Arp-8 is now available!

Here's the link to purchase the Arp-8! If you have any questions regarding the module don't hesitate to ask.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/205283308/arp-8-midi-controlled-arpeggiator?ref=shop_home_active_1

Arp-8 to be released in a few days.

You can soon purchase an Arp-8 module on Etsy 9/29/14. Why Etsy? Well, I currently can only afford to do a small run of modules. This will fund future, larger-scale, production runs. As well as give me the opportunity to manufacture other modules.

The price is $180. I'll put the link up once its posted. Or you can look up the store LCF Industries, on the site the day it goes on sale.

Arp-8 updates!

It's been awhile since I've been able to update. With backorders on parts, problems with the panels, and just general family craziness, it's taking longer than expected. But I do have some updates! I finally got the rest of the parts that were on backorder, and I was able to update the firmware a bit to add some nifty features. The Rate, Octave, and Direction parameters can now be changed via MIDI!

Rate         - CC#16
Octave     - CC#17
Direction  - CC#18

 Here's a short video of the Arp-8 playing from my DAW with all three parameters being changed from MIDI automation. I'll try and get a longer video soon

16-Seq Demo Video

I finally was able to upload a somewhat short demo of the 16 step sequencer. I mostly go over the Direction knob and the quantizer. Hope you enjoy it!

Arpeggiate!

Something was missing from my growing modular. I couldn't figure out what it was. Then after playing with a Polysix for a while it hit me; An arpeggiator! 

So using the MIDI-CV Converter I made, I started playing around with the code a bit. And then a couple of hours later I came up with a pretty decent arpeggiator. It didn't have much control (only the two switches) but it worked! So the next step was to expand on it but still keep it as small as possible.

• Octave knob: Selects between a 1-4 octave range

• Rate knob: If synced with a MIDI clock, it will divide the tempo accordingly;

              1-1
              1-2
              1-4
              1-8
              1-8T
              1-16
              1-16T
              1-32

• V/Octave Out

• Hz/Volt Out

• Gate Out

• Clk In: Bypasses MIDI-clock messages and uses an external clock source.

• Directional switch: Up, Down, Up/Down

• Sync Switch: If no external clock source is available (MIDI or analog), flipping to the FREE position will prompt it to use it's own internal clock. Use the Rate knob to increase the speed.

• Arp / Mono Switch: Turns the arpeggiator into a simple single-channel MIDI-CV converter.

MIDI>CV Converter

I've seen a couple of DIY MIDI-to-CV converters but I wanted to make a more simplified one for my rack. At first it seemed like a daunting task but it was really quite easy.

• MIDI channels 1 and 2: CV, Gate, Mod Wheel, and Aftertouch
• Mono/Poly switch: Changes the second channel to a second output for channel 1.
• Retrig/Legato switch
• Clock Out: Right now it runs at 16th-note divisions from the MIDI clock and only outputs when it receives a Song Start message from the DAW. I might change this later but it works for me now.
• Reset Output: Sends a pulse everytime a Song Position Pointer message is received. Works great with the sequencer I made.
• Pitchbend: CV outs; -/+2 semitones

The MIDI jack in this pic is connected to the case I made.

I'll post some videos of this (and the sequencer) in action when I can get around to it...and can get a better camera than my phone.

16-Step Sequencer

This is the first prototype of my 16-step sequencer. I don't know how long I've been working on this, seems like more than a year. Stuff kept coming up and I would have to put it aside for one reason or another. Although having a few bugs with the PCB that I had to resolve, it's now a complete and working prototype, finally.

Features

• Three position switch for each step: On/Off/Tie

• Range Switch: 2-5 octave 

• Step knob: Dial in steps between 2-16

• *Various step-directions: Fwd / Bck / Ping-Pong1 / Ping-Pong2 / Random

• Internal clock with pulse width knob

• Hold and Reset buttons

• Portamento

• Quantizer On/Off switch with scale selector

         Major

         Minor

         Pentatonic

         Whole Step

         Chromatic

• CV Out, Reset, Gate out, Clock In, Clock Out, Transpose In, Hold

Now, I'm trying something new that I haven't seen in other sequencers. It started out as a visual aesthetic that I wanted to add to the sequence direction but it turns out to be really useful when experimenting with a sequence. Plus it looks really cool!

When the Direction selector is set to one of the first four directions the sequence is linear, meaning it will advance +/-1step (1, 2, 3, 4, etc. Or 16,15,14,13, etc).  The next four directions from the Direction selector will be the same as the first four, as far as a direction goes, but it is no longer linear. It will jump steps but still follow the same path (1, 9, 2, 10, 3, 11, etc. Or 16, 8, 15, 7, 14, 6, etc).

The Direction selector has the following choices

Directions 1-4: Linear

• Fwd

• Bck

• Ping-Pong 1

• Ping-Pong 2

Directions 5-8: Jump back and forth 9-steps

(1, 9, 2, 10, 3, 11, 4, 12, 5, 13, 6, 14, 7, 15, 8, 16)

• Fwd

• Bck

• Ping-Pong 1

• Ping-Pong 2

Directions 9-12: Jump and reverse

(1, 16, 2, 15, 3, 14, 4, 13, 5, 12, 6, 11, 7, 10, 8, 9)

• Fwd

• Bck

• Ping-Pong 1

• Ping-Pong2

Direction 13: 

• Random

I chose to make most of the components SMD to save room on board space. Plus I only have one board to work with, instead of having stackable boards. This prototype PCB has a lot of issues with it but I should have a finalized version soon. If your interested in obtaining a PCB of this (and you can solder SMD's) let me know. 

I need to find some taller pots for the Direction and Step knobs. The knobs I bought don't fit too well.