List of Frequently Asked Questions
Hemisphere
What are the Hemisphere's speaker specifications?
The Hemisphere’s drivers are Polk Audio’s db525 fullrange car speakers. They are wired in such a way as to be compatible with 4-ohm or 8-ohm amplifiers. Full specifications of the drivers can be found on the Polk Audio website, here.
Why aren't the Hemispheres six-channel? Why mono?
The “point-source emanation” of the Hemispheres is the result of each driver producing the same sound. A mono signal into each speaker will be reproduced by each of the six drivers and enter the listening environment multi-directionally, just like non-electronic sounds. This is a big part of what makes these speakers so unique and interesting.
All the same, we have built six-channel Hemispheres before, most memorably the batch of sixteen Hemispheres that were constructed for the Princeton Laptop Orchestra at Princeton University (PLOrk). We could easily be talked into doing it again. Please contact us directly for details.
Why hemispheres? Why not complete spheres?
The first generations of these speakers were designed as full spheres (see A Brief History of the Hemispheres). In 2001, we thought there might be an advantage to building a speaker that could sit flat on the floor or flat against a wall. If we wanted a full sphere, we reasoned, we could simply fasten two halves together. Once we began using the Hemispheres, however, we discovered that one cabinet was sufficient to produce the point-source effect. As a result, we have rarely used two to make a full sphere. Of course, the option remains to put two hemispheres together back-to-back, for those who might want to.
What amplifiers work best with the hemipsheres?
This is not a product endorsement, but rather just a list of amplifiers we have tried with success. We began working with amplifiers by Crown, and now are using Rane amps—both work very reliably. There are also the portable amplifiers by Stewart Audio, which are a little sensitive, but great and light for luggable performance systems. Finally, we recommend the amplifiers from AcousticImg. Most amplifiers (including home stereo amplifiers) should work well with the Hemispheres.
Do you have any suggestions for cases?
Enduro cases provide a reasonable casing option. The Princeton Laptop Orchestra uses the Enduro 20×8 case (Humes and Berg #499 case (12×20), with foam). It is a bit on the big side, in both dimensions, but they will cut it smaller if you want. They might also have a smaller diameter version that will work.
Are there any subwoofers that work well with the Hemispheres?
Many people have had good results using Sunfire subwoofers. The “Super Junior” sub is especially portable.
What can you tell me about how the speakers are built?
Master furniture maker Ken Malz personally handcrafts every piece of the cabinet from special MDF board, fastens it together, and uses a durable, textured powdercoat finish to cover and protect the speaker. Fiberglass resonance-dampening material is inserted into the cabinet. A Neutrik locking 1/4” jack is wired to the drivers, and all of the components are screwed into the cabinet, hand-tightened to ensure a secure, “buzzless” fit.
These things would look great in my living room! How will they sound with my stereo system?
Virtually all music you might play through your stereo system has been designed to sound best through “normal” front-firing speakers. So, while these speakers might sound interesting (and will certainly look fabulous!), they will sound different from what you are used to. Some of our friends use them in their home stereo systems with complete satisfaction, so let your own ear be the judge.
Where can I read more about the Hemispheres?
If A Brief History of the Hemispheres doesn’t go deep enough, you might want to try one of the following links:
- The paper Alternative Voices for Electronic Sound by Dan Trueman, Curtis Bahn, and Perry Cook, presented at the 2000 International Computer Music Conference, gives a more detailed chronology of the speakers’ development and the rationale for their use.
- SensInstallation, a presentation given by Curtis Bahn and Stephan Moore at the SEAMUS 2002 conference, contains good photo documentation of the first hemispherical speakers, and some information on the first experiments with a 16-channel grid of speakers.
- The development of a specific spherical-speaker-based instrument is detailed in Dan Trueman’s writings about his Bowed Sensor-Speaker Array.
- Learn more about the N-Body project that started it all here.
- Get information about purchasing a Hemisphere from Electrotap here.
Jade
Will Jade 1.1 run on MacOS 10.4 (Tiger)?
No. It will crash when you try to launch it.
What are your plans for a new version of Jade? I've heard about a Jade 2.0 beta...
A Jade 2.0 beta does exist, and it does run on MacOS 10.4 successfully. As beta version software, it has absolutely no updated documentation, and lots of changes.
We had originally planned on releasing Jade 2.0 quite some time ago but were significantly set back several times. One significant set-back, for example, was Apple’s switch to the Intel processor.
At this point development on the 2.0 branch has ceased, and all work on Jade is happening on the 3.0 branch. No release date has been scheduled, determined, or announced.
If you are really eager to leverage the benefits of Jade, most of the architecture of Jade has been made open source via the Jamoma Project. Using Jamoma and Max you can put together a wide variety of performance systems.
Do I need to own Max, MSP, or Jitter in order to use Jade?
You do not need Max, MSP, or Jitter to run the Jade application. You do need at least Max (and possibly MSP and Jitter) to create custom modules to use in Jade.
Can I distribute my Jade projects to performers? Do they have to pay for Jade too?
Jade can be distributed to performers for free. The intention is that anyone doing composition, theater sound design, video design, etc. pay for the software. Composers need to be able to ship the software out with a score, and provisions are made for this in the license.
How can I give you detailed information about a crash so that you can try and diagnose it?
First, a detailed description of what you did, how it crashed, when it crashed, etc. is helpful.
Second, send the actual scripts (and any custom modules).
Attach the following file to an email to send to us: ~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter/Jade.crash.log (where the ~ means your home folder)
Tap.Tools
I am getting *can't fragload* errors trying to use the Tap.Tools objects. What is wrong?
A fragload error means that the CFM version of Max (that is the Macintosh PPC versions) cannot find a file that it needs in order to load the objects. For example, take a look the following error.
� error: can't fragload tap.unpack (missing <tap.unpack><><TapTools2.shlb><>), err -2804
This error means that you have tried to load the tap.unpack external, but that the TapTools2.shlb can’t be found. If you search your hard drive for TapTools2.shlb, you may find it in the wrong place or missing altogether. If it is missing, then try to re-install. If it is in the wrong place, then move it into the folder that has your Max application in it or in the /Library/CFMSupport folder.
If you are using Max 4.6.x and Tap.Tools 2.2.x, then a fragload error indicates that Max is finding the wrong version of an object. In otherwords, you have multiple versions of it in your searchpath. To fix the problem, you need to find the old version of the object (i.e. tap.unpack or tap.unpack.mxd) and trash it. The correct objects for Tap.Tools 2.2.x all end with a .mxo extension.
Can I use the Tap.Tools in standalone application or Pluggo plug-in?
If you own a Tap.Tools Pro license, the answer is yes.
If you own a Tap.Tools Artist license, then you must first upgrade to a Pro license on our website.
There are no additional restrictions on building standalones or plug-ins. We believe such restrictions are bad!
How do I include the Tap.Tools shared library so that I can use it with my Pluggo plug-ins?
Tap.Tools objects rely on a shared library in order to do their work. The instructions for what to do with this shared library differ based on your platform.
MacOS X
In Tap.Tools 2.1 and earlier, this library is a .shlb file located in the Max application folder. For the Pluggo engine to access it, you must copy this file into the following folder/Library/CFMSupportIn Tap.Tools 2.2 or later, this library is a .framework bundle. As of Tap.Tools 2.2.1, it is installed to the following folder:
/Library/FrameworksWindows XP On Windows the library is a .dll file located in the ‘support’ folder that is inside of the Max folder. You will need to copy TapTools2.dll from this support folder to the following location
C:\Program Files\Common Files\C74 Plug-in Support\support
Once you do this, then the objects should load fine just as would any other object.
Do you have discounts available for universities?
We have discounts available to universities through our 5 and 10-pack licenses on the Tap.Tools Page. We also have a discount on single licenses for students. Single licenses for universities are changed at the normal rate.
On the shopping cart page there is a list of shipping options, the default is always UPS no matter what you order. At the bottom of the list is “Download”, which is what you want to choose.
The Mac-version zip files are created using Apple’s built-in ‘BOM Archiver’ utility. If you try to unzip the files using Stuffit Expander, then it fails because of bugs in Stuffit Expander. For most people this won’t be an issue, because the built-in BOM Archiver is the default for unzipping.
If you do experience this problem, then right-click (ctrl-click) the zip archive and choose “Open With” and then tell it to open with Apple’s built-in BOM Archiver. The file should unzip successfully.
Can I just purchase the one object I really need instead of the whole package?
Unfortunately, no. Tap.Tools can only be purchased as a package.
Is it possible to get an iLok-asset for tap-tools?
Tap.Tools does not support iLok. In our opinion, the iLok technology is a very invasive copy protection system, and we are not planning to use at any time in the near future.
The way that Tap.Tools authorization works is simply by entering a registration number. It is not challenge response, but a simple registration number that you can use on multiple machines.
If you build a standalone application, and have a Tap.Tools Pro license when doing so, the standalone won’t require any authorization at all and will still work.
I've installed Tap.Tools 3, but I can't find the objects anywhere. Where are they?
In Tap.Tools 3 all of the objects are bundled together into a single ‘extension’ which is located in the extensions folder in Max’s Cycling ‘74 folder.
To see what objects are available, you can use Max 5’s File Browser. Alternatively, you can create a new object box and begin typing “tap.” and all of the objects should appear in Max’s autocompletion menu.
The Software Update in Tap.Tools 3 is not working. Am I doing something wrong?
You must be logged in as an administrator, for both the Mac and for Windows XP. This is the most common cause of the update not working.
The software update is not currently supported on Windows Vista.
The underlying engine for the software update (svn) can place version-control locks on the files if something goes wrong during a software update.
In the current release of Tap.Tools 3, this problem is most easily corrected by removing the Tap.Tools folder (put it in the trash or recycle bin) and re-installing Tap.Tools.
Following a fresh install, the software update should work once again.
Hipno
We are working actively on a Universal Binary version of Hipno which runs on Intel-based Macs. We have most of our plug-ins running well internally already, and anticipate releasing the plug-ins through Cycling ‘74 by the end of summer.
How can I get a copy of Hipno?
Hipno is marketed exclusively by Cycling ‘74 and their distribution network. You can find more information at http://www.cycling74.com/products/hipno.
Teabox
Will a MacBook Pro's sound interface work directly with the interface cables provided?
The MacBookPro will work with the teabox, but you will need a small adapter to get the traditional toslink cable connector down to the 1/8” miniplug that will fit the jack on the computer.
Here are some options:
http://www.sfcable.com/cable/p/260-710.html
http://www.cablewholesale.com/catalog/toslinkadapter.htm
http://search.cablestogo.com/?qu=toslink%20adapter
How do I mount my Teabox in a rack?
There are a couple of options. The Princeton Laptop Orchestra ( http://soundlab.cs.princeton.edu/publications/plork_icmc2006.pdf ) put in a standard rack-mount shelf and then used velcro on the bottom of the Teabox to attach it to the shelf.
Another option is to buy mounting brackets. This option will be fairly expensive. What you are looking for is BUD part number CS-11230-S. Here are two places that you might consider:
MOUSER
http://www.mouser.com/search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=CS-11230-Bvirtualkey56310000virtualkey563-CS-11230-BDIGIKEY
http://www.digikey.com/scripts/dksearch/dksus.dll?Detail?Ref=4887&Row=437890&Site=USWe haven’t actually tried this bracket ourselves, but it should work.
There may also be other creative options lurking—if you come up with something, please let us know.
How do I mount my Teabox in a rack?
There are a couple of options. The Princeton Laptop Orchestra ( http://soundlab.cs.princeton.edu/publications/plork_icmc2006.pdf ) put in a standard rack-mount shelf and then used velcro on the bottom of the Teabox to attach it to the shelf.
Another option is to buy mounting brackets. This option will be fairly expensive. What you are looking for is BUD part number CS-11230-S. Here are two places that you might consider:
MOUSER
http://www.mouser.com/search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=CS-11230-Bvirtualkey56310000virtualkey563-CS-11230-BDIGIKEY
http://www.digikey.com/scripts/dksearch/dksus.dll?Detail?Ref=4887&Row=437890&Site=USWe haven’t actually tried this bracket ourselves, but it should work.
There may also be other creative options lurking—if you come up with something, please let us know.
As of this time we have not found any wireless technologies that we feel provide the same speed, latency, and reliability that we are able to achieve with the Teabox. We are continually investigating new technologies, and do hope that some day we can create such a solution.
In the current market landscape the largest capital investments are all going into mobile phones. As an example, how reliable and clear is your cel-phone on a consistent basis? That simply isn’t good enough for us, and hopefully will provide some insight into our development and product priorities.
Sensors
What is the accuracy of the distance approximation with the IR Distance sensor?
The response of the IR sensor is quite sensitive to distance, although it has better sensitivity the closer you are to the unit. When you get out near the end of its range, the data doesn’t change nearly as much. For instance, when about 12inches out, moving one inch will make a change from roughly 0.1 to nearly 0.2, but at around 3 feet, the same movement of an inch will make the data go from roughly 0.82 to 0.8.
