One of the coolest and most revolutionary things to hit the music scene in a long time.  If you've got $6,000 (or $550 for the pico) just lying around, this'll make a nice addition to your instrument collection. Think Guitar Hero on steroids... and then some.

http://www.eigenlabs.com/

http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/16/eigenharp-alpha-pico-demo-and-mind-blowing-concert-hands-on/

Whoa.

Coming soon to BOA and DCI!

Funny, I read it as ";...simply the most [b]expensive[/b] electronic musical instrument ever made"; on their website.

I expect to see a six person marching line of these.  To keep it in the pit would be a tragedy.

[quote author=J Mattson link=topic=3365.msg17750#msg17750 date=1256070629]
Funny, I read it as ";...simply the most [b]expensive[/b] electronic musical instrument ever made"; on their website.

I expect to see a six person marching line of these.  To keep it in the pit would be a tragedy.
[/quote]

I've never dealt with electronics on the move... how does the sound delay (from time triggered to time produce) compare to acoustic instruments? Seems like having any sort of electronics marching would cause more headaches than already exist, in terms of front to back listening.

We can always dream through :-)

...I was being sarcastic =p 

Just have 6 people playing, but only one plugged in ;)

I was more or less asking a broad question, since people are now using electronic pads mounted on battery instruments as well.  I would honestly like to know how the delay factors in to the equation for my own refererence, should I decide to ever attempt to incorporate that element into a production.

But yes, watering people from parts is always the best solution :-)

Rule of thumb: any arrival time gap greater than 30ms is detectable by the humna ear-brain combination. Sound takes about 1ms to travel one foot, so any distance greater than about 30 feet between a player and a sideline-located loudspeaker is probably not a good idea. For a high school field this is a little more than the distance from the front sideline to halfway to the front hash. For a college field this is exactly halfway from the front sideline to the front hash.

In other words, it's not very far at all, so if you want to exceed those distances while using sideline-located loudspeakers you'd better plan on incorporating delay into the electronics. However, there are still two main issues:
1. A player of an electronic instrument needs feedback to play well. In stationary situations this is usually incorporated in the form of a monitor. In-ear monitors would be a good choice for moving percussion.
2. If you have an electronic battery that's generating sound on the front sideline, how does the band listen back for tempo control?

Good info, Joe.

Well, some of the people I know using them simply have the battery kids verbally subdivide, even while playing the electronic stuff. However, it was more or less used in that zone you're talking about - in the space between the front sideline and that 30ms distance from the front sideline - and in-ear monitors were more than likely used as you described.

Thanks for the numbers, as it's always nice to have quantified measurements to use for reference.