Midi/CV converter

Cyxeris · Joined: Oct 30, 2003 Posts: 1125 Location: Louisville, KY

I'm interested in building a midi-to-cv converter for my Juno 60. Am I out of my mind? Should I be a good consumer and simply shell out the 3.5 hundred American greenbacks for one?

Cyx

elektro80 · Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2003 11:18 pm Post subject:

Hmm...

1. Buy a ready made unit?
or

2. Build a kit?

some of the kits might be more expensive.

elektro80 · Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2003 11:40 pm Post subject:

The J60? That one had that weird DCB thingie. So I guess the midi conversions for this unit is really a midi/dcb bridge??

Cyxeris · Joined: Oct 30, 2003 Posts: 1125 Location: Louisville, KY

Actually, yes, that is correct. I am so used to references to CV though. Sort of like refering to any copy machine as a "xerox machine"

I am trying to track down some schematics or block diagrams for such a hack.

Cyx

elektro80 · Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2003 12:22 am Post subject:

Check if Tony has some gear?
http://www.oakleysound.co.uk/projects.htm

Or http://www.paia.com

elektro80 · Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2003 12:31 am Post subject:

Posted Image, might have been reduced in size. Click Image to view fullscreen.

OK... he has no DCB to midi gear... but this one is greate!!!

midi to CV - 4 channel !!!!!!

http://www.oakleysound.co.uk/polydac.htm

This powerful module gives you 3 modes of operation,

Polymode This mode gives you Midi to CV conversion for 4 voices, each with its own note CV, Velocity CV and Gate. Also generated are CVs that correspond to pitchwheel, modwheel, aftertouch, sustain and four user definable Midi CCs. A choice within Polymode allows 'note steal' or 'note ignore' for new notes once all 4 voices are in use. With note steal mode on you can also turn retrigger on or off, which will retrigger the gate for the new note.

Mono 1 This mode gives you a monophonic Midi to CV converter. The four voices all play the same note/gate allowing for some monster stacking of oscillators. It also has a choice of retrigger mode and features a 16 note deep note stack. Again it has CV outputs for pitchwheel, modwheel, aftertouch, sustain, as well as four user definable Midi CCs. Again you have the option for retrigger or not.

Mono 2 This mode gives you four channels of monophonic Midi to CV conversion. The 4 channels all being consecutive (eg, 4, 5, 6 and 7). In this mode the pitchwheel, modwheel, aftertouch, sustain and four user definable Midi CCs are controlled by that midi channel assigned to voice 1 only. Retrigger sets retrigger on or off for all four channels. Each channel has its own 16 note deep note stack.

Other Features

The MIDI light flashes with each Midi message it receives and understands, eg, note on/off will cause it to flash, but Midi clock and Sysex will be ignored.

When the assign switch is held for a moment (approx 1 second) you will be able to assign the user CVs (CV A,B,C & D) to 4 midi controllers (MIDI CC). By default they are CV-A = 74(Filter cutoff), CV-B = 7(Volume), CV-C = 5(Portamento time), CV-D = 2(breath controller)

The pitchwheel CV affects all 4 note CVs Via the bend range knob. However, If you plug a jack into the Pitch wheel CV socket the pitch CV is no longer applied.

The Modwheel and Pitch bend sockets are slightly different to ordinary CV outputs. Plugging in a standard mono jack will give you the CV out. However, if you plug in a stereo jack in, the TIP gives you the output CV, the RING then allows you to feed back into all 4 note CVs, allowing a single LFO/VCA to control modulation on all 4 voices.

Power Requirements

The module requires a split supply of +/-15V or +/-12V and uses a standard MOTM style power connector.

egw · Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2003 8:01 am Post subject:

The Kenton Pro-DCB is a good midi-CV converter for the Juno 60.
http://www.kentonuk.com/products/pro_dcb.shtml

$200 at audio-midi:
http://www.audiomidi.com/common/cfm/product.cfm?Product_ID=4295

mosc · Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2003 9:46 am Post subject:

Buy it! You couldn't get the parts for less. Waste your time on music, not building this kind of doo-dad. Wink

egw · Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2003 10:51 am Post subject:

Also, if you buy one like the pro-dcb, you get an LFO (with sample&hold!) and a clock sync for the arpeggiator. Adding that stuff would make a do-it-yourself job even harder.

Cyxeris · Joined: Oct 30, 2003 Posts: 1125 Location: Louisville, KY

elektro80 · Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2003 3:53 pm Post subject:

Buy this one. Parts will cost more. And you will get a working and tested thingie. Anyway, you should get a lot of experience from kit building before you attempt a custom job.

Cyxeris · Joined: Oct 30, 2003 Posts: 1125 Location: Louisville, KY

I have experience with computers and moderate experience with general electronics, but not "kit building" specificly. I have a tendancy to be adventurous about such things.

Cyx