Whisperer Wireless Remote Control
Experience a new dimension of freedom. You can now control your existing Musical Mushrooms from across a room!
Imagine having the ability to control up to 8 of your existing Musical Mushrooms from across a room! You no longer need to feel crowded with bowls all around you during a performance. Instead, spread them around the audience to have them to experience sound vibrations coming from every direction! All you need is the Whisperer remote next to you as well as additional instruments you would like to play.
UNIT COMES WITH:
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Whisperer Unit: this is the rechargeable battery-powered wireless remote control. It needs to be paired to up to 8 existing Musical Mushroom units (sold separately). It has a special invisible laser sensor used to detect your hand position and transmits the hand position information wirelessly to the selected Mushroom as if your hand was hovering over the Mushroom itself. LEDs provide visual effects which can be dimmed using a brightness control knob.
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USB Charger & Cable: this is used to charge your Whisperer.
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Hand Reflectors: these are not usually needed when playing the Whisperer in a normal seated position. They are provided just in case you need to play standing up. The retroreflective tape helps the laser sensor detect your hands more easily from a far distance.
Controls up to 8 Mushrooms from Across a Room!
What if you could spread out your bowls across a room throughout your audience and control them from a central location? Imagine the new sensations your clients could experience with sound vibrations coming from all around them!
No More Triggering Bowls Accidentally!
Tired of hearing your bowls being mis-triggered by audience members walking nearby? If so, the Whisperer is your solution! As soon as it is switched ON, all paired Musical Mushrooms ignore their own local laser sensor and cannot be triggered accidentally. They only take commands from the Whisperer.
Make Space for New Instruments!
Performing in tight spaces during sound baths is no longer a problem! Instead of being surrounded by large bowls, you can now spread them across your audience! All you need is the Whisperer next to you and you have space for many new instruments!
Purchase Advice
Q: How does the Whisperer work?
A: Think of a Whisperer like a TV remote control. Instead of having to walk over to your TV to press buttons to change the channels, you simply press the same buttons on the remote from across the room. The same idea applies to the Whisperer. It has the same laser hand position sensor as is found on the Musical Mushroom. It simply sends hand position information wirelessly to the specific Mushroom it is paired to in real-time. The end result is that you control the bowl as if your hand was directly over it, but from a distance.
Q: Do I need to purchase a Whisperer to use a Musical Mushroom?
A: No, you don't need to purchase a Whisperer to use a Musical Mushroom to play with hand gestures as long as you are located near your bowl. The whisperer is an optional add-on accessory which gives you the ability to control the existing Musical Mushroom wirelessly from across a room. The hand gesture sensor on the Whisperer simply transmits the same hand position information to the Musical Mushroom wirelessly as if your hand was hovering over the Mushroom itself.
What is a Musical Mushroom?
In a nutshell, the Musical Mushroom™ is a brand new patent pending technology which allows sound healers and performers to play their existing crystal sound bowls using simple hand gestures instead of the mallet. In order to do so, a small exciter (vibrating speaker) is glued with removable tape, inside the bowl and causes it to resonate by electronic control. A small battery-powered control unit is placed inside the bowl and detects hand gestures above the bowl to control the loudness of these vibrations. The sounds can be automatically continued by the Mushroom without further user intervention to generate drone notes. Cool LED effects and programmable colours light up the bowl to provide an audio-visual spectacle.
How Does it Work?
In local interaction mode, an invisible eye-safe laser beam is emitted vertically above the unit to measure the distance from the Musical Mushroom's® top surface to a hand hovering above the bowl. The presence of a hand will cause the bowl to vibrate constantly at its resonant frequency for as long as the hand is present. The closer the hand is the bowl, the louder the sound. Moving the hand up and down causes a pleasing tremolo effect, modulating the amplitude in a similar way achieved by the traditional mallet rotating along the rim of the bowl.
In addition, the Musical Mushroom® will automatically detect the hand movement pattern, whether waving or in a fixed position and will continue it indefinitely when the hand is removed. This is useful for generating an automatic drone note effect, enabling the performer to move to playing other bowls without needing to constantly keep the bowl resonating. To stop the bowl, the hand is simply waved in and out of the beam quickly.
How Do I Install and Operate the Musical Mushroom?
How Do I Attach The Musical Mushroom to My Singing Bowl?
The Musical Mushroom™ unit has soft rubber feet and is simply placed at the bottom of the bowl. A small exciter coil (similar to a speaker) needs to be secured to the inside wall of the bowl during a performance. To do this, a small plastic hardware mounting plate is glued to the inside surface of the bowl using a small strip of double-sided 3M VHB™ tape. This plate can either be left inside the bowl permanently and won't affect its resonant characteristics should the bowl be played with a regular mallet.
Can You Remove It?
It can also optionally be removed by applying a steady pressure with fingernails and won't damage or leave residue on the bowl. Replacement tape strips and plates will be available should they be required. Once the plate is secured, the exciter is simply screwed onto the plate and can be unscrewed when no longer needed.
How Do You Recharge The Unit?
The unit is charged using a standard USB Type C cable and wall charger adapter.
What Resources are There To Help Me Set It Up?
Eric, the maker of the Musical Mushroom has made several videos to support you.
Eric has many other resources for you at www.musicalmushroom.com/support
FAQ About Using The Musical Mushroom
Does This Work With Metal and Crystal Singing Bowls?
The Musical Mushroom™ was designed to work with crystal singing bowls. Metal signing bowls are not recommended because of their non-uniform surfaces difficult to mount to an more complex harmonics.
Can I Still Play My Singing Bowl with a Mallet?
You may remove the Musical Mushroom from the bowl and any time, including the mounting plate and play it in the traditional manner using a mallet. It is important to note that if you leave the mounting plate installed or the exciter in place while using the mallet, the bowl's output will be dampened to a varying extent depending on the bowl's properties. This dampening effect is more pronounced on very thin lightweight bowls and less pronounced on thicker heavier bowls. You can always use the mallet to strike the bowl while using the Musical Mushroom. However, rotating the mallet in the usual way around the rim of the bowl while using the Musical Mushroom is unnecessary and will cause your arm to interrupt the gesture sensor light beam which is used to electronically control the bowl. It is also possible to mount the exciter on the outside surface of the bowl and move the Musical Mushroom outside the bowl. In all cases, playing the bowls using the Musical Mushroom itself is not a problem since it actively drives the bowl using its internal energy source rather than the mallet.
Can You Control Your Singing Bowl Only with Hand Gestures?
Not only can you control the bowl via hand gestures, but you can also control it wirelessly (featured to be enabled in a future firmware update) or via a direct USB Type C cable to a computer. 3rd party software can be used to control the singing bowl using standard MIDI protocols (such as Ableton Live). Perfect for live as well as pre-scripted shows!
Can You Use The Musical Mushrooms Outdoors in Full Sunlight?
The Musical Mushroom™ uses an infrared time of flight laser light sensor to measure the position of the hand. Because sunlight has a lot of infrared energy, it interferes with the operation of the sensor and therefore it is not recommended to use outdoors in full sunlight. Indoor use is best.
Musical Mushroom Warranty and Refund Policy
WARRANTY: This Limited Warranty applies to physical goods, and only for physical goods, purchased from Musical Mushroom Inc. (the "Physical Goods"). This Limited Warranty covers any defects in material or workmanship under normal use during the Warranty Period. During the Warranty Period, Musical Mushroom Inc. will repair or replace, at no charge, products or parts of a product that proves defective because of improper material or workmanship, under normal use and maintenance. Musical Mushroom Inc. will either repair the Product at no charge, using new or refurbished replacement parts. The Warranty Period for Physical Goods purchased from Musical Mushroom Inc. is 180 days from the date of purchase. A replacement Physical Good or part assumes the remaining warranty of the original Physical Good or 180 days from the date of replacement or repair, whichever is longer. This Limited Warranty does not cover any problem that is caused by: conditions, malfunctions or damage not resulting from defects in material or workmanship. To obtain warranty service, you must first contact us to determine the problem and the most appropriate solution for you.
RETURN POLICY: We want you to be 100% satisfied with your purchase, we are happy to work with you to find the perfect item. If for some reason you are not happy, please call us within 30 days.
If, within the 30 days, you want to exchange an item we will give you full credit towards other products. However, If you wish to do a full return, there is a 15% restocking fee. The item must be returned in the same condition you purchased it.
Shipping is at your expense. It must arrive to us in the same condition as when it was shipped out. Once we have received your returned item, and have inspected it, we will issue a a refund minus the restocking fee and any costs that we incurred to ship the instrument to you.
Shipping Rates
We are shipping from Ontario, Canada.
Please see our FAQ for shipping rates and information.
