For Jon Rose in collaboration with Martin Riches.
This is a MIDI-controlled music robot. While labelled as a violin it is actually a hybrid instrument, with its viola body, but guitar-like frets, and a circular bow as in a hurdy-gurdy.
Martin Riches has been building similar instruments for a long time, but we decided to team up on this one in order to improve upon the control electronics and software design. All solenoids and motors have now continuous control where separate envelopes can be assigned to all elements at a high temporal resolution, allowing for refined articulation.