Midi encoder controller?

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#1

Hey there,

After speaking with someone on one of my YouTube videos, the conversation was centered on midi controllers for the mod platform.

Obviously I told them that 3rd party controllers are compatible with the platform.

That got me thinking about what if MOD made a first party controller.

I love the encoders on my dwarf and I am excited to experience the encoders on the duox soon.

I think it would be awesome to have an encoder/fader bank from MOD with the same attention to build quality as their pedals.

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The midi fighter twister is a good example, but I’m kinda snobbish about the tactile experience of my gear, and I avoid plastic gear in my setups.

Features I’d imagine for the MOD Encoder would be multi-connectivity through TRS, USB, and Control Chain options.

Lighted endless encoder knobs (preferably the ones from the dwarf that have the clicks), so that you can see the position of the parameter in the dark (would be awesome for snapshot loading), with assignable push buttons.

Full aluminum enclosure as is the MOD standard.

USB-C Power port

A screen is probably not necessary for a device like this, as you can map it in the board constructor.

However, a midi mapping overview feature would be required and was requested in this thread: https://forum.moddevices.com/t/seeing-all-mapping-organize-snapshots

Optional: 4 faders at the base. It’s not necessary, but would be great to control my mixer for EQ adjustments/mixing.

Not sure if this would be popular, but I’d certainly enjoy having it in my set up.

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Where’s the euro module? 🤩
#2

Yeah a great idea Elk, did mention something similar. Maybe when things settle down we can badger Jon et al. to sit down with us so to speak and push it forward. Control Chain seems such a waste at the moment.

Not got a duo x - or dwarf at present but maybe if the sizes are good Mod could just use those enclosure without the lazer / die cut holes. Then you have the quality and the price point remains low for bulk buying. And the colour matches too :wink:

Maybe Duo X enclosure for 4x4 encoders or arcade buttons, dwarf for faders or footswitches.

They could even go down the Livid Brain route and have a modular PCB that you fill with what you want.

Probably just going to make a basic Arduino MIDI controller for when the Dwarf turns up.

But definitely enough clever and creative people to sort this out. Just don’t need it to go down the expression pedal rabbit hole

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#3

I love the ideas and actually, they closely align with some similar ideas I’ve had. I did a lot of investigating into how to do LED rings in a nice way in a metal enclosure but ultimately I think having knobs next to a display is better. I think this because you don’t always want a knob to be a 0-100% parameter, you may want it to scroll through a list, or change a wave shape, or move an ADSR graph for example!

I am definitely into the idea of an accessory with just knobs to use with our devices or possibly with other devices. The LED rings are in the right direction though for sure. I think it’s much nicer to have endless encoders for pagination but it makes it very important to have visual feedback about the knob position

About using the Duo X or Dwarf enclosures for other devices, it’s not really possible. They have a lot of specific details, especially on the inside. They aren’t just a blank enclosure with holes cut in them, they are cast that way

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#4

In the context of using a screen for ADSR envelope shaping, I’m 100% behind that. In fact it would be a feature request for the other device request. I’d recommend a higher resolution screen like the OP-1 has.

A big draw to the duox in my setup is the fact that I will now have extra envelopes or modulators for my gear. And considering my stregas don’t have gates, I heavily rely on envelopes to get sounds other than a drone.

If the device had 4x4 encoders, you could essentially assign a column or row to reflect which part of the envelope being controlled. I would find that very useful.

I think even just this standalone encoder bank with a screen would still benefit from having the LED rings, that way you can get a quick glance and see where everything is at without having to read information. Sometimes it’s not feasible to read a screen or flip pages.

Endless encoders for sure, that way when a new snapshot is loaded, the encoder bank auto adjusts to the saved parameters.

This would be a great device to build first imo, as the market would be larger, and then down the road you could create the CV expander, midi to CV/CV to midi converter, and extra audio I/O as a separate unit that can chain with the encoder bank.

In terms of form factor, I’d love to see these products in roughly the same form factor/dimensions as the make noise semi modular gear. I believe that form factor would be great for having a screen included as well.

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#5

I must say that I’m a fan of FSRs for more expressive approaches. And you know that :slight_smile:
Yet, I also know that they are expensive and lack suppliers. But there are some way cheaper ways to create them and on my humble DFM knowledge, I believe that those ways are not so tricky to implement.

Last, but not least: this is a super personal perspective and I believe that a device just with FSRs would be extremely “nichy”. But perhaps together with more “basic” interfaces, it would spice things up :sunglasses: for creativity

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#6

FSRs are cool for expression but that is a different use case. A device with encoders would be used to have settings for 0-100% ranges, lists and other parameters which we want to keep their set positions across multiple pages. I would like to add FSRs as well to a future device though

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#7

Yes. FSRs are not good for this type of usage. It’s more expressive indeed. That’s exactly why I feel that a device with only FSRs (or any sort of more expressive interface for the matter of fact) would be too “nichy” and maybe not the best idea.

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