Ideas for MBSID 303 control extension

[TK.]

Well, the dark foggy season begins, time to think about new tinkering projects ;-)

Here me first ideas for a 303 control extension:

>>> Edit 2006-01-31: the final panel will get more buttons!!! <<<

Main intention is to have a supplement to the Control Surface Step C, which can be plugged into Joystick port of my C64 case.

Since the CS already provides a lot of knobs for sound tweaking, only sequencer specific control elements are required, therefore you won't find a

CutOff/Resonace/EnvMod/Decay/Accent knob here - they could be part of a ASSIGN layer (e.g. of the OSC section)

Also an additional LCD is not required - informations will pop up on the CS LCD

Center: 16 buttons for various functions + 16 LEDs

LED show the function status + the current sequencer position if a pattern is running

Left side: 4 LEDs for Pattern/Note/Accent/Slide and one selction button

Pattern: in this mode the 16 center buttons can be used to change the pattern - one of 128 (A1..h8, handling like known from MBSEQ)

Note: in this mode the 16 center buttons select a note of step 1..32. Note value can be changed with the datawheel at the right side

Accent/Slide: activate/deactivates the appr. functions with the center buttons

Right side: one step button, 2 step range LEDs: since MBSID provides up to 32 notes per pattern, this button is required to select the view 1-16 or 17-32

Play button with Beat indicator LED: combined Play/Stop

Datawheel (rotary encoder), used to select the pattern, Note number, Accent intensity

I'm sure that this is not the final version, therefore I would like to know if anybody has additional ideas?

Best Regards, Thorsten.

P.S.: maybe this box could also be useful to program MBFM sequences :)

[illogik]

tis the season!

i like ;D, i think this is really wicked,

bpm is also chosen with encoder? or it still must be a midislave

no problems for the PSU i guess; and inside this extention just a din and dout module?

and if people want more functions; they'd better built a mbseq!

thanks!

[TK.]

MIDI slave mode is still the best solution. MIDIbox SID provides an internal clock for wavetable sequences, but this is just a number of 0..127, and not a BPM scaled clock (there is no additional timer available for an independent BPM handler)

Yes, no additional PSU, just 3 DIN and 3 DOUT shift registers will be required

Best Regards, Thorsten.

[reboot]

hi

sorry,i don't really understand

is it a solution to program wavetables ?

thank you :)

[TK.]

"wavetable sequencer" is a term of old C64 days - it's not a sampler, but a sequencer which can playback sequences of waveforms very fast. In old days this method was used to realize percussive sounds, I'm using the same method to modulate any CC, and also to trigger notes (like with a common step sequencer)

-> see also http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php?topic=3356.0

Best Regards, Thorsten.

[royal_orchestra]

Hi,

I'd like to give some additional ideas.

As another user mentioned somewhere else in the forum, I think the control extension should be useful to edit all wt patches. think of drum sequences or wavetable-sounds.

One thing i miss in the sketch is a wt# button since there are three cc sequences.

The cc# could be entered via an additional led for the select button.

There should be a possibility to define the jump (and end?) point.

I think it should also provide a function to edit the length of a note (or another cc manipulation) perhaps

with a shortcut: Press and hold for example button 4 and press button 7 and it automatically writes "play +++" for step 5,6 and 7.

I already thought about how such a breakout box could look like some weeks ago. In my sketch I thought of the center buttons more like a keyboard like the 303 has. (C - c + "Key1" - "Key4" = 16 buttons)  I don't know much about programming but perhaps it's possible to add a step-edit mode  where the user enters the notevalue with a button and changes the octave (+-5) with the datawheel.

The play-button should be called RUN/STOP like on the C64. :-)

Best Regards

[TK.]

thanks for your input! :)

As another user mentioned somewhere else in the forum, I think the control extension should be useful to edit all wt patches. think of drum sequences or wavetable-sounds.

definitely yes! I think the best handling is to change the behaviour of the buttons within the WT menu.

In this menu, Note/Accent/Slide could select the wavetable track, and with the 16 step buttons + the 1-16/17-32 buttons you could select the step which should be edited. With the rotary encoder the value could be changed

One thing i miss in the sketch is a wt# button since there are three cc sequences.

The cc# could be entered via an additional led for the select button.

In TB303 mode, two tracks are allocated by the TB303 sequencer, the third is free for use. I think that it's ok when the user changes to the WT menu if this track should be edited. Or I could add another LED at the left side. Not sure...

There should be a possibility to define the jump (and end?) point.

I think it's enough when this can be done directly at the menu interface. Because I don't know, which key combination would be easier to define a jump point, instead of selecting it directly in the WT menu

I think it should also provide a function to edit the length of a note (or another cc manipulation) perhaps

with a shortcut: Press and hold for example button 4 and press button 7 and it automatically writes "play +++" for step 5,6 and 7.

The control handling will be optimized for usage with an encoder. If a "+++" should be played, then just move the encoder to the left until you reach the lowest value ("---"). Then one up - thats the "+++"

I already thought about how such a breakout box could look like some weeks ago. In my sketch I thought of the center buttons more like a keyboard like the 303 has. (C - c + "Key1" - "Key4" = 16 buttons)  I don't know much about programming but perhaps it's possible to add a step-edit mode  where the user enters the notevalue with a button and changes the octave (+-5) with the datawheel.

I've implemented a step-edit mode in MBSEQ, but I must say that I never really used it. I'm not sure, if it is my personal preference for fast editing with the rotary encoder, or if I'm doing anything different...

The play-button should be called RUN/STOP like on the C64. :-)

*grin* good idea ;-)

Best Regards, Thorsten.

[TK.]

Concerning the control extension I've some bad and good news.

The bad news is, that the required code won't fit into the MBSID release anymore, even if I would spent some more effort in code optimizations (which I already did several times in order to realize the new 303 features)

But the good news: Not for the next months, but propably next winter I will start with a totally overworked version (V2) which will run on a PIC18F4620 (64k device, pin compatible to PIC18F452). Until then I will collect ideas for the new V2 engine.

General requirement: the main panel will be identical (I don't want to throw away my own one), but there will be more sound parameters, a stereo option, an extensive AOUT modulation matrix, a trigger matrix, a special "wavetable" for note sequences, a second MIDI Out for the slaves, etc.. etc.. and especially a 303ish control extension, which will look like a keyboard, and which will support several recording modes. I cannot give more details, since they are changing from time to time ;-)

Best Regards, Thorsten.

[rvooh]

sorry for the bump

or not  :P

any progress on this project?

I'd like it so it behaves like a real 303 sequencer (sorta pitch mode/time mode)

so instead of 16 steps, you put a small keyboard..

[TK.]

It's part of MBSID V2

http://www.ucapps.de/midibox_sid_manual_b.html

Best Regards, Thorsten.