How to play Serum with your hands
Load Serum inside Tamber Gestures, a plugin that turns your webcam into the controller. Reach into a ring of chords and Serum plays them; arm a gesture, move any Serum knob, and that movement of your hand now turns it. It runs as a VST3 or AU plugin in your DAW or on its own, on Mac and Windows, with no MIDI controller or extra hardware. The same works for Vital, Diva or any other instrument plugin you own.
See GesturesStep by step
- Open GesturesRun it standalone, or load it as an instrument plugin on a track in Ableton, Logic, FL Studio or any DAW that takes VST3 or AU.
- Pick SerumSerum, Vital, Diva: any instrument on your machine can take the place of the built-in synth. Each effect slot takes a stereo plugin the same way.
- Play chords in the airReach into the ring of chords and Serum plays them. Use chord presets curated by Tamber musicians, or set your own and arrange the ring to fit your desk.
- Map by movingArm a gesture, move the Serum control you want (the filter cutoff, a macro, the wavetable position) and it’s mapped. One gesture can drive as many parameters as you like.
- Save it as a presetSave the setup with Serum inside it, then open it any time from the Gestures presets folder.
- Record itIn your DAW, Gestures records what your hands do as automation, so the take lands in your session like any other.
Why play a synth with your hands
The sound in your head is often a movement: a filter opening, a chord you lean into. Drawing that with a mouse, point by point, loses the thing that made it feel good. With Gestures the movement is the performance, and your hands can move several of Serum’s controls at once.
Watch it
Questions
Does it work with Vital, Diva and other synths?
Yes. Any instrument plugin on your machine can take the place of Gestures’ built-in synth, and each effect slot takes a stereo effect plugin the same way.
Do I need a MIDI controller?
No. Your webcam and your hands are the controller.
Which DAWs does it work with?
It loads anywhere as a VST3 or AU plugin (VST3 and AU on Mac, VST3 on Windows): Ableton Live, Logic Pro, FL Studio and others. It also runs standalone if you would rather not open a DAW at all.
What do I need to run it?
macOS 12 or later, or Windows 10 or later, and a webcam. The one built into your laptop is enough. No controller, gloves or anything to wear.
Is my camera recorded or uploaded?
No. Hand tracking runs on your computer and the camera video stays on your machine. Nothing is uploaded.
What does it cost?
Gestures is $99 once, or included in Tamber Pro at $9.99 a month. Your first 7 days of Pro are $1.