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TK.

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  1. MIDIbox SEQ V4 Release + Feedback

    in MIDIbox SEQ

    Posted

    Thanks for testing! :smile:

     

    I was able to reproduce the problem, it only happened under Linux and was related to a special method that I added for MacOS.

    It should be fixed now. The official binaries (MIDIbox_BLM_1_1) are now available under: http://www.ucapps.de/midibox_seq_manual_blm.html

     

    The 32bit build is intended, because my good old Linux laptop which I'm using for testing can't run in 64bit mode, and I guess that some other users could have the same problem. A 64bit build won't give us any advantages anyhow.

     

    Best Regards, Thorsten.

  2. MIDIbox SEQ V4 Release + Feedback

    in MIDIbox SEQ

    Posted

    Here is the MIDIbox SEQ V4 firmware: http://www.ucapps.de/mios32/midibox_seq_v4_087_pre1.zip

    Here a (temporary) BLM build for Linux: /edit: removed, now available at http://www.ucapps.de/midibox_seq_manual_blm.html

     

    After you've started the BLM emulation, select the MIDI IN/OUT port which connects to your MBSEQ. Don't take the 1st USB port (normally used for other purposes), I usually take the 3rd

    In the MBSEQ MIDI->Misc page, select USB3 (for the 3rd USB MIDI port)

     

    Back to the BLM emulation: select the "16x8+X" layout and click on the "Ext. Controllers" button and configure the MIDI ports to which your Launchpads are connected, and the "rotation" (this is freely configurable, but I only tested 270° for the first, and 0° for the second Launchpad as you can see on the photo above).

     

    It's currently too late in Europe to give you more details (or test the BLM emulation under Linux)...

    More informations tomorrow - just try out whatever is possible today.

    It also makes sense to start a separate thread for this topic, because I think that you will have a lot of questions and proposals ;)

     

    Best Regards, Thorsten.

  4. MIDIbox SEQ V4 Release + Feedback

    in MIDIbox SEQ

    Posted

    I've enhanced the BLM Emulation so that it supports Novation Launchpads, and I updated the MBSEQ V4 firmware so that it properly supports 16x8 matrices.
     
    Up to 4 Novation Launchpads can be connected to emulate a complete BLM16x16+X, here only two for a BLM16x8+X
     
    mbseq_novation_launchpad_mini.jpg
     
    The BLM Emulator is currently only tested under MacOS, but it should also run under Windows and Linux.
    @borfo: which OS do you prefer? I could build & test the binary for you.
     
    Best Regards, Thorsten.

  5. Chord/Note handling relative to selected scale

    in MIDIbox SEQ

    Posted

    Hm.  I guess that does accomplish what I was thinking, although I'd argue that it's less intuitive...  I did realize you could set the root note to 'keyb', but it didn't occur to me that keyb+transpose would work like this.

     

    Yes, it may be less intuitive (but that's also a question of good documentation... you could help me to improve this :smile:)

     

    Maybe it's implemented this way because I thought a step further: it makes sense to control transpose and root note centrally (from loopback tracks or from an external keyboard).

    Mostly you want to transpose the root note as well, but there are also cases where it makes sense to keep the root note as demonstrated in the tutorial.

     

     

    I was also aware of the CC for scale root...  But with scale root set to "keyb", can the root be changed by a note received from a bus track?

     

    yes: with root="keyb", the root note will be set according to the notes which are received from Bus1 (and only from this one).

    Which means: if you would like to get an independent control over root note and track transpose, then send the notes which should target the transposer from another loopback track to different bus.

     

    Best Regards, Thorsten.

  6. Question about LC512 bankstick in MbSid V1.7 giving two rising sounds at startup

    in MIDIbox SID

    Posted

    Hi,

     

     

    What I read is, that in this sidapp there's only 128 possible patches per bankstick (as there are only 128 program changes 0xC0).

    When I switch on my mbsid, I hear the rising sound (meaning found bankstick) TWO times. In contrast in the old config (in setup_8580_without_cs.asm), running the LC512 as LC256 I only got ONE rising sound.

     

    Does that mean I have double the space now or two patch banks?

     

    Yes, but this is exactly what the text above the configuration option wants to say:

        ;; select the BankStick type you are using here:
    ;;    0: "normal" 24LC256 EEPROM (32k), up to 8 EEPROMs can be connected for 8 banks
    ;;    1: 24LC512 EEPROM (64k), up to 4 EEPROMs can be connected for 8 banks
    ;;       (it is not possible to mix 32k with 64k EEPROMs, more than 4 64k devices not supported)

    24LC256: 8 EEPROMS, 8 banks

    24LC512: 4 EEPROMS, 8 banks

     

    Means: one 24LC512, 2 banks, two times a rising sound during startup, alright? :)

     

     

    And related question to that is (have been peeking around, but then again got a little confused): How to change access to banksticks in mbsid (v1.7/mios1.9) via MIDI, i.e. BankChange or sysex.

     

    See http://svnmios.midibox.org/filedetails.php?repname=svn.mios&path=%2Ftrunk%2Fapps%2Fsynthesizers%2Fmidibox_sid_v1%2Fdoc%2Fsid_cc_implementation_chart.txt

     

    CC # | Hex | Description                                  | Range       | Reset
=====+=====+==============================================+=============+======
   0 | 00h | Bank change                                  |  0-7: bank  |    0

    Best Regards, Thorsten.

  7. SeqV4+ My collection of Feature Proposals

    in MIDIbox SEQ

    Posted

    In MBSEQ you would transpose the notes played by a track centrally from a loopback track or external keyboard.

    Advantage: all tracks follow the transpose note (or chord if arpeggiator is used) at once.

     

    For those who prefer separate control, they could use different transpose/arpeggiator busses.

    4 Busses are available, which should be sufficient (I never used more than 2 busses by myself)

     

    @Daniel: I will reply to other ideas sooner or later (piecewise)

     

    Best Regards, Thorsten.

  8. Chord/Note handling relative to selected scale

    in MIDIbox SEQ

    Posted

    Some words how something similar could be achieved with the current firmware:

     

    Currently, the way the chord track type is implemented, if you choose a chord type A with force-to-scale set to off, you'd get a c major chord.  If you set force to scale to on, and choose the C major scale, you'd still have a C major chord.  But of you change the force to scale setting (for example, moving up the major scales - C#maj, Dmaj, etc.), then the chord changes - it doesn't stay a major chord (C# major, D major, etc.) because the force-to-scale rules are being applied to the component notes, changing the chord type.  This means that if you set up, for example, a i-iv-iv chord progression, and then change the force-to-scale setting, you won't have a i-iv-v progression anymore.

     

    The force-to-scale function allows you to set the root note to the one which is received from the transposer.

    Means: if you transpose from C to D (Track mode set to Transpose in the MODE menu page), the scale root will be automatically shifted by +2 and the played chords would still be proper major, playing the i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi, and vii and some other combinations depending on the selected chord number.

     

    The transpose function has to be enabled for the track similar to this tutorial: http://www.ucapps.de/midibox_seq_manual_tut3.html

    Only difference is, that you would set Root=Keyb in the MENU->Fx-Scale page.

     

    Note also, that it's possible to control the root note from a loopback track as well (there is a CC for this)

     

    Are you already aware of this possibility, or is this new to you?

     

     

    It would also be useful to have a NoteNum track type - where instead of setting an absolute note (C#, F, A, etc), the user could choose numbers 1-7, representing the relative position of the note in the selected scale.  These notes could also have an octave offset. When the force-to-scale setting is changed, the note played would be the note in the selected position relative to the selected scale, rather than the current implementation which takes an absolute note and moves it up or down one semitone to fit the selected scale.

     

    Well, easy: just use a drum track and configure the notes for the different trigger layers according to the chord members you want to play.

    Enable force to scale, and take either a static root note, or set the root note to Keyb

     

    Would this already solve your request?

     

    Best Regards, Thorsten.

  12. MIDIbox SEQ V4 Release + Feedback

    in MIDIbox SEQ

    Posted

    An update on the Novation Launchpad Mini experiment: I got the devices today.

     

    The adaption shouldn't be so difficult, although we will miss the second half of the original BLM16x16+X, and MBSEQ will also be loaded much more due to the poor LED control protocol (even the "optimized" solution is multiple times slower than my own protocol, especially when LED rows should be updated vertically). However, since it's a USB MIDI connection, we would probably never noticed this...

     

    But I've also bad news: the controllers won't work with a direct USB connection to a STM32F4 core due to three reasons:

     

    1) MIOS32 doesn't support USB hubs, which means that only a single device can be connected directly. Adding support for USB hubs will be a challenge, because there isn't so much information available in the internet which would directly help. Developing it from scratch would result into too much effort, and the only open sources I found so far are in the Linux driver, but even this one needs some days & try & error to get it working.

     

    2) even more annoying: a USB MIDI connection can't be established while connecting a single Novation Launchpad Mini to a STM32F4. The communication already stalls while STM32F4 tries to get the device descriptor. 

     

    3) But not only that: this device is the first one that I've seen so far which uses isochronous transfers instead of bulk transfers for USB MIDI; transfers will only take place each mS instead of "as soon as possible".

    Again a poor choice - I've no clue why this should make sense, e.g. data integrity is not guaranteed with this type of transfers (-> MIDI events can get lost)

     

    However, considering these flaws I think that Novation devices shouldn't be accessed directly by a MIOS32 core, but only from a computer (Mac or (Micro-)PC).

    And if a computer is involved anyhow, MBSEQ doesn't need to provide the remote device protocol directly, but it could still use it's own "optimized BLM protocol", and the translation to the remote device can be done externally.

     

    Thinking a bit further I come to the conclusion, that I could simply implement the "translation" into the BLM16x16+X emulation app!

    This might also add some more flexibility - let's see.

    More updates on this topic this weekend.

     

    Best Regards, Thorsten.

  14. Fast trigger option for organ keybeds?

    in MIDIfication

    Posted

    Yes, a software solution should be easy.

    Providing a switch which allows to change the behaviour during runtime is a bit more difficult, because this hasn't been considered yet.

     

    But if it's acceptable to provide a runtime control only for MBNG, and only via a .NGR command, then it wouldn't be a big deal.

     

    Best Regards, Thorsten.

  15. MIDIbox SEQ V4 Release + Feedback

    in MIDIbox SEQ

    Posted

    I'm glad that you are happy with the current solution :)

     

    Today I did some finetuning & minor improvements (e.g. display clearly shows if you are in the "EDIT RECORDING" mode), record page can now also be entered by pressing EDIT+GP12 button, etc...

     

    If somebody still notices imperfections, please check again with the final v4.086 release.

    @Gridracer: sounds like Live recording was enabled, and some notes were incoming from an external device.

    If this happens again check with the integrated MIDI Monitor if events are received over the MIDI port and channel which is selected in the Record page.

     

     

    Complete ChangeLog for V4.086:

    MIDIboxSEQ V4.086
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   o MIDI Learn for Drum notes in Track Event configuration page:
     on a drum track, press & hold button GP12 to set the drum note
     depending on the configured recording port & channel (which has to be
     configured in the RECORD page)

   o Edit page: press&hold a GP button to record directly into the selected step

   o Edit page: config page which was previously visible by pressing the SELECT
     button now displayed by pressing&holding EDIT button.
     SELECT button now toggles step recording mode

   o Edit page: added shortcut to Recording Config (EDIT+GP11/GP12)

   o Record page now allows to toggle the FTS and FX flag for MIDI Forwarding
     (same flags can be configured in LIVE page)

   o Step Recording: note length measurements now also working correctly when
     the sequencer is clocked in slave mode.

   o Track Event configuration page: VelN/VelA not displayed if they are
     not relevant for the selected configuration.

   o Clear function will clear all selected tracks

   o LFO page: Extra CC can now be disabled/enable with a separate switch

   o Echo page: echo can now be enabled/disabled without touching the repeat value 

     

    Best Regards, Thorsten.

  17. MIDIbox SEQ V4Lite

    in MIDIbox SEQ

    Posted

    V4L.086 is now available for download

     

    From the ChangeLog of V4L.085 (didn't got a public release) and V4L.086:

     

    MIDIboxSEQ V4L.086
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
   o Step Recording: note length measurements now also working correctly when
     the sequencer is clocked in slave mode.
 
 
MIDIboxSEQ V4L.085
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
   o new parameter LiveKeepChannel in MBSEQ_C.V4 file to change the MIDI forwarding function
     so that the MIDI channel won't be changed according to the selected sequence, but will
     be kept.
 
   o clock divider (configured while pressing the Tempo button) handled correctly for PitchBend and CC tracks

     

    Best Regards, Thorsten.

  19. Is this normal for a sammichSID? (three mono voices)

    in MIDIbox SID

    Posted

    Which firmware version are you using?

    And did you upload the firmware by yourself, or could it be that somebody else modified the default configuration?

     

    If not it makes sense to upload the latest version just to ensure that you are using the sammichSID under the same conditions like the other users who haven't reported such a problem yet.

     

    Best Regards, Thorsten.

  20. Motorfader anschließen

    in Deutsch

    Posted

    Hallo,

     

    es wundert mich nicht, dass der Fader die Position nicht mehr anfahren kann - wie soll er die momentane Position wissen, wenn der Wiper nicht an J2 angeschlossen wurde.

     

    Es gibt leider kein Tutorial; in der letzten Zeit wurden weiterfuehrende Infos meistens in diesem Thread bekanntgegeben: 

     

    Gruss, Thorsten.

  21. MIDIbox SEQ V4 Release + Feedback

    in MIDIbox SEQ

    Posted

    Well, I'm not blind...

    I developed the BLM16x16+X at a time where nothing comparable was available on the market aside from the super-expensive Monome (which only supported mono-colour LEDs). Multiple people tried to help me to make this project more DIY friendly (e.g. by creating PCBs), but without much success. We had problems to find an inexpensive Button/LED combo which will be available over long-term, and to make the PCB(s) "shipping friendly" for a small community.

     

    Meanwhile it doesn't make much sense to continue with this approach anymore: although a BLM16x16+X has still more button/LEDs with a perfectly suitable layout, the Launchpad Minis are cheaper, have a higher quality, could be used together with other SW and even have RGB LEDs instead of Duo-Colour LEDs -> more bang for the money.

     

    So, if such devices become some kind of inexpensive standard, it really makes sense to support this - not only for MIDIbox SEQ, but maybe also for MIDIbox NG!

    I'm always interested to find a solution which is interesting for as many users as possible.

    I'm not a DIY fanatic, instead I like the challenge to make unusual things happen.

     

    So: thank you for triggering this initiative at the right time, I feel that it will become a MIDIbox standard device for the next years  :rofl:

     

    Best Regards, Thorsten.

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