The Thummer from Thumtronics, I came across this new piece of kit via a post on Dane Carlson’s Business Opportunities Weblog and I was quite impressed by it. The Thummer has lots of buttons in a new styled layout combined with the abilities to manipulate the sounds it creates via it’s internal synthesizer.

Whether this will take off I’m not sure but but according to Thumtronics they say that it is easier to learn than most instruments due to the layout of the buttons. The layout enables all chords to have the same pattern (shape) of notes and not differing shapes such as on the piano (which have various patterns of black and white note patterns depending on what key you play) or on the guitar with different finger shapes for the different chords.

They also say it is more expressive (than current synthesizers) as the design allows you to hold it in your hands and control the sound via some joysticks where your thumbs are located. It has pressure sensitive buttons and you can also change the make up of the sound it creates via motion sensors. (Wow!) - Check out the vids below to see this in action.

I like the look of this, which is why I wanted to bring it to your attention. I would absolutely love one of these, especially if it had MIDI capabilities (I can’t find anything on the site about this) so it could be hooked up to any piece of software such as VSTis. It’s also a very visual instrument too, due to the motion sensors and so I think it will work well for live bands as the audience can see the sound being manipulated.

Enjoy the videos and check out the The Thummer site for more info and some more videos.