MOTM

a) I can always make it 3U wide but it will be more $$ (say from $299 to 
$359, still less than others out there).

b) I can make it dual with more features. So maybe it's a dual (2U) versus 
quad  (3U) issue. One advantage of the 3U wide is I can use the same 
encoder/display scheme as the Cloud Expander (6 programmable parameters at 
once in the display).

c) I understand that people change the scale via CV all the time. But, and 
this is an important thing to consider, is it changed *precisely*? Or do 
people "just want it to change" every so often, and not care *exactly* what 
scale is used, just to it's "not the last one".

Because this implies 2 things:

1 - the scales are in the 'correct' order
2 - you are somehow feeding a "target voltage" in there and picking out the 
*exact* scale of interest

What I will bet is that people just want some sort of *change*, that moving 
*specifically* from ScaleA to ScaleB is not the intent, but rather "boy this 
sounds neat if I have change to a different scal ever so often". The reason 
I bring this up is how the HW/SW is implemented. If you are implying that "I 
like to *sweep* through" a certain MiniWave bank/set of scales, saw with a 
sawtooth LFO or whatnot, that is very different than "just hop over to 
something different".

The other implication is being able to have a "scale librarian" (why I 
prefer the USB model) because then you can re-order the scales/banks around 
to your liking. You *need this* in order to 'sweep through' a scale set in a 
given sequence. Otherwise you are at the mercy of how the scale ordering is 
done at the outset.

Many people like this MiniWave feature, but I suspect they just "throw" CVs 
at it an see what comes out :)

Paul S.

--- Paul Schreiber <synth1@...> wrote:
 
> Many people like this MiniWave feature, but I suspect they just "throw" CVs 
> at it an see what comes out :)
> 
> Paul S.



Yez, correct  :)


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>c) I understand that people change the scale via CV all the time. But, and
>this is an important thing to consider, is it changed *precisely*? Or do
>people "just want it to change" every so often, and not care *exactly* what
>scale is used, just to it's "not the last one".

I use both methods. Sometimes the scales just happen to be ordered in 
a bank in a musically useful pattern and simply sweeping through them 
with a slow triangle wave works fine. Other times I pick out a few 
specific scales that are not "right next to each other" in the bank 
and have to send specific voltages to select those scales. It takes a 
few more modules to wire that up, but it's not difficult.

I suppose if you wanted to get really fancy you could offer a 
"program" mode where users could select which scales they want to 
stick into different voltage slots. Then they could sweep through 
that custom bank with a triangle LFO. Sort of like programming songs 
into your CD player.

I like your idea of being able to create custom scales and banks with 
a "scale librarian". That would probably eliminate the need for a 
"program" mode, but would require more work for the user (hooking up 
a computer to the module just to reorder a few scales would be a 
hassle).

On 8/26/07, Paul Schreiber put forth:
>c) I understand that people change the scale via CV all the time. But, and
>this is an important thing to consider, is it changed *precisely*? Or do
>people "just want it to change" every so often, and not care *exactly* what
>scale is used, just to it's "not the last one".

I would say most people would want to change it to something specific.

>Because this implies 2 things:
>
>1 - the scales are in the 'correct' order
>2 - you are somehow feeding a "target voltage" in there and picking out the
>*exact* scale of interest

That's not necessarily true.  For example, while I rarely ever used
my MiniWave to quantize CV's, I often use it process audio.  Imho,
sweeping through the banks is uselessly chaotic.  Then again, the two
ROMS that I have installed in mine vary greatly from bank to bank.
However, sometimes I do switch from one specific bank to another.  In
that case, by using the bank offset and CV scaling, I can use a gate
or pulse LFO.  Alternately, one could use a comparator, MOTM-700,
etc.  If you wanted to use an EG or LFO for more than two exact
results, you can also use a quantizer to control another quantizer :)

>The other implication is being able to have a "scale librarian" (why I
>prefer the USB model) because then you can re-order the scales/banks around
>to your liking. You *need this* in order to 'sweep through' a scale set in a
>given sequence. Otherwise you are at the mercy of how the scale ordering is
>done at the outset.

That isn't true if you are using a step sequencer, or CC's with
MIDI-to-CV converter -- the internal order of the scales doesn't
matter as you can externally sequence reasonably precise voltages in
any order.

>Many people like this MiniWave feature, but I suspect they just "throw" CVs
>at it an see what comes out :)

While I often I sweep the waves with an EG or LFO to hear what
happens, I can then adjust the modulation source (320, 800, etc.) and
the offset and scaling on the MIniWave itself to get what I want.