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Subject: Re: Ribbon Controller

From: "djbrow54" <davebr@...>
Date: 2005-07-30

I'm quite happy with the Expressionmate although it occasionally
forgets it's NV settings. Doesn't matter as I use it with the
default settings.

It does output full 14 bits MIDI data. It does not have 14 bit
resolution though. It is quite strange. It doesn't just truncate
the lower bits - they are all used. It just jumps in non-binary
increments. It is as if there is full 14 bit resolution for the
initial ribbon contact and lower relative resolution for movement
from this point. My DAC is only 12 bits so I divide by 4 to
reduce the increments to ~5 mV.

I have no issues with this resolution. It's ~1/20 of a semitone
and I usually further attenuate the signal for less modulation.

I've since re-written my MIDI parser in AVR assembly and have it
running on an ATTINY2313 processor (~$3). All it needs is a DAC
to be an Expressionmate controller. The ATTINY happens to have 12
available digital outputs so it would be real easy to add a parallel,
serial, or R2R ladder on these outputs. The ATMEGA8 would add even
more outputs if one needs a 16 bit DAC.

My current ATTINY23 project is at
http://modularsynthesis.com/processor/processor.htm

Dave

--- In motm@yahoogroups.com, "Tkacs, Ken" <ken.tkacs@j...> wrote:
> Is the Kurzweil Expressionmate still available? Has anyone ever
tried
> one, especially with an MOTM? It's a MIDI-out device, but I wonder
how
> it would work through a MIDI-CV converter.
>
>
>
> Review: http://emusician.com/mag/emusic_kurzweil_expressionmate/