I'm with atom on this, I have to say. While arpeggiators are fun to
mess around with, I've never used one on a finished track. Having
said that, I know lots of people love them, so there's no reason why
one shouldn't be added to the Hawk-800. I agree though, that the
Poly-800 interface isn't conducive to programming a complex arp. -
there just aren't enough controls, and you can't see what you're
doing. If it's going to be there, I'd say atom is right; it should
probably just have up, down, up-down and random modes, and a rate
control, and leave it at that. On the other hand, if you could
somehow add a decent LCD display to the unit (you could probably get
a nice big 40x2 in the space currently taken up by the 4-character
LED display), then you could make a much more flexible one. That's
another project entirely though.
As I mentioned before, I'd be much more interested in seeing an
enhanced sequencer that allowed recording of parameter tweaks as well
as notes, something like what can be done on the MS-2000. For me,
that would be the 'killer app' of Poly/EX-800 mods.
Incidentally, and totally OT, but my MIDIBox SID is coming along
nicely. I've nearly finished the mainboard now
http://www.midibox.org/forum/index.php/topic,12508.30.htmlJust have to solder-up the LCD connector, and I can install the chip
and see if it works...
a|x
On 9 Jan 2009, at 04:50, Atom Smasher wrote:
> mike: you've been looking for inspiration for implementing an
> arpeggiator,
> and previously i recommended the oberheim cyclone (which i've never
> seen,
> but i have the drummer and it's both amazing and flaky) and the kawai
> k5000 (which i have, but never played with the arpeggiator).
>
> i've been playing with my XL-7 lately, and that arpeggiator seems
> to be
> the one that's most likely to actually get any use from me.
>
> check out the user manuals for the command stations (XL-7, MP-7,
> PX-7) or
> the proteus 2500 for details about what those arpeggiators can do.
> i think
> some of e-mu's other modules (later proteus series; carnival,
> audity-2000,
> orbit, etc) may have had the same arpeggiators, but i'm not sure.
> part of
> what makes those arpeggiators super-awesome is what can be done
> with them
> in real-time.
>
> that said... and given the hardware limitations even in the expanded
> HAWK-800, i'm wondering if it might be best to do a ∗simple∗
> arpeggiator,
> or none at all.
>
> just for the record, an arpeggiator is not on my wish list of proposed
> features. partly because i already have a k5000 and an XL-7, but also
> because the UI of the poly-800 just doesn't seem to lend itself to
> programming a powerful arpeggiator. also, part of what makes the XL-7
> arpeggiator infinitely more useful to me than the one on the k5000
> (even
> if, let's say, they're both amazing) is that the k5000 arpeggiator is
> built into the k5000 so using it with anything else is a PITA... the
> arpeggiator on the XL-7 (which is my current sequencer) is upstream
> from
> anything i'd want to arpeggiate. so even if the HAWK-800 had an
> arpeggiator and display comparable to the k5000, i don't think i'd get
> much use out of the arpeggiator, for the same reasons i don't
> bother using
> the k5000's arpeggiator.
>
> so, my vote is to focus on simplicity... up, down, up-down, random,
> octave... maybe something to adjust speed and range. but even that
> isn't
> something that i would personally get much use out of.
>
> i think if you want to do an uber-arpeggiator it should be a separate
> project. among other things you can then give it the UI that it would
> deserve, build in all of the best features from the best
> arpeggiators ever
> made, make it flash-able so new features can be added, but also it
> shouldn't have to compete for clock cycles with (what i think are)
> more
> important things that the HAWK-800 ~really~ needs.
>
>
> --
> ...atom
>
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> http://atom.smasher.org/
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