May I start a laser harp build thread?

[Squonk]

So here's the first image of my build. The sensor array and MIDI interface aren't yet attached, but this was enough to keep me entertained for over an hour - just starting and stopping it. As you can see, I have a duplicated string #8. Not sure why. But overall, I'm pretty happy.

[harpbuilder]

Hi everyone! i just got signed up to PL, and thought that I would join in here.

I just installed a custom laser framed harp with 8 red 5 mw lasers, in a Children`s Hospital in Virginia Beach VA. ( It is the "Children`s Hospital of the King`s Daughters")
There are five segments of video of it being played on my u-tube page, at customlaserharp. There are also pictures of it on my web site, www.laserharps.com .

I have built three different framed laser harps using both red and green 5mw lasers with photo receptors. I am using a midi controller and software package from OptiMusic, in the UK. Mine is the first laser harp application to use their software. It is capable of registering up to 70 hits ( breaks of the beams) per second, and is fully programmable in both wave files and synth sounds. It can also trigger and control video and image files.

My next project will be to try to design a frameless harp using this same midi system, with low powered green lasers. I want to see if I get them to work by reflecting the lasers back to optic sensors set into the harp body, with different sensors controlling different sounds and such.

Take a look and let me know what you think ! :-) Glenn

[soforene]

Disappointed you didn't attempt any "Jarre".

Nice work. It would be nicer to see a real harpist trying to play one set up as a real harp though.
Might add "a touch of class".

[buffo]

Hi Glenn! Welcome to PhotonLexicon. Glad you decided to join the forums.

Guys, Glenn has been making custom, closed frame harps for a long time now. He's also done several laser harps, but again, most of them are closed-frame units. The craftsmanship of these instruments is incredible, however. We're talking about a musical instrument that doubles as a beautiful piece of furniture! Of course, the price tag is a bit higher as a result!

I know he's working on a hybrid laser & string design, and he's got some very interesting software that he uses as well. (Will allow non-musical compositions to be played.) Most of his harps are designed to let the general public interact with them (which is why he has so many museums as clients), so saftey is always a concern.

Still, I figured you guys would have fun trading notes (no pun intended) about your harp projects.

Adam

[sugeek]

Hi Glenn! Welcome to PhotonLexicon. Glad you decided to join the forums.

Guys, Glenn has been making custom, closed frame harps for a long time now. He's also done several laser harps, but again, most of them are closed-frame units. The craftsmanship of these instruments is incredible, however. We're talking about a musical instrument that doubles as a beautiful piece of furniture! Of course, the price tag is a bit higher as a result!

Adam

Having bought a Non-Laser harp last year, a laser harp seems cheap compared to the cost of a real pedal harp! But to get back on topic, a laser harp project is planned in the future! I was looking at both designs just last night so good timing on this thread! I was actually thinking about using a 1-D MEMS rather than a single axis of a scanner to produce the lense (same difference but just new technology http://www.opusmicro.com.tw/OneDim.htm). What do you guys think of the MEMS, the mirror is quite small which would provide a challenge!

Adam

[harpbuilder]

Disappointed you didn't attempt any "Jarre".

Nice work. It would be nicer to see a real harpist trying to play one set up as a real harp though.
Might add "a touch of class".

Hi Soforene

Glad you like it ! Actually it is hard to get most 'real' harpists interested in this type of harp, since it is not 'real harp' if there no strings attached ! ;-)

Though I do actually have an order for a 36 string electro-acoustic five octave harp with indivual string transducers and stereo out put, that will also have 8 green 5mw lasers installed on the harp. The harpist plays nature orented music, and she will use the green lasers to trigger sampled nature sounds wave files, ( oceam waves, bird songs, etc), and also video and still images of nature, projected via LCD projectors.

The lasers will run along the harp sound baord, just above it`s surface, from treble end down to the bass end, with four on each side of the harp.

This harp will run about $16,000 in price.

Glenn

[harpbuilder]

I will be working on a low powered version of the Jarre type harp, with indivual lasers, instead of one high powered one split into many.

They will be 5 to 10 mw pulsed green lasers, that I will be trying to reflect back to the harp body, and I will be directed the beams to various sensors in the surface of the harp. I will also use the filter material that will just let the laser light hit the senors.

I will be able to use a function of the software I use, that alows an analog effect of controlling pitch and /or volume with the amount of laser light reflected to the sensors. This way the height of one`s hand from the lasers, will directly control aspects of thre sound output. The software allow a number of diffrent control functions in this mode.

I will starting to experiment with this type harp in the spring. I also now have a fogger to use when ever I video my laser harps, so the beams will always be seen in the video! ;-)

Glenn

[Squonk]

So finally got it working this morning. Many, many thanks to Steve Hobley for his unbelievably patient tech support. Hope to post some photos soon, but for now am enjoying watching my kids play with it. The youngest one thinks I'm a genius, when in fact I feel like the D student after all the thrashing about trying to get this working!

[Jem]

So finally got it working this morning. Many, many thanks to Steve Hobley for his unbelievably patient tech support. Hope to post some photos soon, but for now am enjoying watching my kids play with it. The youngest one thinks I'm a genius, when in fact I feel like the D student after all the thrashing about trying to get this working!

Wow, that's fantastic news and I can't wait to see the pictures

Did you manage to get it working with the Wii remote?

Cheers

Jem

[Squonk]

Wow, that's fantastic news and I can't wait to see the pictures

Did you manage to get it working with the Wii remote?

Cheers

Jem

Wii remote is on tap for rev 2...