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chord and seq\arpeggio function. is it possible?


massimiliano
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hi i'm just building my midibox 64. it will be usefull for me to control the yamaha rs7000 seq and other synths. so there will be 16 channel strips each with 3 pot 1 fader and 1 push button (very similar to the basic model shown in the ucapps main page).

in addition to that design i will put one (or two) push button grids 4x4 (like the velocity sensitive pads in the akai mpc series)into the panel. those push buttons can't be velocity sensitive, i know, but it's not a problem for me because i want to use push buttons to start sfx or pre recorded samples...

near to the push button group i will add some buttons or a joystick for cotrolling cc parameters such ring modulator depht, cutoff freq...

it's a setup that allows me to play a grat number of samples or notes with analog synths and to control them in a easy way.

there are some amazing features that is hard to find in commercial products (like m-audio keyboads...)

1- chord function

2- seq function (like the wavetable sequencer in the mb-sid) or arpeggio with selectable loop

1- chord function: we can play three, four or five notes with a single push button

a) that could be selectable by specifing the chord funtion, the base note, and the chord type. but i think that this is a useless and boring funtion to program if many buttons have to be programmed this way

b) a chord funtion with three or four blank spaces in wich we can put every note in the keyboard would be more flexible and simple and allows us to play a deeeeep chord with high, mid and bass elements by pressing a single push button.

just imagine what an amazing musical effect to play a great number of complicate chords with impressive speed on a small number of push buttons!

2- seq function (like wavetable seq).

a small seq space (16 steps for example).

the effect could be great and the function i very flexible. we can play a midi delay effect with a push button and a melody phrase with another push button, on different midi channels!

a loop function in this very simple seq function will allow us to play 7\4 phrases or other strange timing phrases with great fun and rithmic possibility expecially if the seq timing could be syncrhronized with incoming tempo signal!

we could have many lines for seq programming (like the transpose line, cc line... like in the wavetable seq of the sid) so we can program phrases with complex chords and cc rhithmic changes!

now, i seriously consider that those function should be usefull not olny for me.

i have not the ability to program these functions.

is it possible to implement these functions?

thanks

(excuse for my english :-\ )

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Hi,

just one week ago I purchased a small book with chord tables...

chords.jpg

...in order to get an oversight, because I'm thinking about such a special application which is doing similar things that you described. The only thing about which I'm unsure is, how to play the chords. A single key is mostly not enough, and once you want to play transpositions (e.g. instead of C-E-G the notes G-C'-E') it will get even more difficult. So long it isn't clear to me, how the "user interface" must look like, I won't start. If anybody knows how chord variations are handled by "entertainer keyboards", then please let me know.

This feature will definitely not be part of the MB64 firmware, because the flash is already completely allocated. It will require a seperate core. Maybe once the 64k PIC is bugfree, this could be an option for MB64, but I fear that it will still take months until Microchip will release it.

However, a second core can be easily added to the MIDI chain via MIDIbox Link, so this isn't really a disadvantage.

Sequencer: long time ago this was part of the MB64, but in the meantime it's also a seperate application: http://www.ucapps.de/midibox_seq.html

Best Regards, Thorsten.

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somwhere in the forum i noticed that the mb64 firmware has th double note function...

if this function can be increased to four note... here is the chord function! if i correctly understood, with the double note i have to specify exactly what notes th button has to play... it's sufficent! every musician will decide for his midibox and for his needs.

i'm not kalking about a sort of diy korg karma... i sinply think that a single panel wich can control midi cc over 16 midi channels can be completed with a little (or huge) "push station" wich allows to play something that other midibox or keyboard cannot do.

when we program 16 (example) pads or buttons to play 16 different and complex chords and than we play these pads by the right hand and cuttoffing by the left hand ... the result may be intreasting...

the morphing func. allows to change many cc with a single pot or fader... it's something similar

if multiple cc (not only notes) could be changed by pressing an only push button we could (example) set the cutoff of ch14 to 15, the dalay effect of ch4 to zero, the pitchbend of ch7 to the maximum etc etc etc...

a push station that becomes a "scene station"!!

if the memory problems of the chips represent a problem may be a modification\improvement of the existent function to realize some dreams...  ;)

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You are right, writing meta events to "fire" chords which are preadjusted with pots is a piece of cake, but what happens if you change the note number while keys are already pressed? Hanging notes will be the result, and to avoid this a real note stack will be required (like known from MBSID/MBFM/MBSEQ/MBCV), and this requires memory which is just not available anymore in the MB64 application (it's already overfeatured). However, if something like this would be put into a special application, it would be much more easier and better maintainable, therefore my thoughts about doing it really powerful (no tinkering solutions!)

Best Regards, Thorsten.

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there are some songs that i play with my band that need a feature like this... no controls regardig notes will be touched while playing these chords. so ... no problem

i would like to pre program the chords by pc software and then i'll have a configuration for each song for the maximum simplicity in live palying.

the olny knobs i want to use in combination with the chords are controlling sfx cc like ringmodulator dpht or cutoff frequency of filters.

if this piece of cake is possible (and if is possible even for cc's - multiple cc controls by single push) it would be great for me... and for my band

regarding the mb seq...

is there the possibility to add a few push buttons to start the tracks:

i'll try to explain: if i have 16 added buttons... can i use these to play the tracks one by one... to play electronic drum solos jumping from a phrase to another. and it all when the seq is not playing (or being able to play only the muted tracks while a base line is going on)

the tracks will follow the base time, so everything i play with those buttons will stay in time.

?

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I will go for the even more powerful single core solution as planned, because I think that people (and myself of course, otherwise I wouldn't program it) will be much more happy with it. Main advantage will be, that nice chord combinations can be found live and induitively, and triggered with a small number of keys (2 or 3...) - I don't really like to prepare anything "static" on a PC, it wouldn't really make fun.

Another point: who would write the PC software? ;-)

If you want to have a solution based on your imaginations, then there is no other way than to program it by yourself, or to find somebody else who is doing this for you (infos are located at mb64_meta.inc)

MBSEQ: yes, in song mode you can change the track set with the 16 general purpose buttons. This works like known from groove machines. With the track set you can decide by yourself, which tracks should be muted. A synchronized switching is still planned (and prepared), but not fully implemented yet.

Best Regards, Thorsten.

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Hey Thorsten - I have a question that relates to this topic:

I have an old organ footpedal box that I have modified and attached to a MB64. It covers one octave and each switch is wired to an input on a DIN. It works great when I just press one key, but If I hold one key and then press another the first pressed one sends a note off. Then if I let go of the second one, it sends a new note on. Is it easy to modifiy this behaviour? I'd like to be able to play arpeggiated chords on my microkorg from this pedal.

Thanks

Justin

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Hi Justin,

this requires a note stack which queues the played notes. As mentioned above, examples can be found in MBSID/MBFM/MBSEQ/MBCV

Next saturday I've some time to make a first try for the new "Magic Chord" application, it will get a note stack based on C, which will be easily reusable for other projects

Best Regards, Thorsten.

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