dengel

Looked around for a quality ASIO sound card and with multiple outs that wouldn't break the bank, and I finally decided on a combo of the PC/MCIA based Audigy 2 ZS and an M-Audio Uno. Installed last night, and was able to get 20ms latencies on the card, no popping. CPU usage was low (never rose above 10% on a 2.8ghz Hyperthreaded p4, even with 4 channels with EQs and 2 effects channels going simultaneously. In addition to sounding great, it also has all the neat-o gaming and DVD features for when I am not playing with ableton - bonus! I got mine on eBay for just $50 plus shipping of $11. That's $61 for a card that does 24/96 ASIO with 4 Channels stereo - if I dropped it to 16 bit, I got what looked like 14 outputs stereo in Ableton Live's prefs box. The only drawback is that it has no MIDI in/Out, so you have to use a second device - I chose the UNO, which at $30 is a great all-in-one solution that even has the midi cables built in. The whole setup is also a snap to keep in the laptop bag. since it's so very small. So, for my needs (Live performance with Ableton Live) This setup is ideal at the price point. ALSO: The same guy that sold me my card is selling another, same price: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6877401639&ssPageName=MERC_VIC_ReBay_Pr4_PcY_BIN_IT

I am actually using plastic shaft pots from Bournes that I found for next to nothing (.75 a piece!). There are potential issues if you are really tough on equipment, but if not then there's no big difference. The forces applied to the shaft are primarily rotational, and so a composite shaft is just fine - particularly in the larger sizes. But I tested my pot choice through 1 straight hour of back and forth twisting - no degredation noted, and that is on a 1/8" shaft! EDIT: No Masturbation jokes please. :P

http://www.knitter-switch.com/Products/eng/main7.htm Check out the "Rotary Pulse Switch" - It is an analog rotary that mechanically emulates a detented rotary encoder. When you turn the knob clockwise, it generates one signal, and when you turn the other way it sends a different signal. Like a Joystick, this will take two pot positions in your design, actuated from the same post/knob. Some people run out of encoders before pots - if you've run out and need encoder type behavior (and have 2 or more open pots left) then this type of switch might make a good substitute for you. Learned about it here: http://www.mikesflightdeck.com/switches+indicators_1.htm

Haha! Sorry; forgot I had seen other post where he mentioned Ableton just before I saw this post. Great explanation of why Momentaries are almost universally used for MB stuff.

Lot of 45 Pushbuttons, 25 of them are illuminated: $25 usd: Square D industrial brand. http://cgi.ebay.com/illuminated-std-push-button-switches-lot-45-square-D_W0QQitemZ7616706328QQcategoryZ42898QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Thanks so much, Raph. I figured that was it, but wanted confirmation from a second source. 1 more bit of knowledge added to the brain bank. EDIT: Yes, tested and the A and K are the BL. Need to get a connector for the socket today so I can wire it up.

Yeah, David "The Hulk" Banner is right.... Don't worry, as you need to do things it will all become clear. Don't limit your reading to just MB stuff. General electronics information with really simple examples will help you a lot as you transition the things to your project; They'll also help you figure out things as you realize that ALL the electronics are based around the same basic concepts. My suggestion is to look up general info about (in no particular order): Difference between Switch Types (particularly SPST, DPST, and SPDT types, all of which have their uses) as well as what is meant by Normally On and Normally Off. Why too LITTLE power is a bad thing Ohm's Law and the relationship between Volts, Amps, and Resistance. The Midi specification and what "Note On/Note Off messages mean. What is meant by the term "Ground" re electronics. What do Resistors, Diodes, Capacitors, Regulators, Rectifiers, and IC's do (most of your MB project will involve these parts or some variant thereof. An example is a single resistor versus a resistor net (like on the R3 DINs from smashTV) This link for soldering help Best Ever, IMO: http://www.circuittechctr.com/guides/7-0.shtml Lastly - do yourself a favor and buy Smash's board kits. They are incredible, well packed, and make assembly a breeze. Even if you think you can do it yourself cheaper - you can't, unless you already have the stuff lying around and like noxious chemicals.

Below is the 2x16 LCD Pinout Diagram for an LCD I have... The only issue is that I do not have a B+ and B- on the pin headers. Unlike some LCD's, this has a 2row by 7 (14 total) female socket connector. All the items you'd expect are there except B+ and B-; I am wondering what these inputs do (are they backlight power, for instance?) NO. Symbol Function 1 VCC Power supply for Logic circuit 2 VSS Ground (0V) 3 V0 Power Supply for Driving the LCD 4 RS Data / Instruction select 5 R/W Read / Write select 6 E Enable signal 7-14 DB0-DB7 Data Bus line On the right of the LCD, there are two connectors, labeled A and K, for the LED backlight. I just don't want to fry the LCD, as money is a bit tight. This panel was $6.95, which for a local buy seemed pretty good. for new, bagged equipment. If anyone else wants one, I can buy them and ship them in the US for price plus materials and shipping (maybe around $10-11). Full Specs here: http://www.compel.ru/pdf/lcd/DataVision/DV-16230.pdf

Stryd, this depends on the application. Ableton's solo/cue behavior by default toggles back and forth between on/off in the software, even with a momentary switch. I've tested this with both MIDI and Kb input. I think that Meef should look into whether an event must be sent CONTINUOUSLY or Mometarily to determine the switch type. In things like Power, obviously you want the switch to always stay in the closed position when enabled, in which case a mechanical toggle is a good choice. But in the case of software functions, many are activated by a note event and kept going, and deactivated the next time the same note is pressed.

Meef, I don't really get why you want latching buttons - the software handles the toggle nature of the functions you described (for an example, map a solo/cue to a keyboard button to see how it works, even though the keyboard switch is momentary). I would use spst momentary switches (I *am* using them :) ) and then trigger a status LED using a DOUT module, if you need the status - alternately, you can just use the monitor to tell you what's on and what's off. BTW, I believe Ableton is skinnable, although I've never cared enough to get into that feature - so if you wanted to, you could modify things to make them more visible onscreen.

I figured that resurecting this thread might bring up an answer. vMidibox looks like a cool tool, but much of its functionality seems hidden. For instance, I went through and tried to label pots, etc. There was no save function, so I figure that maybe storing a sysex dump might be what saved stuff, but no luck. Also, does anyone have a custom VMB file they've done that might serve as an example of how to layout your own "skin"? It would be a great service to the community if anyone that understands what this program does and how it works would write a short tutorial on how one might use it to create your own vmidibox.

AWESOME! Thanks, Thomas. Looking forward to learning more; mine hasn't arrived yet.

Well, as you may know from "Latest News" My boards came in from SmashTV, and they built up great. Today, I got a Midisport UNO from M-Audio, hooked my core up along with my 9v, 1.67Amp PSU, and..... It All Works! I have successfully loaded MIOS 1.9 to the core, and have to say that thanks to the tutorial with pictures and the MIOS Studio utility, it was easy as can be. I felt like I was watching "Wargames" as all the fun Midi sysex messages flew across the screen. Tonight I will build up the rest of the modules (I've only done the core and 1 DIN so far), and then it's onto the Midibox64 customizations. EDIT: All modules - 2AIN, 2DIN, 1DOUT, 1 Core - are all built. The core sends its random messages now that M64 Hex is uploaded - now I have to learn how to modify the main file so I can get my midibox programmed. This part proceded much faster than I thought - time to get on that panel construction!

Another update: I built the core module and 1 din tonight, and they went together perfectly. To solder, I used a cheap little clips/magnifier stand. I taped the items to the top surface and worked from beneath, with a small, pointy 40 watt iron and a 60/40 solder. Many thanks again to Tim - without his service, I couldn't have done this. Tomorrow I'll get a USB/MIDI interface and start testing the core, but it all looks golden under the glass.

I wanted to write in and say that I received my parts from Mr. TV yesterday, and : WOW. That had to be one of the most professional packing jobs I have ever seen. Every kit comes individually wrapped so that the parts for each piece are kept seperate until you are ready to work with them, and the PCBs are all shrink-wrapped together in a nice tight brick. Went out and bout a 5v wall-wart today, 2.4 amps of power goodness which should be enough to run everything. Also bought a smaller soldering iron for the detail work. Seriously, Tim - thanks for the excellent presentation.

That's one reason I chose the Liteon; the Liteon PCB has through holes on each matrix pre-drilled. This is actually a pretty new KB, it is a USB keyboard that shipped with my Dimension 9100 in December. I haven't had any lockup issues with it. It always just acts as a second KB. The shift key is a problem. In order to prevent ghosting, you have to install unidirectional diodes all over the place. Windows treats all KB input in a single batch. That is, if you press the shift key on one keyboard, the entire system will now be shifted on ALL keyboards. You can do as you suggested, and it is practical for a few switches, but gets pretty complicated once you get more than a few buttons because you have to use DPST switches for all your shifted keys. Even then, if you press more than one at a time, you can get ghosting problems that aren't acceptable for live performance. While the KB solution will work for some purposes (for instance, as a power source for always on LEDs, or as a replacement for some DIN buttons if you've gone slightly over the 64 limit), in the end I've found that a DIN is an easier solution - and probably cheaper too. I have opted for an all midiBox solution with Bome's Midi Translator as an intermediary for those functions that are only KB controllable. EDIT: forget Notepad - get a program called Keyscan or Ghostkey; these will help you alot.

Shouldn't this topic go somewhere else? EDIT: Thanks, Smash.

Similar but unrelated: Radioshack has a 60-key midi keyboard on sale that costs 60 bucks. Has anyone ever dissected a midi KB and reused the guts for another project?

Thomas, do you have the unit in your posession? Do you know how high the buttons are ,from the top surface of the keypad flashing (the surface the buttons protrude out of)? My only remaining concern is if they will stick out of a 3mm aluminum panel at least 1 MM.

Man, Sorry! I suggest that if anyone else is bidding, that they put it here so this doesn't happen again. If you need 32 buttons, do a search for "Lights Out Deluxe" which has a 6x6 grid. There are 2 for sale. I am planning on bidding on a Lights Out from Narcisses-Collectibles; it will be $15 shipped. That rounds out the buttons I need. Thomas, would you want to sell yours instead? Also, I confirmed that the construction of the lights out games is a PCB mount with a single sheet of silicon buttons.

Exactly. I have a pretty good relationship with the clubs I play at - they are willing to try new things, so I'm not concerned. We've had Sasha's Involver tour, BT's Laptop Symphony Tour, etc come play and they've (like it or not) opened the eyes of a lot of club owners (and clubbers!) to the digital realm. It's funny, but DJs themselves are some of the most luddite-esque of the whole bunch. And with you on the laptop total agreement from you there - It was why I went to the CDXs - I just hated lugging vinyl around, and I liked the freedom to play tracks that I edited rather than having to remember - this song does something weird at 1:23... There's nostalgia value there, but I just want to play a good set, and I'll use whatever I can to make that happen.

Yes, I've done it but it is VERY difficult, primarily because the closest I came to playing live with...well, Live was a coffee shop gig, and I used just a KB and Mouse, like your buddy. It was this gig that actually precipitated me finding this site, after looking at the crappy state of commercial controllers. My old setup was a pair of Numark CDX's, which is what I used for mobile gigs, otherwise I just used the 1200's at the club. I had to sell the CDX's last year because of work done to the house :( . This was one of the saddest moments of my DJ life, because i will tell you that the CDXs were the best piece of equipment I ever owned. At least for Progressive and House, they performed flawlessly week after week, and I cannot say enough good things about them. When I first tried Ableton, I just didn't "get" it. But my buddy, who had been using it longer than me, showed me the light. It's a really neat tool.

Without some kind of control, you have to be very quick and precise with the mouse, and you can only work one control at a time - you can't simultaneously lower Mid and Low, for instance, or change the parameters of the ping pong delay and its curve. Some of these things can be fixed via keyboard (PC, not midi) control, but not the important ones. If you are mixing very dynamically, you need a controller - just as you can't truly get the most out of Traktor with a mouse, Ableton just works better when you've got the ability to do multiple things at once. Ableton can be a jukebox, or a very dynamic on the fly re-editor. I have no doubt that one could fill up session view with 400 tracks and play for days, one after the other - but get 20 songs split into 20 pieces, and it's a different story. Alot depends on how you use the program. On the 56, I forgot to mention I was including a row of the scene play buttons as well, so I meant 7x8. That's what happens when you are trying to finish a post just before leaving work!

Meef, usually DXF will work. If you can get TWO panels cut ( ;) ) I'd be happy to work up a front panel for you based on your sketches. I would need EXACT dimensions for all the holes, though; These can be obtained from the data sheets of the switches,pots, encoders, and LEDs that you have decided to use.

I am the proud owner of an older model "Lights Out" game, and I should get it in a few days. Won it on eBay. BTW, the buttons are rubbery, confirmed from an owner of the toy.