MOTM

Larry,

This is a very cool project!  Sorry for the late response - I just wanted to
think a little first.  I'm definitely interested in the outcome of your
experimenting, and would be very interested in picking one up if it ever
makes it to "stooge-kit" form.  Now that I've been using the MOTM system for
a while, I'm beginning to look for more interesting ways to control it.  The
foot pedal is also highly anticipated.  :)

The following is a few of my thoughts/preferences.  (Some of these have been
echoed before.)

1) I like your idea of two ribbons with separate CV outs, one for x-axis and
one for y-axis.

2) As for format, I like the idea of individual strips with mounting holes,
with a single cable back to a module.  That I believe would support the most
flexibility, and it would leave the mounting as a DIY project for the
synthesist.

3) Gate/Trigger control could be configurable.  Based on settings, either
the x or the y ribbon (or both) could be used to produce a gate when
touched.  A trigger could be generated along with the gate, and addl.
triggers might be produced whenever the gate-producing ribbon is currently
being touched, and the other is tapped.

4) Support for what I'll call "CV Range Mode".  That is to say, what the
initial CV value is when a ribbon is touched, and how the CV is modified as
you move across the ribbon.  Off the top of my head I can think of four
basic modes.  Mode 1 is "static-full", in that the CV range is equally
distributed across the ribbon, with the zero point in the middle, most
negative to the far left (or down) and most positive to the far right (or
up).  Mode 2 is "static-left0", in that the far left is 0v, and the far
right is most positive.  Mode 3 is "static-right0", in that the far right is
0v, and the far left is most positive.  Mode 4 is "differential", in that
the zero point is were you initially touch the ribbon, and the CV goes
increasingly negative when you move to the left, and increasingly positive
to the right (like Moe described).

5) A CV polarity reversing switch for each ribbon might prove useful.

6) It might be useful if there was a way to control the overall range of CV
for each ribbon.  Possibly  something like fixed range vs. variable range.
Fixed range could support 1, 2, 3, ... octaves; variable range would have a
range adj. control.  (However, since most modules have attenuators on their
inputs, variable range may not be absolutely necessary; a full range
selection may be sufficient.)

7) Individual CV bias settings might be good.

8) It also might be useful to support either linear or exponential response,
based on settings. (I believe JB suggested this.)

Man, this sounds like a lot of stuff for one controller.  It may be better
to find a way to support the x-y ribbon scenerio via two separate ribbon
controller modules - using some sort of "link"  feature.

Cheers,
George