Hawkeye
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Posts posted by Hawkeye
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@Altitude yes, with that problem description ("flashable by mini USB"), i'd also think it could be the core headers or anything in the connectivity path from the MCU to the LoopA core USB port - e.g. the TVS protection diode is relatively small and might fit in in a few orientations :).
@jplebreno problem, to answer a few questions:
* a "step recording mode" should be possible, i.e. the LoopA could record in this mode on an "armed" clip, if the sequencer engine is not running and could proceed the sequence position by configurable time-increments/intervals, e.g. by quarter notes - this would then be very much like SEQ based step recording.
* scene-switching or muting/unmuting of tracks would also be easy targets for remote MIDI control, would implement it, when more people request it
* yes, in the future, a song mode is planned, you can even see its prepared menu icon on github :)
https://github.com/midibox/mios32/blob/master/apps/sequencers/LoopA/gfx/LoopAIconFont.png
In a LoopA session, you have scenes, which already allow a kind-of song arrangement - but for now, you'd still manually need to cycle through scenes with the upper-left encoder.
Regarding the MatriX - there's no official teaser out yet, we've been working on it since a while now and we hope to be able to reveal something at some point in time, but we won't give a certain date (lesson learned with the v4+/LoopA) :) - you can google a few youtube demos about the BLM 16x16+X - the MatriX will be its successor with improved hardware and also with support to attach it to the LoopA as well - there are two BLM ports, so you can have one MatriX connected to a LoopA and a SEQ v4+.Finally as a good SEQ v4+ manual, i'd recommend to use the v4 beginner's guide - it's very well written and shows the capabilities - the v4+ is just like the v4 with an additional selection bar - what is selected is determined by the circular arranged buttons around the jogwheel - you could select tracks, layers, mutes, ... here's the recommended handbook: http://wiki.midibox.org/doku.php?id=mididocs:seq:beginners_guide:start
Best regards,
Peter -
@Altitude thanks, just considered opening up an ASMR channel if everything else fails, but then googled it and saw there is some unfair competition out there
.
The soldering should be flawless on your side, so i scratched my head and remembered @Smithy having a similar problem - it turned out he used an old MIOS Studio version, which would not be able to talk properly with the new bootloader - could you check if you're using the newest MIOS Studio 2.4.9?
Another idea - are you by chance using a Mac? With their newest O.S. i think the USB ports are not renamed after flashing a firmware via MIOS Studio - that would mean you'd already have the LoopA software on, but the USB port is still listed as MIOS bootloader - if that's the case, there is a way to reset the USB cache, quoting TK.:
"So far we only noticed a minor issue when an app changes the number of USB MIDI ports or the device name. Such changes won't be taken over automatically, instead you've to delete the old interface description in the Audio-MIDI-Setup:
- start the Audio-MIDI-Setup of MacOS (e.g. search for "audio-midi" with Spotlight)
- disconnect the core module from USB
- delete the interface in the Audio-MIDI-Setup
- connect the core module to USB again"
If that also was not the cause, i think there should be the option to directly connect a mini-USB Cable to the waveshare daughterboard on top of the LoopA core - then i think the Waveshare Core power selection switch needs to be set to USB - this should then allow MIOS Studio to upload the hex directly. If that worked, there might be a connectivity problem between Waveshare core and the LoopA core USB port.
If uploading via the mini USB port also fails, we'd kindly ask for pictures of the front and backside of the core PCB to have a closer look :)
Best regards!
Peter -
@momelq thanks for the very interesting link to the music analysis tool - i think something like this should be doable as a future extension, if we can define/narrow down the function properly.
I'm currently working on a new v2.07 prerelease version of the LoopA and will incorporate the smaller things like the piano fx command, moved faster/slower keys, a screensaver mode that allows completely turning off the screen and will report back to you with that version - we're also just working on the bigger MatriX, so time is at a premium at the moment, but will do what we can :).
An undo feature has been requested before - the problem is as Andy says, it's very hard to know when a recording started or stops (to know when the undo buffer needs to be filled) - i.e., when you are in "armed" mode you could record at any time - especially so when we extend the LoopA for CC recording, there might be just a CC event automatically "recorded" that you're not even aware of, e.g. a minimal modwheel position change/glitch.
But there's a manual solution for this: what i currently do (before recording over any "good" clip at least) is to just push "copy" and copy that clip into the memory buffer of the LoopA - when overdubbing/jamming failed (often so! :)), i just push "paste" to revert to the previous state - this makes experimentation/jamming easy, as you need not fear to destroy a previously recorded already nice-sounding clip.
Also, i've got the hanging notes on the radar - these should normally not occur, as the sequencer engine should handle those, but, you're right, i also managed to trigger them from time to time, i.e. i know it happens, when a key/note that is live-forwarded to a synth is pressed, then the track channel is changed and then the note is released, then the original synth will not get the MIDI note off anymore, as the "track config" changed.
A "MIDI panic" key-combination would be easiest to implement and might be the solution to go for - but probably a general solution could also be found.
@jplebre thanks for your nice words and your interest in the LoopA! Andy has answered most already, there is one more note - we're currently working on the bigger MatriX extension basically for the SEQ v4+, but your LoopA will also be supported by it - with the MatriX you will be able to do "step style graphical sequence recording" on the LoopA, similar to the SEQ v4+. But Andy is right - the SEQ v4+ is the step sequencer with lots of features, the LoopA is more of a (possibly) unquantized noteroll sequencer/idea generator not optimized for single note entry - the SEQ has the clear advantage in this area with its big single-note displays and 16 dedicated encoders for note adjustment. But: you can reduce the tempo of the LoopA and slowly (at e.g. 30bpm) "type in" a sequence. In conjunction with the inbuilt metronome this works surprisingly well even for complicated sequences. With the quantization you can then get rid of any "human" timing errors - give it a try, it's not that much different from "note-by-note" sequence entering known from the step sequencers.
We currently don't support MIDI export/import in the LoopA, but could implement it in a later firmware, if there are enough requests. But maybe it's not really necessary - exporting/importing MIDI files via SD card or MIOS studio filebrowser will never be really a "fun job" or straightforward, as files have to be first created and then copied around. But what already works really nicely is to connect your LoopA to any other sequencer or DAW and live-transfer the sequences, just record them live over to the other sequencer/DAW. I've been doing this often with the SEQ v4+ and the LoopA - both units are MIDI clock synchronized and a "step" on the LoopA (if quantized) will be on the exact same step on the SEQ v4+. So, you can take your portable LoopA with you, record some melody ideas and later on attach it to any other sequencer, just record from there and refine those ideas.
Regarding your last question of reducing the SEQ footprint - as Andy said, i don't think it makes much sense, you just need all function/displays of the SEQ for proper use, even if it looks slightly intimidating, it is not that large, it's about ~44 x ~13 x ~8cm and filled to the top with electronics, not much space is wasted in there :).
Many greets,
Peter -
@momelq thanks Robert, that all makes sense - i'll notify you when there is a prerelease version with the temporary piano effect available for testing :).
The STM32F4 is a quite powerful MCU and there are still resources left - the sequencer engine eats not up that many cpu cycles, the rest is used as a low-priority background task for the display refreshes. So, if we add a CPU-hungry subroutine on a clip, the worst that would happen first is that the screen refresh rate goes down a bit - but of course, it all depends on how complex the algorithm would be. We've also got a bit of RAM to spare (depends a bit on the resolution of the CC storage). If you want to describe the algorithm (via email is also possible), i'd be all ears, but can't promise anything! :)
No temporary sustain FX then, it's probably really not necessary or could even be manually activated with separate sustain pedals of the connected synths.
Have a nice evening and best regards!
Peter -
Hi Robert,
glad it works now and thanks a lot for your feedback, that is always very welcome!
I'm currently working on v2.07, which should be released in a few weeks - it will have these new features:
a) CC recording support (finally! :)) - for smooth recorded filter sweeps and such :)
b) Additional single track progression mode instead of the standard full-scene progression: pushing the upper left encoder knob will switch between these modes - in single track progression you can then just replace a single clip instead of the full scene, i.e. you could progress the drum clip to the next scene while all other melody clips will continue to play in the current scene. This feature will also be required for the BLM/MatriX hardware extension integration for the LoopA, that then has discrete buttons for "launching any clips" out of the 6x6 clip matrix.
c) Potentially, but not yet confirmed/developed: support for track lengths different than powers of two, allowing for e.g. three quarter time sequences or polyrhythmic sequences (i know it's important on the paper, but really nobody requested it yet, everyone is obviously only using "common time"/four-four time currently :))I'd be glad to add one of your feature requests to the next version as well! I've written down your requests in the wishlist for future firmware developments and would implement them as time is available - no objections against any of your ideas!
Short feedback regarding the ideas:
1. "Piano mode" would be a good "FX Screen" command, as unused key slot #2 in the "Track screen" is reserved for the new Track type selection (which will be used for the CC recording mode :)). Great idea with dampening the velocities of the currently active clip! We could also implement a "hold" key as well that would sustain all played notes while it is pressed, but we would have to be careful with the user interface, when six commands per screen are used up, no future extensions on that screen are possible - it is a design choice of the LoopA that it should be a simple and quick to use unit, that is not overloaded with features :).
2. No problem! Yes, we can just switch off the OLED, should be an easy config option. As the OLED does not shine at "mad brightness levels" like modern mobiles, the OLED life itself should be very good nevertheless - i still have my first 256x64 Newhaven OLED, that Thorsten helped me write the display driver for - that was back in 2011 - and it was on for very long and the brightness is still relatively good. The note playback animation from LoopA V1 was currently removed because it used quite a lot of memory, which i thought was better used elsewhere.
3. Yes, this is already planned for the future, but it will be a bit more time-intense to develop. But both the beatloop "time-jump" table as well as the transposition table should be ultimately configurable on a per session-basis, so you're not limited to the presets. The transposition selection will be implemented in the "LTr" - Live Transposition selection in the track screen, currently it is just off/on, later on you can choose a transposition table, that could be loaded from SD card for complete programmability.
Which feature would you prefer most in v2.07? :)
Have a good evening and best regards!
Peter -
As posted two years ago, i'd still think adding a completely new note system with support for microtonal scales within the SEQ V4(+) sounds technically difficult, as all data structures would need updating. But if i am not totally wrong, the solution with sending normal MIDI notes in conjunction with the pitchbend layer should already work now in the SEQ without any software change? It's just yet a bit difficult to use, as the microtonal pitches would just need to be entered by hand as a pitch-bend layer on top of the normal note sequence?
So, i might be wrong, but would think the SEQ can technically already do it, but we primarily don't have a convenient way to record microtonal sequences there, yet? To connect some dots... we're currently working on the 16x16+X BLM successor codenamed "MatriX" :) - every user would then have a huge 16x16 key matrix available for use with the SEQ - if @TK. would agree to the general idea, this hardware extension might be used to record these microtonal note sequences in a special entry mode? So basically, the MatriX would know about the microtonal scale(s) and would record on the SEQ on two layers at once - on the note layer, and on the pitch bend layer - problem solved? :) I'd be interested to investigate this - so, a question: how could for example a 16-EDO microtonal scale/note system be mapped to a 16x16 key matrix for easy/human understandable inputs/note playing? Inputs would not be velocity sensitive, but that's probably good enough - velocities are always easy to edit within the SEQ itself - just would need to turn a few encoders in the velocity layer.
Many greets and have a nice sunday!
PeterPS: I'd also be really interested to explore those microtonal sequences - mostly to be able to explore new melody possibilities with normally unheard note pitches :). - it would be interesting to see how microtonal sequences could be mixed with standard-note sequences. Potentially you could make some really interesting basslines or lead melodies, if they used mostly "normal" notes, but would "detune" a few notes to achieve microtonal pitches - so just that the ear/brain keeps wondering what special uncommon note(s) it just heard :).
2nd PS: @Antichambre, i would not be worried too much about a limitation to a single synth voice per MIDI channel. Most polysynths can enter multimode, where you could assign multiple "same" patches to different MIDI channels - so this solves the problem, if you really need chords on a single polysynth. If that seems difficult to use, there's still the option to break the chord down to a very quickly played arpeggio, like it was done in the good old chiptune times (due to a lack of polyphony of e.g. the SID chip) :).
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1 hour ago, m.str said:
EDIT: So i just looked up that a trunk folder is something like a master branch in Git. I guess that as an environment variable for the MIOS32_PATH i just need to select the location that exactly depicts the folder-layer shown when clicking on the link above..
Welcome to the MIDIbox forums! :-)
Yes, that is correct. At some point in time, TK. moved away from using subversion as a code revisioning system and moved on to git, which is a bit more modern. During this process, "trunk" was removed, so if you find any old documentation or file paths referencing to it, you can just remove this part of the directory tree.
Have fun and many greets,
Peter -
4 hours ago, Phatline said:
ok i want to order the metalcase kit with the old caps - since i am in hurry... how we do that? - i have registered on midiphy.
Thanks for building one! :) We'll send out your kit tomorrow.
Hope you'll like building and using your new LoopA! Do we have a chance to see a stop-motion build video from you? :-) @Smithy created one video for the acrylic case LoopA, but there is none for the metal LoopA yet! :). Also, with the metal case you will not have to cut the 100 waveshare board pins, as there is enough room in the metal case - this should save some work! :)
Have a good evening and many greets,
Peter -
@Dimduj can't exactly tell the absolute values, but we performed an "ear-based" tracking test together with TK. - while we've not got the "youngest ears :)", still to us there was no audible pitch difference between a MIDI controlled digital oscillator to a eurorack CV controlled analog oscillator over many octaves tested. So, i think 15-20 cent note variation sounds high and should be audible when listened to closely. We've not yet performed exact measurements (other than those with a DMM) and just can tell what we heard :).
There might be two pitfalls that cause imprecision:
a) Calibration with a DMM, that was not very precise.
b) The analog VCO used as a eurorack module is itself not tracking perfectly, even if supplied with the correct control voltage.If you calibrated with a good digital multimeter, after calibration, the SEQ should reliably output the "CV" of every octave with a precision of about two millivolts, that's at least what i was able to reproduce when measuring with the DMM. In my super rough :) calculations, if an octave spans over 1000mV, assuming linearity between notes (which is not the case), each semitone of an octave would have about 83mV of "range". Now, if the DAC achieves an output voltage result that is within the range of say +/- 2 mV for every note, the "error" would be within the range of 2/83 or about 2 cent instead of 15-20. That is assuming the conditions a) (good DMM) and b) (good VCO) are met.
More questions regarding your calibration process:
a) did you have to enter high values to trim the actual DAC output voltages of every octave to get close to every octave's target voltage?
I remember not having used correction offsets of values > 20 per octave during the calibration process. If you needed high values there, this would indicate the DAC would loose a bit of its 12bit output precision, as the SEQ would have to do some more internal interpolation to reach the voltage targets.b) are all of your CV channels behaving similarly? The DAC channels might have slight performance differences.
c) Can you configure a SEQ track to use a CV out channel, then play all of the C notes over many octaves (in SEQ live forwarding mode) and measure again the outputs with your DMM? Are these DMM readings close to the target -4.000V, -3.000V, ... +5.000V volts? This would be a double check outside the calibration menu.
Have a nice weekend!
Best regards,
Peter -
@mcmurray has completed his unit - just for the sake of completenesss in this thread, i've copied his post over to this thread - the original was in the SEQ v4+ Troubleshooting thread:
QuoteApologies for the late reply (been busy af with work) but here's mine for a serial number - I hope this is the right place to get one, if not let me know where I should post it. This was such an enjoyable build I'm considering a Loopa :)
Well done, #29!
Many greets,
Peter -
@Adam Schabtach i did some tests of the acceleration feature when the v4+ was released and just tested again. In short words: it works in the v4+ as it worked before on the v4 - that's also the behaviour people are used to by now.
A bit of historic context - please correct me, if i am wrong - back in the olden MIOS8 days, TK. developed the MBSID application which performs automatic encoder acceleration based on the speed the encoder is turned - slow turning speed = no acceleration, quick turning speed = active acceleration. That's the only way to enter the many different levels of e.g. the SID filter cutoff value ranging from 0x000 - 0xFFF = 12 bits of resolution. Thus you could fine-tune the filter cutoff by slowly turning the filter knob, and quickly change it by quickly turning it - a method that works really nicely. The MB6582 encoder as the v4+ encoders also "only" has 24 pulses per 360° turn, so not many pulses available to adjust a high-res 14-bit value.
From this behaviour, the MBSEQ encoder acceleration (which was also available first on an 8-bit platform) was derived. It might have also been the other way around, MBSEQ 8-bit first, then MBSID :). Anyways - the acceleration even nowadays is only active, if you turn the encoder quickly.
Now to describe, what FAST does: it changes the speed of acceleration. If you do this experiment: quickly turn a SEQ v4+ encoder changing a note value by a half turn, starting from a low value note, e.g. C-1. Doing this, i get to D#2. Now repeat the process but push the knob down while doing it, now i get from C-1 to C#3, the FAST button LED is also backlit when doing the latter. You can fine-tune the speed when accelerated in the HWCFG as Andy described. E.g. for a more prominent effect, it might be good to tune to something like
ENC_GP_FAST_SPEED 7Still you need to push down the knob and turn quickly for acceleration to be effective.
Sorry for this long description, but i think a bit of historic context helps to understand why this function works as it does :).
Best regards,
Peter -
Good poll! Here's my somewhat limited workflow, as much more is possible with the SEQ:
a) i use the SEQ primarily as an aggregator for all MIDI hardware gear (in conjunction with MIDI THRUs on the output side). Like this, it's possible to drive something like 30 synths via the built-in 8 MIDI OUTs with really low latency (just a single THRU module used on every OUT port) and perfect MIDIbox microcontroller timing :).
b) All of this connectivity in one place allows for the SEQ to be a router between most gear, am often using it with the "Live/Forward mode" and track selection just for jamming - this gives instant access to ~16 selected synths just by switching the active track in the SEQ - no recording required up to this point :). The MIDI router additionally helps to statically connect everything else, i.e. to permanently forward an external MIDI drum pad to a sampler. And it forwards the LoopA output to the respective synths :).
c) many drum machines have an internal sequencer that are optimized for drums - i.e. my Machinedrum syncs great to the SEQ, there would be no need to spend a SEQ track or use the SEQs internal sequencing for it (only if you'd like to use advanced features like euclidean drum sequence generation :)). Having the option to physically disconnect the Machinedrum is good, so you could just use that on it's own, e.g. to generate new drum pattern ideas on the couch :).
d) arps: mostly recorded manually in step progression recording mode - i.e. have the seq automatically increase the track position by 4 steps after each recorded note, then you can easily enter the arpeggio (or variation) by hand.
e) have not yet used the song mode - for me, it's mostly muting and unmuting tracks, transpositions and sometimes pattern replacements on the fly - that is more than enough for my limited music :).
Best regards and have fun!
Peter -
@jojjelito Thanks a lot, J! Hope you're good and staying away from that darn virus - addressing the soldering backlog sounds like a great plan! :-)
Many greets to Sweden!
Best regards, Peter -
MIDI beat clock and start/stop are of course supported, just use these standard messages:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIDI_beat_clock
You need to enable listening to MIDI Clock on specific ports, otherwise it won't work - it's the same for the LoopA. :)
Best regards,
Peter -
@mfk really, no need to be afraid of it - you can easily do the large scale 1206 SMT soldering!
In fact, the solder pads for resistors and caps to me seem to be bigger than those for the classic THT components. And there's no need to turn around the PCB all the time and to cut pins. As a bonus, you can store a whole assortment of SMT resistors and caps in really small boxes and don't need much storage space for them - also, with the drag soldering method (shown e.g. in the LoopA video tutorial), installing ICs is really very simple and super quick.
We've even had a few requests of builders recommending us to get rid of the THT resistors in future PCB revisions, as cutting their legs was slowing down their assembly! :) It probably won't happen, as Andy often uses them as "bridges" over traces, i.e. the classic resistors then offer another layer to the PCB which simplifies routing.
Have a good day and many greets!
Peter -
Yes, that's very nicely written! Many thanks to Robert!
Many greets,
Peter -
Cheers, @manu, glad that it is sorted out now, hope you enjoy your new sequencer!
We're already working hard on the ultimate user interface extension for it! :-)
Best regards,
Peter -
That's a cool & uplifting retrowave song, @m00dawg - cool to hear a new track from you!
Many greets and stay creative! :)
Peter -
@kelsfein Maybe you'd like to have a look at at the midiphy shop?
https://www.midiphy.com/en/shop-details/137/48/midibox-seq-v4-rh-full-essential-kit
https://www.midiphy.com/en/shop-details/137/47/midibox-seq-v4-lh-full-essential-kitThere are full essential kits of both variants of the new SEQ v4+ in stock, including cases. Shipping to the U.K. is still possible even in the interesting times right now.
You'd only need one more additional order of common parts from mouser (there's a bill-of-materials copy & paste tool to simplify the process) on the pages.Have a good day and many greets!
Peter -
Thanks a lot for your nice words, @m00dawg and @Antichambre!
Regarding drone flying - it's absolutely true regarding the security issues - the problem was not when it was a completely new thing - people built their drones and wrote or modified their software (we had return-to-home systems, that engaged in case of video or control link loss). We also had spotters checking the surrounding airspace for obstacles like helicopters and we were able to fly back the bigger wings using line-of-sight standard RC flying. Those "pioneer" people were usually knowledgeable and very risk aversive - the problem began, when this technology was pushed to the mainstream. Then everyone and their grandma went drone flying everywhere (not in deserted mountains, but also in cities, near airports and so on) and that lead to massive problems and the necessity for these laws. While i was an enthusiast back then, i had my fair share of copters (never wings) falling out of the skies, so yes, it is a risk problem flying over people, a motor speed controller can fail at any time... Also, the public perception of drones has massively changed - when i made my first copter flights with a firmware that used hacked "nintendo wii accellerometers" many years back, people were fascinated and asked what was going on. At the end of the era, most people were not amused anymore, probably as too many people were flying. Doing it commercially now can probably be a stressful job. But, i still miss the ultimate freedom of wing surfing the mountains from time to time, thus the nostalgic tune :).
Have a good new week start and many greets!
Peter -
Thanks, @xarolium, @latigid on already completed the boards - we're now working on the case and the software.
Many greets!
Peter -
Thanks a lot, Mike! :)
Yes, back then, five years ago, it was flying with a fellow human wingman, it was the ultimate freedom. We had video goggles and spotters that watched the airspace for safety.
Due to changed drone laws (and i fully agree with them), it is impossible to do now. So there was a small window of opportunity to do it as shown, and that window has closed now, maybe that was one of the last of my wing clips in the Alps :).Have a good sunday, enjoy the nice weather in the garden and be careful with that machete! :)
Many greets,
Peter -
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11 minutes ago, xarolium said:
i would be very happy to buy a pcb for this project,any left? And what about the case?
something is brewing in the lab - we're currently working on it! :)
Many greets,
Peter
MB-6582 LCD issues
in MIDIbox SID
Posted
@j00lz, yup, that looks at least like the LCD was damaged - would recommend to start with that one first, they're not that expensive and it should be a quick replacement.
Good luck and many greets,
Peter