EaganMatrix Overlays - Table of contents

 Introduction to EaganMatrix Overlays

It’s hard to have flexibility in a system without also having complexity. A beautiful aspect of the EaganMatrix sound engine is its incredible array of music-making possibilities. Consequently, the EaganMatrix can be daunting. Enter EaganMatrix Overlays, a method of creating custom EaganMatrix interfaces or “skins”, which pull forward certain curated aspects of the EaganMatrix sound engine. This can create a streamline sound design focus for any aspect of a Haken Audio instrument.

Much like an iconic synthesizer like the MiniMoog that has an expertly selected but limited set of audio modules and routing capabilities for sound creation, a well-crafted Overlay can create a focus into a certain rich subset of the EaganMatrix sound engine.

EaganMatrix Overlays could take the form of an an external additive editor, an FM Synth, a synth specializing in exotic oscillators, or a routing and control scheme for analog voltage control. In the future we hope hundreds of EaganMatrix Overlays will be available.

This page lists EaganMatrix Overlays that are currently available, from Haken Audio and from third party sources. We recommend you load firmware 10.52 (or later) before using these Overlays. Overlays offered by Haken Audio are completely open source in the MaxMSP programming environment. Overlays are challenging to develop, so overlays from third party sources are priced at the discretion of the creator.

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Electra One Continuum Controller

Comprehensive Preset and Macro control for the Continuum, running on the Electra One MK II controller.

The Electra One Continuum Controller is a stand-alone controller for Haken Audio devices. Currently only the Slim Continuum is supported; the download is available here.

Note this application was programmed using the newer Electra MK2 model. It is unknown if it will run on earlier Electra models. The Electra One Continuum Controller is meant to perform a number of functions that the editor supports, but does not replace the editor. It is intended to be used in a stand-alone controller mode (that is it does not interface with the Haken editor and it does not sync with the Continuum such that if you change a preset that changes on the Controller, though if you change a preset with the controller it should map the current Macros and other settings for that preset correctly.

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Loris Synth and Loris Lite

Loris Synth is an Additive Analysis & Resynthesis tool for the EaganMatrix Sound Engine.

Loris Lite is a free version that does not include analyzing new audio samples, but has all the other Loris Synth features.

Loris Synth is an Analysis & Resynthesis tool for the EaganMatrix, allowing you to create your own analysis, send them to the EaganMatrix and design EaganMatrix presets using them.

Therefore, it is MANDATORY to own a product running an EaganMatrix to be able to use it (Continuum, ContinuuMini, EaganMatrix Module, ContinuuMicro or Osmose). Please be sure you are running the latest EaganMatrix firmware; for Osmose check which firmware ExpressiveE suggests.

The purpose of Analysis & Resynthesis is to analyze an audio sample, and extract from it all the necessary information to drive the EaganMatrix Additive Bank. It will provide a result heavily inspired from the initial sample that can be manipulated in an infinite number of ways. It is not sampling, and not intended to be imitative: its purpose is to open a brand new sonic world based on the initial samples.

Loris Synth includes several user-friendly overlays allowing you to build EaganMatrix presets using the analysis, without any need of the Haken Editor. The Haken Editor can, of course, still be used for a deeper dive in the synth engine.

Loris Lite is a free version of Loris Synth. The advantage of the full-featured Loris Synth is that you can create additional “raw material” to work with, by making new analyses from audio samples you supply. But the recording below shows that the free Loris Lite is quite powerful; this recording uses only manipulations of the free analyses.

Purchase full-featured Loris Synth on Apple Store or Microsoft Store.
Loris video tutorials.
Loris documentation (thanks to Richard Kram) is in the Haken Editor’s cogwheel menu, or available here.
Download free Loris Lite for Mac or PC; also download free analyses and presets here.

Loris Synth and Loris Lite are written by Christophe Duquesne. These programs incorporate parts of open-source “Loris” by Kelly Fitz and Lippold Haken.

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Ratio

An expressive FM synthesizer.

Ratio is a deceptively straight-forward basic FM synthesizer design, but has an added warmth thanks to the additional implementation of subtle analog distortion and optional modelled IR response resonating bodies. Ratio includes its own Preset library. Designed for the Continuum Fingerboard but playable on any supported EaganMatrix Sound Technology device. Free from Haken Audio.

The Ratio zip archive is available here. This is a pre-release version of the Ratio Overlay; see the ReadMe inside the zip for details.

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Jenny

A dual resonance oscillator synthesizer inspired by the designs of George Jenny.

Jenny (pronounced “Genie”) is a dual-resonance oscillator synthesizer. The analog concept for the resonance oscillator was first introduced back in 1939 by George Jenny, as developed and refined for his Ondioline musical instrument. Here is a link to the fantastic work that Australian musician Wally (Gotye) De Backer has done for the preservation of the Ondioline heritage. The sound created in the Haken Audio Jenny Overlay can sound startlingly close to original Ondiolines, and also quite different due to the control provided by the Continuum playing surface. Free from Haken Audio.

The Jenny zip archive is available here. This is a pre-release version of the Jenny Overlay; see the ReadMe inside the zip for details.

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Ishango Bone

An overlay by Dearborn Plys, building on Edmund Eagan’s Ishango Bone.

The original Ishango bone is an ancient bone tool and possible mathematical device (Wikipedia). This Ishango Bone is a percussive modal synthesizer. Explore the timbral variations available through the controls in the Ishango Bone Overlay, and experiment with different playing styles. A variety of presets are included. Free from Haken Audio.

The Ishango Bone zip archive is available here. This is a pre-release version of Ishango Bone; see the ReadMe inside the zip for details.

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