals, but not as easy for the digital world, where effects can be free but seldom come in a box.<\/p>\n

\"Hot<\/a>
Hot Hand<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Enter into the arena the SourceAudio Hot Hand<\/a>,
\n a little box about a third of the size of a flash drive attached to a
\nrubber strap that you can wrap around what you wish, default being a
\nfinger.  It has the accelerometer built in and sends three signals, one
\nfor each axis of the three dimension of the space we live in.  Move it
\nalong an axis and it sends out midi control changes which can be pumped
\ninto the digital guitar rig and attached to anything a midi signal can
\ncontrol.  It takes some calibrating and “fingering” out to actually
\ncontrol the thing, but when it works, you can flail your picking hand
\naround in the air or move it subtly, both of which guitarists have been
\nknown to do, and the midi flows to whatever you hook it up to. I opted
\nfor the obvious here and hooked it up to filter cutoffs (three of them),
\n resonance (three of those too), distortion amount (one on the Z axis,
\nwhich takes the most conscious effort to get off of zero), and filter
\nattack.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

After messing about the whole day I got a mostly good take that
\ndemonstrates some of the possibilities for expression in the Hot Hand.
\n The first part sets up a loop with the instruments modulated by the
\nring, then some lead over that with some extra expression, and a drum
\ndrop where I use the Hot Hand to mangle the loop full time without
\nplaying guitar, then on to the glorious finish where I heroically try to
\n stomp out all the loops and drums at once.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n