DIY MIDI Controller for Track Volume

Elektron Gear Analog Rytm
#1

Hi. So I just finished this DIY project adding faders in a custom housing to control track volume in my RYTM. Thought other Rytm owners would be interested!
The faders on the Roland TR-8 are great for live performance and this is one of the only things I feel rytm needs. Now I can fade in hats, melodies etc. simultaneously without juggling track selection and encoders! Makes for a smoother performance and allows me to keep the rytm pads always available for scenes and performance rather than mutes (which I was using a lot)

Utilises a teensy microcontroller for software and sends midi out to the midi in of rytm. The new controller has midi in to allow midi merge so can still utilise midi in on rytm for other things in tandem.

Its designed so that you initially mix your kit using the amp volume for each track, keeping the track volume at max. Then you can use the full range of the faders for track volume in a performance scenario without worrying too much about ruining the mix.

Let me know what you think.

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12 Likes
#2

Awesome! :slight_smile:

1 Like
#3

hmm, your gainstaging setup is less than ideal. What if someone is using a hella lot of overdrive and uses the amp volume as an attenuator? the most elegant solution would be to use the performance macros for controlling the levels and mapping the faders to those. But then again, some peeps might have already maxed out their perf control amounts?

Also, being able to define min and max values for the faders would help some, but if the user changes kits the min/max values are effed up again…

Seems like there is no perfect way to implement level control for the AR? Perhaps this is why Elektron is focusing on mutes instead?

EDIT: nope, I guess your approach would work OK after all… I overthunk this again as usual :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

EDIT2: Are you using DJtechtools chroma caps faders for your build? How’s the shedding on the caps? IME those caps shed quite a lot of excess rubber during use. Good looking build by the way!

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#4

pretty sure track volume is the final attenuator before the master bus, so you can manage overdrive gain using the amp volume, then the utilise track volume for mixing/performance.

when listening back to some recordings of my rytm just using mutes, i noticed it gave my set a very choppy, somewhat immature feel at times… i really missed having some smooth fades of certain elements in my music.

yep using chroma caps but I havnt spent a decent enough amount of time with them yet to notice any issues…will keep an eye out tough, thanks.

3 Likes
#5

yeah, I guess muting parts on and off doesn’t suit all music styles that well (especially for more minimal tech where more gradual changes tend to work better for certain things). But using faders for part management has it’s shortcomings as well, mainly involving big changes (can sound sloppy if not perfectly executed), having both would be ideal.

For me personally, I really need to start exploring the performance macros more… They can do so much if planned well, like hpf control combined with level change etc. Your faderbox would work brilliantly for performance macro control as well!

#6

the performance macros are awesome, I especially like that you can lock them in when you release the pad. I do find it frustrating having to shuffle between mute page and performance page though… I want to be able to use both at same time for buildup and drops etc!! the faders are meant to help in that regard by freeing up the mute page to some extent

#7

that’s nice :slight_smile:
i’m sure someone will be really happy once this is ready/finished :joy: :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

#8

It’s really interesting!!!

Just two points

for me i think it’s better to work with the track volume, because it’s like the fader in a console or mixer

A 16 fader one could be very interesting to control AR + A4, 12 + 4 track

#9

I think this is absolutely awesome (I’m looking for a suitable controller to connect directly to the track levels of my Rytm).
@sd88me how do you like it so far? and is this Arduino based?

#10

Great idea and looks like you’ve constructed it nicely! :slight_smile:

#11

Could you share more information?

What faders have you used? Is it possible to check the code and try to create similar own?

Thank you

Portable MIDI Mixer Controller for the Digitakt
#12

Unfortunately this did not turn out to be as useful as I first anticipated due to the fact that track volume is not global, so when changing kits the faders do not reflect the track volumes. ie. if all physical faders are down and then you change to another kit, the track volume will jump to where it was saved.

Would be cool if there was an option to make track volume global considering there are a few points of gain stage per part before track volume… for example amp level.

As for code and guidance I followed the DJ Techtools article using a Teensy which can act as a standalone USB MIDI device or a normal MIDI device.

1 Like
#13

Thank you for explanation. I’ve already checked this tutorial.

As to global volume, yes that’s it, but you can set volume in app preferences accroding to level of fader equals top position (127) and, after that, it will be more suitable to manage volume. And you are not alone - I’ve played Roland mx-1 - it has similar problem from the box - seems it is digital mixer with midi routing of digital signal.

#14
#15

Nice project. How did you get MIDI DIN out from the Teensy?

#16

230,- http://ag-kw.de/oktakontrol/

#17

can we use oktacontrol also on AR? should work no?

#18

Yes you can but they stopped making them.

#19

Are you still using it? Its an awesome project.
My first thought when you mentioned this problem was to have the microcontroller send midi signals constantly, not only when the fader is moved. Or is there an issue with ‘too much’ midi information at the same time?

#20

this might be of some help maybe…? :thinking: