My name is Jan Janssen and I’m a third year student Electronical engineering/Sound Engineering from Fontys university of Applied sciences in the Netherlands. Last week I started my half year internship here at MOD Devices.
I’ve been playing bass guitar for some years now and started messing around with MIDI devices. I’m going to be working on the Control Chain protocol and some cool applications for the Control Chain Arduino shied.
And this is why I want to ask the creative mind of the MOD community a question!
Do you guys have any ideas for really creative Control Chain devices? Or how would you like to control the MOD? I’m trying to come up with some fun and/or useful Arduino shied applications and was thinking along the line of:
-Ribbon controller for faders and knobs.
-Touchless control by distance sensing.
-Gyroscope controls for filters
-Wearable control chain devices.
Or anything else along the line. A great example of some application can be found here!
Such “exotic” controllers are cool, and sometimes are actually very good for expression but sometimes a total gimmick that aren’t useable especially while playing guitar on stage. Just make sure they’re consistently controllable. One thing I could think of would be a 3d touchpad ala the kaossilator. Not sure if the arduino has cap-touch libraries, but it seems like there could be some really cool possibilities if it were flat enough to mount on a guitar.
However that said, what I really want for the Duo is a synth control surface, something like the behringer BCR-2000 but with little screens to show what each knob is mapped to. This would be huge for using synths. I know its not very exciting compared to some of these other projects, but it could cater the MOD to a whole different group of musicians.
That’s Jan’s “gyroscope” category.
Actually, i am experimenting with an accelerometer right now. But not with cc, at the moment. But it’s possible and not hard.
Concerning the hardware: i was thinking of soldering the ports (you need 5) of my accelerometer (MPU6050) to an DIN Midi cable and pluging it into a “device/box” with the arduino&shield inside. this way you don’t have the whole device on your hand and can change devices easily. Wireless might be a little more challenging, though.
What would be really cool: a foot controller, mechanically not unlike a seesaw, to control effects’ intensities and volumes. You know, like an expression pedal, just with Control Chain.
All mockery aside - thanks for asking, @Jan! I would like to create dynamic vibrato effects via accelerators and would approach it with the 1sheeld by attaching an old smartphone to the guitar headstock and connecting it via Bluetooth to the Arduino which in return talks to the MOD Arduino shield. Perhaps use some switching trickery inside the Duo to control effects for the X-Y-Z axes. Oh, and before you ask: I would definitely buy an assembled box if you guys sold it.
Actually I agree with this even though you were joking. I’m getting a bit concerned that numerous threads here with questions regarding the Expression pedal status have not been answered. I heartily welcome Jan to the MOD team and agree the various potential ways of controlling the MOD are very exciting future possibilities but in the meantime Expression Pedals have been paid for and a lot of time has passed with no updates or information.
Forgive me Jan if this is not your department but it’s difficult to get too excited about future items when the existing control chain items are yet to be fulfilled.
Hehe… size is an inconvenience indeed. But people used to have smaller phones and the app works for Android > 2.3. Should be easy to try and then re-use an old smartphone from Ebay.
I really apologize for that and I understand your frustration.
The expression pedal is quite complex and it’s difficulties lie much more on the manufacturing side, very far from where the interns are working now.
We were forced to do a re-selection of supplier for the Duo die cast enclosure and this drained most of our already tight manufacturing team for the last months.
We managed to pull that off and now we focus our hardware efforts fully on the expression pedal. After all this experience with the Duo and the Foot, I consider ourselves ready to move on with the pedal.
Hi Jan,
I know this is an old thread, I hope you have successfully completed your apprenticeship and are doing well,
I would like to plug in my Line 6 FBV Shortboard Mkii and use it to assign effects and use the expression pedal.
I don’t know whether this is possible!
I’m reluctant to just plug it in and see, in case I damage anything!
Warm regards
Phil.
Hi Phil,
The internship went well, as I have been working for MOD ever since
From a quick look at the Line 6 FBV Shortboard Mkii, you should be able to connect it over USB, as it has USB-MIDI, so you can use MIDI learn. I would not connect it with the RJ-45 connector, as on the MOD Devices this is strictly for ControlChain, and provides 12V power which can potentially harm your device.
??
One thing I could think of would be a 3d touchpad ala the kaossilator. Not sure if the arduino has cap-touch libraries, but it seems like there could be some really cool possibilities if it were flat enough to mount on a guitar.
