The guys at ScreenForge, a new Irish company, have got in touch with us today to announce their first software product, Yeco.
Yeco is a multi-touch controller for Ableton Live that runs on both Windows and Mac (it requires Windows 8+ and OS 10.10+). Note for Mac users: don’t get too excited, you’ll find more on Yeco’s integration with Mac OS X in the next section.
Screenforge’s software gives you access to Live’s device controls plus an extensive range of MIDI controllers; Drumpads, Keyboards, XY pads, Hex Controller and the MIDI Controls Panel.
Wait, How Does Yeco Work?
I know, I was confused at first too. Yeco is a software (let’s call it a layer) that interacts with Ableton Live. It works on any touchscreen and has full ten point multi-touch.
In short, to make the most of Yeco you’ll need a touchscreen laptop or monitor. You can also use it with the mouse and it also receives TUIO touch events (but it won’t be the same thing!).
Yeco allows you to have a truly mobile studio using a touchscreen laptop like the Microsoft Surface, without the need to carry controllers with you or connect to a network. You can have the same setup whether you’re in the studio, on the road, or performing live.
While Surface users can easily benefit from Yeco’s features, Mac users are not as lucky: as we know and as explained in Yeco’s blog, Macs do not come with touch drivers out of the box like Windows PCs do. Almost any touch screen you buy (despite the claims of some manufacturers) needs a third-party driver to run it and a some experimentation to get it working properly.
The good news is that you CAN get a touch screen to work with your Mac (and Yeco), but you’ll have to buy an additional software driver.
Features
Yeco’s interface has been designed with simplicity and usability in mind. Those familiar with Ableton will recognise Live’s session view instantly. Features include mixers with large faders for precise control & accurate metering, device controls with value feedback from Live and all of Live’s names, colours and playing positions.
Yeco’s MIDI controllers have a range of features that allow you to play expressively and intuitively. The Keyboards features include positional velocity control on each key, channel pressure, macro controls and assignable MIDI controls.
The Drumpads have the same positional velocity control and are slightly taller than they are wide. This allows for expressive, precise playing – especially noticeable when playing rolls and crabbing.
Yeco’s Hex Controller uses an isomorphic keyboard arranged in a harmonic table note layout. This makes it easy to transpose chord shapes or scale patterns.
Yeco features a set of 4 large XY pads for multiple parameter control with easy assign buttons.
The MIDI Control Panel features 56 assignable elements including: 27 sliders, 6 knobs, 9 momentary buttons and 14 toggles.
For a full list of features check out our site or the tutorial videos link below which goes through each and every feature of Yeco in a series of 30sec – 1min videos
Check out the tutorial videos here
Pricing and Availability
The software is available to purchase from www.yeco.io
It costs €45 (excluding local taxes in the customer’s country or state)
This is approx £35 GBP or approx $50 USD at time of writing.
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