Benedict Posted December 13, 2005 Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 Hello All,I've finally ordered the parts for my SID and I hope to make it over Xmas. Even before I've made it I want to change it!What about a "random" button? When pressed it would come up with random settings for all the parameters. It would be a great source of inspiration!I've had a search on the forum and Wiki for "Random" but I couldn't find anything. Surely other people have thought of this. Is it do-able?CheersBenedict Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raphael Posted December 13, 2005 Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 I don't know if there is enough memory left to implement such a function...However, there is a random patch generator (perl-script) included in the preset patches zip-file: http://www.ucapps.de/midibox_sid/preset_patches_20051109.zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jidis Posted December 13, 2005 Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 .... you been watching the Hitchhiker's Guide by any chance? ;D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benedict Posted December 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 .... you been watching the Hitchhiker's Guide by any chance? ;DLOL.I might try and stick a random button on my sofa and see if I can get a ready made SID!CheersBenedict Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benedict Posted December 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 I don't know if there is enough memory left to implement such a function...However, there is a random patch generator (perl-script) included in the preset patches zip-file: http://www.ucapps.de/midibox_sid/preset_patches_20051109.zipOh well. I didn't know about the pearl script so thanks for that. Shame you can't do it without a PC - I'm trying to get away from my PC for music, (I always end up spending more time messing with the computer instead of making music).CheersBenedict Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo Posted December 17, 2005 Report Share Posted December 17, 2005 I've seen a random button on a freeware softsynth called SpiralSynth. That button yielded lots of interesting sounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK. Posted December 17, 2005 Report Share Posted December 17, 2005 A serious random function requires constrainable parameters, and this would blow the memory consumption of MBSID (and MBFM) too much. Also the menu interface would be very complicated. Note that the PIC18F452 contains only 32k of flash memory!However, the perl scripts as well as TL's patch manager allow you to generate a single --> constrainted! <-- random patch, as well as a whole bank of 128 random patches on-the-fly. The results are great, and you are able to change the constraints in order to force the results into a certain direction. This leads to very serious random patches, much better than you know from those freeware synths, it's even better than the random function of the Yamaha AN1x!It seems that nearly nobody has notified this "hidden treasure" yet? Just check the examples:http://www.midibox.org/midibox_sid/mbsid_demo_random_patches.mp3http://www.midibox.org/midibox_fm/mbfm_demo_random_patches.mp3Best Regards, Thorsten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benedict Posted December 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2005 I've been thinking about other ways to impliment this. What about creating another MIOS application to do the job?You could select which midi parameters you wanted random information generated for then hit the big red button. This would then be useful for other synths/midi gear. With an LCD screen and a bank stick to store settings (what midi info to generate) it could prove rather handy. Maybe it could do other stuff too. Patch morphing is the only thing that springs to mind - stick in a bank stick with SID patch on it, select two patch, morph time, then hit the big red button.I don't have any idea how to program this (I know a little VB & pascal - I've never tried assembly or C), but presumable if the PIC didn't have to handle the functions of the SID then it is do able.Any one got any thoughts? CheersBenedict Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK. Posted December 18, 2005 Report Share Posted December 18, 2005 Random: The challenge is to find an erconomic user interface - this doesn't require programming skills, just only the right intuition at the right time. So: how should parameters (CC/SysEx) be specified, how should the constraints be entered? How many buttons and encoders are ergonomical enough? Compare it with the already existing PC based solution - will it really make more fun? Is it really worth the effort?Morphing: I'm normaly using the MB64E for such experiments...Best Regards, Thorsten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo Posted December 18, 2005 Report Share Posted December 18, 2005 Thinking about it again, I agree that making random patches on a PC are better. It's NOT the thing you'd want to do in a live performance. While you can get nice things with random patches, you can just as likely get something awful. If being near a computer can't be done, perhaps you can compromise with a PDA. I recently became aware of using a PDA to load patches onto a DX7. I'm not clear on how one would make a PDA talk MIDI. Do PDAs now come with USB ports?Hmm... maybe a random button could be implemented using another core module who's only purpose is making random patches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benedict Posted December 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2005 How's this for an interface? I've ignored morphing - it only deals with random patch generation.The big dial is used for cycling through patches (eg "SIDPAD", "SIDLEAD" etc). The two buttons are to save the patch or save a copy. The three rotary encoders are for setting restrictions on CC's.The midi channel which the random settings will be sent to are selected via the Midi channel button. This could be moved to be on the LCD and eliminate the need for the LEDS. Finally the big red button to generate the info. That's 11 DINs and 16 DOUTs.Short comings: It doesn't allow for SysEx and I guess that storing names for CC in each patch would take up too much space.I'm sure I've missed something but how's that for a basic interface concept? Obviously it isn't as powerful as a PC based script, but I'm trying to elimate my PC from my music making process.CheersBenedict Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK. Posted December 18, 2005 Report Share Posted December 18, 2005 I don't think that this UI will be enough to meet all requirements. E.g., in MIDIbox-SID, some bitfields within the CC value needs to be handled seperately for good results. It will get even more complicated, once a wavetable patch should be generated. Supporting SysEx is a must, because most synthesizers don't provide a way to edit all sound parameters via CC. However, today I've migrated the perl based random patch generator to C, it can be found here:http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php?topic=5864.0This application gives perhaps a good basis for your experiments with a user interface.Best Regards, Thorsten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airmailed Posted December 18, 2005 Report Share Posted December 18, 2005 i've made a quick & dirty randomisator in pd for some soft synths... it's pretty easy, a ctlout object for each cc with a random generator plugged into each one... also fairly simple to constrain the values etc. more for live tweaking than generating lots of patches at once... i have a random button in one thing that changes the 303 style bass sound on the fly, also attached a metronome to it so the sound changes automatically Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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