Proximity/Distance Sensor CC Mapper

Recently, Tom Culling and Fynn Courtney have been experimenting with the application of time-of-flight proximity/distance sensors.

This setup can be positioned to be played with any part of the body, and its sensitivity can be adjusted and calibrated to suit the user's needs and preferences, allowing it to be played with very subtle movements, as well as bigger ones.

The device sends a mappable MIDI CC number, so it can be used to control effects and track volumes in Ableton.

Whilst this setup is still in an early stage of its development, Tom has already used it in a music technology workshop with Orchestras For All and it proved to be a very sensitive, flexible, and intuitive approach to live-electronic exploration.

In future updates, Tom plans to implement a Soundbeam-style scale/arpeggio player to this setup, similar to the "GyroScale" feature from his motion sensor device.

Currently, this setup is only available on Ableton with Max4Live, but we plan to release a version written in Pure Data, along with setup guides, to be implemented with free DAWs.

...to see the prototype proximity sensor in action. This video is pulled from Tom Culling's Instagram story.

The proximity sensor is mapped to the dry/wet value of a spectral resonator effect, such that the closer you are to the sensor, the more processed the drums become.

Click here... --->