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.