I’ve never rebought any gear I sold…but id get the Hydra again. I think, despite what the shop I got it from said, that mine was a dud. Glen seemed to think so…
this vids got me worked up again 
itll be a while tho :{
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Love these mate 
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I was going to pull the trigger on a desktop unit to be externally sequenced. I then looked at the midi implementation, It’s 99% NRPN! It makes sense, how else would you give an external sequencer total control?
But, If you want to make instrument definitions for something like the Cirklon or the Pyramid, you’re SOoL. (How would you do this with an Elektron Sequencer?) I guess its time to put in a feature request over at Sequentix!
http://www.mecldata.com/download/asm/Hydrasynth_MIDI_Implementation_Spec%20v1.4.pdf
All MIDI CC messages are available as modulation sources. See page 75 of the Hydrasynth manual.
If you want to send NRPNs to the Hydrasynth from Pyramid or an Elektron, just program the four required CC messages to be sent one after the other.
Cirklon’s Aux rows in P3 patterns can send NRPN messages.
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Ah crap I hadn’t checked this before I bought Hydra this is a bummer indeed. I was hoping to control my Hydra desktop from my Akai MPC X but Iv’e just watched a part of this video below.
The guy says he uses a Beatstep Pro connected to his MPCX to deal with the NRPN’s… Why no Midi CC on the Hydra I don’t understand? I’m gonna have to find a work round here or tweak the Hydra live.
Read page 75 of its manual.
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Yes it’s just certain parameters tho Iv’e seen this:
[3] MIDI CC #: Incoming MIDI data can modulate certain parameters, and they can return the favor.
Never mind I’ll get by
NRPN has the advantage of being 14 bit 16,384 levels vs 128 for regular CC as long as you have the bandwidth.
What if i told you the next ASM product is a NRPN friendly sequencer with Hydrasynth style functionality ?
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What if you told me more and when 
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Very nice only I use the MPCX as my hub. It’s fine tho I still say Hydra is the best hardware synth since my Novation Nova XXL by far.
Whatever ASM decide to build in future I’m in… Hydra synth is also the easiest synth to program, everything is well laid out IMO
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Full disclosure: I don’t know anything about what is going on at ASM – despite whatever’s been said.
It could be MIDI 2.0 instead, when that’s done, which i guess won’t work with your hub either Rob. Them adding MPE – both IN, via Mod-Matrix and OUT surprised me when that happened.
Glen did defend NRPN previously up thread.
ADDED: Phrase editing will be SysEx.
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Not as instrument definitions, though. I know you can send NRPN as Aux events.
Not sure what to do. Just got the Hydra module and using the pads, the aftertouch is implemented so well on some of those patches…the issue is my controller does not do aftertouch so I’m losing on some of that cool sound. Do i buy a good controller with aftertouch…OR sell the module and get the KB version…I really really like the HS, just not sure which route to take.
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If it’s not too late to return it, I would. The keyboard’s aftertouch is very well done.
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Are you meaning poly-aftertouch ? I assume you are, in which case buying a poly-aftertouch conventional layout keyboard will be a bit of challenge.
I believe the HSK is the only currently made poly-aftertouch keyboard. There are keyboards that you can get used. Or you can wait for the Osmose end of the year, early next.
Someone please correct me if i’m wrong.
ADDED: I will doubly underline what vegeta897 says – the HSK poly-aftertouch / MPE keyboard is very well done.
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There was this odd thing, “The Sixty-One” but I haven’t heard anything about it since it popped up last year and it seems like they changed “polyphonic aftertouch” to just “aftertouch” in the description?
I forgot there is the CME USB Keyboard with poly-aftertouch:
It’s $100 USD.
I’ve never used it so i can’t vouche for it.
ADDED: There are three other CME keyboards all with polyphonic-aftertouch. There is a 37 key version and a wireless version of both the 25 and 37 key.
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hmmmmm…try that CME or return and buy the KB version…I just bought a Matrix Brute which takes up so much space…I’ll have to mull this one over…thanks!
Note the CME Xkey keys are full size but have limitied movement.
There’s a video here.
It’s also USB only so you need to connect it through a computer or an adapter device to get to the HSD.
ADDED: It looks like the thing to get is the CME X-Cable adapter ($30 extra, i think) which has the sustain pedal, expression pedal connections, and a DIN MIDI OUT.
ADDED:
Can you return that too – it sounds like Arturia’s got a new big synth in their “Brute” series. They have announced an announcement on that. Decisions, decisions.
I use it and really like it. The action is very fast and the aftertouch sweet. Lately, I’ve been programming patches that suit the CME response rather than the pads on the Hydra module (patches I’d already made needed me to dig in rather hard on the CME, which as someone else mentioned has only a limited travel).
If they ever make another with more octaves and less flimsy connectors, I’m all over it. It does have proper MIDI out BTW.
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