x0x style seq... Need hardware help (LONG post!)

[stryd_one]

heya el-bee

I'm kinda in lurk-mode at the moment but I pop by from time to time to try and keep my finger on the pulse...

Please feel free to share your ideas, I'll certainly include them if it's at all possible.

Please note though, that unfortunately I am a very busy man and as such this project is definitely long-term... Don't expect it to be done until the next 6 months to a year, maybe even more :( I hate saying that, as I wish I could dedicate all my time to this, however as it is, I work about 12-14 hours a day, plus on-call work, plus overtime for projects that require after-hours work, plus spiritual and martial arts training, plus taking care of my very ill g/f, plus I have recently lost all of my possessions (including but not limited to my DIY gear...I don't even own a soldering iron any more) and moved interstate, and I'm currently trying to rebuild my home and my life basically.... All this doesn't leave me much time or money :( Don't get me wrong, I'm very much dedicated to getting this done, it's just a matter of time.....

Good news is that the design for the seq includes the playmodes you mentioned already :) Have a search around on the forum for stuff posted by me for more details about the seq.

[el-bee]

TL: ok thanks for the pointer.. a somewhat direct result of browsing this thread too quickly :)

Stryd: No prob with the project being long-term; I find myself constantly in the same situation, trying to share my free time between with various projects etc. I rechecked your initial post on this thread and noticed that I had totally missed the thing about the track length options you're planning to implement; these make the project too versatile compared to what I've been planning to put together :(.. They'd make a useful extra but would require a more complex user interface. And that's not the thing I want to end up with. So I suppose I still have to keep looking. Or start learning the goddamn pic-programming! ;)

The design I have in mind would be more like a 'basic drum sequencer' thingie for jamming and sequencing drum patterns quickly on the fly. This could be used with whatever selection of drum sound modules (eg. mix/combine your favourite kick/snare/etc. designs from the net), integrated into existing drum machines (soup up/replace a crappy sequencer from some old drum machine) or designs (eg. combine with Trevor's TR9090).

I first thought that the firmware side of this could've been done simply by stripping away excess code from the existing one but obviously some of it would need to be modified to fit the stripped structure and the redesigned button/encoder/indicator/screen layout etc etc. For instance I've been thinking that there'd be no need for sending midi data (except sync clock and memory sysex dumps) or having song sequencing functions (patterns switchable/chainable on the fly should be enough for everyone).

Oh well, one thing at a time.. Maybe I should first complete the full list of required functions and the way they could be implemented most intuitively. It's still a bit of a work-in-progress with all the other projects going on (like fitting up the 9090-boards for testing) ;) .. Nevertheless, if some other person reading this thread is interested in making/modifying the code for this minimal drum seq thingie feel free to drop me a line or three.

[cheater]

Hey guys,

all I can say is: this project is great so far!

stryd_one: I'm very sorry to hear about your situation right now. Did you lose your stuff as in... you sold it, or did some disaster happen? In any case, I hope your life gets back together and your girlfriend gets out of her illness. Don't push yourself too much - cut back here and there if it's possible, the gains are never worth the stress, trust me... Perhaps this means you'll have to put this project in the drawer for now, but I personally think people are more important than electronics :) Perhaps someone decides to follow your tracks, in that case I guess they'll be able to, with the source code etc...

at everyone: don't let this project die! There's a load of great analog drum schematics out there, not only 909/808... see the CR-78 and CR-8000, for example. Or perhaps latin drum sounds... who knows! (personally, I think every drum kit would do real well with a simple sampler for playback of digital drum samples... hint hint ;) )

cheers, and keep up the great work guys!

[stryd_one]

Hey all

Thanks for the words cheater :) Let's just say some disaster happened, fortunately enough everyone's now safe and healthy.

I'm now working hard to setup some form of lab so that I can get the hardware built and implement the concepts we've all discussed. Meanwhile I'm toying with a software implementation for the sake of proof of concept. Of course I'll make the source of that available here when it's ready.

Unless someone manufactures an extremely affordable sequencer that fits my needs, which I very much doubt will happen, this project will not die. Even if I'm the only one who ever builds or uses this seq, it will exist :) I just wish I could catch a break so I could get the thing done!!

Anyway I just wanted to make a quick post and let any interested parties know that I am still around and still working on this.

Cheers!