Questions about open.theremin.one

Posted: 12/11/2015 9:56:12 AM
xtheremin8

From: züriCH

Joined: 3/15/2014

@Roy: did you copy/paste the midi folder (included in the master cv&midi package) to your already existing sketchbook/library folder? set the variable as told by instruction  and starting that hairless-midi made me see changing midi values on the serial port, but nothing on midi-out nor midi in...hmmm. dude, i'm somewhat stuck too. i think i send a mail to mr. selbersuess and ask him about the how-to-for-dummies. if some more news, maybe a new thread for that. it's gettting a bit brute here lately :-)

Posted: 12/11/2015 1:12:25 PM
rkram53

From: Northern NJ, USA

Joined: 7/29/2014

Yea - sorry - I'll take out all the theremin simulation stuff I put here and post to a separate thread where it belongs. But being a programmer I need to get into this Open.Theremin stuff myself.

 

Posted: 12/11/2015 4:32:13 PM
xtheremin8

From: züriCH

Joined: 3/15/2014

Fellow thereminist, i was just joking. leave it like it is.  i just don't see much benefit of a theremin synth simulation, while you already have a theremin sound on it's own. but you should get into that arduino theremin thing. this would be a easy one, i guess, for you as a programmer. 

so far i could get something out of garage band and logic by midi. mostly midimashup. the volume knob acts as a volume knob for the outgoing midi-signals.?!! if it's turned all the way ccw, no signal goes out. and even a bit turned cw gives a hung note. something does not work properyl yet.

sooo what i did with my V2 board:  in the "...expanded_cvmidi" sketch, after /*General variables*/ i ,searched the line "uint8_t _ Midi =0",and  set that variable for =1.  and uploaded to the board.

then i started that hairless midi serial bridge program and  the audio-midi-setup,  double clicked iac-driver and checked "device is online". Back to hairless and set the serial port to my usb and mdi-out to the new iac-bus. i left midi in as not connected. for windows users: check the faq on the hairless site

maybe midi mayhem. stay tuned.

Posted: 12/18/2015 11:50:32 AM
xtheremin8

From: züriCH

Joined: 3/15/2014

so far, i got a cheering mail from urs and i hope i can meet him and others at the n/o/d/e festival in january, to get this thing explained. 

the volume side controls velocity, (kind of note on/off) so one has to play every single note on it's own. and mute that one before the next note..or the notes get stuck.  if you open up the keyboard in garage-band you will see the pressed keys and how they are stuck. velocity down and a sweep with the right hand relases them sometimes. the result is not very musically but arpeggiated instruments work better (in the sense of : somethingsgoingonhere!) but real crazyness if one tries to play a drum-kit! huiiii.

https://github.com/davethehat/OpenThereminUNO i think that one looks pretty nice. found the serial on/off easily and hairless-midiserial sees incoming signals but they are not midi yet. (error: got unexpected data byte etc..) due to my lack of knowledge..guess the rest.

Posted: 12/19/2015 4:48:29 PM
rkram53

From: Northern NJ, USA

Joined: 7/29/2014

Just got my Open.Theremin package. Now have to swipe an Arduino from my son. Have any of you tried the CV out option? Just one CV? If so, I'll have to see if I can reprogram pins for CV volume and CV pitch.

Frankly I can't see how a MIDI implementation will be useful unless it's sending note on/off in conjunction with pitch bend (maybe using volume antenna to control CC11 or CC7). Then you will have to have a way to set pitch bend (or some CC you map to that) range and then set PB range of the MIDI synth or plug-in you are connected to match that. The Continuum works kind of like this. Just sending a MIDI Note based on gating of the volume antenna will be of little musical use. Even then PB will only get you so far unless you can create a very large bend that's maintained over a wide back and forth hand motion until you gate the next note with volume antenna and what you are controlling supports that PB range.

I'll have to look into the code.  You are supposed to be able to easily change the wavetable to set different sounds.

 

 

Posted: 12/19/2015 7:10:06 PM
Thierry

From: Colmar, France

Joined: 12/31/2007

You can't have two CVs since there is only one DAC... You could naturally try to output PWM on an unused pin, but PWM is IMNSHFO not a good option because it would require important filtering behind which would add delay and thus worsen the reactivity.

Posted: 12/19/2015 7:50:53 PM
rkram53

From: Northern NJ, USA

Joined: 7/29/2014

Thanks! Just a thought - perhaps if PWM-based CV with its associated delay is placed on the volume loop if the DAC based CV is on pitch, it's is not going to be that bad. The envelope of the thermein is not a fast attack - and maybe fine for my use controlling a modular from the Open.theremin. I'm not sure a bit of extra delay would be horrible here (depends on the delay of course).

Actually I see there are a number of DAC boards you can interface to the Arduino through I2C for like $5. That might be the better option to get a second CV out. One CV out is useless for any true musical purpose. And its rather a pain to set up the Etherwave Plus in front of my modular when I want to control it from the theremin having to get up and move across the room. This Open.Uno looks like a much more Modular friendly way to do it. I'm not so much interested in the sound of it versus the CV control.

 

Posted: 12/19/2015 10:38:30 PM
dewster

From: Northern NJ, USA

Joined: 2/17/2012

8 bits + 16MIPs of the Arduino are just barely enough to implement what's going on in the Open.Theremin, much less extra features. Someone needs to take this shield to a beefier base board and get crazy on it.

Posted: 12/19/2015 10:43:36 PM
xtheremin8

From: züriCH

Joined: 3/15/2014

looks like cv out works. i have only a noise toaster to test cv things right here and my multimeter says ~3.7volt for the highest pitch.  measured from the pads grnd to sp+ .  not very academic, i know.  so i'm quite curious how this works on proper gear. is the cv-mode pitchfield a bit smaller or is it just me?  i think this theremin could also make a good simple cv-module like the a-178 from doepfer. probably even better!

 

 

Posted: 12/20/2015 4:17:17 PM
rkram53

From: Northern NJ, USA

Joined: 7/29/2014

Dewster: Yea - would be nice if the shield was  updated for the Arduino Due that has two DACs. I don't think it is compatible with UNO.

XTheremin8 - What did you reconfigure to get the CV out? Uncomment the little bit of CV commented code and recompile - though that does not appear to use the DAC?

Thanks

Rich

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