Mogees
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Make the world your instrument with Mogees and a smartphone (video)
It's been awhile since we heard from the Mogees camp, but the device has finally hit Kickstarter. As a refresher, Mogees is a musical tool that uses a special mic to pick up surface vibrations and translate them into sounds via a mobile app. It's sensitive enough to register everything from light finger drags on glass and coins moving around on a table, it comes in Android and iOS flavors and you can attach it just about anywhere to start crafting tunes. The basic setup runs £40 (about $67) and includes the app's "classic" version and the microphone hardware. If you're really into the idea and want to incorporate it into live performances or professional recordings, jump up to the "pro" version. This backer tier runs £60 (about $100), adding a slew of different audio settings within the software and a higher-precision mic. Just remember, use your judgment before tapping on whatever's in sight -- some will likely be annoyed that you've made the world into a drum machine.
Mogees uses contact microphone and gesture recognition to create music on any surface (video)
The piezoelectric effect is an interesting phenomena. Capable of turning vibrations into electric signals, it's at the heart of the Mogees project from Bruno Zamborlin and Norbert Schnell. Here, a contact microphone is connected to a system that processes sound from unique gestures and then triggers the appropriate instrument in its database -- thereby turning virtually any surface into an experimental jam band. Different gestures may be added to Mogees, which can also recognize the difference between fingers and objects such as coins. The project isn't commercially available, but if you're unfamiliar with the magic of contact microphones, we think the video after the break will be a rather fascinating introduction. Hell, with a similar setup, anyone could be a budding musician. Just don't let it all go to your head if you make the big time.
