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enron_hubbard

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Everything posted by enron_hubbard

  1. @mongrol - Thanks! I've been digging through build threads and the wiki for a few months now, just getting my head around what a full build will entail. Trying to plan a limit on features now so I don't get carried away later, and so I have a roadmap as I go. @Hawkeye - Well, a single DOUT would definitely make my build much easier. :) I had been planning on doing everything procedurally, on a module-by-module basis, to make sure I don't throw something in there that borks up the entire build. And thanks for the tip about the TPD, I'm sure I would have done it earlier in the chain and made a mess with later additions. Regarding the firmware rewrite for the QUAD_IIC boards - I'm looking at the board that @smashtv has on his site, and it looks like that's a stack of four 16F88 PICs, which leads me to believe they can each be configured as the OUT-only version of the IIC board. (Also just realized, these can't be chained, so I'll have to use J4A and J4B, with the QUAD_IIC board on J4A wired up for the 16x16+X BLM). @ilmenator - I'm pretty comfortable with SMD, done a few low-grade projects in the past. There's also going to be a solid amount of SMD soldering involved with the BLM build I'm interested in, so by the time I'm done, I'll be a veteran. :)
  2. Okay. I'm pretty sure I've got my head around how this should work. This is my first, and probably only, MBHP SEQ build. I've got a handful of basic boards on hand, and a couple of almost-complete parts orders (recently moved, so I had to throw all of my resources at that). This is going to be my winter project. Initially, I was thinking of doing something more custom as far as a layout goes, doing crazy stuff like a harmonic keyboard and such, but now I've scaled it back a bit and am focusing on function over form. Using WIlba's frontpanel as the control surface. I've got a fair amount of MIDI gear I'll want to control, so I'm going for the maximum MIDI ports I can - from what I can tell, that's a total of 12 outs, and 4 ins. There's also some custom DIY synths that I'd like to control, so 8x CV outs and 8x Gates would also be nice. I'm also looking to do weird clock division stuff with some Korg Volcas (total of 8) and to use the BLM16x16+X as an extended control surface later on. So here's what I'm thinking will be required for modules: CORE_STM32F4 running MIOS32. WIlba's Frontpanel taking up the first modules on the DOUT/DIN chains (J8 and J9, respectively) Four additional DOUT modules after the frontpanel on J8 for an additional 16 SRs - 8 for analog synth gates, 8 for the clocks to the Volcas A single AOUT module on J19 for CV outputs 2x MIDI_IO Modules on J11E for a total of 4 INs and 4 OUTs. 2x Quad MIDI_IIC modules chained on J4A for 8 dedicated MIDI outs (bringing the total to 4 IN and 12 OUT) Two LCD displays on J15A/B TPD Module on J1 Does this all make sense and fit within the specs of the platform? I'm so pumped to get this together...
  3. Excellent, thank you! I couldn't tell if just SMD soldering it to that side of the board would impact its ability to function, but if yours is working with that method, then my concerns are put to rest.
  4. So I got my Mouser order together for my CORE and SEQ_CS builds (both PCBs from @smashtv) and I'm bumping up against a little confusion. When it comes to the SD socket on the CORE_STM32F4 board, it looks like it's intended for a through-hole component. But when I look for a through-hole SD card socket on Mouser, I'm not seeing anything that fits the bill. Almost everything I'm finding are SMD components. Can anyone recommend a good part number to use with the SmashTV CORE_STM32F4 board?
  5. Yeah, I'm in for the case as well. Updated the list to reflect that.
  6. @Hawkeye - If I'm looking at the BOM for the CS panel and understanding this right, it uses a total of 6 shift registers on the DIN chain and 2 on the DOUT, correct? That would leave me with a total of 10 available registers on the DIN chain and 14 on the DOUT side, so I could feasibly add two DINx4 and three DOUTx4 and still not exceed the maximum of 16 shift registers on each chain - that make sense?
  7. I had totally forgotten about the Linnstrument - looks like it does do a harmonic table layout if it's set up that way. It was the C-Thru Axis controllers that got me thinking about harmonic tables again, and those used hexagonal keys, but it might make more sense to either do another BLM grid, or implement the harmonic table layout on the existing BLM, instead. The reason behind the hexagonal keys on the C-Thru, and the staggered button layout, was so the player could easily play a major/minor triad with just one finger - which wouldn't be nearly as easy to do with the button pads. So if I could get the same functionality out of the existing BLM, it would free up that space on the control surface for other stuff. In which case.. how far can I go with a DIN/DOUT chain? Example - BLM has its own dedicated pinout on different ports on the CORE, but for the DIN/DOUT chain on J8/9, can i do 4xDIN, 4xDOUT, and add Wilba's frontpanel to the end of the chain?
  8. Oh, awesome. :) Can I do more than one? Same deal with DINs?
  9. I must've been mistaken about the IO module - I was under the impression that I could set each interface to be either an in or an out. In which case, I guess I'll just have to use a Quad IIC as well, giving me 4x in and 8x out total. More ports isn't a bad thing. With the AOUT, I was thinking of using each out as either CV or gate, but I might as well use a DOUT for complimentary gates. I don't think I can chain another DOUT with Wilba's frontpanel, so that might have to be a something that gets added to the minicore driving the harmonic keyboard.
  10. Ah, I see what you're looking to do. I've always thought about drum sequences as a grid-based affair, with velocities coming from some external formula (expression pedal or CC changes) so velocity sensitivity hasn't mattered to me when sequencing. For playing on velocity sensitive pads, my KMI QuNeo has always been the go-to. :)
  11. Woah, I never even thought about doing it that way! ::facepalm for idiocy:: that would be so much easier than having one massive panel! I guess I can fab the front panels for all the control surfaces for each module as I go, and then build the case once it's all done - thank you so much for the idea!
  12. There are a couple forum posts about a harmonic table/isomorphic keyboard - for instance, here has a few videos embedded the approach the isomorphic idea. And here is a video of someone's design with a really clever hack to use velocity sensitivity, where there are two PCBs sandwiched together. The upper PCB has a bunch of Cherry MX switches on it, and each switch has the bottom cut out of it so the plunger goes all the way through the switch and down to hit a tactile switch on teh lower pcb. It measures the time between the two keypresses to calculate the velocity level. One way I'd like to approach it would be to fab a PCB, and use the Sparkfun button pads. Latigid On posted his variation on a PCB for 4x4 button pads, each using a through-hole RGB led - the core concept would use something like that, but each column would be vertically offset by 50%, the same way the velocity sensitive version has the keys staggered (image attached). It would have to be a single PCB (probably 8 rows by 12 columns) but using 1x4 strips of the Sparkfun buttons. The one thing that's giving me pause with implementing it this way would be the loss of velocity sensitivity, but I think it's worth the gain with the illuminated buttons. You could probably set it up so the way each button is lit differs based on the mode it's set to. For example, say you want to force it to follow a keyscale for a specific track - just select the track in SEQ, and the buttons on the harmonic table corresponding to that key light up in blue. If you want a different keyscale, use a rudimentary input method (buttons/encoder) to select the root and scale, and the right buttons light up in green. If you want to use the full chromatic scale with a harmonic layout, the whole thing lights up with blue for natural notes and green for sharps/flats. Or you could change the layout so one row is naturals, and the row above it is sharps/flats. And there's probably a bunch more you could do with it that I'm not even thinking of yet. I'm more of a tinkerer than an engineer, so I'd have to stumble through a PCB design for this. I'll probably end up doing a perfboard version for prototyping with a bunch of tactile switches to get it off the ground. Looks like I should pick up a DIN/DOUT board and all the parts to go with it.. :)
  13. Orders placed with SmashTV for CORE and SEQ_CS PCBs, as well as a pair of MIDI_IO PCBs and an AOUT_NG. Also ordered the 74HC165 and 74HC595 chips necessary for the front panel since I couldn't find them on Mouser. BOM for all the other parts necessary for the panel and CORE are getting ordered in a day or two, including the LCDs and ST module. Got on the bulk order list for the BLM PCB, hopefully that'll come up soon. I didn't order anything for cases because I'm planning on a custom, single-piece panel for the entire control surface. Luckily, I'm getting involved with a local makerspace, so I'll have access to a laser cutter, CNC mill, and 3D printer. Attached is a (very) rough idea of the layout I'm looking to do. The harmonic table keyboard and knob/fader bank will likely need a dedicated minicore (DIN/DOUT and AINSER modules), and I haven't quite sussed out how that will interface to my main core, but that's a something that's on the back burner. For now, I'm focusing on getting the SEQ's core module with panel up and running, then moving on to the BLM section. For ins & outs, I'm planning on 2x MIDI In, 6x MIDI out, and 8x CV/Gate coming from the AOUT_NG. Basically, I want to be able to have a central sequencing/performance box that can control everything I could possibly throw at it. Thoughts?
  14. No worries on bringing anything down - tapping the community's experience and knowledge is exactly why I'm asking this kind of thing. :) This is all very good to know. I'll wait on the board you're working on and see how that works out. If and when you have good results, count me in for a bulk order. I was looking to try and use the Omni RGB board for a BLM 20x16, taking a similar approach to the BLM 16x16+X you've already developed. Thank you again for all the time you put into this project, and for being so helpful!
  15. Looks pretty excellent - if I'm seeing this right, this is designed for through-hole RGBLEDs, yes? With 3x headers to for a DOUT module and a single one for the buttons to DIN? So if I'm understanding correctly, you'd need a total of 3 DOUT headers for each 4x4 matrix, making a total of 12 DOUT modules to drive the LEDs alone (16*3 = 48 headers, 4 headers per DOUT). Part of why I was interested in the Livid boards is because, according to its documentation, you only need to connect 2x of the headers to their Brain module. No idea what the differences are in how CORE and Livid Brain address LEDs. I'm planning on ordering the boards and parts for one of the Livid Omni RGB boards, as well as everything for a CORE and DIN/DOUT modules, mid next week to get ready to test. Excited to learn this platform!
  16. So, after much time ogling and reading up on Midibox projects, I finally decided to start going headfirst into it. Curious, though - has anyone used the Livid Instruments Builder series Omni RGB boards for their projects? Do they play nicely with DIN/DOUT/AIN/AOUT modules? These seem to be a solid source for building up a control surface, particularly because they're pre-populated with RGB LEDs and the same 10-pin headers that MBHP uses. EDIT: link to the aforementioned part: http://shop.lividinstruments.com/rgb-omni/
  17. Added to the bulk order waitlist!
  18. Me too! Updated list below: 001 taximan pcb case 002 blatboy pcb case parts 003 Macotronic pcb case 004 lukas412 pcb case parts 005 Hawkeye pcb case parts 006 u-link pcb case 007 nebula pcb case 008 synaptech pcb case parts 009 Phatline pcb 010 gidien pcb 011 Karg pcb case parts? 012 doc007 pcb case parts? 013 Richie pcb(x2) case parts 014 arumblack pcb case? parts 015 pat_00 pcb case parts 016 monokinetic pcb case parts? 017 weigu pcb case parts 018 enron_hubbard pcb parts
  19. jjonas - Very interesting. The way I would approach it, I don't think I'd want them to be relative to each track's divider. Bumping all of them to a single value is exactly the kind of feature I'd use. And I used to be the Singing Professor of Semiotics, but the elders demoted me to Warbling Lieutenant of Anthropology. I think it was because I spent too much time playing bongos. ;) latigid on - Thanks for the welcome! The loopback track idea is really interesting - making odd feedback loops of data and seeing what sings from it is one of my favorite things. I can't wait to get my parts for this project. :) Also, I'm very glad to see that you were the one who chose to respond to this thread, specifically because of the BLM. I saw that you had rolled out a PCB/Case build for the 16x16+X design. Curious - do you still have PCBs available for that? Or maybe the gerbers so I could get one fabricated?
  20. So I found this amazing project and I'm all geared up to build one with the BLM 16x16+X extension. I've been going through the documentation for SEQv4, and I keep finding things that blow my mind. Things that I just can't do with commercial sequencers, or even with a DAW. Excellent stuff! A couple things I'm curious about, though - related to clock divisions and timing on tracks. I know I can set a track to have a different time division relative to the MIDI clock, which is great for doing polyrhythms and really changing the color of a song section. Is there a way to do this over multiple tracks at once during live performance? Also, is there a way to change the Quick Selection Timebases? I do a lot of stuff with odd time signatures and tempo changes to individual parts, so these functions would be absolutely indispensable.
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