midibox64 - numerology - modular synth

[RichG]

Hi, I'm new. I've been reading through the forum here, and also at the wiki and the uCApps.de site for the past few days, and it's all very impressive, excitement-inducing, and more than a little overwhelming.

1. I've never soldered anything before

2. I know {0} about coding or programming

3. I'm just a musician who, after swimming around in the above-referenced websites, is suddenly obsessed with the idea of building a custom "instrument!"

4. I'm very determined, and hopefully not too stupid!

I have a modular synth, and I like controlling it with Numerology. What I would like to do is build a midibox64 to control Numerology, and thereby the modular. I guess I'd need an AOUT module for this, and I see that it is an option for the MB64. But I'm confused on a couple of points (please pardon me if this information is somewhere else -- believe me, I tried to find it):

1. Flow of midi data. The midibox and my computer would have to have two way midi transfer, I'm pretty sure, to allow control from the midibox, and feedback (not loop feedback) from the computer. How do I fit the MBCV into this loop? Do I put a midi merge module somewhere? I guess what I want the CV outs to reflect would be the data from Numerology, after it has been altered by the MB64. So could it be set up so that the computer sends midi to the MB64, and then THRU to the AOUT module?

2. I want to use the AOUT_NG module, if possible. I want the 8 gate outputs in addition to the 8 CVs. But uCApps lists the basic AOUT module as the CV out option. Does it matter to substitute _NG?

3. Is the AOUT option also supported for MB64E?

I think a MB64 Numerology controller with 8 CV and gate outs would be one absolutely killer box! And I want to build it!! I really appreciate any input, as to my points of confusion or otherwise.

Thanks!

[TK.]

Hi,

the AOUT module option integrated into MB64 was made at a time where neither the MBCV firmware, nor the MBHP_AOUT_NG module was available. Today I should probably remove this option to avoid unnecessary confusion (and/or the hope that gates could be provided as well, etc.)

I think that the better option for your usecase is a modified MBCV firmware with support for up to 64 pots, up to 128 buttons, and up to 128 LEDs (resp. 120 LEDs, as 8 DOUT pins will be required for the gates if J5 is allocated by AIN modules)

This will work under the assumption, that Numerology allows you to configure the MIDI events assigned to these control elements at the software side (at least via MIDI learn).

This option will give you the advantage, that only a single core module will be required (-> easy MIDI setup), and that you will get all features of the MBCV firmware (like different output curves, polyphony, storable setups) which are probably not provided by Numerology itself.

I can give you the appr. code snippets, and/or could even release precompiled .hex file - but I would need more informations about the MIDI setup capabilities of Numerology. E.g., are buttons/LEDs supported? How many? Does Numerology allow to to send/receive MIDI events to the control surface over different MIDI channels to avoid conflicts with the channels used for CV/Gate?

Best Regards, Thorsten.

[RichG]

Hi Thorsten, thanks. Jim Coker, the Numerology developer, is currently preparing the next release (Numerology 3), which, he says, will have upgraded and expanded remote control capability. I will wait until this happens, see what it will support, and go from there.

Thanks for your helpful reply. Eventually, I will either 1. do as you suggest - build a modified Midibox CV, or 2. build a regular midibox CV in the immediate future, as a module for my synth, and then later build MB64 or 64E with a midi thru.

Best regards -

Hi,

the AOUT module option integrated into MB64 was made at a time where neither the MBCV firmware, nor the MBHP_AOUT_NG module was available. Today I should probably remove this option to avoid unnecessary confusion (and/or the hope that gates could be provided as well, etc.)

I think that the better option for your usecase is a modified MBCV firmware with support for up to 64 pots, up to 128 buttons, and up to 128 LEDs (resp. 120 LEDs, as 8 DOUT pins will be required for the gates if J5 is allocated by AIN modules)

This will work under the assumption, that Numerology allows you to configure the MIDI events assigned to these control elements at the software side (at least via MIDI learn).

This option will give you the advantage, that only a single core module will be required (-> easy MIDI setup), and that you will get all features of the MBCV firmware (like different output curves, polyphony, storable setups) which are probably not provided by Numerology itself.

I can give you the appr. code snippets, and/or could even release precompiled .hex file - but I would need more informations about the MIDI setup capabilities of Numerology. E.g., are buttons/LEDs supported? How many? Does Numerology allow to to send/receive MIDI events to the control surface over different MIDI channels to avoid conflicts with the channels used for CV/Gate?

Best Regards, Thorsten.