# The Manta, She is Here...

- Site: Analog Industries
- Author: Chris Randall
- Date: 2010-12-10
- URL: https://analogindustries.com/2010/12/the-manta-she-is-here/

[![The Manta, She is Here...](https://analogindustries.com/images/ext/farm6.static.flickr.com/5288/5249721979_5530d4b0a4.jpg)](http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrandall/5249721979/)

The [Synderphonics Manta](http://www.snyderphonics.com/index.htm) showed up last night. My initial impression is that it's a really nice little instrument. It is functionally similar to the monome, inasmuch as it is (at its base level) a bunch of buttons and a bunch of LEDs. However, the thing that makes this a vast improvement over the monome is that it has several different levels of control in addition to the single on/off state of the monome. (The monome's main attribute that sets it apart from the Manta is that it is far more tactile; you could theoretically play it without looking. Not so much with the Manta.)

Each hex sends a variable along with the touch, and basically, how much of your skin is in contact with the hex informs the amount of the variable. In this way, you get an initial velocity and a continuous control message. (For example, you can have the initial hit as note velocity, and then a finger rolling kind of gesture gives you, say, aftertouch.)

In addition, there are two control-value-only "sliders" and four buttons at the top which essentially act the same as the hexes except they don't have the contact-area, and thus can't have velocity or continuous control. They're just on-off or momentary buttons. And finally, the whole unit has a "centroid" x/y/amount value that is a running average of how much flesh you have pressed against the unit, and where that flesh is centered.

Much like an EWI or similar instrument, you can just play a synth sound out of the box, or fire off some samples, but one really needs to develop a specific technique for this thing, I think. It is quite expressive once you get used to its quirks, and learn to take advantage of its strengths. One aspect of the essentially flat profile is that I'm able to play _lightning fast_ on it. This obviously isn't that useful in the kind of music I make, and it also is heavily dependent on how the notes are grouped, I think. But I believe that if you were to adopt this as your main controller, you could develop a fairly articulate style.

The OS X stand-alone software is not quite there; it is rather crashy, in the "I don't want to use this on stage" way. The available Max patches work fine with the Max runtime, and that's how I'm currently using it; I'm sorely tempted to build a VSTi for it or some such, because without M4L or Max, it is kind of hobbled. I'm given to understand there is a Pd external in the works, as well.

So, overall, my impression is that it is well worth the money, provided you either work in Max, or don't mind using the Max runtime. If you plan on using it with the OS X standalone, plan again, and there is currently no Windows or Linux standalone. But for my own needs, two thumbs up.

(Full disclosure: I did not buy this unit. It is a loaner from Snyderphonics. I'll see how I take to it, but I'm fairly certain I'm going to end up buying one at this point.)

## Comments (9)

**inteliko** (2010-12-10):

Upon seeing that photo I smell the birth of Axon II.

**RGiskard** (2010-12-10):

What's your take on the hexagonal layout? It shows up so often on stuff that's "obviously superior" that I've grown suspicious.

**bongo_x** (2010-12-11):

RGiskard; You obviously just don't understand the power of the Hex. It can't be explained, it has to be lived.

bb

**Chris Randall** (2010-12-11):

I'm with bongo_x.

Seriously, though, a lot of the alternate layout keyboards end up with a hex-ish layout, mostly due to their inventors having a hard-on for the Harmonic Table method, as used by C-Thru.

You occasionally see a Janko keyboard (when you see one at all) with a hex layout, like so:

http://matrixsynth.blogspot.com/2009/06/janko-musical-keyboard-project.html

...but there's no particular need for it to be.

I think this is a hex layout because it looks pretty. One thing I'll note is that it is sometimes difficult to tell where you are when you're playing notes in the middle of the unit, as there's no visual reference. Luckily it is fairly small, but a bigger Manta would definitely need some sort of delineation.

-CR

**mush** (2010-12-11):

I usually use the red leds as guides on my manta nowdays to get it easier to locate certain notes. The max-object for the manta is a blessing to work with, very clever in its design.

**Chris Randall** (2010-12-11):

I've got the older model; it doesn't have red LEDs. I could see where that would be handy, though.

-CR

**Computer Controlled** (2010-12-11):

Does this work through capacitance or pressure? I'm guessing capacitance if it can detect surface mass.

**Chris Randall** (2010-12-11):

Capacitance. The panel is essentially a circuit board.

-CR

**revmutt** (2011-01-01):

The upcoming Mantamate will make the unit into a standalone instrument / controller. It will output cv and MIDI. I think we'll be testing boards in a couple of weeks.