from Hacker News

Keys: Musical Keyboard with Gesture Controls, Modularity, and LEDs

by naveenspark on 3/5/15, 6:22 PM with 18 comments

  • by leejoramo on 3/5/15, 6:53 PM

    Interesting product with an amazing low price point. Being small and inexpensive, I am interesting in seeing how this can moving into educational settings. I loved the part of the video show a toddler learning to play. I will be interested in what the response from musicians will be to using this for performance and as a midi input device for working with audio software.

    If you are looking for a traditional keyboard check out the McCarthy Illuminating Piano.

    http://mccarthypiano.com/hardware.aspx

  • by dmicah on 3/5/15, 7:49 PM

    The proximity sensor seems very similar to the Roland "D-Beam" infrared light sensor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-Beam, which is itself a bit of a gimmick. The design itself seems inspired by the KMI QuNexus http://www.keithmcmillen.com/products/qunexus/ .

  • by Htsthbjig on 3/5/15, 7:35 PM

  • by ChuckMcM on 3/5/15, 8:31 PM

    Love the creativity. I have observed though that "musical" people can play anything, and non-musical people cannot. It has always been a curious thing which I first noticed in music classes at USC.

  • by 21echoes on 3/5/15, 11:41 PM

    why did they give it a non-standard keyboard layout? having the black keys be higher up & "overlap" front-to-back with the white keys is pretty crucial for playing with any sort of speed. also wary of the button-like keys vs traditional lever-like keys on real pianos.

    other than that, the proximity sensor looks awesome, and the price point is pretty incredible! not to mention the light-up stuff for people learning.

  • by smilekzs on 3/5/15, 7:56 PM

    I might have missed something, but have they left out touch sensitivity (i.e. velocity)? That's a major deal-breaker!

  • by zserge on 3/5/15, 7:11 PM

    Are these full-size keys?