Feature request

[ross3117]

Greetings fellow electronic drumming enthusiasts!

I'm very interested in building my own MEGA-megadrum. I've been researching some of the older trigger>MIDI converters and, despite their somewhat antiquated triggering responsiveness, there are a few features that they have that I would find of musically creative value that aren't present in the current generation of trigger converters (either commercial or DIY).

I was wondering (Dmitri?) if it would it be possible to configure the megadrum firmware so that each of the trigger inputs could have the following features found on a PAD-80, PM16, and SPD-30 (all Roland devices with manual links provided below):

PAD-80 features (http://media.rolandus.com/manuals/PAD-80_OM.pdf):
[Layer: Off, 0-127] The layer function transmits more than one Note number message from a single trigger/pad. Apart from the Note number initially set, you can have two more note numbers (Layer notes 1 & 2). The final result of how the notes get generated is determined by the next parameter, Layer Select.

[Layer Select: Mix, Velocity Mix, Velocity Switch] You can select one of three modes to determine how the layered note messages should be transmitted, Mix, Velocity Mix (V-MIX), and Velocity Switch (V-SW). Mix will cause the three note messages to be transmitted simultaneously when the pad is struck. This is useful for playing chords. Velocity Mix (V-MIX) will cause the three note messages to be transmitted separately or simultaneously, depending on how hard you hit the pad. Softly=initial note number, medium=initial note + layer 1 note, hard=all three notes together. Velocity Switch (V-SW) generates only one of three note messages, depending upon how hard the pad is struck. Softly=initial note, medium=layer note 1 only, hard=layer note 2 only.

[Pan: Off, -31 - 0 - +31] When triggering a sound module that can receive MIDI pan messages (CC #10), this parameter determines the positioning of the sound in the stereo field. -31 is full left, 0 is center, +31 is full right. Pan messages are transmitted on the MIDI channel set for each pad, the moment the pad is hit.

[Pedal: Modulation: On/Off] Using a foot volume pedal (CV or HH Control-ie FD), the Pedal functions can be used to control external sound sources. The modulation and pitch bender functions can be obtained by hitting the pads even without using the foot pedal. These messages are transmitted on the "global" channel. When the modulation parameter's value is "ON", the connected sound module will be sent modulation messages (CC #01). When set to "OFF", no modulation messages are sent and the Modulation Depth and Modulation Delay parameters have no effect (and are not shown).

[Pedal: Modulation Depth: PDL, 1-60] This parameter determines the depth of the modulation. Increasing the value deepens the effect. To control the modulation depth with a foot pedal (ie CV or HH), set this parameter's value to "PDL". Pressing the foot pedal will increase the effect. When the pedal is not pressed, the modulation effect is not sent. Modulation messages are sent each time the pedal is pressed and the value is determined by the position of the pedal. This parameter's value can be changed in real-time with the pedal even when sounds are being triggered. When this parameter's value is set to PDL, the parameter display of the Modulation Delay is not shown.

[Pedal: Modulation Delay: 0.04-1.00 sec] This parameter's value sets the time needed for the modulation effect to be turned on (measured from the moment the pad is struck). Increasing the value makes the time longer.

[Pedal: Bend Select: +, Off, -] The Pitch bender parameter bends the pitch from one extreme to the other, equivalent to a pitch bender on a synthesizer. There are four parameters for the pitch bender effect: Bend Select, Bend Depth, Bend Decay, and Dynamic Bend (very cool!). The value of the Bend Select parameter determines the direction of the pitch changes. The "+" setting will cause the pitch to increase, then return to the original pitch. The "OFF" setting disables the Pitch Bend feature. The "-" setting will cause the pitch to decrease, then return to the original pitch.

[Pedal: Bend Depth: PDL, 1-60] This parameter's value sets the depth of the pitch bend effect. Increasing the value widens the pitch change. To control the pitch bend effect with a foot pedal (ie CV or HH/FD), set this parameter's value to "PDL". Pressing the pedal will change the pitch more drastically. When the pedal is not pressed, pitch bend messages are not sent.

[Pedal: Bend Decay: 1-60] This parameter's value sets the time needed for the sound to return to the original pitch. Higher values make the time longer.

[Pedal: Dynamic Bend: ON, OFF] This parameter's value selects whether or not to change the depth of the bend effect according to how hard the pad is struck. When "ON", the depth of the pitch bend changes depending upon how hard you strike the pad, within the range set by the Bend Depth value. When "OFF", the pitch changes up to the set Bend Depth value regardless of how hard the pad is struck.

[Pedal: Aftertouch: ON, OFF] Aftertouch is basically the MIDI keyboard function that causes any change when the key is pressed harder after initially pressing it. This MIDI CC message is commonly used for Volume, Tone, and Modulation changes. This parameter selects whether or not Aftertouch is on or not, by changing the strength with which a pad is struck. The depth of this control is determined by the position of the foot pedal (ie CV or HH/FD).

[Pedal: Aftertouch Threshold: 1-60] This parameter's value sets the threshold level, or minimum pad strength, for which the aftertouch effect can be enabled. When set to a high value, a stronger hit will be required to produce the aftertouch effect.

PM16 features (http://media.rolandus.com/manuals/PM-16_OM.pdf):
[Dynamics Pitch: -24 - OFF - +24] This function maps velocity to note number. A larger Dynamics Pitch value results in a larger range of notes with respect to how hard or soft the pad is struck.

SPD-30 features (http://media.rolandus.com/manuals/SPD-30_OM.pdf):
[G.Time: 0.1-8.0 sec, ALT] This feature sets the duration of the notes transmitted by each pad. The gate time corresponds to the time between when a key is pressed and released on a MIDI keyboard (the time between note-on and note-off). You can specify a gate time in the range of 0.1 seconds to 8.0 seconds. If you choose ALT (Alternate), note-on and note-off messages will be transmitted alternately each time you hit the pad.

I think, given the very focused nature of the megadrum project (ie not going down the built-in sound generator path), that these features would be very useful to those folks triggering software-based instruments and sequencers (ie Ableton Live, etc.).

Kind regards and appreciation for consideration of these suggestions!

[dmitri]

I quickly looked through all theses features and appears to me all of them should be (and are?) acctually implemented in a sound synthesizer, i.e. in VSTs. Am I missing something?

[ross3117]

I quickly looked through all theses features and appears to me all of them should be (and are?) acctually implemented in a sound synthesizer, i.e. in VSTs. Am I missing something?

Dmitri,

Thanks for the reply!

Yes, all of these features are standard MIDI messages and, as such, are implemented by sound synthesizers and VSTs to the extent that they will respond in some way to these messages when they are RECEIVED. What I'm wondering is whether the megadrum firmware could be modified so that it would be capable of TRANSMITTING these messages when a pad is struck.

[dmitri]

I quickly looked through all theses features and appears to me all of them should be (and are?) acctually implemented in a sound synthesizer, i.e. in VSTs. Am I missing something?

Dmitri,

Thanks for the reply!

Yes, all of these features are standard MIDI messages and, as such, are implemented by sound synthesizers and VSTs to the extent that they will respond in some way to these messages when they are RECEIVED. What I'm wondering is whether the megadrum firmware could be modified so that it would be capable of TRANSMITTING these messages when a pad is struck.

I meant a bit different stuff. For example, panning. You can set panning per pad in a VST itself. Or layering. I've read that you can configure VSTs, e.g. BFD, to have many layers per pad and you can have different layers for different velocities. Basicly, they do layering at the sound sampling level and still work from only one note coming from a MIDI trigger.

[mackanov]

In regards to layering, there might be an advantage in implementing it on MegaDrum, like this:

1. You split an input in two layers, one separate note each, with configurable velocity resolution (0-127 on first layer, custom on second, giving a total maximum of 256 velocity levels)
1a. MegaDrum then interpolates the piezo signal as to give velocity 0 on layer 1 for Min Threshold and VelocityMax on layer 2 for HighLevel, with the corresponding values distributed in between.
2. You configure your VST or host software with pieces that have more than 127 samples (i.e. Joe Baresi Evil Drums) so that samples 1-128 respond to the first layer and 129 onward to the second one.

This way, you actually have more than 128 velocity levels on that piece, giving it a higher resolution and (arguably) better quality.

Although I doubt anyone of us can tell the difference between 100 and 200 samples per piece, some might, and it might be also interesting as a way of mapping two kit pieces to the same pad, velocity dependent, without losing much resolution.

This is dumb speculation, but I've been thinking about it for a while and this seemed like the proper place to bring it up.

In regards to the other requested features, I'm pretty sure BFD and other hosts already support all this with MegaDrum as is, needing only to be properly configured. I can see why Roland implements this on their modules, since they have built-in sound banks, but I think they're useless on a Trigger-to-MIDI device.

[rockdude]

In regards to layering, there might be an advantage in implementing it on MegaDrum, like this:

1. You split an input in two layers, one separate note each, with configurable velocity resolution (0-127 on first layer, custom on second, giving a total maximum of 256 velocity levels)
1a. MegaDrum then interpolates the piezo signal as to give velocity 0 on layer 1 for Min Threshold and VelocityMax on layer 2 for HighLevel, with the corresponding values distributed in between.
2. You configure your VST or host software with pieces that have more than 127 samples (i.e. Joe Baresi Evil Drums) so that samples 1-128 respond to the first layer and 129 onward to the second one.

This way, you actually have more than 128 velocity levels on that piece, giving it a higher resolution and (arguably) better quality.

Although I doubt anyone of us can tell the difference between 100 and 200 samples per piece, some might, and it might be also interesting as a way of mapping two kit pieces to the same pad, velocity dependent, without losing much resolution.

This is dumb speculation, but I've been thinking about it for a while and this seemed like the proper place to bring it up.

In regards to the other requested features, I'm pretty sure BFD and other hosts already support all this with MegaDrum as is, needing only to be properly configured. I can see why Roland implements this on their modules, since they have built-in sound banks, but I think they're useless on a Trigger-to-MIDI device.

I like your thoughts mackanov and it seems as this layer feature would be good for sampled kits with many velocity layers like the kits from Platinum Samples. They actually have up to 250 velocity levels/kitpiece. Absolutely worth a beta firmware