Video: MIDIbox SEQ V4 and BLM16x16+X Prototype

MIDIbox BLM
1

MBSEQ V4 remote controlled by my new Button/Duo-LED matrix prototype.

The frontpanel hasn’t been created yet, and it’s difficult to push the mini buttons without button caps. But playing with this toy is already a lot of fun! :slight_smile:

The BLM firmware is running on a dedicated PIC based core module and communicates with MBSEQ via MIDI. The optimized protocol is fast enough to achieve high refresh rates between 350 fps (if only a single line is changed) and 20 fps (if all 512 LEDs are changed).

Best Regards, Thorsten.

2

putain ! ça déchire !!! :frantics: :frantics: :frantics: :frantics: :frantics: :frantics: :frantics: :frantics: :frantics: :frantics:

i will do everything you need to help a group buy for PCB, buttons and panels like Wilba did for the SeqV4 control panel

Livid does nice buttons with 3mm LEDs or RGB smd inside

1 Like
3

Nice demo indeed. This new toy looks quite promising especially for quick live pattern programming.

This is a smart extension to the MIDIbox Seq V4.

Kind of MidiBox spirit Monome …

By the way, what are the sound sources used for the demo ?

Great Job as usual TK

4

something to watch over & over again! very nice!

it’s so cool!

5

:drool: want.

TK it’s amazing the efforts you contribute to all of us midiboxers!

and without a PCB, you must be happy that was a one-off.

now i’m thinking of building another seqv4 + blm! i like the look of an all-in-one pcb/frontpanel.. :smiley:

6

Hello Thorsten :hug:

This is really amazing !!!

I have dreamed about this for years !! :drool:

How will the 16x16blm and the SeqV4 work together ?

Is it possible to use the knobs of the SeqV4 to adjust velocity , note length,… of the 16x16blm ?

Greets

Moroe

7

Thank you for the great feedback! :slight_smile:

For discussions about the construction (and coordination for PCBs/kits) I created a new forum section:

By the way, what are the sound sources used for the demo ?

I used virtual instruments that are part of Logic Studio 9:

Mostly presets, but with modifications to harmonize the sounds.

  • Stylus RMX as a drum sampler (I don’t use the beatslicing mechanisms):

How will the 16x16blm and the SeqV4 work together ?

They are already working together. MBSEQ V4 directly controls the LEDs and receives button changes.

Is it possible to use the knobs of the SeqV4 to adjust velocity , note length,… of the 16x16blm ?

Whenever a track or step or mode or whatever is selected on the BLM, MBSEQV4 directly jumps to the appr. edit screen so that step informations are displayed and values can alternatively be changed with the common control surface. :slight_smile:

The same vice versa: if you select a velocity, length, CC or similar parameter layer, the value can be modified on the BLM16x16 as well (but only with 4 bit resolution per step of course)

This for example allows you to draw waveforms :slight_smile:

Best Regards, Thorsten.

mbseqv4_teaser3_au.png
mbseqv4_teaser3_au.png816×537 50.3 KB

mbseqv4_teaser3_kit.png
mbseqv4_teaser3_kit.png729×443 121 KB

8

Great job of course TK!

Question: do your hands/arms tend to get in the way of your vision for “Keyboard Mode” and would a workaround involve having zero velocity at the top? Or is that too-backwards thinking?

P.S. Beer was sent a week or so ago ago :thumbsup:

9

Livid does nice buttons with 3mm LEDs or RGB smd inside

Livid’s boards don’t support RGB SMD LEDs as far as I can tell, only monochrome. Maybe you’re thinking of SparkFun? https://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=7835

The problem with those is the cost. SparkFun’s ones are cheaper and are known-good to support even fat 5mm RGB through-hole LEDs. 10 USD for 16 rubber buttons, so 160 USD just for 16x16 rubber caps! Oops I forgot the other 33 buttons on the proto… so it’s more like 200 USD just for the rubber caps! Not many people would want to spend that… VERY TEMPTING THOUGH!

Looks great TK… can’t wait to see it with the panels and button caps!

10

…

The BLM firmware is running on a dedicated PIC based core module and communicates with MBSEQ via MIDI. The optimized protocol is fast enough to achieve high refresh rates between 350 fps (if only a single line is changed) and 20 fps (if all 512 LEDs are changed).

Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hm, very interesting!

As I’m waiting for the final parts (box enclosure) for my mbox sequencer, I have 3 questions to satisfy my curiosity in this new sequencer extension development:

  1. Does the pattern selection mode mean that it is possible to select/activate patterns from the pattern bank in real time in a similar way as we do it in ableton scene view?

I mean, does 16x16 matrix in this mode represents 16x16 pattern slots from bank and patterns can be played/activated with those buttons?

  1. Does “communicates with MBSEQ via MIDI” mean through midi cable or this communication is done via one of MBSEQ motherboards digital I/O interfaces? In my sequencer all seem occupied with DIN, DOUT, Midi and SD card. :unsure:

  2. I already had the same idea about SparkFun’s rubberized led buttons. Expensive? Maybe, but not so much taking in account the fact that in my opinion there are not any competitive alternatives on the market for midibox sequencer (even genoqs, which is really expensive, doesn’t convince me enough). Also my sequencer version is not cheep either with omron dual led switches and Reichelt LCDs and custom silk printed aluminium panel - most expensive parts :slight_smile: So for me SparkFun’s seems optimal solution - just the question - is those button sets compatible with the ‘The BLM firmware is running on a dedicated PIC based core module’?

Best regards

Gunars

11

Question: do your hands/arms tend to get in the way of your vision for “Keyboard Mode” and would a workaround involve having zero velocity at the top? Or is that too-backwards thinking?

For this video I preferred the lowest velocity at the bottom since it is hard to find the lower keys with a camera before your face (thats the reason why I mostly used the upper buttons for all modes ;))

I will provide a swap option so that people can decide themselves.

A big advantage of having the loudest keys at the bottom: it will be easier to change the transpose key with a hand that is playing/holding notes.

Btw.: I also consider to add a (horizontal) keyboard split option. Only 8 velocity values will be available per instrument, but they can be played in parallel, resp. it won’t be required to switch between the tracks.

And the mode selection buttons will be changed to the lowest “extra column” keys, so that the most important modes can be switched with a single hand.

Looks great TK… can’t wait to see it with the panels and button caps!

Soon!

Btw.: good that you stopped your activities with the PCB layout, as this gave me some time to reconsider the usage and arrangement of extra buttons. :slight_smile:

  1. Does the pattern selection mode mean that it is possible to select/activate patterns from the pattern bank in real time in a similar way as we do it in ableton scene view?

I mean, does 16x16 matrix in this mode represents 16x16 pattern slots from bank and patterns can be played/activated with those buttons?

yes. And switching between the patterns can either be done immediately (the way I prefer), or synchronized to the measure.

It gives you exactly the same functions like the MBSEQ V4 Pattern page, just more direct access.

Btw.: muting is possible with the extra column by clicking a button twice (first click selects a track, second click mutes a track)

  1. Does “communicates with MBSEQ via MIDI” mean through midi cable or this communication is done via one of MBSEQ motherboards digital I/O interfaces? In my sequencer all seem occupied with DIN, DOUT, Midi and SD card. :unsure:

It’s your own choice if you prefer a traditional connection via MIDI compatible cables (with optocouplers) or a direct, digital connection.

Using optocouplers decouples the BLM circuit and allows long distances. Digital I/O over long cables could be unstable in a noisy environment.

One of the 5 UARTs is available at the JTAG port J3 that you don’t use yet.

This additional MIDI port will be enabled in one of the next MBSEQ releases.

just the question - is those button sets compatible with the ‘The BLM firmware is running on a dedicated PIC based core module’?

I haven’t checked the layout, but it can be assumed that any button/LED matrix is compatible with the firmware.

Sometimes the mapping has to be adapted in the software, alternatively you have to ensure that the matrix is connected exactly like documented here: http://www.ucapps.de/mbhp/mbhp_blm_map.pdf

Best Regards, Thorsten.

12

Btw.: good that you stopped your activities with the PCB layout, as this gave me some time to reconsider the usage and arrangement of extra buttons. :slight_smile:

Yes… I really like what you did with the extra buttons.

13

…

Btw.: I also consider to add a (horizontal) keyboard split option. Only 8 velocity values will be available per instrument, but they can be played in parallel, resp. it won’t be required to switch between the tracks.

And the mode selection buttons will be changed to the lowest “extra column” keys, so that the most important modes can be switched with a single hand.

…

yes. And switching between the patterns can either be done immediately (the way I prefer), or synchronized to the measure.

It gives you exactly the same functions like the MBSEQ V4 Pattern page, just more direct access.

Btw.: muting is possible with the extra column by clicking a button twice (first click selects a track, second click mutes a track)

…

It’s your own choice if you prefer a traditional connection via MIDI compatible cables (with optocouplers) or a direct, digital connection.

Using optocouplers decouples the BLM circuit and allows long distances. Digital I/O over long cables could be unstable in a noisy environment.

…

One of the 5 UARTs is available at the JTAG port J3 that you don’t use yet.

This additional MIDI port will be enabled in one of the next MBSEQ releases.

…

Best Regards, Thorsten.

Hi Thorsten,

Fantastic :w00t: ! These are next best news since I found midibox in January.

You are going to keep me busy for another 5-6 month :laugh:

This new matrix seems another must have!

Best regards

Gunars

PS

I played with my not yet completely finished sequencer this weekend a

few hours. And found one more thing I want to ask. It looks like split

for arpeggio/transpose modes is done only globally in Midi transpose

and arp page. Actually since I played from 49 key RemoteSL live I felt

this bit limiting. I thought that it probably would be nice to

consider this split option for each track separately so that you

can set split for each track this way:

LOWER ZONE | SPLIT KEY | UPPER ZONE

{silent;play-through;arpeggio/transpose} | Key # | {silent;play-through;arpeggio/transpose}

On the Korg M3 it is also possible to adjust the velocity slope for the

split zones so that zone doesn’t stop hard at split point, but fades out gradually

over some notes/octaves. What others think about this, do you find this could

be useful? I understand that this needs quite a lot of programming and is

certainly not to do priority.

I tried to move this discussion to more <___base_url___>/index.php?/topic/13137-midibox-seq-v4-beta-release-feedback/page__view__findpost__p__127536&do=embed … thanks for your patience :blush:

Anyway, yet another beer to TK! :slight_smile:

14

I already considered to provide 4 transpose/arpeggiator busses routed to Bus1..Bus4, that can be loopbacked or controlled from keyboard splitzones (and now also from BLM16x16+X). And a “play through” function is planned as well.

This concept is similar to your proposal, as each track can select the desired transpose or arpeggiator zone individually.

Advantage compared to your idea: it fits better with the loopback mechanisms!

I don’t like the velocity option - it makes the configuration more and more complicated and especially intransparent!

I mean: you would probably know how to use it, but the next guys would think that transpose seems to be buggy if they don’t remember that they activated such a strange option by fault.

Btw.: this is the wrong topic to discuss about MBSEQ features.

Your request will probably get lost here!

Best Regards, Thorsten.

15

IMPRESSIVE!!!

16

Over 11 years after the first implementation, here’s the newest variant which still fully supports the epic 16x16+X BLM protocol (and supports all existing MIDIbox SEQ v4):

< base_url >/topic/23162-midiphy-matrix/?do=embed

Best regards and enjoy!
Peter