EMUSIC-L Digest Volume 41, Issue 07 This issue's topics: Datagloves and MIDI Digital control of modular synths (2 messages) drumpad trigger to midi interface wanted Your EMUSIC-L Digest moderator is Joe McMahon . You may subscribe to EMUSIC-L by sending mail to listserv@american.edu with the line "SUB EMUSIC-L your name" as the text. The EMUSIC-L archive is a service of SunSite (sunsite.unc.edu) at the University of North Carolina. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Tue, 9 Jun 1992 09:44:44 EDT From: "Joseph D. McMahon" Subject: Datagloves and MIDI Axel Mulder asks: > Has anybody experimented with a powerglove or data/cyberglove or suit (or > any other homebrew gloves) connected to a (digital) musical instrument ? > > I'm looking for ideas that address the problem of how to map movements > to musical information. > > Until now I did some minor experiments with a homebrew glove and a Roland D10. > It was not so interesting due to the fact that the D10 doesn't allow for > realtime patch programming. > > I need some more advanced synthesis or soundmodification technique ----> > any suggestions are very welcome. > > I hope these are not questions that have recently been discussed..... > > Axel Mulder (a.mulder@elsevier.nl) > ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1992 14:17:02 ADT From: Alan Edwards Subject: Re: Digital control of modular synths > Have any of you modular synth builders out there done any experimentation > with digital control of your analog synths. I'm currently constructing > a modular system which I desire to one day work under computer control, > so I was wondering if there were any guiding principles in this regard, > and how it's generally done in the first place. > Perhaps the brute force way would be to have the computer track all the > knobs and switches and such and then send commands to an interface to > generate the appropriate control voltages, gates, and triggers. However > it seems this would take an awful lot of ADCs and DACs, up to one for each > parameter to be controlled. I think I'm missing a much easier way but have > no idea what it might be. The usual approach to this is to have one good, fast ADC and use analog switches or multiplexer to scan the control panel knobs looking for changes since the last scan. The DAC end can be done the same way, but each parameter requires a "sample and hold" circuit to hold the control voltage since the last conversion. This is a rather simple circuit that can be made with good quality capacitors and high impedance op-amps. Actually I think that I have seen ICs that do this .not like the old days :-( > I intend to have the computer scan knobs and the keyboard, control the > modular stuff, and do some arpeggiating and sequencing. MIDI sync would > also be nice, but that's down the road. > So what do you think? Good luck...remember that all of the switches and patch points have to be switched using analog switches...and it gets expensive. You may want to limit the parameters that are under computer control...or design it to be expandable down the road. I remember years ago designing my own "ultimate synth"...I got one voice card built, but it was just too expensive to finish ...hmm..must dig that card out some day and put a MIDI front end on it...it would be a great FX module... Let us know how you make out...or if you need any suggestions on which modulations are important (ALL of them !!), or whatever... :-) Alan ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1992 16:00:00 GMT From: "Bromley, Jay W." Subject: Digital control of modular synths Have any of you modular synth builders out there done any experimentation with digital control of your analog synths. I'm currently constructing a modular system which I desire to one day work under computer control, so I was wondering if there were any guiding principles in this regard, and how it's generally done in the first place. Perhaps the brute force way would be to have the computer track all the knobs and switches and such and then send commands to an interface to generate the appropriate control voltages, gates, and triggers. However it seems this would take an awful lot of ADCs and DACs, up to one for each parameter to be controlled. I think I'm missing a much easier way but have no idea what it might be. I intend to have the computer scan knobs and the keyboard, control the modular stuff, and do some arpeggiating and sequencing. MIDI sync would also be nice, but that's down the road. So what do you think? Regards. jay bromley jaywb@juliet.caltech.edu "He's losing his mind, and he feels it going." ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1992 23:31:04 GMT From: Bruce Becker Subject: drumpad trigger to midi interface wanted A friend of mine has a drum pad which has "trigger" outputs which he'd like to be converted to MIDI. It's a Roland PD-31 with 4 outputs. Hopefully someone out there will have a small box out there which you're not using which will perform this needed function - hopefully it will capture the striking force and translate it to velocity info. Since he will be using it as input to an EPS sampler it doesn't need to be too fancy (altho I understand that a few inexpensive drum machines may be able to do this as well as produce drum sounds, so feel free to offer one if it isn't very expensive). So if you have something useful but definitely not pricey you want to sell, please email to the address below... Thanks, -- ,u, Bruce Becker Toronto, Ontario a /i/ Internet: bdb@becker.gts.org Uucp: ...!lsuc!becker!bdb `\o\-e "You could have stopped me if only you'd done what I said" _< /_ - Governments Everywhere ------------------------------ End of the EMUSIC-L Digest ******************************