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Post by interstar on Aug 4, 2023 13:13:22 GMT
I have an AE Modular setup. But no sequencer. (It wouldn't fit)
No problem, I think. I have a handy 7 inch tablet. That would be perfect to run a sequencer and fit well with my AE + Volca Modular + NTS-1 setup (in terms of size and portability).
Just find a USB-c to TRS MIDI cable and ...
And then I wake up.
Why the hell can't I, in 2023, in an age of AE Modular and dozens of other small, portable, boutique bits of gear, get a USB-c to TRS cable? Without seemingly having to construct some chimera involving about 6 cables converting via "normal" USB and 5-pin DIN plugs?
It's crazy there's no simple and direct solution for this.
Or is there one? And I just can't find it?
I mean, a small, cheap Android tablet running a multi-track sequencer ought to be the perfect companion to hardware synths.
And yet almost no-one seems to be doing it. You're more likely to find people running soft-synths on an expensive iPad from an external keyboard than using a tablet to sequence hardware. But when you think about it this is completely backwards. Hardware is great for the kind of physically embodied electronic sound we all love. While a computer with a nice touch-screen is fine for editing, storing and reproducing a lot of sequences of notes.
So yeah ... either does anyone know anyone who just makes a direct USB-c to TRS MIDI cable (bonus points if it's switchable between TRS A and B)
Or can someone make one? @robert???
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Post by MikMo on Aug 4, 2023 21:39:58 GMT
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Post by 101 on Aug 5, 2023 1:23:08 GMT
Even if you could get a tablet based sequencer working your not going to able to track notes very successfully. The Wavetable Oscillator is fairly accurate and the Algodrone is OK-ish. But the analogue Oscillators don't track notes at all well, from my experience of trying to send midi notes from the Renoise tracker DAW.
Your also stuck with using one midi channel. So it's not like you'd be able to trigger different note sequences on different Oscillators.
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Post by interstar on Aug 5, 2023 3:15:49 GMT
Even if you could get a tablet based sequencer working your not going to able to track notes very successfully. The Wavetable Oscillator is fairly accurate and the Algodrone is OK-ish. But the analogue Oscillators don't track notes at all well, from my experience of trying to send midi notes from the Renoise tracker DAW. Your also stuck with using one midi channel. So it's not like you'd be able to trigger different note sequences on different Oscillators. I've been able to sequence the 2vco oscillator from my DAW. It doesn't track absolute pitch, but the relative pitches seem pretty OK. If there are multiple oscillators your just need to make sure they're tuned to each other. Yes, current MIDI of AE is one channel, but seems like Wonkystuff is working on some alternatives. |
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Post by interstar on Aug 5, 2023 3:21:50 GMT
Yes, I saw that. And yeah, a simple cable won't work. But you can get a USB-A (the original) to 5 pin DIN as a single cable. Albeit with some kind of convertor box in the middle. I don't see why you couldn't, in principle, have the same except with USB-C at one end and TRS at the other. |
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Post by 101 on Aug 5, 2023 10:52:20 GMT
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Post by interstar on Aug 5, 2023 20:05:50 GMT
Thanks for the suggestion. But that's really not a substitute I'm looking for. Mainly because I write my own Android software, and ultimately I want to experiment with my own generative software. I really want to sequence my hardware gear from my tablet. And it does kind of amaze me that this isn't already a thing. It seems such an obvious requirement for people to have. Back in the 1980s I was sequencing my synths from a home computer. (First a BBC Micro, then an Atari 512) And almost every home computer could do it. How are we in a place where the most popular small computer : our phone or tablet, can't sequence some of the most popular small bits of gear (which largely come with TRS MIDI)? |
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julientaq
New Member
designing stuff with html and css
Posts: 14
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Post by julientaq on Aug 7, 2023 12:19:24 GMT
I think this is the best you can get from what i read of your needs: denki-oto.weebly.com/store/p74/MICROMIDITRS-USB.html#/it’s still 2 cables (1midi and 1usb) and you need some computer to do the midi conversion. the android being a computer, you could plug a midi interface in theory. and then it’s not about the cable but the interface. |
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Post by duddex on Aug 10, 2023 5:37:40 GMT
Even if you could get a tablet based sequencer working your not going to able to track notes very successfully. [...] Please take a look at the Oscillator calibration for AE modular page and try calibrating your oscillators. When I first got my 2/OSC I was a bit disappointed, because it was completely "out of tune". But after calibrating the 2/OSC, it now tracks quite good. |
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Post by duddex on Aug 10, 2023 5:47:18 GMT
[...] Back in the 1980s I was sequencing my synths from a home computer. (First a BBC Micro, then an Atari 512) And almost every home computer could do it. [...] I think the difference between the old computers back then and the modern computers/tablets is that the old computers had serial ports and nowadays the computers/tablets have USB ports. So some kind of USB-to-serial adapter has to be involved in this solution. The other task is, that the cable is just a cable and not a MIDI interface. So it wouldn't show up as MIDI device in the sequencer-app. But as far as I understood, you want to write your own application. So in this case you would have to send the MIDI data directly via the serial interface. But this sounds like an interesting project. I agree: having a "chimera involving about 6 cables" is not ideal... |
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Post by interstar on Aug 10, 2023 17:51:58 GMT
I think this is the best you can get from what i read of your needs: denki-oto.weebly.com/store/p74/MICROMIDITRS-USB.html#/it’s still 2 cables (1midi and 1usb) and you need some computer to do the midi conversion. the android being a computer, you could plug a midi interface in theory. and then it’s not about the cable but the interface. That looks in the right direction. I particularly like the switch between A and B type TRS MIDI.
But soldering it up myself and buying a separate microcontroller?
I wonder why no-one just makes one of these, ready to use.
And yeah, I totally get that there needs to be some kind of board / processor in it, not just a cable. Just as there is with the normal MIDI to USB cables.
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Post by MikMo on Aug 10, 2023 19:34:29 GMT
You can get it soldered up for 34$, probably still need to find your own enclosure.
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namke
wonkystuff
electronics and sound, what's not to like?!
Posts: 686
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Post by namke on Aug 13, 2023 9:27:40 GMT
Over-engineered for your original request (and I’m not 100% sure it works with Android), but I have a RetroKits RK-006 and use it as a general MIDI interface for my laptop and iPad — it’s also capable of hosting ‘USB only’ keyboard (I have used it with an Arturia Minilab II), doing clock generation and a few other things. Very small, and a bit pricey, but really useful… retrokits.com/shop/rk006/ |
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