Tim Thompson’s Space Palette Pro – Version 0.1 Based on Sensel Morph

Modulate This! – Synth Tech & Technique Artilcles by Mark Mosher

May 15, 2017

(Modulate This), Casual Music Instruments, kinect, Sensel Morph, Sound Design, Space Palette, Tim Thompson

Back in April of 2011 I made a trip out to California to perform a set at the Art Institute of Sunnyvale. I met Tim Thompson at the show and he invited me over to see an early version of the Space Palette which I documented in a post and video here. Tim has spent years fining the original Space Palette. He just posted a video on a prototype for a new variation called Space Palette Pro.

A Quick Look Back at the Original Space Palette

Before looking at the new prototype, I thought it might be helpful to catch you up on the original Space Palette.

The Space Palette is a musical and graphical instrument invented by Tim Thompson that lets you play music and paint visuals simultaneously by waving your hands in the holes of a wood frame. No pre-recorded media, sequences, or loops are used – everything is generated in real-time by your hands.

Since then Tim has continued to evolve Space Palette which he’s taken to many events such the San Jose Tech Museum in 2014, Burning Man 2014, Burning Man 2012, and Maker Faire 2013. While Tim’s main focus is for Space Palette to be a “casual instrument for others to play”, he has also performed with it at performance at STEIM in Amsterdam and another open house performance. Check out the https://spacepalette.com to see learn more.

The New Space Palette Pro

The first generation Space Palette was based on a custom system that leveraged the Microsoft Kinect. Tim is now working on a new instrument called the Space Palette Pro using the Sensel Morph. Here is the first video of the prototype.

5 years after creating the original Space Palette (see http://spacepalette.com), I’ve started working on a new version that makes use of the amazing Sensel Morph pressure-sensitive pads. This video show a first demo of the prototype after finally getting everything hooked up. The touchscreen is used for selecting presets and shows a preview of what would normally be displayed on a larger monitor or projector screen.

Links

If you want to follow Tim’s work:

Dedicated site on Space Palette with alls sorts of info and videos – https://spacepalette.com
Tim’s Web Site – https://timthompson.com
Tim’s YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/user/rtflcgr
More Modulate This! Posts on Tim’s Work – https://modulatethis.com/category/tim-thompson/

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Hi, it’s Mark. I’m a Synthesist, Sound Designer, Electronic Musician, and Multimedia Artist out of Boulder, CO. Subscribe if you’d like to receive emails when I post.

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