I know this might seem a stupid thing to say, but has anyone ever tried modifying the MBSEQ to work like a TB-303? I understand that it’s a more powerful tool, and can do way more than the 303 ever could, but I have a peculiar liking for that weird little box, and I know i’ll never own one.
What I’d like, is something that has 13 note buttons (C-C), transpose + & -, etc.. Basically all the buttons the 303 has so it can be programmed in the same way. No velocity, just accent so a single track seq would be fine.
Pattern select, and things can be handled with an LCD and encoder (see, i’m not a luddite ).
In my ideal world, the sequencer would be allied to a an integrated SID core, with the patches accessible from the 2x20 LCD.
Of course it’s never going to materialise, but does anyone else share my secret fetish??
not sure on the original, but the x0xb0x certainly does, which leads me to believe that there was no downloadable firmware available. i may be wrong though.
Well, Stryd, that’s certainly a much easier propostion! The 303 is all analogue goodness, so it would be a relatively simple task to homebrew a clone of the voice board, and interface it to an MBSID CV controller or something. It’s something that i’d be interested in, but considering how close the 8580 can get to the sound of the 303, it seems like we’re re-inventing the wheel That said, i’d love a real 303 of course!
Bill, I’ve never owned a real 303 either. I saw one in a studio once and was shocked at how small it is! It was sat on a Jupiter 8, so the scale may have been a bit misleading..
Anyway, the only time i’ve ever used the 303 type sequencer, is with the Prophet64.com software. That stuff sounds great, and does pretty much everything a 303 does, but doesn’t have the ability to chain patterns into songs. It’s not really well suited to live use either, but if it’s functionality could be copied in hardware form, i’d be a happy bunny!
Emulating TB303 sequences completely via MIDI is mostly not possible, because synths normaly don’t provide a way to change the pitch to a new note and to activate the slide without triggering the gate.
Such a function can be partly simulated by dynamically switching between mono and legato mode via CC, but the implementation depends heavily on the capabilities of the target synth.
The way this is implemented on the x0xb0x, MAM MB33, and IIRC the 3031 is that the synth looks for note off events. If it sees one it shuts the gate, if not then it slides from one note to another without shutting the gate so in an external sequencer, you just need to have the note that its slides from “go” beyond the start of the note it slides into. The x0x will actually send out midi slides like this also
Emulating TB303 sequences completely via MIDI is mostly not possible, because synths normaly don’t provide a way to change the pitch to a new note and to activate the slide without triggering the gate.
Such a function can be partly simulated by dynamically switching between mono and legato mode via CC, but the implementation depends heavily on the capabilities of the target synth.
To be honest, i’m not looking for something that will fool anyone who knows about the 303, just something that has a similar functionality. I’ve got a DX27 and i’m getting a JX3P, both of which i’m using live, and i’d like to have some sequenced stuff to in there as well. It’s just an idea at the minute, but i’ve got a spare SID i’d like to use for a dedicated x0x b0x type of thing.
I dont know what a monophonic sequencer like the 303’s would give you since both those synths are polyphonic and the DX is a 4 op FM synth (no analog goodness there). the JX should better but it has very limited midi control so a variable portamento controlled via midi may not be possible. It would need to be controlled like TK mentioned
The way this is implemented on the x0xb0x, MAM MB33, and IIRC the 3031 is that the synth looks for note off events. If it sees one it shuts the gate, if not then it slides from one note to another without shutting the gate so in an external sequencer, you just need to have the note that its slides from “go” beyond the start of the note it slides into. The x0x will actually send out midi slides like this also
in MBSID, this mode is called “SusKey”, the functionality in other words: slide will be activated when two notes are overlapping.
In MBSEQ, slides are activated in the same way.
But this doesn’t give you all possibilities, because when you are using this technique, you cannot indepedently control if on a slided note the gate should be retriggered (or not), or that the note should be accented.
I didn’t mean to imply that I would use the seq to trigger either of my synths, as I said before I want a dedicated sequencer & sound module (SEQ + MBSID). That way I can have it running while I play the keyboards.
Why do you want to build a MBSEQ, when MBSID V2 will provide a dedicated control surface extension for TB303 mode? See also the bottom of this page: http://www.ucapps.de/midibox_sid_v2_wishlist.html
I did write to you a few months back about the TB mode, but you told me to wait until V2 was released for more details. Therefore, i’ve no idea how you plan to implement the control surface for the sequencer, or how pattern writing will be accomplished. Will the note events be MIDI notes that can be recorded by an external sequencer??
What I really need to know is if your control extension will allow me to build a self contained 303 workalike. If so, then this thread is reduntant I guess.
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