[sdiy] The Anything Box: Laptop as module?

[media.nai at rcn.com]

At 3:42 PM -0500 10/24/02, Grant Richter wrote:
>
>The MIDI data stream is the most accessible for interface to voltage
>control. But is pretty disappointing in resolution.
>
>I was just looking at my modular sitting next to my computer and thinking
>how it was pretty stupid that they wouldn't talk to each other.

This is something I've been thinking about for years.

>From what I've heard, one can remove the blocking caps from a digital audio
interface and then record and play back control voltages using a DAW,
although it might work with some software and hardware and not others.
Apparently this technique also works with the older 16-bit ADAT's.  Then
again, this is based only on what I've read on the internet, so if you tear
your gear apart don't say I didn't warn you.

Afaik, there is no such voltage sequencing software. However, I do not see
any reason why it isn't possible to write sequencing software designed to
work with an interface that can play and record DC voltages.  Both Firewire
and USB are much faster than MIDI.  The same hardware could play and record
gates and triggers, LFO's, and audio.  The software could generate and
process control voltages directly, so unlike MIDI, there wouldn't be any
limitation on the types or number of different scales it could play on
standard hardware (eg. 1V/oct VCO's).  Also, just like most DAW's can
support both MIDI and audio, the same application could do both MIDI and CV.

Perhaps there isn't a market to support stand-alone voltage sequencing
software and dedicated hardware.  But there may be a market large enough to
support voltage sequencing plug-ins and a PCI card.  Popular sequencing
packages support a number of different audio plug-in standards.  All that
would be needed to sequence voltages, would be plug-in that can take
advantage of the MIDI sequencing capability of the host application -- the
plug-in would do the MIDI <--> CV conversion.  A direct CV interface would
be simpler than a USB MIDI interface followed by a MIDI to CV converter.