How to make Slide default to a center value?

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mooncaine
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 7:51 pm

How to make Slide default to a center value?

Post by mooncaine »

I would like to try using my Slide sensor as a pitch bend, but it only bends in one direction because its voltage drops to zero when I take my finger off it.

Is there a way to program it in I-CubeX editor.app to make it default to a constant value, yet still permit me to slide my finger on it for continuous value changes while my finger's on it?

I think that it'd be ideal if the sensor could be set up so that it only sends data when I'm touching it, instead of constantly -- that might help with this challenge. Is that possible?

If it were possible just to have it use a constant value, yet still be set to "continuous", so that a voltage of 0 always sent the assigned constant instead of a MIDI message with a zero value, that might be enough. Is that possible?
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microDig, Turn v1.3.1, Touch v1.4.1, Slide v2.1, TouchMicro-10 v1.0, Push2D v2.0,
MacBook Pro
Tascam US-122 and PreSonus Firebox audi/midi interfaces
Tech
Posts: 77
Joined: Tue Dec 31, 2002 7:00 pm

Post by Tech »

Have you tried setting a threshold value to just above 0 so that it only transmits above that point?
mooncaine
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 7:51 pm

Post by mooncaine »

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, I have tried that. That gives me the same behavior as before, but now on a shorter portion of the strip. Thus I can change the de facto 'default value', imperfectly, according to how fine the voltage settings are in the i-CubeX Editor's slider on the screen. The problem is that it will always transmit, and it always transmits a value at the far end of its range. So I can't use the Slide the same way a ribbon controller on a synth is typically used. If it's set to send pitch bend, it will only let me bend pitch up. Or if I invert its settings, bend down. But never both ways. It'd be ideal if I could program the system so that the center of the ribbon is "0", sending no MIDI messages at all. Touching it more than, perhaps, .5cm from the center, on either side of the center, would cause it to start sending MIDI continuously for as long as my finger was on it, and when I removed my finger, the system would either send a 0 and stop, or, at the user's choice, be set up to stop sending when the finger is removed, but to leave that last control value sent without resetting it with a 0. That would make these sensors approach the behavior we find on such sensors when they are already built into synthesizers.

I realize I'm new to your tools, so maybe I'm missing something here, but isn't it somehow possible to get a smoothly-changing output from a sensor without having it send continuously?

As I see it, the Push2d can't be used like a joystick controller on a synth, because it constantly sends pitch bend [for example], rather than only sending it when the joystick's being moved away from center.

Likewise, Slide either constantly sends [in Continuous mode], or it sends one value only [Peak mode]. So it can't be used for pitch bend, and it's seriously limited for use on a synth's filter frequency, because the filter either sweeps back down to zero [continuous mode], or stutters abruptly [Peak mode].

So, is there a way we can change this behavior, or find a workaround? I'm hoping that, if nothing else, you might be able to devise a way to program the microSystem to filter output... I can explain more if you think this is something you'd like to discuss, here or via email if you prefer. I've a growing crowd of fellow guitar synthesists eagerly watching these experiments in hopes we might be using i-CubeX sensors to add joysticks, pressure pads or ribbon controllers to our guitars.

Thank you,

--moonie
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microDig, Turn v1.3.1, Touch v1.4.1, Slide v2.1, TouchMicro-10 v1.0, Push2D v2.0,
MacBook Pro
Tascam US-122 and PreSonus Firebox audi/midi interfaces
Tech
Posts: 77
Joined: Tue Dec 31, 2002 7:00 pm

Post by Tech »

Hi Mooncaine. Yes, please email me at tech@infusionsystems.com for further discussion.
mooncaine
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 7:51 pm

Post by mooncaine »

Thank you. I will email you soon.
][][][][][][][
microDig, Turn v1.3.1, Touch v1.4.1, Slide v2.1, TouchMicro-10 v1.0, Push2D v2.0,
MacBook Pro
Tascam US-122 and PreSonus Firebox audi/midi interfaces
mooncaine
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 7:51 pm

Re: How to make Slide default to a center value?

Post by mooncaine »

Are there any changes in the latest version, I-CubeX editor v3.05 incl. blueMIDI v1.30, that might help with this issue?
][][][][][][][
microDig, Turn v1.3.1, Touch v1.4.1, Slide v2.1, TouchMicro-10 v1.0, Push2D v2.0,
MacBook Pro
Tascam US-122 and PreSonus Firebox audi/midi interfaces
Tech
Posts: 77
Joined: Tue Dec 31, 2002 7:00 pm

Re: How to make Slide default to a center value?

Post by Tech »

[quote="mooncaine"]Are there any changes in the latest version, I-CubeX editor v3.05 incl. blueMIDI v1.30, that might help with this issue?[/quote]

I don't believe so. However looking back at the discussion, I wonder if you've tried playing with the Noise parameter in the editor? In standalone mode, when a sensor is stationary, the microDig doesn't send MIDI messages. However there can be small variations due to noise which get sent. You can adjust the noise threshold using the noise parameter. Unfortunately this doesn't help with the slide dropping to zero issue.
I-CubeX Technical Support
mooncaine
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 7:51 pm

Re: How to make Slide default to a center value?

Post by mooncaine »

Thanks for the idea. I think your explanation just made the Noise parameter a little easier for me to understand. I'll give it a try with the joystick and see if that helps keep pitch centered if I use the joystick instead of the ribbon.
][][][][][][][
microDig, Turn v1.3.1, Touch v1.4.1, Slide v2.1, TouchMicro-10 v1.0, Push2D v2.0,
MacBook Pro
Tascam US-122 and PreSonus Firebox audi/midi interfaces
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