midiphy SEQ v4+

[lp1977]

Well, it looks like it's my turn.

I finished building my SEQ 4v+ about a week ago. Such a great design and the Midiphy kit is really top notch. 

I went with Antichambre's MEC switches and key caps 5GTH920Q + ILSQ96-15.0 from earlier in this thread. I was a little late to the party, so I missed out on his custom Matias key cap bulk order! 

Inside the MEC switches, I used the square Midiphy supplied LEDs instead of the suggested 3mm round LEDs, substituting the green Play LED for blue. 

For the knobs, I used some Eagle 450-BA600 knobs from Mouser. They have a soft touch similar to the Thonk knobs, but they're a little shorter and wider and sit a little lower, with a skirt that barely covers the case's encoder holes. A nice tight fit. I've added a picture with the Thonk slim small knob sitting between the Eagle knobs for comparison.

I'm looking forward to the LoopA v2 metal case release this coming year. I plan on picking up one of those complete kits, as well. 

Anyway, here are some pics,

Thanks!

[Againsistm]

Congrats, Looking nice with the blue scheme and smaller knobs. Maybe have to open my midiphy soon again ;-)

Edited December 4, 2019 by sis.tm

[latigid on]

@lp1977 nice! #22 

Enjoy your SEQ v4+!

[Antichambre]

8 hours ago, lp1977 said:

Inside the MEC switches, I used the square Midiphy supplied LEDs instead of the suggested 3mm round LEDs, substituting the green Play LED for blue. 

Cause the led is static and only the cap moves, I thought a too much large led might perturb the cap travel, and never tried it. Great!! ;)
I also put a red one for REC button :)

Congratulations! Enjoy! And Welcome cause it seems to be your first post! ;)

 

Edited December 4, 2019 by Antichambre

[Hawkeye]

Very well done and thanks a lot for the nice report, @lp1977!
Best regards, Peter

 

[lp1977]

8 hours ago, sis.tm said:

Congrats, Looking nice with the blue scheme and smaller knobs. Maybe have to open my midiphy soon again ;-)

Thanks! I was going to go with the blue/green scheme, but I thought the red would have a stronger contrast. And I like the purple in the bottom row. When I build the LoopA, I will probably try the cyan/red mentioned earlier in the thread.

Your earlier post with your build observations was very informative and helped me make decisions during my build. 

7 hours ago, latigid on said:

@lp1977 nice! #22 

Enjoy your SEQ v4+!

Thanks. A nice even number!

3 hours ago, Antichambre said:

Cause the led is static and only the cap moves, I thought a too much large led might perturb the cap travel, and never tried it. Great!! ;)
I also put a red one for REC button :)

Congratulations! Enjoy! And Welcome cause it seems to be your first post! ;)

 

Thanks for the welcome. It is my first post, though I've been lurking in the forum for a little while. It's also my first Midibox project, so I didn't really have anything to contribute up until this point.

Regarding the LEDs, I measured the square LEDs in the Midiphy kit and at the widest point it was 3.4mm, only a touch wider than a 3mm LED. I then tried it in a single switch to make sure it didn't interfere. I also used a red LED for Record, suggested from Hawkeye's build tutorial video. I got the blue Play button idea from your posted pictures. Thanks for that!

43 minutes ago, Hawkeye said:

Very well done and thanks a lot for the nice report, @lp1977!
Best regards, Peter

 

Thank you! Your videos are very detailed and easy to follow with great additional information on the parts you're installing in each chapter. Crucial to a good build. The chapter timestamps were very helpful, as well.

 

[Antichambre]

Hello!

@lp1977 asked me some wood sides for the SeqV4+,  the exact ones I made for mine except that oak will be used, no more exotic wood.

it's a little stupid to turn on and prepare the machine for just a pair.
I provide the pair sanded but raw, for you to choose and apply the finishing you prefer. I will add some longer screws in the package.

PM me if interested.

Best regards
Bruno

 

[Againsistm]

16 hours ago, Antichambre said:

Hello!

@lp1977 asked me some wood sides for the SeqV4+,  the exact ones I made for mine except that oak will be used, no more exotic wood.

it's a little stupid to turn on and prepare the machine for just a pair.
I provide the pair sanded but raw, for you to choose and apply the finishing you prefer. I will add some longer screws in the package.

PM me if interested.

Best regards
Bruno

 

i am interested, sent you a PM

[Elektruck]

Me too

[Antichambre]

I already have 5 pairs to make and this last call ! ;)  Closed !

Best
Bruno

Edited December 21, 2019 by Antichambre

[Adam Schabtach]

Number 23, I believe.

More about the build soon.

[Antichambre]

Wood Side Story. ;)

 

Tomorrow is sanding time...

[Adam Schabtach]

So, after perhaps an anomalous number of difficulties, my sequencer is finished. Everything went fairly smoothly after my last post, although I did manage to damage a superflux LED, probably by unsoldering and resoldering it too many times. I had some trouble getting them to lie flush with the top of the PCB and apparently one of them got heated too many times. So, again, thank you for including extra parts in the kit.

After some experimentation with a superflux LED on a breadboard, I decided to go with a blue/red color scheme. The stepping light is simply red, while the other lights are two different shades of blue to provide a little variety. 

Thanks to @lp1977for suggesting that the Play button LED should be blue rather than green, if the other buttons are blue. I had already installed the green LED when I read your post, but I already had some practice replacing the LEDs in the switches so I made the change.

Thanks to @Antichambre for the beat LED diffusor idea. I liked the way it looks in your photos but I don't have a CNC machine. I made my own with a somewhat low-tech approach: I melted a little bit of thermoplastic, held a flat piece of metal against the front of the case covering the LED hole, and pressed the molten plastic against the back of the case, filling the hole. Once it cooled I had a hole filled with thin, translucent plastic, flat on the visible surface.

And, of course, big thanks to @Hawkeye @latigid on Adrian, and everyone else who contributed to this kit, and your help with my problems and questions. I've wanted to build a MIDIbox sequencer since shortly before v4 was created, but never wanted to tackle the mechanical aspects from scratch.

Now it's time to learn how to use the beast, and make some music!

[lp1977]

45 minutes ago, Adam Schabtach said:

Thanks to @lp1977for suggesting that the Play button LED should be blue rather than green, if the other buttons are blue.

I would love to be able to take credit for this, but I got the idea from looking at  @Antichambre‘s photos. 

 

45 minutes ago, Adam Schabtach said:

The stepping light is simply red, while the other lights are two different shades of blue to provide a little variety. 

I really like this idea, differentiating between groups of four steps 1-4, 5-8, etc. might have to pop mine back open and try this. Maybe blue for steps 1-4, and adding some green RJ resistors with gradually decreasing resistance to groups 5-8, 9-12, and 13-16, resulting in a blue to cyan shift with red as the stepping light. Would help me zone in on the downbeats. 

Edited December 22, 2019 by lp1977

[Adam Schabtach]

2 hours ago, lp1977 said:

I really like this idea, differentiating between groups of four steps 1-4, 5-8, etc. might have to pop mine back open and try this. Maybe blue for steps 1-4, and adding some green RJ resistors with gradually decreasing resistance to groups 5-8, 9-12, and 13-16, resulting in a blue to cyan shift with red as the stepping light. Would help me zone in on the downbeats. 

That would be a nice look. My first plan--which I think I picked up from a post in this forum--was to use one color for steps 1, 5, 9, and 13, and another color for the rest. Then I decided it would be better to group steps by color in sets of four. So, the next plan was to make steps 1-4 and 9-12 one color and the other steps another color. Finally I settled on the 1-4/13-16 and 5-12 coloring because I like the symmetry and it still provides demarcation of the downbeats.

[latigid on]

@Adam Schabtach, nice job and well done on #23! The subtle colour mixing is a great idea and exactly the sort of thing intended with the RJ/SJ setup.

Enjoy!

 

[Hawkeye]

@Adam Schabtach wohoo, it's great to see it come together! Congrats to your build and thanks for the nice and very relaxed communications along the way!

Hopefully you will have lots of fun with your new v4+ and get lots of inspiration from it. From the functionality standpoint it is a beast for sure, i still discover new features from time to time :).

Many greets and have a happy holiday time!
Peter

[halfordC]

Hey all! 
A little late to the party, but I'm considering upgrading my stm32F4 Seq 4 to a 4+.
I've found what I think is the new hardware config for the frontpannel on this repo  https://github.com/midibox/mios32/tree/master/apps/sequencers/midibox_seq_v4/hwcfg
Probably a dumb question, but Is there anywhere that just has documentation for the new frontpannel? Like a manual, or something similar?
I think I understand how all the labeled functions work, just not 100% sure about the new contextual GP buttons and encoder switches. 

The whole new thing is really cool! I appreciate all the work yall put into it. 
thanks,
-hal

[latigid on]

Hi Hal,

Probably we/someone should write a wiki entry or something on the new features! The idea is something like this:

• The encoders underneath the OLED displays work just as before
  • The encoder switch functions are in theory freely assignable but are typically used to accelerate encoder data
• The first row of illuminated "Soft" keyswitches are equivalent to the GP buttons plus the dual-colour step LEDs of the Wilba version
• The second "Selection Row" keyswitches change function depending on the button lit up around the datawheel on the JA board (see below)
  • These LEDs are also dual colour
• The row of Apem/MEC switches should be familiar to V4 users
• The RGB Beat LED flashes a different colour for the beat and the whole measure

 

• The JA board has a built-in Activity Matrix and typically displays the track position in a single colour
  • Other display options like a custom logo or the current BPM can be displayed (both with optional beat flash; also for the TPD)
• The datawheel functions as before and has a push function (currently not assigned to anything I think)
• The JA board carries the transport controls (play, pause, stop etc.) and a few extras
• The Selection Row buttons around the datawheel are:
  • Step View
  • Tracks
  • Parameter Layer
  • Trigger Layer
  • (Drum) Instrument
  • Track Mute
  • Bookmark
  • Song Phrase
• On the JA board, press and release one of these to change the Selection Row function
  • Press and hold the JA button to temporarily change the Row function, which jumps back to the previous function on release
• On the v4+, all 16 Selection Row buttons are accessible and multiple selections are possible by holding down several buttons simultaneously
  • Tracks are still colour-coded into groups of four tracks and named identically (e.g. G1T1-G4T4)
  • On the V4, tracks were chosen with four track groups and four tracks for a total of 16 tracks and only three trigger and parameter layers had dedicated buttons (normally holding Param./Trig. C would bring up the layers menu screen)

 

• Rear panel has a USB B port (power/data) for better mechanical strength
  • Switch for USB OTG host is provided but we notice some devices are incompatible
• Footswitch/gate input (currently not assigned to functions)
• Rear panel LEDs:
  • Green: power
  • Orange: SD Card available
  • Red: any received MIDI IN
  • Blue: LED any transmitted MIDI OUT

I think that's it!

Best,
Andy

 

[Againsistm]

Hi,
on the ja board mine shows the gate of the track but i saw other movies showing track position and you say you can also show bpm. How exactly do you change the display of the ja board? 
Cheers,
Niels

[Pivado]

Hi guys,

I have been (silently) following Midibox for years and some time ago I made the decision to build the Midiphy SEQv4 myself. Everything went pretty well (great video instructions!) until the very end where I put it together into the box and the left display would not show anything during and after booting. When I press some keys random characters will show up on the display. I have now stripped down everything to a bare minimum (Core, usb/sd, 2 x display) and the problem still exists. I have tried swapping the display cables on the Core, if I do this the problem moves to the other display, this should rule out a problem with the display or the flatcable. I have attached a picture of what I see after booting.

I hope there is someone here who could give me a hint on where I should start looking to solve the problem.

Thanks,

Pieter

 

[latigid on]

2 hours ago, sis.tm said:

Hi,
on the ja board mine shows the gate of the track but i saw other movies showing track position and you say you can also show bpm. How exactly do you change the display of the ja board? 
Cheers,
Niels

Hi Niels, it's there in the Utility -> Options menu. 

 

Just now, Pivado said:

Hi guys,

I have been (silently) following Midibox for years and some time ago I made the decision to build the Midiphy SEQv4 myself. Everything went pretty well (great video instructions!) until the very end where I put it together into the box and the left display would not show anything during and after booting. When I press some keys random characters will show up on the display. I have now stripped down everything to a bare minimum (Core, usb/sd, 2 x display) and the problem still exists. I have tried swapping the display cables on the Core, if I do this the problem moves to the other display, this should rule out a problem with the display or the flatcable. I have attached a picture of what I see after booting.

I hope there is someone here who could give me a hint on where I should start looking to solve the problem.

Thanks,

Pieter

 

Hi Pieter,

You can try this thread for troubleshooting if you wish:

http://midibox.org/forums/topic/20993-troubleshooting-midiphy-seq-v4/?page=1

The OLEDs are probably fine but I would still suspect the cable. A slightly crooked crimp can short two lines together.

Common issues with a display not working are:

• J15_S not jumpered to 3.3V
• R33D value (should be 560R)
• Cable strands shorted together
• Cable makes contact with components on the OLED PCB (isolate with kapton tape)
• Cold joints or shorts on wCore 2x25 pin headers (trace back to pin names or even MCU pins according to http://ucapps.de/mbhp/mbhp_core_stm32f4.pdf)

 

Best of luck!

[Pivado]

Hi Latigid,

It was the "J15_S not jumpered to 3.3V". Sometimes things that seem so complicated are so simple. I'll buy you a beer 

Thanks very much!

Pieter

 

[latigid on]

Cheers! Enjoy your new SEQ! If it's working well then you have #24!

[Adam Schabtach]

18 hours ago, latigid on said:

Probably we/someone should write a wiki entry or something on the new features! The idea is something like this:

Thanks for that summary. It is somewhat difficult to figure out how the v4+ panel's features correspond to the features described in the Getting Started document and the reference manual, particularly since those don't seem to describe all of the v4 features themselves. I'm not complaining, mind you; the documentation is quite good as far as it goes. I'm currently finishing the manual for my company's latest product so I understand entirely how dull writing documentation can be, even if you're writing about something that's fun.