A string-based electro-acoustic instrument
The Ekdahl FAR is a string based electro-acoustic instrument whose main mode of generating sound is by utilizing a bowing wheel and by very precisely controlling the speed of the wheel emphasizing natural overtones in a string. The bowing wheel is situated on a controllable pivot in order to affect both volume and harmonic content, to further extend the capabilities of the instrument it also has a hammer, a variable mute and a electromagnetic pickup. While the audio path on The Ekdahl FAR is entirely analog-acoustic, the internals of the instrument is a highly sophisticated network of sensors, motors and a built-in computer running a complex firmware allowing for precision control and interfacing via USB-MIDI, MIDI, CV and USB-Serial.
Like all Knas instruments, the Ekdahl FAR - while a new and somewhat experimental concept - can be used for any regular musical composition and expression, but also allows for deep explorations of naturally occuring overtones within the realms of digital precision control and repeatability. The instrument is designed to perform excellently whether being in an improvisational setting, or being sequenced. All aspects of The Ekdahl FAR can be mapped to respond to any avaliable control mechanisms (USB, MIDI, CV etc.) and emphasis has been put on configurability and modification both from a software and a hardware perspective.
The first incarnation
The Ekdahl FAR is the first incarnation of what i'm hoping to become a software and hardware ecosystem for electro-acoustic instruments, there are *many* things that could be changed or added to this concept and the modular design makes it easy to keep on evolving it. I am already excited about a few future ideas, one of the more obvious ones being multi-string - or truly polyphonic - versions, adding options for induction-based emphasizers, optical pickups, true multi channel outputs by pickup arrays, plectrum-based hammers, fingerboards etc.
The firmware on the Ekdahl FAR is going to be released as Open Source and is working on a plain-text message basis both internally and externally, this makes adding or subtracting to
the code in order to implement new features (or change old ones) very easy. The heart of the unit is a Teensy 4.0 which can be updated with any computer over
standard USB.
By the very nature of a system that is using modern sensor technology and a fair amount of calculations to get going, there are a *lot* of settings that can alter the performance of the unit. Almost all of these settings can be altered via the text-based messaging system over USB. I have developed a Configuration Software that gives the user a graphic way of manipulating these settings and saving them into the instrument. The software is written in python and will run on all major systems / computers, this too will be released as Open Source.
For more information see the wiki
To get an overview of the Ekdahl FAR, please watch this introductory video