TK.

Thank you! :) Wilba pointed out a conceptional flaw in the sequencer synchronisation via MIDI Clock - this is solved in rc3 (link: see first article of this thread) Now, bassline and drum sequencer are starting with a MIDI Clock Start Event, no initial note is required anymore if a sequence was already selected before. MIDI Clock Continue is supported as well. In slave mode, the sequencers will continue to run if no pattern is selected (but no notes will be played in this case), so that MBSID is always in synch with the external MIDI Clock master. If a new sequence will be selected via MIDI note, it won't start from the first step anymore, but from the actual song position of the MIDI clock master. This behaviour leads to small inconsistencies between the handling in MIDI Clock master/slave mode, but I think that it is much better now. Best Regards, Thorsten.

yes, exactly: so long MIOS hasn't been booted, your LCD isn't initialised. Also the black bar is normal, see this oversight: (steps must be read from bottom to top) Best Regards, Thorsten.

MBSID has left its beta state, the first release candidate is available (see link in first article of this thread) ChangeLog of the last features for V2.0: o implemented MIDI Clock Master/Slave Auto Detection o bassline/drum sequences now deselected when a MIDI Clock Stop event has been received (ignored in MIDI Clock Master mode) o improved "play button" function (e.g. only selected instruments played, selected drum is triggered, etc...) o support for "Sync" button (it just jumps into the ENS->CLK menu for Master/Slave/Auto mode and BPM selection) o support for full parameter access via NRPNs see mbsidv2_parameter_chart.txt for details [/code] The parameter chart is also located here: http://www.ucapps.de/midibox_sid/mbsidv2_parameter_chart.txt Best Regards, Thorsten.

If it was already working with v1.7303, then there is no need for changing the MBHP_CORE->MBHP_SID interconnections. The second MBHP_SID module will be connected the same way, only difference is the WR# input of the second SID, which has to be connected to J14 of the core. Best Regards, Thorsten.

Beta11 is now available; from the ChangeLog: o various improvements for drum sequence editing: - cursor now controlled with encoder - the "<" function has been replaced by a rotate function, which allows you to scroll the pattern left/right - the ">" function has been replaced by a direct shortcut to the DRM menu page - the instrument number will be set automatically according to the selected track - the mod target buttons (named with E1/E2/L1/...L6) now change to the track editor, and select the appr. track (1-8) [/code] Some minor issues have been fixed as well. E.g., there shouldn't be a loud background noise during the startup phase anymore. Best Regards, Thorsten.

MBCV doesn't support software envelopes/LFO (too much programming effort...), but yes - a lot of possibilities are already given by analog_toolbox, MIDIbox FM, MIDIbox SID V1 and especially MIDIbox SID V2 The easiest way is probably the usage of the MIDIbox FM firmware, as it's more flexible than MIDIbox SID V1, and provides a SysEx editor (so that you don't need to build a Control Surface) The best solution is the usage of MIDIbox SID V2 (but there is no SysEx editor yet...) The most flexible solution is analog toolbox, but it requires programming experiences for extensions. Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hi Rio, yes, because you've an older SID module version where the serial clock is routed to SC instead of MD. It's only important, that the serial clock input is connected to the core. Please have a look at the bottom of your MBHP_SID module - is the MD pin routed to any IC? Here again: it's just only important that the connection exists somehow, regardless how you realized it exactly. no special requirement, just upload MIOS and have fun. The PIC18F4685 variant will always access the LCD in 4bit mode From you question I assume, that you haven't tried it? Or is the LCD not working? you can connect it on any free DIN input, thereafter add following entry to the CS_MENU_DIN_TABLE of your setup_8580.asm or setup_6581.asm file: DIN_ENTRY CS_MENU_BUTTON_M_Vol, 9, 5 ; (new, button below M_Filter, you could also re-arrange the assignment if you want) [/code] (In this example I assume, that the volume button is connected to SR 9, pin 5 - I will let this in the setup_*.asm file, so it will be available by default with the next release) Best Regards, Thorsten.

There are new docs and demo samples: Drum Engine: http://www.ucapps.de/midibox_sid_manual_d.html The drum engine is available in the beta10 firmware (and higher), see http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php?topic=9457.0 Please note, that patch A033 and A034 of the preset library have been replaced by drum kits. They should give an inspiration for own drum sounds and sequences. Some other (expired) WT drum patches have been replaced by placeholders. Feel free to send me your selfmade drum kits. :) Best Regards, Thorsten.

Mit dem Encoder Eintrag (ENC_ENTRY) lag ich uebrigens voellig falsch. Man traegt hier nicht etwa die beiden Pin Nummern (32, 33) ein, sondern die Shift Register Nummer und die Pin Nummer. An welchen Pins hast Du eigentlich den Encoder angeschlossen? Wenn wir das wuessten, muessten wir weniger "abstrakte" Hinweise geben. ;-) Gruss, Thorsten.

Hi, from the technical point of view: MBSID V1 is ca. 18000 lines of code, and MBSID V2 is ca. 50000 lines of code. :) Best Regards, Thorsten.

Da laesst sich etwas zurechtbasteln. In mios_tables.inc musst Du die Pinbelegung des Encoders eintragen. Am besten ersetzt Du: #if DEFAULT_ENC_DATAWHEEL < 0 ENC_EOT #else [/code] durch: [code] #if DEFAULT_ENC_DATAWHEEL < 0 ENC_ENTRY 5, 0, MIOS_ENC_MODE_DETENTED ; Data Wheel #else wenn der Encoder an Pin 16 und 17 angeschlossen ist (es wird von 0 gezaehlt, hier eine Tabelle: http://www.ucapps.de/mios/mios_din_dout_pin_numbers.txt) Nun kannst Du auch schon in USER_ENC_NotifyChange die Encoder-Events zu MIDI Events umwandeln. Bspw.: USER_ENC_NotifyChange ;; send Note C-3 on left-turn, and C#3 on right-turn movlw 0x90 ; Note, Channel #1 call MIOS_MIDI_TxBufferPut movlw 0x3c ; C-3 IFSET MIOS_PARAMETER2, 7, movlw 0x3d ; C#3 call MIOS_MIDI_TxBufferPut movlw 0x7f goto MIOS_MIDI_TxBufferPut [/code] Wenn Du die Noten von einem Taster abhaengig machen moechtest, so fuege noch eine Fallunterscheidung ein. Ich nehme an, dass der Schalter an Pin 34 angeschlossen ist: [code] USER_ENC_NotifyChange movlw 34 ; check status of pin #34 call MIOS_DIN_PinGet bnz USER_ENC_NotifyChange_1 USER_ENC_NotifyChange_0 ;; send Note C-3 on left-turn, and C#3 on right-turn movlw 0x90 ; Note, Channel #1 call MIOS_MIDI_TxBufferPut movlw 0x3c ; C-3 IFSET MIOS_PARAMETER2, 7, movlw 0x3d ; C#3 call MIOS_MIDI_TxBufferPut movlw 0x7f goto MIOS_MIDI_TxBufferPut USER_ENC_NotifyChange_1 ;; send Note D-3 on left-turn, and D#3 on right-turn movlw 0x90 ; Note, Channel #1 call MIOS_MIDI_TxBufferPut movlw 0x3e ; D-3 IFSET MIOS_PARAMETER2, 7, movlw 0x3f ; D#3 call MIOS_MIDI_TxBufferPut movlw 0x7f goto MIOS_MIDI_TxBufferPut Gruss, Thorsten.

Hallo, ich vermute mal, dass Du die MB64E Applikation verwendest? Hiermit koennen die Encoder auch relative MIDI Events senden, also bspw CC#16 63 fuer Links-, und CC#16 65 fuer Rechtsdrehung. Stellt sich nur die Frage, ob Deine VJ Software damit zurechtkommt. Weisst Du genaueres? Gruss, Thorsten.

Yes, so long you want to control the arp and transposer with a MIDI keyboard. But MBSEQ doesn't receive the MIDI clock via IIC MIDI, and MIOS updates are not possible as well - therefore it's important that the core MIDI In is available as external port. Best Regards, Thorsten.

no, don't panic! I was talking about a software solution. :) ok, next demo will be an arp line again for the fan club in down under! ;) Yes, I used EQs to seperate the sounds in the spectrum, a simple echo on the lead, and a phaser effect on the string line. The raw output already sounds very rich thanks to different modulation tricks, e.g. inverted modulation on opposite audio channel and carefully adjusted ADDSR rates for the filter EGs. Best Regards, Thorsten.

The first two issues have been solved (see http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php?topic=9947.0) Sometimes it's important just to think different in order to find an elegant solution ;-) Best Regards, Thorsten.

Well, this is really an unfair teaser, as a superpoly option won't be officially supported in V2.0 (maybe in V2.1) But there will be a freaky (well hidden) option which will allow you to configure the MIDI handler of the Lead engine, so that 4 cores cycle the voices which are received over the same channel. The resulting effect is like polyphonic playing (with some quirks which will be solved later). So, how is this possible: instead of using the CAN interface for controlling the voices from the master core, each core keeps track over the voice allocation locally. So long they are assigned to the same MIDI channel, they will receive the same notes, accordingly each core "knows exactly" which notes are played by the other cores, and can spend his own (stereo) voice whenever it's free, or it can kill it's old note. How it sounds: http://www.ucapps.de/mp3/midibox_sid/mbsidv2_superpoly_experiment.mp3 Note that I've recorded the parts (strings/bass/lead begin/main) seperately, each time three cores were playing a single track. (Three and not four, as my fourth core is stuffed with 6581 SIDs which have a different filter) And to already answer a question which will probably asked first: this "quick hack" works only with lead voices. It isn't possible to play two seperate lead voices from a single core (so that 8 voices could be played in parallel). Such an option could only work with the multi engine, but I'm not planning to integrate the same superpoly option into this one for v2.0... maybe later. Best Regards, Thorsten.

MBFM converts pitch bender events to 8bit resolution - so, it's one bit more than your TX81Z synth Best Regards, Thorsten.

Yes, under certain circumstances the core MIDI out can be used as additional MIDI port. It will work stable so long no bytes are received on the core MIDI In. So, it's ok, so long no keyboard is connected to the sequencer, and/or no MIDI clock is received from external. Best Regards, Thorsten.

Yes, both chips are not applicable for MIOS/MBHP_IIC_* Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hi Matoz, thats a good sign. It means, that the core can control the OPL3 module, that the YMF262 is running, and that the connections between YMF262 and YAC512 are (probably) ok. Do you hear the sounds on the OP amp inputs I1+/I2+/I3+/I4+ of IC6 (the output buffer)? If not, visually check (extensively) the connections between the two YAC512 and IC3/IC5 - due to the small pin size of the SMD parts, a open (not soldered) or shortened junction is very likely. Best Regards, Thorsten.

A balanced voltage is required for the OP amp TL072, therefore +/- 12V is recommented. 2: yes Best Regards, Thorsten.

Second Teaser: http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php?topic=9938.0 There are 16 instruments per patch, which can be played by 2 SIDs (-> 6 voices which can play in parallel) With a full stuffed MBSID V2, you could play up to 64 instruments with 8 SIDs (-> 24 voices) Best Regards, Thorsten.

So, here the second part: a quickly recorded a session where I'm using Drum and Bassline sequencer in parallel - sequences and bassline parameters are selected/controlled live from a MIDI keyboard. The drum sequencer provides 8 patterns with 8 tracks. Since there are 16 drum instruments available per patch, each track can trigger two of them in a special way: (edit screen of track #4 of sequence #7) .: no instrument is played *: default instrument will be played A: the default instrument will be played w/ accent S: the secondary instrument will be played (w/o accent) Track 1 Controls Instrument #1 (default) and #2 (secondary) Track 2 Controls Instrument #3 (default) and #4 (secondary) etc... The advantage of this method: it saves memory (8 sequences available instead of 4), and it allows to realize the typical Open/Close HH or High/Low Tom scheme from a single track. Here the demo (I just have noticed, that the BD is really low tuned... you won't hear it with cheap speakers): http://www.ucapps.de/mp3/midibox_sid/mbsidv2_drums_demo1.mp3 During the session I noticed a lot of imperfections, which need to be solved :-/ Best Regards, Thorsten.

I've worked on the drum engine in the last days. The concept is frozen, most of the code is implemented, and now it needs a lot of testing (from my side) in order to check, if the engine is doing what I initially planned. So, it was time to work on some teasers! ;D Some words to the concept: each patch contains 16 drum patches, which either can be played directly from a MIDI keyboard/sequencer, or from the internal sequencer, which works similar to the bassline seq - means: you can select the sequence via MIDI notes, so that they can be controlled interactively. More words to the sequencer in the next teaser ;-) Since the memory of a patch is limited, a drum only consists of 8 parameters. But only might be the wrong word, because each parameter changes the drum timbre dramatically! Instead of editing wavetables, or tweaking on ENVs/LFOs (which can be very time consuming and is not the intuitive workflow you would expect from a drum synth), there are prepared "drum models", which are hardcoded in the firmware. In theory up to 256 drum models can be implemented. Drum models currently only exist of waveform/note tables. Within the patch It's possible to change the tuning, the ADSR parameters, the gatelength, the WT speed and a special "WT parameter", which modifies a variable part of the wavetable. Ok, enough details, just listen to the examples: Bass Drum Model #1 and #2, some parameters tweaked while sound is playing: http://www.ucapps.de/mp3/midibox_sid/mbsidv2_drums_bd_examples.mp3 Snare Drum Model #1 and #2, some parameters tweaked while sound is playing: http://www.ucapps.de/mp3/midibox_sid/mbsidv2_drums_sd_examples.mp3 Fx Model #1 and #4, some parameters tweaked while sound is playing: http://www.ucapps.de/mp3/midibox_sid/mbsidv2_drums_fx_examples.mp3 Now it's time to check, how drum and bassline sequencer are working together. :) Best Regards, Thorsten.

First of all, please keep in mind that there is a FAQ which answers such questions clearly http://www.ucapps.de/midibox_sid_manual_ki.html In 4bit mode, D7..D4 are connected to the core. D3..D0 should not be connected. Neither the PIC pins, nor the LCD pins should be grounded to avoid a possible chance for a short circuit for the case that the 4bit mode is not initialized correctly (for whatever reason, e.g. RW and RS are swapped), and LCD is read out (accordingly the output drivers of LCD D3..D0 will be actived) There were always trouble with LCD connections in the past, independent from 8bit or 4bit mode, and the flow how to determine the reason is always the same: use the LCD interconnection test. Not at least, this helps you to check if MIOS is running, and it helps you to sort out the LCD connections seperately. Best Regards, Thorsten.