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TK.

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  1. SEQ v4 CS PCB clone

    in MIDIbox SEQ

    Posted

    What exactly is non-transparent here?

    Initially Lisa wanted to buy the frontpanel PCB from SmashTV. She had already many parts (such as the expensive Heidenreich case) and was waiting for appr. 1 year to get it re-stocked. She asked SmashTV multiple times on the progress, but without luck. Under frustration she developed a (I find: pretty cool!) method to reconstruct the layout. She asked Wilba (the creator of the layout) and me (the architect of the circuit) for permission, and got it for the small batch run. If it turns out to be a mature design, it would be ok for me to publish the layout.

    From my point of view, this is the natural result if PCBs are not stocked anymore, people already invested into hardware, waiting until they can buy the final part from the official source, and don't get updates on the status for an extremely long time.

    It's on SmashTV to give a statement on the situation from his point of view. This thread exists since more than 3 months, but we haven't got it yet.

    Best Regards, Thorsten.

  2. SEQ v4 CS PCB clone

    in MIDIbox SEQ

    Posted

    If we've the same understanding, we can stop the discussion now.

    Looking forward for the boards! :)

    To interested builders: please keep in mind that LatigidOn is working on a new front panel with some improvements:

     Wilba's design is interesting for people who already prepared this variant, or don't want to wait until the new one is ready (can still take some weeks/months).

    Best Regards, Thorsten. 

     

  3. SEQ v4 CS PCB clone

    in MIDIbox SEQ

    Posted

    I tried to contact Wilba multiple times since several years and never got a response.
    Lisa tried to contact SmashTV multiple times - also no response.

    I assume that Lisas clone will work, it just needs a prove before it will be provided as open source.

    Best Regards, Thorsten.

  5. MIDIbox SEQ V4 Release + Feedback

    in MIDIbox SEQ

    Posted

    6 hours ago, lacuna said:

    - The arpeggiator would not be limited to 4 notes only. 
     I want to play whole lines with the arp. I'd like to play a whole scale. At least with the  *+- steps in the arp

    Unfortunately can't be changed due to conceptional reasons

    Quote

    - BUG: in the arpeggiator, while playing a *+- step and I delete that step, a note is stuck and will never stop.

    will check this

    Quote

    - The option to play the notes in the order I play them (and not in reversed order, as it does now with sort=off)

    Ensure that you are using the latest version. Then set Note to "First" in the Track Mode page

    Quote

    - The arpeggiator could optionally restart asynchronous, i.e. retrigger immediately, when hitting the notes on the keyboard, not waiting for the next step in the beat.

    not possible due to conceptional reasons.
     

    Quote

    - There would be more performance tricks as in the BPM menue with the "fire preset function" like:
      Selecting loops by holding a start and stop-step button (as already thought for BLM)
      Being able to shift notes without hearing the scrolling (holding a button while scrolling, leaving the button and you hear it) & the same for other edits

    added to the wish list

    Quote

    - Being able to set the probability to other than 50/50.
      & maybe being able to "connect" steps in their probability (chance of a whole line)

    you can assign one track layer to probability and then adjust it for each step (or change the value for all steps at once by pressing the ALL button)

    Quote

    - Import / export of patterns from and to Midi-files (is this only possible for songs? Is there a workaround?)

    In the MIDI file import/export page you can also select dedicated tracks

    Quote

    - Echo FX: Maybe being able to send echoes to other ports & channels. For echoes of monosynths & as an additional tool for creating complex structures.

    You can use the Duplicate Fx for this purpose

    Best Regards, Thorsten.

  12. MIDIbox SEQ V4 Release + Feedback

    in MIDIbox SEQ

    Posted

    On 11.6.2017 at 0:09 AM, Keeze said:

    You are exactly right! My apologies for the confusion.

    Cheers,
    Kees

    Please try this version, bytes are swapped now (untested at my side, since I can't use osc2midi)
    -> http://www.ucapps.de/mios32/midibox_seq_v4_093_pre4.zip

    Note that this pre-release also provides a new feature: Chord3 Parameter layer as proposed by EsotericLabs! :)

    On 12.6.2017 at 10:50 AM, u-link said:

    Hi, I think the Track instrument feature that allows you to automatically send a PC when a pattern is loaded is really great, but at the moment it is a surefire way to lose all unsaved patch edits.

    The manual states the following behaviour:

    Note: together with the bank change events the PC event will only be sent if it is different compared to the previous track, since it could cause an additional delay on your synth before the newly selected patch is ready! Note also that the first note could be delayed for this reason, therefore it's recommended to use this feature only if the receiving MIDI device can handle patch changes quickly!

    However, this is not the case. If I change to another pattern with the same PC assigned, it does get resent. Could an Option be added if it gets resent? If you are modifying the sound, then switching to a different pattern, you don't always want the sound to revert back to the saved one.

    Also, I think a second Option whether the PC should be resent after stopping and restarting the sequencer would be essential. At the moment, it gets sent again. This means any unsaved edits to a sound get lost due to the saved one being reloaded in case of stop-start'ing  - not an ideal situation to say the least! 

    Ok, I added following item to the wish list: 

    PC Send behaviour: option to avoid that already selected PC will be re-sent

     

    On 12.6.2017 at 11:13 AM, u-link said:

    Well, thinking more about the above issue, I guess it would be even better if you could set PER PATTERN if the PC gets resent or not than just globally. 

    On the other hand I don't really see a reason why you'd want to resend the PC when stop-start'ing, but maybe there is a use case I fail to see? 

    The use case is the following: somebody connects the synth to MIDI OUT and doesn't want to power-cycle MBSEQ
    Or somebody wants to tweak parameters while a pattern is playing, but wants to reset to the sound setup when another (or the same) pattern is selected.
    Therefore I've to ensure that a PC will be sent consistent with start or pattern change.

    But I understand your use case, and assumed that you are aware of the limitations, you will find your way...

    On 15.6.2017 at 5:25 PM, k2z3k0 said:

    hello everyone

    quick question here

    is there chance for a Global Transpose function

    which i could control via loopback Bus

    i tried remote transpose with duplicate function but didn't worked

    No, this doesn't exist, but I don't understand the use case.

    Usually somebody would use the transposer to achieve this.
    The transposer especially allows you to avoid that tracks which should not be transposed (such as drum tracks) are not affected.

    On 16.6.2017 at 2:40 AM, k2z3k0 said:

    one more little thing

    is there posibility to set DUMP for mixer pages when starting sequencer?

    such a possibility doesn't exist, and it's also counter productive, because the MIDI messages will delay the first notes!

    Best Regards, Thorsten.

  13. MIDIbox SEQ V4 Release + Feedback

    in MIDIbox SEQ

    Posted

    So, this means that with the changed version, MBSEQV4 sends MIDI events correctly now, but the receive part is not working, right?
    Which probably means that I've to shift the bytes for the receive routine as well (which wasn't clear from your first message)

    Best Regards, Thorsten.

  15. MIOS32 SID and FM applications

    in MIOS programming (C)

    Posted

    Big Picture:

    • the MBSID V2 sound engine has been 1:1 replicated and delivers identical results.
      This has been proven with a virtual prototype (the AU instrument) and with direct connection to hardware (more about this below)
      The number of engines running in parallel is only limited by available RAM and chip performance.
      E.g. running 4 engines which service 8 SID chips isn't a big problem, and even on the STM32F1 there was enough headroom to increase the update frequency (which is only 500 Hz on the PIC based MIDIbox SID V2)
    • Only exception: the oscillator phase offset feature is not available because it required special treatments which conflict with servicing multiple cores.
      This feature requires that oscillators will be reset and a uS accurate delay between 1..250 uS takes place to release the oscillators.
      It will be very difficult to support this directly on the core which handles the engines, because 250 uS delay has a much higher impact than on a PIC.
      While a PIC could only execute 2k instructions during this time, a STM32F4 could execute ca. 40k instructions, and it would need this to service more than one engine...
      However, there are solutions to support even this feature (see below)

    Missing parts at the software side:

    • the entire control surface
      Currently the synth can only be controlled from a SysEx editor (e.g. the Ctrlr based)
      I prepared the CS by introducing SCS, which is for example integrated into the MIDIbox CV V2 application (the software architecture is similar to MIDIbox SID V2)
    • possibility to store/restore patches and ensembles on SD Card

    For somebody who is good in SW programming it shouldn't be a big deal to implement this, especially since the basis is already available in other applications.
    It just needs some time...

     

    Hardware side:

    • the serial shift registers could be connected to J19, for CS lines individual IO pins are required (e.g. J10B + level shifter).
      I tried this at the beginning of the project with a STM32F1 core and it worked.
    • alternatively an existing MIDIbox SID, MB6582 or sammichSID can be controlled from a MIOS32 core via MBNET (-> the CAN interface).
      This was my focus during development, because I was able to use my existing hardware
      It worked as well, the appr. extensions are in the official PIC based MIDIbox SID V2 firmware (I just noticed: I added it 6 years ago! ;-)
    • but actually the preferred solution today would be a connection to FPGA based SID via J19
      CS lines available via this SPI connection as well.
      And the FPGA could support additional features such as the (missing) oscillator phase offset feature to offload the firmware
      Note that I'm in contact with the FPGA developer - at least I would like to try it out :)

    Alternative solution:

    • a software based SID emulation could be developed, running on STM32F4
      Advantage: the STM32F4DISCOVERY has already an Audio DAC integrated, which means that this would probably be the cheapest way to get some nice SID sounds :)

    Misc:

    • no documentation available
    • I'm sure that once MIDIbox SID V2 will be released for MIOS32, new users will come up with new feature requests
    • Actually it should also be considered a MIDIbox SID V3 with different sound engine architecture to utilize the new possibilities of MIOS32

    The last three points somehow blocked my motivation when I compare with that what I already created with the PIC based MIDIbox SID V2
    I noticed that for myself there wouldn't be a big advantage anymore, because I'm happy with MIDIbox SID V2 as it is.

    So - if somebody else feels motivated to continue and maintain this work, and to support future users over long term feel welcome!

    Best Regards, Thorsten.

     

  17. Speed up scanrate of NG by kicking out other scanroutines?

    in MIDIbox NG

    Posted

    Yes, you could remove unusued functions from APP_SRIO_ServiceFinish() in src/app.c

    E.g.

    • remove SCS functions if the SCS isn't connected to DIN pins.
    • remove MBNG_MATRIX_GetRow() if no BUTTON_MATRIX is used
    • remove MIOS32_ENC_UpdateStates if no encoders are connected

    That's all what can be improved, the additional overhead is caused by the application itself, at the end you would come to a downstripped version like MIDIbox KB ;-)

    However, if it turns out that the removals from APP_SRIO_ServiceFinish help, then I could add runtime options to disable certain functions in future so that no recompile is required.

    Best Regards, Thorsten.

  21. Speed up scanrate of NG by kicking out other scanroutines?

    in MIDIbox NG

    Posted

    In src/mios32_config.h you could change the number of DOUT pages from 32 to 1: 

    #define MIOS32_SRIO_NUM_DOUT_PAGES 1

    This will increase the scan rate by factor 32

    Compile will fail with: 

    src/mbng_matrix.c:53:3: error: #error "not prepared for != 32 pages - many variable types have to be adapted!"
src/mbng_matrix.c: In function 'MBNG_MATRIX_DOUT_NotifyReceivedValue':

    the appr. "#error" line has to be removed

    It says, that all LED_MATRIX related functions won't work anymore, such as LED rings

    Best Regards, Thorsten.

  24. MIDIbox SEQ V4 Release + Feedback

    in MIDIbox SEQ

    Posted

    The enhancements of the last months are now officially available (and documented): 

    MIDIboxSEQ V4.092
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   o new parameter layers for track specific root note and scale

     Root selection strategy: if Root is assigned to any parameter 
     layer of a track, the layer can either select the global root 
     selection ("Glb") or set the root note for each step explicitely.

     The global root selection is configured in the FX->Scale page,
     it's either "Keyb" (for MIDI keyboard entry) or C, C#, ... B

     The local root selection is C, C#, ... B

     Notes and Chords will be transposed accordingly if the track is in
     Normal mode (and not in Transpose or Arpeggiator mode)

     Similar for Scale: it can override the globally configured scale
     of the FX->Scale page for each step.
     
   o new drum configurations: 4*16/2*64, 4*16/2*128, 4*16/1*256

   o new configuration option in Track Mode page: "Note Last/First"
     Allows to specify, if the transposer should take the last or first
     played note (previously it always played the last note)

   o new configuration option in Track Mode page: "STrg" (Step Trigger).
     If activated, the step progression will be controlled from the transposer
     bus, hence it can either be triggered from a loopback track or from an 
     external MIDI device (MIDI keyboard, sequencer, etc.)
     Note that each track can be assigned to a dedicated transpose bus
     (4 busses are available), this allows to control 4 independent step progressions
     for all 16 tracks.

   o individual steps of CC, PitchBender, Program Change and Aftertouch
     layers can now be disabled so that they won't play.
     Turn the encoder to the rightmost position (value 128)

     Also the init value has been changed: for these layers, the steps
     are now disabled by default.
     For CCs please change the init value by yourself in the UTIL->OPT
     page (option #12: Initial CC value)

   o new behaviour of CLEAR button in recording mode:
     it clears only the selected step (instead of the entire pattern).
     During live recording it will clear the "played" steps while the
     button is pressed.

   o new CC functions which can be configured in MIDI->ExtCtrl. page:
     o Play/Stop: allows to assign the PLAY button to a CC
     o Record: allows to assign the RECORD button to a CC

   o new option in Groove page: Sync
     Allows to sync the groove to the global reference step (RefS)
     or to the local track step

   o fixed G# transpose

    Best Regards, Thorsten.

  25. MIDIbox SEQ V4 Release + Feedback

    in MIDIbox SEQ

    Posted

    On 21.12.2016 at 3:08 PM, EsotericLabs said:

    Excellent, 128 is a lot of possibilities! We might include inversions, guitar voicing, all tensions, different bass notes, stacked fourth and  fifth polychords to begin with. Then I'll happily check my modest collection of jazz and exotic chords encyclopedias.  :lol: 

    Do you want 4, 6 or more note chords? How many characters for names? 4 plus a long name?  In the C code format we used for the chords2 layer?

     

    See core/seq_chord.c: up to 6 notes, up to 6 chars.
    In the step display I will print the first 4 chars, this should be considered while naming the chords.
    Yes, just provide the table in C format so that I can directly take over w/o translation

    Best Regards, Thorsten.

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