In the whole history of music, no other instrument has ever been designed to do what the Tonal Plexus does. This short article was written at the request of the late Bob Gilmore for the Journal of the Fokker Institute to explain what the keyboard is all about.
The keyboard represents a theory of music called the H-System, which can be found at the following link.
Here are the user manuals for the TPX line of Tonal Plexus keyboards built 2007-2014.
Tonal Plexus keyboards have appeared in print everywhere from Keyboard magazine to the New York Times and various publications in Europe. There are fewer than 100 Tonal Plexus keyboards in existence.
Between 2006 and 2014, I built every Tonal Plexus keyboard by hand, and sold them to musicians around the world. During 2015 I took a break from this work. From January to July of 2016, I offered Tonal Plexus TPX and UPLEX keyboards as DIY projects. Several original Tonal Plexus prototypes were also sold.
Since 2014 I've often received emails asking when I will build the keyboards again. For several years I didn't have an answer to this. Then in 2018, we started working on the next generation Tonal Plexus, the TPX260. The first prototype, a five-octave instrument (1300 keys) was scheduled to be done by Spring of 2020. We had planned to start taking pre-orders after finishing the prototype and working out whatever tweaks were needed (normally this requires 2 additional prototype iterations).
Sadly, these plans could not be realised, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus in 2019, development was forced to stop. As you know, the virus became a pandemic ultimately taking the lives of over 14 million people. What you probably don't know is that Jordan Dimitrov Petkov, electronics engineer and my long-time friend who designed all the electronics for the keyboard was among these victims. He was killed by the virus in November of 2020.
We had not completed the prototype. For several years, the situation was too painful for me to try to continue without him. In 2023, the project was assessed by the current staff of MIDI Boutique, Jordan's family business in Bulgaira, which continues to operate without him. It was determined that the prototype keyboard boards (the part with the keys) can be produced. Production of the main controller however is problematic, because a certain updated firmware file, which was written in machine code by Jordan, has not been located.
As of 2024, a further complication has arisen concerning international shipping practices from EU states. The largest market for the keyboard is the USA, and from 2006 to 2014 (the years during which the keyboards were made) that's where they were made: in the USA. In 2016, I moved to Germany. So if keyboards are going to be made again, they will be made in Germany, and shipped from Germany. The other option at hand would be to ship from Bulgaria, since that's where the PCBs are made. But there is a problem either way, because both Germany and Bulgaria are EU states. Starting in 2024, all international shipments out of the EU valued at 1000 Euros or higher cannot be made without completing a gigantic many-paged form for every shipment through a system called ATLAS. Filling out just one of these forms is similar to preparing an income tax return (but less fun). The system is apparently intended for large businesses with dedicated staff capable of deciphering hundreds of abbreviated legal terms, who spend their entire lives filling out forms. The system has definitely not been designed for sole-proprietor businesses, or for any normal human being. As Tonal Plexus keyboards would be in this price range, although international shipping would technically be possible using the ATLAS system, it would no longer be practical. If you're wondering why we wouldn't ship from China, it's because we would need about 2 million (dollars or Euros, take your pick) to develop, manufacture, and ship from China. Unless someone can pay for that, it isn't going to happen. I certainly can't pay for it.
All things considered, as of 2024 (I'm writing this before the end of 2023), I don't foresee this project being able to continue. Nevertheless, if you are interested in the Tonal Plexus, you can subscribe to the announcements mailing list, so I can keep you informed. If you are on facebook, please also visit the H-Pi Instruments facebook page. I normally post on the facebook page when I write something for the H-Pi Instruments blog. Since July 2016 I have been writing a series of blog entries telling the story of how the Tonal Plexus came to be. This story remains unfinished. Take a look here. Thanks for your interest and support. — Aaron Andrew Hunt