Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: MOTM

OK, flat rail development is behind me, panels and all that 822/831 stuff
will be shipping out of here soon, the next round of behind the sceens work
for Stooge panels round 3 has already started, and my pedal interface is
finished and under evaluation at the secret labs of Synthesis Technology.
So, I am looking over the list of 25 other things I would like to "play"
with. Of course, there is not enough time to get to hardly any of it. But,
I'm have to work on something to solve this need to "learn from my
failures." <snicker> So, I thought I would run an idea up the flag pole for
comments and feedback.

Something that Paul has said (in the past) he has no plans for is a ribbon
controller. I have some ideas (and sources of material - some originally
designed for NASA) that I think might make a dandy ribbon controller. So,
I'm gonna buy some stuff and start playing with it (get started early on
figuring out what won't work).

Now, assuming one gets past the technical part of making the ribbon work,
the next BIG issue is what format to build the thing in. I imagine there
are as many different ideas as there are people on this list. So, if you
have some suggestions, please send them my way. I have a buddy who does
wood work. So, I can think of lots of different formats. I can see a long
slender thing that lays on top of a keyboard (KW style). I can see
something more "stand alone-ish" like a guitar shaped strap on. I can see a
basic "strip" that each person can customize into their own format. I see
this connecting with a single cable back to a module in the rack with the
electronics, controls, and jacks. And, since we all have 2 hands, It seems
to me that 2 ribbons or zones on the ribbon should be a feature. Maybe one
is long and horizontal, while the other is short and vertical near the end.
Maybe there are two long ones in parallel. Anyhow, it seems like 2 separate
CVs are a must for any decent ribbon controller. What about gates or
triggers? Seems like a controller should produce one or both. I had a
couple of concepts in my initial thought. 1- a gate out that starts when
you depress the ribbon and stops when you release pressure. 2 - a separate
"tap" pad for fingers on the opposite hand. Or, perhaps running parallel to
the ribbon for thumb tapping.

Anyhow, any comments concerning format, features, etc that you would like to
share with me would be greatly appreciated.

Stooge Larry
(not actually qualified to design any electronic circuits)