We’ve surveyed hundreds of people interested in Lumatone, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Through that process, we’ve been asked a whole lot of questions. We’re posting the best questions here with our answers, and will continue to add to this page!
What is an “Isomorphic” keyboard layout, and what makes it special?
Unlike a traditional black-and-white keyboard, an Isomorphic keyboard puts the intervals between notes along a consistent axis that makes playing music far more intuitive. How does it do this? Any given chord shape, scale, or musical sequence has the "same shape" on the keyboard wherever it occurs – within a key, across keys, across octaves, and even across tunings.
While you can map Lumatone’s keys to any tuning in an infinite number of ways, the image to the right shows the most popular way to map a traditional 12-notes-per-octave tuning system (also known as 12-tet) on an isomorphic keyboard. You’ll notice that each note is repeated in a patterned way along multiple axes. This allows you to reach notes and make note combinations not usually possible on traditional keyboards, as well as play with more intuition, without overthinking what key you’re in or what shape makes your next chord.
The Isomorphic layout of the Lumatone is especially powerful for people who want to move beyond 12-notes-per-octave into microtonality and polychromatic music.
As powerful as this approach is for advanced and professional musicians and composers, it’s also just as powerful for people learning music. Because chord and scale shapes never change, newcomers to music will find themselves playing more intuitively, moving their fingers with what they hear in their head, without needing to know all that much about music theory.
Why would I want to play a Lumatone over a traditional keyboard?
In addition to the benefits of its Isomorphic layout described above, Lumatone also offers up a whole new way to visualize and interact with music. There hasn’t been an instrument to this point that combined the intuitive power of customizable colour with the long key-travel of a traditional keyboard. While there are many universal controllers out there that consist of small colour-changing squares that you smack with your fingers, they don’t feel like keys. Lumatone brings you the benefits of mapping tunings and layouts with colour, while retaining that musical, expressive feeling of a keyboard key. Combining this with a large grid of smaller hexagonal keys means you can find and reach more notes than ever before, while still expressing yourself in a familiar way.
Lumatone is also infinitely programmable, and when you’ve got 280 keys, you’ve got a lot of options! For example, in a performance scenario, you can assign any region of Lumatone to control any number of virtual instruments via MIDI. So while the first 56 keys might be controlling a drum machine, the next 112 could be controlling an organ, the next 56 might be assigned to a Mellotron, and the final 56 could be routed to an analog synthesizer. All of this happens within one beautiful instrument, assignable down to any amount of individual keys. And then, through the power of colour, you can identify what is what, making performance a breeze.
On top of this, you have the ability to make any one of Lumatone’s 280 keys a continuous controller. Each key has a sensor capable of reading key position at an incredibly fast rate. This means that if you’ve set a certain key to act as a continuous controller instead of a standard note on/off key, you can use it to control any MIDI CC parameter such as volume, expression, dynamic, filter cutoff, resonance, breath control, and many more. Or, set up a custom CC parameter in your virtual instrument or synthesizer. And of course, you can identify this key with any colour you want. When combined with the now standard pitch and mod wheels, Lumatone becomes an all-in-one performance powerhouse.
Lumatone’s keys are also capable of something that is very sought after in modern keyboards: polyphonic aftertouch. Each key can send aftertouch information individually, opening up a much wider range of expressive possibilities.
Combine all of these features with the intuitiveness of Lumatone’s Isomorphic layout, and it all adds up to a brand new, inspiring way to perform and compose music.
Why is Lumatone considered a game-changer for Microtonal or Polychromatic music?
If you’re interested in controllers meant to elevate the experience of composing or performing microtonal and polychromatic music, Lumatone is truly a next-generation instrument. While non-microtonal artists are most excited about Lumatone for the isomorphic experience, microtonal artists have been waiting for an instrument that could visually map all of the ‘notes in between the notes’ with this sort of welegance for a long time.
There are hundreds of potential mapping options when it comes to using Lumatone for this kind of musical expression. To expound properly on how microtonal / polychromatic music works in this FAQ would be a daunting task. In the months ahead we hope to collaborate with some talented artists in this exciting field and demonstrate some of the possibilities Lumatone opens up. There are some common approaches to mappings that are expansions on standardized isomorphic layouts like the one explained above. There are also extremely inspiring and inventive approaches, like those already shared by respected polychromatic musician Dolores Catherino. For now, a great place to start would be to watch Dolores’ in-depth video exploring a prototype Lumatone, where she shares her experience of learning the instrument, and of creating her own mapping using the Universal Tuning Editor. That video is posted here.
Stay tuned for more and more community resources here on our own site and on our YouTube channel exploring the microtonal and polychromatic possibilities of Lumatone.
Does Lumatone make sounds of its own?
Nope! In our minds, that would be a limitation. Lumatone is a MIDI controller in a first-of-its-kind form factor. We made a very conscious decision to keep the Lumatone about how you play, and not how you sound. There are countless incredible sound-generating instruments and devices out there in the form of analog and digital synthesizers, virtual instruments, and more. Everyone wants different sounds and uses different tools to get them. By focusing on making Lumatone a controller capable of playing anything that receives MIDI, it makes Lumatone a universally creative, playable, expressive instrument to control all of your sounds. It leaves the sounds you make with it up to you. From our surveying, we’ve found that most Lumatone players would prefer the freedom to use it to control any sound-generator under the sun, rather than make it about an instrument that sounds like something.
What does Lumatone feel like to play?
This is hard to explain in words or pictures until you actually put your hands on one. We felt there were already enough controllers out there with flat pads or squares, and we also knew that everything else about Lumatone is novel and unique, so we knew something that would make Lumatone special is giving the keys a familiar “keyboard” key travel. We also chose not to make the keys “weighted” in the traditional sense. Keyboard player Leith Fleming-Smith, who had the chance to play on our prototype, likened the keys to those found on his prized Hohner Clavinet. They’re super responsive, allowing you to play lightning fast. But the surface of the keys are smooth and tactile, and the keybed rises as you play further away from yourself, creating a very ergonomic experience.
When the keys hit the bottom of their travel, there is also a generous amount of pressurized travel leftover for maximum aftertouch playability.
The included aluminum kickstand raises the Lumatone towards the player by 15 degrees, which is the angle that we feel is optimal for playability. Of course it can be removed and angled on a traditional stand as well.
Again, we know everyone responds to instruments differently. We spent years perfecting this design in an effort to appeal to as many of you as possible, and so far the feedback has been excellent!
How durable or reliable is Lumatone? Is there a warranty? What will customer service be like?
This is something we take super seriously. The award-winning designers and engineers behind Lumatone have many combined decades of experience in industrial design and engineering, and a shared passion for creating premium products. Every detail — no matter how small — has been obsessed over for years. Our unique key design is undergoing significant stress testing, and the anodized aluminum case’s design has been engineered for maximum durability. Great thought has been put into how we built all of the electrical and digital components into the frame of Lumatone, in order to ensure years and years of reliability. In short, this thing is built like a tank.
We know we’re a new company. So we’re also willing to put our money where our mouth is. Instead of the standard 1-year warranty on musical instruments, we’re offering a 3 year warranty, so you can be confident that your Lumatone will truly be free of any manufacturing defects.
As for customer service, again, we want to put your mind at ease. We’ll always be just an email away. In fact, here’s Matt’s email if you have any questions, any time.
As any of you who have spoken to Dylan or Matt have already experienced, we’re keen to be personally involved in your experience with Lumatone. You’ll always be able to reach our team with any questions or concerns you have with your instrument, and we’ll make sure any issues you come across are dealt with swiftly.
Why can’t you make Lumatone cheaper? Isn’t it just a MIDI controller?
Okay, we get this question a lot, and hey, we get it. Lumatone is a premium instrument, and it carries a premium price tag.
The retail price of Lumatone is US$3,995. This is a very unique instrument. Lumatone is a very expensive dream, and it’s taking a lot of money and risk-taking to make it come true. We realize it’s not for everyone, but those of you who share this dream with us understand the value of the instrument you’ll be buying.
Once in a while we see a comment online that says something like “thousands of dollars for a midi controller? No thanks.” Respectfully, we think those folks are missing the point, or simply don’t have a need for an instrument like ours. While Lumatone does control sound-generating devices via MIDI, it would be a misunderstanding to just toss it in the category of “midi controllers.” We have yet to come across any other instrument that has anywhere close to 280 colour-customizable keys with real keyboard-like travel and polyphonic aftertouch. Let alone one that presents them in an isomorophic layout, and offers the ability to build and switch between custom mappings on the fly.
From our travels and discussions, we think there are enough of you out there that “get it.” It’s because of your enthusiasm that we’re willing to take the enormous risk of building this thing. We’re truly grateful to those of you who recognize the value of Lumatone and want to invest in one to help us build this new community!
So it really has Polyphonic Aftertouch? What else is special about your keys?
Oh yes indeed, every Lumatone ships with Polyphonic Aftertouch at launch. Unlike a lot of keyboards, we’ve made sure that at the bottom of each key’s travel, the aftertouch area has a very satisfying “pressure” to it, for maximum playability.
But there’s a whole lot more to the “dimensional” side of Lumatone. The way our keys work is quite different from traditional keyboard keys. Each one features a Hall Effect sensor - enabling some very advanced possibilities. Some of these features will be available on day one, and some new and exciting one-of-a-kind features will be added via software updates on the journey ahead.
In addition to polyphonic aftertouch, each key can also be toggled to function as a CC (continuous-controller), and manipulate any number of MIDI CC values such as expression, filter cutoff, dynamics, attack, volume, and on and on. So while you might want to use a large section of your Lumatone to play a certain synthesizer or virtual instrument with one hand, you can set a whole bank of keys to help you shape the tone of that sound with the other.
This is just the beginning. We’ll be updating your Lumatone with a lot more cool functionality in the years ahead, all thanks to the magic of the sensors in each one of its 280 keys.
Is there a pitch and mod wheel? They’re not in the photos or videos.
A-ha, yes, good point. Originally, Lumatone had no pitch or mod wheel. Thanks to the thousands of survey responses we received, it became very clear that this was by far the number one desired missing feature. So we made it happen. While you can see a preview of our beautiful custom-designed pitch and mod wheels to the right, we’re in the process of updating our product photography, so soon you’ll see the updated version reflected throughout this website. We’re all very excited about this addition and we hope it serves as a good example of how keenly we intend to listen to your feedback as we work to improve Lumatone!
We now feel like we’ve got a pretty perfect piece of hardware and that’s why we’re ready to open orders this summer. In the coming months and years, your instrument will see its feature set grow even more via ongoing Firmware updates.
How many keys does Lumatone have? I’ve heard both 275 and 280.
This is another example of how powerful it has been to receive your survey responses. After consulting with a lot of you, we realized that our design could be improved by adding 5 keys to the overall layout, giving each vertical row an equal number of keys (8). So while it has been publicized in some places as 275 and is often pictured as the 275 key version, the final production version will have 280 keys.
How do I create my own preset tunings/mappings, and do I have to? Are there any built-in mappings?
Lumatone will be shipping with several standard preset mappings, so you can get started right away without needing to make your own! The ten buttons across the top of Lumatone allow you to switch between these default mappings.
You can also create, load, and save mappings (including our defaults) to and from Lumatone mapping files on your computer using our free Lumatone Editor software. You can easily load different mappings into the ten onboard preset buttons using our software, as well as build your own mappings by assigning midi notes/channels and adding distinct colours to each key on Lumatone. You can also set preset-specific and global settings using this software, such as velocity curves, aftertouch, continuous controller assignments, and more.
In addition to our own software, you can use a fantastic third party application called the Universal Tuning Editor. The UTE gives you very advanced capabilities when designing tunings for Lumatone, and is already designed to directly function with Lumatone, right out of the box. See their site and user manual for more details.
One of the most exciting parts of custom mapping design with Lumatone is the ability to share these mappings amongst all Lumatone users. By the time Lumatone ships in fall 2020, our website will launch a community section that features a community-driven mapping library, allowing all Lumatone users to share different preset mappings and tunings for the instrument!
How do I play virtual instruments with Lumatone?
Lumatone behaves in a lot of ways just like a standard midi controller — you connect it via MIDI DIN connectors or via a simple USB cable. Open up a DAW or a standalone virtual instrument. Use one of the ten preset key mappings that come standard on every Lumatone, and start playing!
If you use a mapping with standard tuning (12 notes-per-octave) that is mapped correctly, you won’t have to change anything within your instrument. It’ll just work! You can use one of our default 12-tet presets, or design your own with the Lumatone Editor software or the Universal Tuning Editor.
If you’d like to use or design a mapping with microtonal or polychromatic tuning, every virtual instrument’s setup process is a little different, but most make it quite easy. We’ve tested a variety of DAWs and Virtual Instruments including Kontakt, Logic Pro X, Cubase, Ableton Live, Omnisphere, Pianoteq, and many many more. The reality is, any sound generating instrument that can be told what to play when a certain midi note/channel is sent to it will work perfectly with Lumatone. Certain instrument ecosystems (for example, Kontakt) are fantastic because they enable you to easily select how many notes-per-octave to use, thereby allowing easy compatibility with Lumatone’s microtonal or polychromatic mappings.
By the time Lumatone is shipping there will be a user’s manual, a great deal of educational articles and videos, and an area of our website for community contributions and collaboration. We’ll constantly be working together with the Lumatone community to come up with new ways to use this instrument with every virtual instrument imaginable!
Can I control an analog synthesizer with Lumatone? How?
In much the same way as we described above with regard to virtual instruments, you can plug Lumatone into any outboard analog or digital synthesizer via MIDI and it will control that synth. Again, if you’re using a mapping with 12-notes-per-octave, it will be plug and play! You can use one of our preset 12-tet mappings, or design your own with the Lumatone Editor software or the Universal Tuning Editor.
For microtonal and polychromatic applications, the possibilities with analog (and digital/hybrid) synthesizers are positively limitless. Certain synthesizers (for example the Dave Smith Prophet 12) allow you to load different tunings directly into the synthesizer (ie. 31-tet, 53-tet, etc), allowing you to use any mapping for the Lumatone you like.
Beyond those programmable synthesizers, another extremely exciting approach to analog synthesizers exists. You can enlist the help of a third party piece of hardware such as the Tubbutec µtune, enabling you to convert the Lumatone’s MIDI signal into a CV (control-voltage) signal. You can then patch the µtune into any analog synthesizer with CV inputs, and like magic, you’re playing microtones with an analog synthesizer! We’re really looking forward to seeing what microtonalists do with this.
Why didn’t you add more knobs and faders to Lumatone?
This is one of the most surprising parts of Lumatone. You can turn literally any one of Lumatone’s 280 keys into a fader or continuous controller. With a simple toggle in the Lumatone Editor Software, you can define any key manipulate dozens of standard MIDI CC parameters such as expression, filter cutoff, or volume. You can even assign a custom parameter to a MIDI CC. And of course, you can give those keys a unique colour so you can easily find it when you’re in the heat of a performance.
So in addition to the standard mod and pitch wheels on Lumatone, you have hundreds more potential points of control to experiment with.
Can I control multiple instruments at once with Lumatone?
This is definitely one of Lumatone’s most exciting applications. Because of how many keys it has, you can divide them up in unlimited ways simply by assigning only certain MIDI notes/channels to certain instruments in your DAW or other MIDI environment. Colour will as usual be your guide in creating easily identifiable separate instruments across the Lumatone.
Let your imagination run wild. You can have the whole Lumatone control one synthesizer, or you could choose 20 keys on the far left of Lumatone to be a drum machine, put an organ along the bottom, a synthesizer just above it, a Piano down the centre, an orchestra of strings and horns along the top rows, and then use a bank of continuous controllers along the far right to control string expression and the synthesizer’s filter cutoff. These are just two examples of millions of possible configurations!
How is this better or any different from the Linnstrument or the Haken Continuum?
We get asked this a lot, which we find weird. We’d never claim to be better than either of those fantastic controllers! But as for different, Lumatone couldn’t be more different from either.
Besides all of the obvious differences, one of the most important is that our keys are… well… keys. While the Linnstrument and the Continuum are more like surfaces, Lumatone has opted to retain the familiar key travel that you’ve grown accustomed to on traditional keyboards. This allows a more traditional kind of expression when it comes to playability.
This is combined with the most non-traditional side of Lumatone: it’s large, hexagonal, isomorphic layout. This is a modernized, customized recreation of an age old idea for a music interface, and couldn’t be more different in nature or purpose from a Linnstrument or Continuum.
While you can program other controllers to simulate the isomorphic experience — or even permit microtonal tunings — no controller currently on the market does so with such flexibility and playability, and with that as its primary purpose. Lumatone is built specifically to enable these experiences, and provide a familiar kind of key surface as part of that experience.
Do I need special drivers or a certain kind of computer to use Lumatone?
No drivers needed. No special computers. Our Lumatone Editor software is both Mac and Windows compatible and beyond that, you simply need a MIDI interface or a USB port to connect, customize, and control Lumatone.
Beyond this, the only other thing you’ll need is a sound-generating device to control with Lumatone, and that can be an external synthesizer/instrument that you connect via MIDI, or any sound-generating software on your computer.
Could I use this as a lighting controller?
This is one of the most fascinating realizations we’ve had since creating Lumatone: it can be used for applications outside of music. A perfect example is indeed as a lighting controller, since the standard connector for lighting equipment is also MIDI. We’d love to get in touch with anyone who would like to experiment with using Lumatone as a lighting controller. Considering all of its keys can be customized with colour and send custom MIDI messages as both notes and continuous controllers, it seems Lumatone could find itself living a second life as a lighting designer’s dream!
Does it have MPE support?
Lumatone is capable of full polyphonic aftertouch through the standard MIDI specification. Unlike other multi-dimensional controllers, we currently see no need for MPE. Lumatone isn’t about sliding up and down in different dimensions on a touch surface, which in our minds is the kind of instrument that MPE was designed for. If any of you can think of specific applications for MPE on a Lumatone, please do email Matt and share your ideas, and we’ll consider.
We instead are focusing all of our efforts on MIDI 2.0, which Lumatone is fully compliant with. Oh hey, speaking of which….read on….
Is it MIDI 2.0 ready?
YES. Lumatone is 100% compatible and the hardware is fully ready for MIDI 2.0. We are currently discussing a great deal with those responsible for the MIDI 2.0 specification and are truly excited about what MIDI 2.0 will bring to Lumatone. The specification will allow for microtonality directly, as well as several other exciting expressive functionalities.
MIDI 2.0 is in its infancy, and we will be there every step of the way. As software and instruments come out that support it, we’ll begin to send out firmware and software updates to Lumatone and the Lumatone Editor Software that will enable MIDI 2.0 functionality. Your Lumatone will be fully updatable to take advantage of what MIDI 2.0 brings to the platform. It’s definitely an exciting time to be creating a new kind of MIDI controller!
Is there any way to switch between mapping presets directly with the keyboard? Do I need to connect it to a computer?
See those ten big buttons along the top of Lumatone? They’re preset buttons. They come pre-loaded with a variety of mappings with every Lumatone, but more importantly, you can load a mapping onto the Lumatone by simply holding down any preset button to save it there. Just like a radio station on your car stereo! :)
Mapping presets are for alternate tunings, and different mappings/arrangements of multiple instruments. We feel the simplicity of 10 hard-coded buttons works great for most. But if you want more than the 10 onboard presets possible, a simple connection of your laptop enables real-time switching of any number of mappings and presets via the Lumatone Editor.
In the future we are also planning phone/tablet apps that will let you interact with Lumatone in a performance setting in real time.
What kind of help will there be when it comes to learning how to set up and play Lumatone?
A whole lot. We’ll be posting educational/training material in the months ahead. We’ll also be an email away for any Lumatone user, always eager to answer any questions about features or functionality.
But perhaps most importantly, we'll be cultivating a very active group of Lumatone users in the upcoming community section of our website. Discussion forums, public preset libraries, and tips and tricks. We’re already excited about the tight-knit and passionate group of crowdfunding backers and future buyers we’ve been talking to, and we think will be just the start of a truly collaborative and pioneering community for Lumatone players to thrive in!
Will Lumatone be introducing any accessibility features for the blind?
We’ve already been talking to multiple blind performers about this and we’re excited to say we’ll be making this a reality. Lumatone key-caps are removeable/replaceable. If you’re a blind performer and have an interest in purchasing a Lumatone, get in touch with Matt. We’d love to talk to you about making you a set of custom braille keycaps for your Lumatone. We’d love to work with you to recreate the sensory experience that the sighted will have with Lumatone’s colours, by using special tactile keys and Lumatone’s already intuitive isomorphic layout.