Jump to content

Newbie question: Could MIDIbox fullfill my needs


azaxo
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi,

I am new on this forum.

I am looking for some kind of tool that I can use to connect old and new midi gear.

Most important feature I need at this moment is the ability to convert midi information from a MPE keyboard to be able to control my old and not so old synthesizers. It seems that MIDIbox NG could be that tool.

Can anyone confirm that MIDIbox NG is the right tool for these kind of tasks?

After examining the site and this forum an additional question came up. Are the MIDIbox NG designs still current? And will I be able to order the PCB's and all the needed parts?

Best regards,

Albert

  

Edited by azaxo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If your keyboard outputs midi already then you need a SeqV4 or V4+ to direct it and play your gear. With the Aout_NG & Dout boards you can control analog gear.

Midibox_NG is a multi purpose tool for making controllers and any other configurations builders can and  think of. If you are looking to add a controller to your gear then Midibox_NG is the platform to do it on. All Midibox PCB's available in N.America at Modular Addict

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Albert,

It would help if you post specifically what you need it to do, and the specific equipment you are trying to control. I just took a peek at some MPE info - it looks pretty neat, but also complicated. The way that it handles midi channels is interesting. I'd say that if you have some programming skills, you can probably do it. The good news is that you just need 3 main things to get started:

MIDIbox Core STM32F4 PCB and MIDIbox MIDI I/O PCB from ModularAddict.com (IO board is sold out at the moment -I'd email to see when it will be back in stock).

And a STM32F407G-DISC1 processor board.

This will give you 2 Midi Ins and 2 Outs - you can add more later.

The 2 pcbs are about $20USD and the same for the STM32. Then you need the parts to put on them, but it should be at or below $100USD for everything, so the investment isn't that high.

If you do go that route and need a current parts list from Mouser/Jameco (in the US), let me know and I can help you out, since I just got everything a few weeks ago for my MBSeq. Hunting down the correct parts is part of the adventure!

Hopefully one of the MidiBox gods will chime in with more specifics.

Justin

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@goyousalukis The first thing I want to do is to connect my Seaboard Rise to my Waldorf Blofeld. Waldor Blofeld is not MPE ready and I need to reroute some MIDI controls for that. And I don't always want to use a computer. I am little bit old fashion in that. Another future project could be buidling a Behringer BCR 2000 with LCD displays. Something like the Mackie C4 but without the need for hostsoftware.

I do not expect that programming will be an issue. Soldering might be a challence, it has been some time since I did that for the last time. But with all those YouTube experts I hope to get through.

Based on your info I will dig further into the hardware. Mouser has a presence in the Netherland so the part list could come in handy

Thanks for your support so far.

Albert

Edited by azaxo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Albert, 

I think ModularAddict can ship international in case SLO's link doesn't work out. If you can't find a source, I would be willing to order from MA and then ship them to you from the US. At some point, I need to order more from them anyways.

The big question is whether you can do what you want using the .NGC file, or whether you would need to write your own code and compile your own version of MidiboxNG. I would suspect the latter. There is a link to the source code at uCApps.de .

As far as soldiering goes, that's the least challenging part. As long as you have a good iron with a small tip, these boards are very simple to solder.

Justin

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Justin,

SLO's link is still active but the materials on the site seem outdated so I will give MA a go.

I contacted them and the midi board will be available in some two weeks.

The STM board is sold out and will be deliverable in a month. So I got to prepare myself and look into the soft side of things.

Albert

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Albert,

Do you mean the STM processor board or the Modular Addict STM32 board? That one seems to be in stock right now at MA. You can get the STM32F407G-DISC1 board from a variety of sources. When I checked Mouser, they were out of stock and it said they wouldn't get more for a while, so I bought off ebay. Of course when I checked Mouser a few days later, they were back in stock!

Mouser is great, but finding the exact correct part can be a big challenge. For the IDC headers, I ended up just getting them on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O9YEUFO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I was able to find the sockets and plugs there.

They were cheaper also. I don't know if you have that option, but it is worth checking multiple sources when you get to the point of ordering parts.

Justin

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...