Odyssey MIDI implementation

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Should the Karp Odyssey have a preset storage?

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jayrope
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Odyssey MIDI implementation

Post by jayrope »

Looking at the Karp Odyssey MIDI implementaion it seems, as if nothing much besides Note On/Off and Pitch are being received (yes a _little more_)

But there should be a way to implement full MIDI fader and switch control in order to use an external MIDI presetter to get presets working on this otherwise wonderful recreation of a classic synth, no?

Is that already existing and i just didn't find it yet?

Thank you for any insights.
mihu
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Post by mihu »

If Korg has really done a good job it should not be possible at all!

KARP is a purely analog device unlike many modern so called true analog synths, which are in fact hybrids with extensive digital control. The digital part has its benefits, one of which is preset recall. In most cases you loose WYSIWYG approach (there are some sofisticated designs like Moog's RAC, which allow to switch between digital and analog control on demand, but these are not very popular, probably due to price and complication).

The only digital part in KARP is the keyboard controller and MIDI converter, which basically produce two pitch CVs (for low and hi notes).

A simple solution could be making photographs of front panel for later recall.

Cheers
Michał
jayrope
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Post by jayrope »

mihu wrote:If Korg has really done a good job it should not be possible at all!
Well, obviously i disagree, otherwise i wouldn't have asked. (As a first generation Korg MonoPoly owner i know what i am missing since long...)
On another note i think, that hackable devices are more interesting than hermetic ones, but discussing this would lead us into the voids of different tastes, which obviously need no discussion, as they are tastes :)

At least i am almost done with building in a switch, which allows to disconnect the keyboard retrigger from the LFO ;)

Thanx for the info, Michal.

Anyone else has a voice on this?
slug
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Post by slug »

I think Korg did the right thing making their Odyssey very close to the original, but then i dont use MIDI any longer, its pretty much all voltage control in the eurorack world.

I wouldn't want additional voltage control (the Odyssey does pitch), but i do like to imagine the 2600 will come along some day....built similarly to original spec, and then i can CV all day long :)
jayrope
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Post by jayrope »

slug wrote:... then i can CV all day long :)
I am happy you enjoy your CV control.

Regarding the issue of this thread: presets for an Odyssey.
What's your voice on that?
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megamarkd
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Post by megamarkd »

My thoughts regarding preset storage and the Odyssey. One could say that it shouldn't happen because of it never being there to start with, but also one could also say one of the things that killed ARP was their lack of preset storage, so to add it in would take ARP to where it should have been in 1981. Adding internal preset storage may cost some though, as it would involve microprocessors and A/D converters or Digital pots/encoders. Not to mention MIDI didn't arrive until 1982 so for true 1981 technological emulation, tape should be used as the external storage medium.

And considering MIDI didn't arrive until a year after ARP folded, Korg's incredibly limited MIDI implementation is almost like an attempt to recreate what a 1982 MIDI-fied Odyssey would be like (a revIV?).

I'm guessing that all the pots and sliders are analogue, which is why not a single parameter is received via MIDI. Without some sort of ADC on every knob and slider or replacing all with digital pots/encoders, neither internal nor external/MIDI preset storage will happen. Until the Karp Odyssey Preset Edition, there is a simple way to record your presets and recall them; take a photo and store it in a folder on your phone marked "Odyssey Presets". Much faster and easier than using the blank patch sheets supplied by Korg. And much, MUCH easier than drawing your own front panel and photocopying it a hundred times (the 80's sucked, no matter how much the retrofads insist otherwise!)
Stuff I'm using: Umm right now, well there's a Volca Drum, a Micro Freak, an ADX-1, a Pulse, a Blofeld, a UNO Drum, KeyStep/Beatstep Pro/Keystep Pro (one of each), a Circuit, a LiveTrak L-12 and this nonsense: The Brief-case as it was about a bit over a year ago (the the complete ridiculous GAS monster collection here)and here
jayrope
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Post by jayrope »

megamarkd, perfectly makes sense.

I had overseen, that reading and especially setting values on an analog control etc. requires extra components and circuitry.
Currently the other synths i work with are a MonoPoly and Kyrov RITM-2. They don't support presets either.
I am used to work like this and thanx for explaining the actual problem of implementing preset control.

I asked about preset storage, because i am using the Karp in theatre stage circumstances, where change times can be so short, that one has no time to set all the faders to a new (obviously gorgoeus ;) sound.
So i've got to get quicker... and turn down output volume while listening on headphones...
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