33

(14 replies, posted in Other Hardware)

None of the POs keep patterns after battery removal.

34

(0 replies, posted in Trading Post)

I have a 4 days old Teenage Engineering PO-14 Sub that I would like to trade for a good condition PO-12 Rhythm. It comes with its box and the invoice, so it's still in warranty.

Only reason to give it up is that the sounds don't really work for me in my current workflow. I have enough other synths to get the bass I need.

US only. NYC preferred.

35

(4 replies, posted in Commodore Computers)

Like any old oldschool proper serial MIDI interface setup (you Do need to buy an external adapter, it doesn't come built in), the Amiga has not much in the way of problems with jitter and timing. It's solid as fuck.
There's many programs supporting it, from the tracker interface of OctaMED to Music-X to the super complex and still unrivaled in options Bars & Pipes Professional.
OctaMED will not need an advanced Amiga for MIDI. You only need a faster Amiga if you want to use more of the internal sample channels. For MIDI you should be pretty safe. I would only recommend Bars & Pipes if you want to go absolutely batshit crazy with MIDI. Lerning curve is steep. Program is a bitch to get running. I tried once and was traumatized, never again tried to work with it.

Depending on your location, MIDI interfaces could go from "easy to find and affordable" to "oh my fuck why do I want to buy this?"

Whether you choose an Amiga or Atari ST or even a PC with a serial MIDI interface, you should have no problems. I would also really consider using an old DOS PC running Fast Tracker or something like that as it owuld probably be easier to source and work out than an Amiga or Atari ST.

36

(5 replies, posted in Trading Post)

catskull sells excellent kits that are affordable and do exactly what I want. I will be going with one of his.
Thread over!

37

(5 replies, posted in Trading Post)

I rarely come here, forgot to say to email me at **********
Pulse: go on have a laff m8 big_smile

38

(5 replies, posted in Trading Post)

I am looking for an Arduinoboy, don't care how it looks as long as it works well, preferably located in New York City for a local pickup, otherwise nearby, if all fails, whatever continental US location.

I don't want to spend too much so if yours looks fancy and stuff, I am not interested.

Thanks.

39

(32 replies, posted in Commodore Computers)

I had this happening with a shitty PC USB interface. The interface kept sending some sort of message and that DOES clog up the MIDI port.
You need to filter your MIDI signal and give the C64 only what it needs. Disable aftertouch, polyphonic aftertouch, SysEx messages, even program change if you are not going to use it. Only allow the CC data that will actually work with the C64 and nothing else.

Try other MIDI emulation modes instead of Datel, for example SIDWizard uses NameSoft. In the case of Station64, that works pretty much with anything as long as you reconfigure it, so no need to stick to Datel emulation if it's unoptimal.

Also re: Station64, make sure you have the latest version, I have helped the writer fix some of these problems. It still happens but only when you send a LOT of notes REALLY fast, which is not very normal. Nowadays it works quite well, but sending notes AND changing parameters in real time can all produce lags and notes "swallowed" by the system if it is all too much for the C64 to handle.

40

(9 replies, posted in Commodore Computers)

qb wrote:

So can I use a DAW like FL Studio to control the C64\SID via MIDI? Obviously I would have to create the sounds on a C64 software.

Yes and no. You can use something like TRIAD's Midislave (http://csdb.dk/release/?id=27468) and fully control it and make the sounds within it with a C64 if you will. And I said "no" to your second part, because nothing stops you form sending all necessary MIDI parameters to the chip from your computer and store patches in your DAW or librarian software. Personally this is how I use a C64 as a MIDI module so I don't have to deal with disk loading and saving, eliminating the need of a floppy disk drive and saving a lot of time.
Just by making a MIDI file that sends all necessary CC commands once, would set the chip to the patch you want. Then you can play it or even change it in real time with another set of commands. WARNING here through, sending all commands at once might clog up the MIDI bus so I wouldn't recommend changing parameters in real time, at least not frequently or on very tight timeframes. If you want to have various instruments at once in each channel and change them possibly every step, you are better off using a tracker. Normally, you wouldn't use an instrument that way so as a sound module, you should be fine.

I'm kind of worried about the noise coming from the C64 (though there are a few modifications you can make to mitigate it).

Have you ever used a Game Boy? The noise is MUCH WORSE on one of those even with Prosound.. So if that's OK with you the C64 will be fine. A little noise is something we have to get used to if we want to use low-bit or oldschool hardware. It's not the perfect realm of all-digital DAWs of nowadays.

You can do the input grounding like Jeff says but in my opinion it doesn't block most of the really complicated noise, which comes from the C64's logic. I honestly don't mind, you would only hear it if you are doing something with a really low volume.

Every MIDI enabled device I have responds to the same MIDI MMC commands no matter where they are sent from. So I would say it's pretty safe to use it.

42

(9 replies, posted in Commodore Computers)

Therapsid will not play SID files.
Also the implementation is kinda weird. The way it does per-step table operations is not optimal.
I really wouldn't get one at all.

You're better off with a MIDIbox SID. Get someone to build one for you. You can build a VST control with CTRLR (http://ctrlr.org/) or Touch OSC (http://hexler.net/software/touchosc) if you want visual control over the synthesizer. Someone already made a MIDIbox SID interface for CTRLR for example: http://ctrlr.org/midibox-sid-v2/

There's also the SammichSID but I have no experience with one, unsure if it would play SID files.

Of course the cheapest way would be to use a C64 with a MIDI interface like Kerberos which also has Flash storage for you to load SID files on it or whatever and have a go. MIDI programs will not have support for multiple SIDs though.

Lemon64 is useless, they will NOT know about synths. It's mostly just retrogaming nerds.

Hey hermit, nice to see you here! wink I asked about MIDI sync on CSDb too.
I would be very happy to test this for you. I helped the guy making SIDStation with stuff and MIDI too. I have a fully working MIDI setup working and a Kerberos interface.

Regarding start/stop/pause, the standard is MIDI MMC, and you should stick to that. If any device or software does NOT use that for start/stop/pause commands, it can go fuck off to incompatibility land tongue I have had really bad tests with MIDI signals coming form a computer, it usually depends on the software and what type of MIDI USB interface you have. Results can be DISASTROUS.

Now I only use my real MIDI hardware like my MPC-1000 to test this kinda stuff. Rock solid MIDI signals and no bullshit added by no computer.

Any news abut that Nomad, kineticturtle?

cyberic wrote:

So with the Namesoft device selected in Kerberos, everything is working correctly (except for the sync) ?

Yeah it works fine except it screws up with the screen, but as said, it's not like sync isn't working, it just isn't implemented.

TSC I tried to email you but dunno if your email still works, hard to contact you and I don't check this forum often, I am just checking it this week to read this thread tongue

You COULD build a HerMIDI device easily, and use that instead of Kerberos. But you still won't have sync.
Are you sending MMC signals from a computer DAW or MIDI hardware? Have you tried filtering teh data SID Wizard receives and limit it only to what it works with? I noticed one of my USB-MIDI Devices sends A LOT OF SHIT everywhere that I can't filter, and the C64 was going mental with this extra, unnecessary data.

By the way, some info from Hermit:

on traditional real-hardware MIDI-cartridges (Emulated by Kerberos I got from Frank Buss) seems to miss notes/events. There's something in the IRQ handling and the difference probably lies in the timing. My assumption is based on the fact that NameSoft device (selected in Kerberos) works fine, because it's based on NMI. Of course the arbitrarily occuring NMI events fukk up the raster-interrupts of SID-Wizard causing display-glitches, but the played notes are stable.)
I'll need to make the IRQ more strictly timed, but nowadays I have much less time to do fixes for SID-Wizard. I'll try to work that around soon, until that the NameSoft is the choice for SID-Wizard if not being used in VICE...

So this is further proof that Kerberos will introduce some issues when used with SID Wizard.
I noticed skippy commands in other software too when updated at fast speeds, so perhaps there's an underlying hardware problem related to Kerberos performance when emulating certain types of MIDI interfaces.

As I said, it's mostly a gimmick functioning in the described way. The C64 does not precisely run the tracker through a clock that you can replace and use an external one, especially if you are looking to make stuff with multispeed tricks in mind (if I didn't misunderstand you). It's easier in other machines but I see why it wouldn't be on this one. Or perhaps it's just that Hermit does not see the need for such a thing and couldn't be bothered to code it. It's hard to tell a coder to add a feature if they don't see the point in it themselves

Then again, you could use Defmon's DIN sync: http://chipmusic.org/forums/post/220835/#p220835
(Oh but that only seems to work with the C64 as master. But you can ask Frantic in these very forums if he could do the other way around)

You have to fish for it because they are not currently made (a new batch might be incoming), but an IDE68k would be the cheapest and neatest option for an A500.

My suggestion is that whatever money you intend to throw on an A500, you save for an A600 or 1200.
I'm thinking of selling two of my PAL A600s, the ones I use for DJing, but am unsure. You can find them on eBay though, but again, you can't expect them to be cheap.