Axel

Hi Thorsten, haven´t been around here for some ...eh.. years, mainly because my LC emulations are still working nearly perfectly and do what they are supposed to do (help making music?!). Once in a while i have problems with some faders moving slowly or not completely reliable, so this new development could reanimate my former Midiboxeritis. To avoid sleepless nights thinking about it, i have a quick questions right now: Is it necessary to use the new STM32 Core to provide the Midi I/O for the new MF Core? Best regards, Axel

Done (in short...) ;) Axel

Hi Sounduke, i´m just betatesting Live 5, it now has full MCU support for up to one main unit and 2 extensions. It works really great, i think Ableton made the last step to make Live a better alternative to the established programs (Logic, Cubase etc.). So if you are working with Live i´d recommend upgrading to V5 and building a Midibox LC. You just have to configure it as a Mackie Control. I´m using the standard RSAON faders, they are ok. Axel

Hi Thorsten, nice to have you back...! I just sent a lengthy posting to Jajah Wisemix (..what a name!). I hope he will contact you. Many thanks also for the MF mod (see the other thread), Axel

Hi Steve, good to hear it´s working for you, too! My faders are touchsensitive, so you didn´t misunderstood..., but as i said, i can live with this. Best regards, Axel

Hi Steve, the same for me, but works after adding MIOS_MF_TouchDetectionReset to mios_vectors.inc. I just replaced the first "reserved" line. After a short test this morning it seems to work perfectly (although i didn´t use Touchmode 2 before). One thing i noticed was that more then three faders won´t let them be moved at the same time, but i think i can live with this... I will do a test with all three LCs this evening. Many thanks to Thorsten, Axel

Hi, There´s a guy on the ableton forum who has written a software to use a Yamaha 01X with Live 4 in Mackie Control emulation mode. It´s in beta stage now but you can control up to 64 channels, use the dial for scene switching and it even drives the displays! Problem is, it´s only half working on a Midibox LC (in Mackie mode), i.e. the displays are not working. As the guy has no MC for developing, he cannot really look into this problem, but i´m sure Thorsten should easily be able to tell him what to do... ;) You can meet him in his yahoo group ( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mcclive ) or answer to his thread on the live forum ( http://www.ableton.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12303 ). You can also send me a pm if you don´t want to register at the ableton forum or the yahoo group, i´ll make the contact then. Thanks, Axel

Hi Steve, i also had this on my LC´s. It´s a lot better since i build a well stabilized PSU with 5 A for my 24-channel box. Other than that i tweaked the calibration and voltage settings settings (need some patience for that...). The failures are now down to maybe one out of 50 bank changes, still i´m a bit worried because it´s very irritating if a fader fails in a complex mix..., so if you come to a better solution, please tell me... Axel

I cannibalized the buttons from my old analog console, they are not really cheap if you buy them new. I replaced the bulbs with LED´s, which i found easier than adding a driver circuit. Just carefully remove the glass of the bulb and solder the LED directly to the bulb socket. Axel

I got the Hartschaumplatte from a building store called Hornbach, but i think it´s available at other diy stores too. It´s similar to ABS (but softer) or Forex (but not so soft)... i hope these names are the same in english... The faders are from alps. Axel

Hi vdKroon, the modules are made of a material called `Hartschaumplatte`, which is very easy to work with, i.e. you can make the fader slots with a cutting knife. The grafics are printed with an ink-jet using HQ foto paper, cutted out and glued to the base material. The problem is to get the button holes into the paper. I´ve done this using a stand drill, but that´s definitely not the ultimate solution... Maybe i will make some aluminum modules with professional printing in the future... Here some pics: www.fast-cars.de/Midibox/LC24_029.jpg, www.fast-cars.de/Midibox/LC24_027.jpg, www.fast-cars.de/Midibox/LC24_035.jpg, www.fast-cars.de/Midibox/LC24_037.jpg, www.fast-cars.de/Midibox/LC24_046.jpg Axel

Hi Brad, I assume you are talking about the ones shown here: www.devlin.co.uk/main.html or www.devlin.co.uk/users/devnews.html#prod8 It´s a company in UK, so it should be easy for you to find out the pricing and availability. One problem (if not the prize...) might be that they are detented, so they won´t make use of the high resolution provided by MIOS, but maybe it´s possible to remove it. Axel

Hi Dan, of the 5 possible ShuttleXpress Buttons i use only two at the moment (´mute selected object´ and ´set locators to selection´), they are sitting in one row with the LC controls directly above the transport. Maybe i reconfigure some buttons later, i.e. i never use nudge mode, so this will be a potential free button. More than this it´s one of the advantages of the modular concept that it´s possible to make i.e. a complete new transport section in an easy way. As i have a small mixer beside the box i don´t need any mixing features in my box, i just want to switch between some inputs (DAW master, cd, monitor, mixer...) by pressing a button. At the moment i think about a high quality rotary switch, i think this would be the best way to maintain the integrity of the analog signal (i once build a switching circuit with FlipFlops and CD 4066 CMOS switches for my guitar setup, but that sounded quite crappy). The meters are the standard LC meters implemented by Thorsten. They are useful for saying ´Hey, there is a weak/strong signal´, but they have quite a big latency, so they won´t compete with a K-System Meter... ;). Despite of this they are looking really cool providing a touch of a real mixing console... Axel

Thanks for your comments! I build this box mainly because i sold my Soundcraft console which served as the housing for my old (now dead...) midibox. As it would have cost about 450 Euros to get the complete panels with all holes etc. made at Schaeffer, i decided to make a hybrid construction with the Schaeffer panels only providing frames for the selfmade modules. Beside the reduced costs this has the advantage that i can modify the modules in a relative easy way in the future (new features, colours, buttons...) without spending money on a new panel. I used 2x24 displays because i wanted the box to be compact and to reduce the overall costs, i.e. i got the blue displays at autronic-melchers for about 15 Euros each (ok, the other day i got 5 2x40 at ebay for 10 Euro alltogether...). Because of the smaller spacing i couldn´t use ledrings, so i just put 9 leds in a line. I could live completely without them as i´m always looking at the display parameters. If you use any other number of leds than eleven you have to change the ledring patterns, which is a little tricky... In order to have some analog controls for recording and monitoring, i added a simple passive volume pot (a quite expensive one from Alps) and a talkback unit based on a simple mic preamp from Conrad. There is also a switch to listen to the artists monitoring signal. I have provided some more I/Os for other things, but they are not used right now cause i first have to find a solution for a switching logic. Perhaps someone can help me out on this? The jog/shuttle control above the cursor buttons is a ShuttleXpress (www.contourdesign.com) which i put completely into the box. Configured to horizontal and vertical zoom it provides a much more comfortable way to navigate in the arrange than the original LC buttons do. It also has 5 free assignable buttons for functions the LC protocol lacks. I also put a complete midisport 4x4 into the box, so there are only two USB ports going out. The power supply shown in the pictures has been changed to stronger one. It´s important to provide at least 1.5 A for each set of 8 motorfaders to get a stable function. If i´d have to build this again i would definitely spent some time to make a complete set of pcb´s integrating buttons, encoders and leds with a simple and solderless connector system. That´s because i spent most of the time getting the vectorboards cabled and connected which is not really the funniest part of the job... Best regards, Axel

Hi Dan, as Frank said, you do this in lc_hlp.inc under LC_HLP_MsgCursorPos. You can position your messages just by counting the characters and spaces (retlw 0x00 + x for the first LCD, retlw 0x80 + x for the second, x goes from 0 to 39). By default lc_hlp.inc gives the arrangement of my controller (two 40x2 displays). It´s also possible to shorten the messages, i.e. to have 8 channels on a 40x2 LCD with 4 characters per channel plus a space between each. To do this you have to push the not-to-be-displayed characters to a non physically existent position (i.e. retlw 0x00 + 40). I´m just saying this because after working for half a year with my 16 channel controller, i noticed that it is quite confusing always having to shift the faders in a big arrangement. Now i´m planning to build 32-channel controller which would be too large (and expensive) if i´d take 2 LCDs per 8 channels. The most obvious drawback of only using 4 characters per channel is that you possibly cannot differentiate between some parameters of FX and softsynths. On the other hand i have noticed that i make very rare use of editing synths and complex FX with the controller because it´s no fun to scroll through 100+ parameters to find the one to be edited. BTW, Logic 6 users don´t have this problem anymore: in 6 it´s possible to add some parameters as automation tracks to the arrange; this parameters are then shown on the LCD in a special track view. Sorry for spreading the topic... ;) Axel

Hi, sorry for the late reply, i took a little break... ;-) First, thanks for your comments and compliments. I don´t know if your questions are already answered, i´ll try it anyways. See above in this thread and the pics at the end of this posting It´s just cut out, but there should be a better way using a custom made panel for the LCDs. I stole them from my old Soundcraft console (the one you see on the pics giving my LC a home...); i just replaced the electric bulbs with LEDs. First i made a flat plexiglas cylinder (app. 30mm in diameter and 5mm high) with a hole for the potshaft on a lathe. After that i made the LED holes with the help of a plastic template. They are going just half through the plexi providing a nice indirect illuminating effect. See this pictures (really bad ones, sorry...) Best regards, Axel

Hi MrMusicman, Also I think I read somewhere, that the LEDrings are connected to the same chain of Dout module as the single LED, and the encoder is in the same chain of Din modules used for button input. That´s right, just put the DINs and DOUTs for the Encoders/LED-rings somewhere in the chain and configure them in mios_tables.inc (encoders/LEDs rings) and lc_io_table.inc (normal buttons/LEDs). You can also use the open in/outs on the encoder/LED-ring boards for some more buttons/LEDs. It´s a good idea to have some spare pins for extensions like layer-switching, display modes, LED meters and future features ;) Best, Axel

Hi Ian, it´s 33,02 mm (inch-based ruler) for my box, but you can vary the spacing of the LCD characters in the software (lc_help.inc, display mode 0 or 1). Best is to download a datasheet for your display to get the right spacings. Axel

Hi Uclaros, I'm interested in your buttons that you said are made by plexiglass. Could you describe how you've made them? I made them on a friend´s lathe out of round plexiglass material. They are 9mm in diameter and have a hole at the bottom to fit on the microbuttons. It´s a very cheap solution because the microbuttons are only about 10 cents/pP. I bought them from Buerklin in Germany (www.buerklin.com, do a search for G070.612) but i think you should get similar ones at other places. Axel

Hi, thanks very much for your comments... :) Dan: i did the layout in Illustrator and gave it to a printservice. They did an ink-print of it and applied a foil to protect it against light and scratches. After that i cutted the holes with a tool i don´t know the name of even in german ;); it´s more or less a tube with sharp edges on one side... TUX: the price of the whole thing is about 850 Euro, but that´s mostly caused by the motorfaders (20 Euros/pP) and the displays (4x 40 Euro). The buttons i made of plexiglas, the panel is made of a plastic material similar to ABS which is very easy to work with. I drilled and cutted the holes with a technique described by Dan in another thread. The result is not as "real" as a metal or aluminum panel, but with a good frame for stability it´s a good compromise (espacially compared to have it done by schaeffer which would´ve been 400-500 Euros... ) Compared to buying a "real" LC + XT for about 2.400 Euros it´s a good deal, i think... ;). Even if i had the money i would prefer to build a MIOS based Box because you have much more possibilities (free configuration and design, layer switching, SID control...) Steve: which soundcard do you have? It should have ASIO2 drivers to be a good companion for logic. Best regards Axel

Hallo Sly, der in den ALPS Fadern eingebaute touchsensor besteht eigentlich nur aus einem zusätzlichen Kontakt, der mit dem T-Lever verbunden ist (der linke Kontakt, wenn du von hinten auf den Fader guckst). Damit das Ganze mechanisch funktioniert, brauchst du metallisierte Faderknöpfe, die es in chrom oder schwarz auch bei ALBS gibt. Um den Touchsensor auszuwerten, kannst du einfach das letzte freie Schieberegister auf der DIN4x Platine der Encoder nutzen und in der lc_io_table.inc die Einträge entsprechen anpassen (ich gehe davon aus, dass du Mikes Platinen verwendest). Du musst nur die 100k Widerstände gegen 47k tauschen (oder jeweils 100k parallel legen, falls du keine 47ks zur Hand hast). Ausserdem musst du die +5V Leiterbahnen vor diesen Widerständen auftrennen. Dann verbindest du die beiden "Sammelpunkte" und führst eine einzelne Leitung zu J14 auf dem Core. Wichtig ist, das dein Körper beim "touchen" geerdet ist; wenn du eine Metallfrontplatte einsetzt, solltest du diese also mit der Masse deiner Schaltung verbinden. Die Sensibilität des Touch-Mechanismusses kannst du in der main.asm mit dem Parameter TOUCHSENSOR_SENSITIVITY einstellen. 0 gibt nach meiner Erfahrung die höchste Sensibilität, default ist 3. Das war jetzt wohl ein bisschen kompliziert erklärt, ist aber in Wirklichkeit ganz einfach... ;) Viel Erfolg, Axel

Wichtig ist, dass die Encoder-DINs und die LED-Ringe-DOUTs jeweils am ENDE der Kette hängen, sonst funktionieren die dahinter liegenden Buttons/Leds nicht. Nehme das zurück... :-[ Habe gerade rausgefunden, dass ein defektes Schieberegister der Grund dafür war, das das bei mir nicht funktioniert hat. Vielleicht sollte ich mal andere Schuhe beim Basteln tragen... ;) Axel

Hallo Sly, das einfache zuerst: die LCDs werden einfach 1:1 verbunden, bis auf den enable-Anschluss (E) des zweiten LCDs, der mit Pin RC4 des PICs verbunden wird. das "Rauschen" der Fader kann mehrere Gründe haben: zuerst solltest du checken, ob Masse und +5V richtig an den Fader-"Enden" verbunden sind (am besten führst du zwei Leitungen direkt vom core zu den Fadern) Als nächstes würde ich mal die mf-Testfirmware aufspielen, um sicher zu stellen, dass die Fader alleine funktionieren. Sollte das so sein, liegt der Fehler wohl in der Software-Konfiguration: main.asm: hier musst du die Position der shift register einstellen, an denen die LED-Ringe hängen, und zwar angefangen bei 0 (!), normalerweise also 8, 10, 11 oder 4, 6, 7. mios_tables.inc: hier stellst du die Position der shift register für die Encoder ein (ist in der Datei gut erklärt), die Zählung fängt hier aber bei 1 an lc_io_table.inc: hier weist du die Buttons und LEDs den DIN/DOUT shift registern zu. Wichtig ist, dass die Encoder-DINs und die LED-Ringe-DOUTs jeweils am ENDE der Kette hängen, sonst funktionieren die dahinter liegenden Buttons/Leds nicht. Ich hoffe, das hilft dir weiter... :) Axel

Look this: http://www.midibox.org/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=concepts;action=display;num=1046695347 Axel

Look this: http://www.midibox.org/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=concepts;action=display;num=1046695347 Axel