What are AudioCubes?

The AudioCubes are an electronic musical instrument. They are a combination of hardware and software. The hardware consists of a collection of wireless intelligent objects, which detect each other’s position and orientation. They can also detect distance to other objects, such as your hands. The sensor information can be passed to software on your computer via MIDI, which can then generate sound, trigger patterns, control effects, … You can use the cubes to design sounds, you can use them in music production, and also out of the studio, for live performances, DJing or VJing. They have built in full colour lighting, which can be synchronized to sound or music from your favourite music software using MIDI, or it can be set to static colours, enhancing your live performance visually and at the same time giving you an overview of which part of your live setup controls what. Much of what the AudioCubes can do can be completely configured by yourself, because every musician uses technology differently in his or her setup.

Do the AudioCubes come with software?

Yes, they come with a collection of software such as MIDIBridge, Deckabridge and VSTWrapper, which lets you integrate them easily in your existing setup. They also come with small but powerful applications making sound without additional software required, such as LoopShaper, which is essentially a specialized VST host capable of connecting to the AudioCubes hardware and automatically assigning parameters, letting you play with your plugins without MIDI mapping everything first. We’re always working on new software, so you should check the website and the beta software forum regularly (see support section).

What software platforms do AudioCubes work with?

The AudioCubes can work with anything that supports MIDI, through the MIDIBridge application. You can use them with your external synths, or with your software. They can also work with your VST plugins through VSTWrapper or LoopShaper. The VSTWrapper software can work with popular DAWs such as Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, Image-Line FL Studio, XT Software EnergyXT2, …. The MIDIBridge software comes with examples for Ableton Live and Propellerheads Reason. There is also a Remote Codec for Reason available to save you time with custom MIDI mapping.

What hardware does AudioCubes work with?

Any hardware that is MIDI compatible. If you want to connect the cubes to some external piece of gear, you should connect a MIDI interface to your computer, connect the gear to the MIDI interface, and then select the right MIDI ports in MIDIBridge. You can set MIDI port, note trigger and controller assignments all from within MIDIBridge and save it as a preset.

Do the AudioCubes make sound themselves?

Yes, through our Max/MSP SDK (software development kit). This kit is freely available and contains a collection of patches, some of which let you put the cubes into sound generator or sound processing mode. The functionality is experimental.

We’ve provided 1/4 inch jacks on the AudioCubes to allow lo-fi signal sampling and synthesis. The AudioCubes signal I/O through the onboard jacks is not intended to replace your 24-bit Reverb unit as its processing and generating of sound is lo-fi, by intention.

We are developing new software all the time. Some of these applications will very likely take advantage of the jacks and the onboard processing capabilities of the AudioCubes. Keep an eye on our blog.

How many AudioCubes can I use with my setup?

There is no minimum or maximum for the number of cubes you can use. You can use one cube just to play with your VST effects using your hands, or you can use 100 cubes to create a huge live setup. If you want to do a live setup where you control both music parts in your setup and sound effects, you most likely need 4 cubes. You can then use 2 cubes to control triggers and sections of the music, and you can use 2 more for effects, for example.

If I buy 1 pack of AudioCubes, can I split the devices up for multiple uses?

Sure, you can buy a box of cubes and split the cubes with your friends, all the cubes are the same in the box, they have equal features and functionality, and the software is freely available for download. The cubes work with both Mac and PC and there are no drivers necessary.

What is the technology behind AudioCubes?

Each AudioCube consists of a small, powerful digital signal processing computer, custom built for the applications of AudioCubes. The computer has access to a collection of optical sensors and emitters, and can generate and process signals wirelessly, allowing it to communicate with other AudioCubes nearby. Every AudioCube has a USB jack and 1/4 inch audio jacks, and an internal rechargeable battery that lasts at least 3 hours. The battery does not need to be replaced, and is recharged over USB.

Can I make my own software for AudioCubes?

Yes. We have software development kits for the AudioCubes. One for Max/MSP, and another one for the JUCE C++ kit by Raw Material Software. These kits let you build applications in Max/MSP or in C++ that work with the AudioCubes, and communicate directly with them. If you don’t want to use C++ we also have a C development kit, which should make it possible to use AudioCubes from other programming languages, such as Python, Ruby, etc.

Can I make software that runs on the AudioCubes hardware directly?

Not at the moment. The AudioCubes have a fairly complex operating system internally, which makes it hard to add software components from outside developers.

Where are AudioCubes made?

AudioCubes are assembled by hand, tested and packaged in Belgium, Europe.