Reconfigurable Autonomous Novel Guitar Effects (RANGE)

The RANGE guitar is a minimally-invasive hyperinstrument incorporating electronic sensors and integrated digital signal processing (DSP). It introduces an open framework for autonomous music computing eschewing the use of the laptop on stage. The framework uses an embedded Linux microcomputer to provide sensor acquisition, analogto-digital conversion (ADC) for audio input, DSP, and digitalto-analog conversion (DAC) for audio output. The DSP environment is built in Puredata (Pd). We chose Pd because it is free, widely supported, flexible, and robust. The sensors we selected can be mounted in a variety of ways without compromising traditional playing technique. Integration with a conventional guitar leverages established techniques and preserves the natural gestures of each player’s idiosyncratic performing style. The result is an easy to replicate, reconfigurable, idiomatic sensing and signal processing system for the electric guitar requiring little modification of the original instrument.