best midi knob box ?

i want to start making tracks again and i want one to inspire me.

I have the good ol' BCR-2000.

that was what i was thinking~

wow wow wee wah

bitstream or doepfer drehbank if you can find one

man I had a drehbank, it was too unweildy at the time -- too heavy for live gigs.... but I am so sorry I sold it.

didn't do sysex like a BCF or bitstream does though

woah that bitstream thing is crazy.

haven't you got an RM1X? why not use that as a MIDI controller?

  On 3/27/2012 at 12:59 PM, BCM said:

haven't you got an RM1X? why not use that as a MIDI controller?

well ableton isn't built to use it so i would have to work in sysex.. that sounds a bit complicated

  On 3/27/2012 at 6:26 PM, yek said:

  On 3/27/2012 at 12:59 PM, BCM said:

haven't you got an RM1X? why not use that as a MIDI controller?

 

well ableton isn't built to use it so i would have to work in sysex.. that sounds a bit complicated

Ableton should still be able to send/receive MIDI signals through it. I personally don't even have Ableton set up to see my BCR. I use it as a pure MIDI device because I've had tons of problems w/ the USB on the damn thing (pretty common from what I've read). I only really use at as a break-out box to control my DSI Tetra, since everything on it is buried in menus. I send MIDI out through my multi-box, through the BCR, and into the Tetra.

You could assign MIDI CC numbers to all the knobs on the RM1X, take MIDI out of the RM1X, into the MIDI in on your multi-box, set Live to listen for the MIDI from your box, and use it as a basic MIDI controller.

edit: You'd only need sysex to control the RM1X through Live.

i\ll look into that.

btw if you have a BCR2000 or BCF2000 you can program everything in it with this software: http://home.kpn.nl/f2hmjvandenberg281/bcman.html

bit wonky, but really useful.

I've got an Evolution UC33. That Bitstream looks good. I'm sure someone was selling one of those for £70 a few months ago on Gumtree.

The APC40 is of course not a pure knob box, but it's definitely Ableton-optimized. If that's what you're aiming at.

^ too expensive

  On 3/27/2012 at 8:38 AM, psn said:

something a little interesting from the elektron forum regarding the 3X

http://elektron-users.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=28&func=view&id=171633&catid=9&limit=10&limitstart=10

a very cool thing about the bitstream is that the manufacturer is currently in the process of making the firmware for it opensource:

http://www.waveidea.com/en/support/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1001

i don't have any technical knowledge in that area but if someone here does, feel free to contact jerome (the original/current bitstream firmware programmer) in that thread and let him know. it's a great chance to take a professional bit of kit and customize/expand/tweak/improve the hell out of it.

the bitstream has it's own arpeggiator, lfo's, and motion recorder built-in already. the arp is actually quite advanced and flexible. this would be a great foundation upon which to build some more complex & unusual things.

for example: a generative, evolving arpeggiator, with parameters controlled by the various knobs & sliders.

a processor that alters incoming midi (remap to different scales & tunings, increase/decrease note density, midi delay/stutter, change note durations, etc...).

it would be great to have this stuff all in a hardware box that also functions as a midi controller.

  On 3/28/2012 at 10:00 PM, digit said:

a very cool thing about the bitstream is that the manufacturer is currently in the process of making the firmware for it opensource:

http://www.waveidea....php?f=14&t=1001

 

i don't have any technical knowledge in that area but if someone here does, feel free to contact jerome (the original/current bitstream firmware programmer) in that thread and let him know. it's a great chance to take a professional bit of kit and customize/expand/tweak/improve the hell out of it.

 

the bitstream has it's own arpeggiator, lfo's, and motion recorder built-in already. the arp is actually quite advanced and flexible. this would be a great foundation upon which to build some more complex & unusual things.

 

for example: a generative, evolving arpeggiator, with parameters controlled by the various knobs & sliders.

a processor that alters incoming midi (remap to different scales & tunings, increase/decrease note density, midi delay/stutter, change note durations, etc...).

 

it would be great to have this stuff all in a hardware box that also functions as a midi controller.

That's all stuff ae does according to the forum post linked above your post.

  On 3/29/2012 at 2:12 AM, hautlle said:

That's all stuff ae does according to the forum post linked above your post.

unfortunately, about 50% of that post is bullshit. i don't know where that guy is getting his info, but it's wrong or maybe misinterpreted from different things he's heard.

first of all. he states that ae (rob in this case because he's the one with the bitstream) routes the bitstreams LFO's to control it's arpeggiator.

right there i knew this guy was mistaken because that is impossible. none of the arp parameters or knobs are exposed to external midi control. can't be done.

i have a bitstream sitting right next to my computer here and i double-checked. i'd love to do something like that but it's not currently possible.

second, he refers to them using the bitstream to sequence their other gear live. they might do that in the studio but definitely not live.

the bitstream is used live to control robs nord g2.

sean handles the monomachine/machinedrum side of things and most likely sends a midi program change out to robs mpc/nord when he changes tracks.

the nord g2 goes silent for a second or 2 when you change a program.

knowing that, you can listen to the track changes on the boots and get a decent sense of who is doing what (sean solo at the beginning of each track, robs stuff kicks in later).

listen to the untilted/quaristice tour boots (the tours where the bitstream was used). those sets are pretty consistent from night to night.

there's not a bunch of random craziness going on. rhythm patterns and track lengths don't vary substantially between shows.

...and sean & rob getting pretty wasted before each gig to the point they don't remember what they did?

c'mon man. i lold hard.

to be fair, there's a lot of cool ideas mentioned in that elektron forum post. but some of that stuff is just way off.

/\ agreed I've seen pics of Sean and Robs setup and I'd take a guess that the Bitstream is generally used for random shit with the G2 as the Elektron's are no where near it. Still there are some pretty good ideas in that thread and I might just dust off the the ole 3X myself soon.

knob box galore..build like a tank, no fancy display, no fancy usb, just fiddle along..

  On 3/29/2012 at 2:04 PM, iococoi said:

knob box galore..build like a tank, no fancy display, no fancy usb, just fiddle along..

 

only good if you have midi feedback and it has no usb

great if you have midi feedback, useless if you dont

does anyone here have that box? I'm designing a sheetmetal enclosure for the preen and I'd love to see how they handled the corners. Looks like there is no overlap....

i've got one right here..