borfo Posted April 27, 2017 Report Share Posted April 27, 2017 (edited) I'm building an NG as a central controller for several synths, so that I'll be able to control parameters for a bunch of synths using one NG interface. Right now I'm thinking the controller will have two 4x20 LCD displays, with 16 or 32 encoders, and about 40 buttons. Is there any real advantage to basing a MIDIbox NG controller on a STM32F4 core? Or could I use an LPC17 core without any real difference in performance? Edited April 27, 2017 by borfo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkeye Posted April 27, 2017 Report Share Posted April 27, 2017 If you are buying a new core, go for the STM32F4, it has more RAM, that might offer some benefits to go for larger scripts or ngc configuration files. But, if you have an old LPC17 in stock, you could try it with that one as well. Methinks you would need a fairly extensive MBNG configuration (or some special hardware, that is only supported on STM32F4, like multicolor LEDs, see MBNG manual) to hit its memory limits, so if you are not going for many banks/pages and are not planning for a very complex configuration, it will do just as well. Performance (speed) will be completely fine on both cores. Many greets, Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borfo Posted April 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2017 Thanks - I have a couple of LPC17's lying around. I guess I'll try the setup with one of those, and I can always upgrade later if I need to. I have a feeling this thing will eventually wind up with a ton of banks/pages, but I can cross that bridge when I get there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerald.wert Posted April 27, 2017 Report Share Posted April 27, 2017 You may be able to significantly reduce the number of encoders an buttons you have if you color code them. Might help out with your work flow as well, by seeing what is active by what color is lit at any time. The beat step pro has a really good layout in this regard, might be worth a look while you are in planning mode still. Transparent shaft encoders with a rgb led under them would be pretty awesome for that with the clear knobs. RGB led rings on the encoders would do the same but would use a lot more parts and may be redundant if you are planning to put the values on the lcds. Behringer made led rings with just single color regular leds on their BCR2000 and BCF2000 no LCD. Check out their xTouch stuff too for some ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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