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West Yorks, UK

ah okay, I have no way of actually loading the sync routine to the arduinoboy (no ftdi cable, i didnt build the box myself)
I have no idea whether the atmega chip of a duinoboy would even take teensy code, Il have to build a teensy sync box if not!

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Domu wrote:

ah okay, I have no way of actually loading the sync routine to the arduinoboy (no ftdi cable, i didnt build the box myself)
I have no idea whether the atmega chip of a duinoboy would even take teensy code, Il have to build a teensy sync box if not!

Hey. Looking at the arduinoboy code I am guessing there is a switch that allows you to change the mode it runs in. Try setting it to LSDJ slave sync mode. To me that looks like it would work. Also remember to set the external sync switch in chord. It is by the arpeggio tempo settings.

Cheers

ERik

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Italy

I did try the last version, but there seem to be some bugs (or something I've missed). I can't get any sound out of it and the settings look all a bit messed up. Any idea what could be wrong?

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Italy

Solved the problem! there was a setting somewhere preventing chrord to produce a sound.
Anyway... I can confirm that MIDI sync works using a standard arduinoboy set to LSDJ slave mode. You have to find the correct overflow timer increment to match your beat. I found that multiples of 12 produce arpeggios in sync with the beat pulses, but of course fun stuff can be done by using uneven ratios.
The only issue I have so far is that,while chord goes along well with the incoming sync, it will aways be a bit shifted. Even if you try hard pressing the buttons when you hear a beat, it will always be a bit off. I think chord should reset to the sync signal from time to time to keep everything "in grid".
Also I noticed that sometimes it works nicely with the sync and sometimes it goes in "Steve Reich Mode" i.e. it will slowly shift out  of phase, even with the correct settings, can't say why but will test further.
I think with sync this can be a really powerful and interesting instrument for live performances!

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rumpelfilter wrote:

I can confirm that MIDI sync works using a standard arduinoboy set to LSDJ slave mode. You have to find the correct overflow timer increment to match your beat. I found that multiples of 12 produce arpeggios in sync with the beat pulses, but of course fun stuff can be done by using uneven ratios.

Hey good testing. smile Cheers. Yes a midi clock is much slower than the internal clock. The internal interrupt is clocked at 4096Hz and a midi clock at 24 ticks per beat. Setting it to 12 should be playing at double speed, I think anyway.

rumpelfilter wrote:

The only issue I have so far is that,while chord goes along well with the incoming sync, it will aways be a bit shifted. Even if you try hard pressing the buttons when you hear a beat, it will always be a bit off. I think chord should reset to the sync signal from time to time to keep everything "in grid".

Good point. Chord has only been reseting the timer on changing the tempo. I have uploaded a new build that restarts the timer on the first note, if the left button timer is zero. I didn't bother to bump the version number though. And I will do some thinking on how to best reset the timer during playing...

rumpelfilter wrote:

Also I noticed that sometimes it works nicely with the sync and sometimes it goes in "Steve Reich Mode" i.e. it will slowly shift out  of phase, even with the correct settings, can't say why but will test further.

Hmm, I have double checked the code and I can't see anything that would cause this behaviour. My guess is that arduino boy struggles to keep up with the tempo you are playing at. What you could try is halving the tempo and change the overflow buffer to compensate. But I am not sure, it might not be the problem.

Cheers again for the feedback. smile

ERik

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West Yorks, UK

ah Rumpelfilter beat me to it but I too have midi sync working over here via LSDJ slave mode with Arduinoboy.
Excellent work!. Ive been playing with iElectribe and Chord to some beautiful effect!

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Sweden/UK
Domu wrote:

ah Rumpelfilter beat me to it but I too have midi sync working over here via LSDJ slave mode with Arduinoboy.

Good stuff. Cheers Domu for testing also. I shall change the info on the website then to say it works with arduinoboy too. smile

Thanks

ERik

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As a maker of Reggae, Chords are vital for me! this could be what my life has been missing.

Was there any progress on getting a save feature? Almost useless to me without one!

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JodyBigfoot wrote:

Was there any progress on getting a save feature? Almost useless to me without one!

Hi. Not sure how chord would do with reggae, but it would be interesting to hear. smile The save problem in emulators was fixed by updating the rom headers. If you have a cart though, depending on which one it might work or it might not. The one I absolutely know for sure works is the ems smart card, that is the one I use for testing. Also rom only carts will not work because they have no ram and the nanoloop carts with extra slots will not work either because they use a different method of saving for its custom hardware, and I don't know the code to make that happen.

What cart do you use?

Cheers

ERik

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At the minute my LSDJ is loaded onto Drag n Derp. But I need to buy a second cart soon as one LSDJ isnt enough for me I need to sync it to another LSDJ or Nanoloop and maybe Chord. What would be ideal for me is if Chord had decent sync and decent save,
ill orobably buy an EMS smart card and give it a test, then get back to you. feels like i might have to sample the chords into ableton and sync With that, but that would enable me two LSDJs without worrying about using 2 or 3 of my already Limited channel to make the chords i need

Last edited by JodyBigfoot (Dec 4, 2014 2:24 pm)

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Sweden/UK
JodyBigfoot wrote:

What would be ideal for me is if Chord had decent sync and decent save,

Cool. From my tests the sync works good, any usb midi clock should work. smile


JodyBigfoot wrote:

With that, but that would enable me two LSDJs without worrying about using 2 or 3 of my already Limited channel to make the chords i need

Just to give you the heads up before you buy anything, chord is monophonic, despite of what the name might imply. But it can play arpeggios.

Cheers

ERik

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Italy

Actually you might add that using to play arpeggios is where it's most fun at!

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humbleTUNE wrote:

Just to give you the heads up before you buy anything, chord is monophonic, despite of what the name might imply. But it can play arpeggios.

Cheers

ERik


ha ha. I Guess mcnuggets dont have chicken in

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JodyBigfoot wrote:

ha ha. I Guess mcnuggets dont have chicken in

smile Pink slime with the odd bits of chicken or something. I guess it is a question of definition. I don't have any training in music but is it only a chord while all notes are on at the same time?! I would call a picked chord still a chord anyway, but I can see the confusion it causes, which is why I mentioned it.

The hardware of the gameboy however is very limited and to do more advanced stuff you would have to utilise the fifth channel available through a custom cartridge I think, but then you could argue that is not really the gameboy making the sound anymore, more acting like a speaker.

And cheers @rumpelfilter again, glad someone enjoys it. smile

ERik

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West Yorks, UK

so wait, there is no intention to get chord playing multiple channels per trigger (ie actual simultaneous chords?) please say it aint so Erik!

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Domu wrote:

so wait, there is no intention to get chord playing multiple channels per trigger (ie actual simultaneous chords?) please say it aint so Erik!

Well it was never the reason for making chord and it is not why I named it chord. That being said I very much would like to see chord evolve and if I can think of how to do it in an intuative and playable way, I will do it. I am very open to ideas and suggestions.

Cheers smile

ERik