Patchapon
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Hey guys, first post on here, so thanks in advance!

My apologies if any of this is ridiculous, I'm super new to this. I've been trying to figure out a way to control some of my current hardware (Dhp-33, microkorg, Kaoss Pad) and some future hardware (Akai mpx8, Korg volca keys, etc) using some sort of portable sequencer or controller. I was using SoundOSC with my laptop for awhile, but my laptop is getting a bit old, and dragging it around everywhere then setting it up is a little bit of a hassle.

Then I found a video of a person controlling a volca keys with a GB running LSDJ through Arduinoboy, which is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16uCL9eXa0g

I read the description and it says lsdj can output to four different midi channels. My mind instantly starting racing at the possibility of composing on the fly with a GB, coming home and hooking it up and jamming out, or just taking a couple of my portable stuffs (like the microkorg) with me and making stuff on my breaks at work, and making chip music to mix with my music.

But I am still new to this, and there's some things I am confused on.

1. Is this possible? I mean, there is the video of the volca keys above, but how would I separate the singular midi output on the Arduinoboy to 4 different devices? A splitter maybe?

2. I'm still a bit confused on getting the rom onto a flash cart, do you need some kind of usb connection to load it onto the cart?

3. If it is possible, is there some way to hook up two GBs so they run with in sync while still controlling devices?

I feel confident that I could modify a GB to get it chiptune ready and build an Arduinoboy (mostly thanks to some very detailed instructables), but I just wanted to make sure this was possible before I went down this path. Any tutorials that would help with these questions would be much appreciated because I haven't seemed to find any.

Anyways, thank you guys again for the help!

jefftheworld
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Toronto, Ontario, Canada

It's definitely possible to control multiple devices with LSDJ.

You'll probably need a MIDI THRU box to split the midi signal. However, there isn't any easy way of syncing two Game Boys while also doing MIDI.

nickmaynard
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rochester, ny

if I have an older arduinoboy, do I need to update it's programming to do this?

nickmaynard
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rochester, ny

accidental double post

Last edited by nickmaynard (Apr 14, 2016 2:50 pm)

The Laohu
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Utah

1. Absolutely possible. You would either need a MIDI THRU (as suggested above) or you can just use MIDI THRU with each of your devices if they have that option. Using the second option, I have run MIDI from the gameboy out to 3 devices simulatneously, on 4 MIDI channels.
2. Getting LSDJ onto a cart depends on which cart you use, but 64m Smart Card and Drag and Derp both have USB functionality.
3. I don't believe it is possible to sync two GBs while also using the MIDI function. They are two separate modes.

unexpectedbowtie
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Glasgow, Scotland.

Jeff's video is awesome, and what inspired me to get into MIDI controlling. It's really good fun, and opens up a whole lot of possibilities. Here's a step by step explanation of how I got LSDJ to play with a Volca Bass:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZfVMUw19_c

The Laohu gave you the rest of the answers that you need.

nickmaynard wrote:

if I have an older arduinoboy, do I need to update it's programming to do this?

Probably. Mine was pretty old and I had to update the software to get it to work. I wrote a bit about my experience doing that here: https://unexpectedbowtie.com/2016/01/20 … rduinoboy/

e.s.c.
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IL, US

the roughest part of your plan would be the writing on the go part.. i mean, how would you know what the synth line you're sending to the microkorg sounds like without having it hooked up?

catskull
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NUMBSKULL

Don't forget that you need the patched version of LSDJ that does midi out

herr_prof
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Caveats! There are plenty!

1: Midi out cannot also send clock
2. You are limited to max 7 cc with scaled values or 1 big one with scaled values per lsdj channel
3. No velocity!
4. No Pitchbend!

Ableton work ex flow: Record a stereo bounce of the lsdj song and the four midi channels at once. Use the stereo mix as your tempo master and map the tempo to it. Quantize any midi notes you may need. You can then flip the dmg into slave mode and record each channel separately and mix to taste. Draw in whatever midi the gb lacks on your sequenced stuff.

jefftheworld
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Toronto, Ontario, Canada
e.s.c. wrote:

the roughest part of your plan would be the writing on the go part.. i mean, how would you know what the synth line you're sending to the microkorg sounds like without having it hooked up?

The Korg Volca series and the Roland Boutique series are both very compact and work on batteries. It's easy enough to power an arduinoboy with batteries or from the link port power pin and you can buy or build a tiny passive mixer, although the Roland Boutiques even have a line-in that is just mixed into the output.

The DHP 33 is another story, though. tongue

Last edited by jefftheworld (Apr 15, 2016 2:39 am)

e.s.c.
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IL, US

carrying multiple devices including a mixer is stretching my definition of portable

jefftheworld
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Toronto, Ontario, Canada
e.s.c. wrote:

carrying multiple devices including a mixer is stretching my definition of portable

If I can use it on an airplane seat-back tray I consider it portable. A mint-tin sized mixer, an arduinoboy, a Game Boy and a Volca all fit comfortably in a small bag and would be great for jamming out at work, school or even on an airplane.

herr_prof
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Or even imagine : an iPad !

Patchapon
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Sweet, thank you guys for the help! I plan on getting started very soon, and I'll (hopefully) be up and running soon!

I was also just looking at the akai mpx8, and for some reason it only accepts midi in on channel 10. Is there any way to change what channels the four channels route out to?

unexpectedbowtie
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Glasgow, Scotland.
Patchapon wrote:

Sweet, thank you guys for the help! I plan on getting started very soon, and I'll (hopefully) be up and running soon!

I was also just looking at the akai mpx8, and for some reason it only accepts midi in on channel 10. Is there any way to change what channels the four channels route out to?

Not in a portable way AFAIA... but if you are routing MIDI through your computer you can re-route the MIDI data onto different channels. MIDI Patchbay is a good app for Mac. You could always get a Raspberry Pi to do this, but it's a bit more complicated to set up.

catskull
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NUMBSKULL

I could modify the Arduinoboy code for you to output on channel 10... Or is that what you're asking?

One thing I like to do is just make the song on LSDJ, then send relative midi notes so I get a doubled up sound. Ghetto, but I like how it sounds!

Also I can't not plug my affordable Arduinoboy. Check out shop.catskull.net!

Last edited by catskull (Apr 15, 2016 4:15 pm)