The PHOTON | the intelligent mouthpiece | breath controller | Experimental test with SYLPHYO

[@45zapatero]

Will this ever be commercially released ? Any updates ?

[@IMOXPLUS]

at this moment the Photon is on hold - the special microprocessor being used is not available anymore (global stock out). I would need to redesign the entire circuit board and this will be again a big hit on my budget and time. I still have the intention to get this product into the market when I have again a financial buffer. Right now I'm working on some other products for wind-controller players (under NDA).

[@psionic111]

@@IMOXPLUS I hope things work out for you to get this on the market, I'd be interested in the Photon. While I'd use it with my EWI USB, I'm wondering if you'll also have a standalone version similar to the USB TEC or the old school Yamaha breath controllers? This could open it up to a larger market of (non-wind) synth users who are drive by curious about physically modeled wind / acoustic instruments. As in, plug in the Photon to your synth's MIDI DIN or USB, and start playing your keyboard naturally while adding a new level of expressive breath control beyond velocity/AT/polyAT. Anyway, I discovered this project by accident while trying to sign up for your VL70m editor.... the robot captcha doesn't work on those pages so I had to google to see if you're still active in this space. Is that editor still available for purchase or have you moved on to just Respiro and Photon? Thanks, and good luck!

[@IMOXPLUS]

​@@psionic111 Photon is still on hold...after Covid it became impossible to get hold of the special PSOC microprocessor from Cypress. As a result I need to redesign the entire PCB with another processor. In the meantime I received from many wind-players ideas and suggestions...so I hope to find funding and time in 2024 to wake-up the Photon project. for sure VL70m Editor is still available but I have to rework the entire website.. (time time time).... you can purchase it via www.imoxplus.com cheers...and enjoy making music..

[@davidmdyer838]

I love this sound, how was it done. I especially liked the way it sounded when you slurred the first sound over the "register break". How was that done. How are you playing with a non-western scale with the Sylphyo?

[@IMOXPLUS]

the sound is produced by the Respiro wind-synth (Physical Modeling reed) - www.imoxplus.com Respiro allows for different scaling. I suggest you contact Maxence to obtain more info on his Sylphyo playing techniques.. The Photon mouthpiece + Sylphyo will be a groundbreaking setup allowing far more expression possibilities... The Photon version you see in this video is a prototype...Artist Pedro Eustache will reveal in 2021 the Photon that will hit the market.

[@davidmdyer838]

@@IMOXPLUS Thank you.

[@deaconblues3964]

Can this be used on the original Lyricon and Lyricon Controller?

[@IMOXPLUS]

The Photon is in fact a complete midi controller. So with the correct adapter (3d printed neck) you can place it on any kind of fingering unit. I'm not a Lyricon expert but I would advice you to contact my friend Frank Willems. He owns several lyricons and I know he has plans to upgrade one of his Lyricons with the Photon.

[@deaconblues3964]

@@IMOXPLUS HO can I contact Frank? Thanks

[@IMOXPLUS]

@@deaconblues3964 facebook.com/frank.willems.92

[@jimhanksmusic]

Intriguing! Which adapters are being planned? EWI?

[@IMOXPLUS]

Yes, EWI, WX, Sylphyo, Roland EA, TravelSax, NuEVI etc... actually making the adapter to hook up the Photon on existing wind-controllers is not such a challenge. The real challenge is to route the USB/MIDI output of the wind-controller into the Photon on-board midi processor. This routing is currently happening via the host computer and we want a more direct approach to reduce setup complexity for musicians. All this is part of the upcoming beta testing phase where we will allow early adopters to purchase a working prototype so we can further improve the produce for the big launch.

[@jimhanksmusic]

@@IMOXPLUS I'll definitely be following. For the MIDI routing, I'm sure you know better than I do, but I'm guessing something like a MIDI USB to DIN Converter : www.hobbytronics.co.uk/usb-midi-converter might be useful, but I guess you'd need two of them since the Photon is USB I assume. I'm sure there's a more direct way to do that.

[@IMOXPLUS]

Thanks...We will work on a recommended solution. Watch this space

[@laurentvenet2758]

@@IMOXPLUS then I believe it makes the original EWI mouthpiece useless but it shall bring more control vs the original mouthpiece ? Do you recommend any EWI vendors, or shall you target some priority vendors to get this USB MIDI merging well with your midi mouthpiece and leverage things like sliders, octave key...? Merci beaucoup et bon week-end a vous.

[@IMOXPLUS]

​@@laurentvenet2758 yes, the Photon will "overrule" the EWI mouthpiece and offer far more expression control. We will recommend a basic solution to merge the EWI midi into the Photon mouthpiece. And later (when the Photon is a success) we will might with our own intelligent merger. Yes, merging the EWI midi in the Photon means that you maintain all the EWI features + add Photon features. Example, the bending of the EWI is going into the Photon and you can use the Photon to do a vibrato while bending... etc... cheers...

[@MLBLoveRock333]

Hey where can I sign up to buy one?

[@IMOXPLUS]

thanks for your interest. We are evaluating the possibility to launch a beta phase allowing for early adopters to purchase a prototype... Best is to subscribe to the Imoxplus newsletter (see website) so that you stay informed when we kick-off the public beta phase.

[@alphabeets]

@@IMOXPLUS …so where is it? It’s been YEARS.

[@IMOXPLUS]

@@alphabeets indeed, this takes much longer.. Reason for this is that Covid caused a global shortage on microprocessors and other difficulties. The microprocessor needed to produce the Photon is currently not available and this can take a long time. Our budget is consumed and we have no reserves to entirely redesign the circuit board for another type of processor. The firmware and editor are ready... once the microprocessor becomes available then we will invest in buying a large safety stock so we can kick-off the go-to-market.

[@markbutt888]

Looks very interesting and a replacement Aerophone ae10 mouthpiece would would be great!!

[@IMOXPLUS]

We will make much better video's because the Photon can do a LOT. If you could arrange a good 3D scan of the ae10 mouthpiece (the removable part) then we can use this as a base to convert it to an adapter. See also the WX5 + Photon video kzbin.info/www/bejne/oGTNlZuqfddqaac