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pushedbutton
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28 Jan 2015

Sorry for the clickbait title but I really want to know if this idea might work some how.

Basically what I'd like is to have one rotary on a combinator controlling note cv so that only notes that are in key are played, so it would be possible to do a piano roll up and down the octaves by turning the knob which can be mapped to one of our sensory devices at work....then I'd....well, is that much possible?
But. I want to have access to the cv note data to share with stock devices, so fudging root keys in a custom nnxt isn't a great option...so I might as well tell you I'd like another rotary on the same device to alter the global key and I'd like to map the gate to a button and the velocity to the third rotary.
the forth rotary would work really well for panning.
Sooo, now you know the unicorn we are hunting you are probably wondering if it is possible with the stock devices.
Only time, or selig, will tell.
@pushedbutton on twitter, add me, send me a message, but don't try to sell me stuff cos I'm skint.
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Raveshaper
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29 Jan 2015

I need a little clarification. Do you want the rotary to move up and down the scale according to scales in a specific key, or do you want the rotary to select the key of the scale so that all notes played will be in that scale? If you want the rotary to select the note as described in the first option, how would you trigger the note?

Edit: I get what you're going after, had to read it again. You don't have an option for "maybe, I'll have to try it", but that's what I would vote if I could. What I will say is that this would most likely be a very large patch, but I could be wrong. I'll have to work on this after another project I'm doing.
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kloeckno
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29 Jan 2015

It's possible, but the main problem would be combining the CV signals without the Gate and CV signals from adding together. The free RE  by DLD, CV-8 gateway solves this problem easily.

I have made a fully functioning setup where I mapped a pentatonic scale to my Korg PadKontrol, but I used a Thor for each pad. So I had around a dozen in the combi. But I also made one using the CV-8 that works with a single polyphonic synth. All I would have to do is connect some CV cables to add the knob to change keys.

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Raveshaper
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29 Jan 2015

The OP wanted to use stock devices. I'll give it a try and see how it goes.
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pushedbutton
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30 Jan 2015

kloeckno wrote:It's possible, but the main problem would be combining the CV signals without the Gate and CV signals from adding together. The free RE  by DLD, CV-8 gateway solves this problem easily.

I have made a fully functioning setup where I mapped a pentatonic scale to my Korg PadKontrol, but I used a Thor for each pad. So I had around a dozen in the combi. But I also made one using the CV-8 that works with a single polyphonic synth. All I would have to do is connect some CV cables to add the knob to change keys.
As far as the gate goes I thinking that could be pretty flexible. Either I could map that to a step sequencer that could be triggered by rotary 2 after the value passes 64 or i could just assign it to a button so it was just triggered straight up manually.
what I'm trying to do is put a template together for interfacing with a sound beam sensory kit. Basically it has distance sensors that work over about 10ft and I can get them to map to a combinators rotary. It can sort of achieve when I'm looking for by being programmed to send note data set in pentatonic scale but that would mean I would only get note data and I can't get access to rotaries to add effects or control pan position.
Basically I could have the room set up as an x/y sensor, the back of the room would be quiet, the front would be loud, go the the left of the room to play the low notes and move to the right to play up the scale. I'd probably want to give the participant a wiimote to hold to trigger a pattern but I don't want to necessarily want the wiimote trigger to trigger the event because in some cases they might not have the dexterity for that. Ideally I'd like to end up with a template that other members of staff can use without thinking too hard so I can set up a refill for them and just show them how to load various scenes according to the participants preference.

@pushedbutton on twitter, add me, send me a message, but don't try to sell me stuff cos I'm skint.
Using Reason since version 3 and still never finished a song.

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Raveshaper
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30 Jan 2015

I will look into this. You could always have several matrixes running but only allow certain ones to play depending on where you are in the room. Fade them in and out or enable/disable the notes essentially. this isn't what you're trying to do so I will need to investigate developing a solution.
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pushedbutton
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03 Feb 2015

That could be an option. As long as the end users experience is hassle free it's not important how many devices are under the hood.
@pushedbutton on twitter, add me, send me a message, but don't try to sell me stuff cos I'm skint.
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Raveshaper
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05 Feb 2015

How many octaves did you want to have in this design? I'm developing an architecture for it but I don't want to move in the wrong direction if you only want one octave of notes, etc.

It is a bit tricky but this setup is possible. There are a couple of different ways to set it up that I would like to explore but I want to aim for the basic setup you described first.
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pushedbutton
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06 Feb 2015

Well all I can suggest is that there is no real wrong answer. Imagine you're making a device that works with a couple of kinects rather than fine rotary control. I don't think I have any particular reason to restrict the number of octaves unless you think the device will work or sound better because of it.
@pushedbutton on twitter, add me, send me a message, but don't try to sell me stuff cos I'm skint.
Using Reason since version 3 and still never finished a song.

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06 Feb 2015

The design I'm building is a bit dense under the hood but will be capable of 10 octaves once I rig up the final bits. In this first draft I'm aiming for a held note triggered every time the note changes.

As it is, the proof of concept uses the chromatic scale. If "global key" refers to selecting which kind of scale to use (major, minor, pentatonic, diatonic...) then this patch will need to be reworked a bit to allow that. It's possible to do it, it's just an intense mental exercise. With emphasis on the mental.
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Reason101
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06 Feb 2015

It's too bad you don't want to use REs. I think AutoTheory would be exactly what you want:

https://shop.propellerheads.se/product/autotheory/
RobReason Book: Reason101 Visual Guide to the Reason RackReason Site: http://www.Reason101.netSoundCloudhttp://www.soundcloud.com/phi-sequence Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/robanselmi

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pushedbutton
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06 Feb 2015

I want to, but I don't have a budget for that.
@pushedbutton on twitter, add me, send me a message, but don't try to sell me stuff cos I'm skint.
Using Reason since version 3 and still never finished a song.

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06 Feb 2015

Luckily, almost anything you can do with REs you can do with stock devices. It's just a lot more work. I'll patch through more of the project tonight. So far it's only using one rotary knob and one button.

Edit: this is something to think about down the road, but it is theoretically possible to setup 16 lanes of interactivity sort of like guitar hero. Depending on where you stand from left to right, you could manipulate 16 different things, such as the notes of a 16 note loop. If you want to explore that in the future, it would be a separate variation of the original idea.
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pushedbutton
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06 Feb 2015

Well this is what I was hoping.
Ideally I'd like to get as much as I can out of as little input as possible.
If you could imagine a sound scene where everything you did had an effect on the sound, so where you stood, how you waved your magic wand, which button you pressed, all enhance the environment.
I was sent one where someone had set up a winter scene and rotary 1 changed the intensity of the wind, rotary2 controlled the thunder etc...
Ideally I'd like to be able to use the device I've described here while I share the rotary data with other devices like that, but as changing that to note data doesn't just play the pretty notes, that's where the need for this overly complicated solution comes in.
@pushedbutton on twitter, add me, send me a message, but don't try to sell me stuff cos I'm skint.
Using Reason since version 3 and still never finished a song.

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Raveshaper
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07 Feb 2015

It took me two days to build, but the bare bones proof of concept patch is done. It only plays the chromatic scale through ten octaves at the moment.

If you dig into the patch, you can see that everything is built on adding up held note values using some clever Mod and Filter envelope switching inside of Subtractors. This means you have to define your notes mathematically with note 1 set at zero.

Thankfully, I was able to set this up so that you can define the notes to be played once in the first octave, then the patch stripes through that pattern in all octaves.

The architecture needs to be converted over to using Thor step sequencers to define multiple playable patterns, but you'll get the "basic" idea by taking a look inside this version.

If it doesn't make sound, turn it off and back on again using Button 1. Turn Rotary 1 on the combi to hear it sweep up and down through the notes.

 Sensor Sweep for Pushedbutton.zip    

Edit: I will develop the multi-pattern version for you but it will take me a little longer to finish. I will also send you a combinator network patch that will help you extend the control of one combinator out to several more.
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Sensor_Sweep_for_Pushedbutton.zip
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pushedbutton
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07 Feb 2015

You're a star. I'm so excited I'm going to get out of bed and put my PC on right now....ok, well I'm at least going to sit up and put my laptop on.
@pushedbutton on twitter, add me, send me a message, but don't try to sell me stuff cos I'm skint.
Using Reason since version 3 and still never finished a song.

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pushedbutton
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07 Feb 2015

This is awesome work. i think I get it, In hindsight I think 10 octaves is probably overkill for most purposes but you've definitely given me a very useful starting point. Cheers. ;)
@pushedbutton on twitter, add me, send me a message, but don't try to sell me stuff cos I'm skint.
Using Reason since version 3 and still never finished a song.

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