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Show HN: Haxophone

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Show HN: Haxophone

#1

Post by javier_cardona »

I built this during Covid. When I released it, some of the parts went out of stock or skyrocketed in price, no longer making this an economic DIY project. Now that things are getting back to almost normal, I thought I'd share it here and request feedback. This is a very niche project for people who like the same things I do: saxophones, Rust, mechanical keyboards and the Raspberry Pi.

Show HN: Haxophone
github.com

Re: Show HN: Haxophone

#2

Post by code_runner »

As the owner of a (recently revived) ewi-usb… I’m really curious about the mouthpiece bit. What kind of analog sounds are happening while playing this? Do you notice that reed age, strength etc are as impactful as on a real saxophone? Do you feel a need to swap mouthpieces for different styles of playing?

I love the idea and ingenuity to make this happen!

Re: Show HN: Haxophone

#3

Post by amelius »

Since it's using keyboard keys I'm guessing it doesn't have any analog touch sensitivity (?) Not sure if that would be even needed on this type of instrument though.

Re: Show HN: Haxophone

#5

Post by insane_dreamer »

amelius wrote: post #3

Since it's using keyboard keys I'm guessing it doesn't have any analog touch sensitivity (?) Not sure if that would be even needed on this type of instrument though.

It seems the keyboard is pressure sensitive (reference to a pressure sensor in the HW section)

Re: Show HN: Haxophone

#6

Post by seniorsassycat »

insane_dreamer wrote: post #5
amelius wrote: post #3

Since it's using keyboard keys I'm guessing it doesn't have any analog touch sensitivity (?) Not sure if that would be even needed on this type of instrument though.

It seems the keyboard is pressure sensitive (reference to a pressure sensor in the HW section)

Pressure sensor is in the mouth piece.

I've always thought saxophone keys were on or off

Re: Show HN: Haxophone

#7

Post by zwkrt »

amelius wrote: post #3

Since it's using keyboard keys I'm guessing it doesn't have any analog touch sensitivity (?) Not sure if that would be even needed on this type of instrument though.

From what I understand of playing a saxophone the variability would come from the mouthpiece. On a type of instrument like a saxophone the valves should always be cleanly opened or closed.

Re: Show HN: Haxophone

#9

Post by bwanab »

code_runner wrote: post #2

As the owner of a (recently revived) ewi-usb… I’m really curious about the mouthpiece bit. What kind of analog sounds are happening while playing this? Do you notice that reed age, strength etc are as impactful as on a real saxophone? Do you feel a need to swap mouthpieces for different styles of playing? I love the idea and ingenuity to make this happen!

As a sax player who also plays a Roland Aerophone, I have a similar question. Is the mouthpiece a real sax mouthpiece and reed? If so, that means it's making a lot of noise. One of the main appeals of windsynths is that I can play at times when the people in my household (and neighborhood) don't really want to listen to it.

That said, it's a cool project.

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