I made a DIY pitch / mod stick

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Marudol
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Re: I made a DIY pitch / mod stick

Post by Marudol »

Good job! Do you think it will also work on a NORD Electro 3?
deenigewouter
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Re: I made a DIY pitch / mod stick

Post by deenigewouter »

Marudol wrote:Good job! Do you think it will also work on a NORD Electro 3?
The MIDI sheet in the Electro 3 manual shows that it doesn't recognize to pitch bend, so unfortunately it won't :|
cgrafx
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Re: I made a DIY pitch / mod stick

Post by cgrafx »

deenigewouter wrote:
Marudol wrote:Good job! Do you think it will also work on a NORD Electro 3?
The MIDI sheet in the Electro 3 manual shows that it doesn't recognize to pitch bend, so unfortunately it won't :|
I wouldn't rely on the documentation for a definitive answer to that question. There are lots of undocumented functions. The only way to know for sure if it will work or not is to try it and see what happens.
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deenigewouter
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deenigewouter
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Re: I made a DIY pitch / mod stick

Post by deenigewouter »

cgrafx wrote:
deenigewouter wrote:
Marudol wrote:Good job! Do you think it will also work on a NORD Electro 3?
The MIDI sheet in the Electro 3 manual shows that it doesn't recognize to pitch bend, so unfortunately it won't :|
I wouldn't rely on the documentation for a definitive answer to that question. There are lots of undocumented functions. The only way to know for sure if it will work or not is to try it and see what happens.
Fair, @Marudol you can send pitch bend commands over USB with Pocket Midi and see if it responds!
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maxpiano
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Re: I made a DIY pitch / mod stick

Post by maxpiano »

cgrafx wrote:
deenigewouter wrote:
Marudol wrote:Good job! Do you think it will also work on a NORD Electro 3?
The MIDI sheet in the Electro 3 manual shows that it doesn't recognize to pitch bend, so unfortunately it won't :|
I wouldn't rely on the documentation for a definitive answer to that question. There are lots of undocumented functions. The only way to know for sure if it will work or not is to try it and see what happens.
In general that's true but in this case it is known that Nord Electro never supported PB on Sample Synth, at least not until NE5 and not even from its launch, in fact it was introduced later with V1.20 of NE5 OS (see release notes on https://www.nordkeyboards.com/products/ ... te-history) but NE3 never received a similar update, also because it does not support assigning a section to an Ext KB.

Anyway, if still in doubt (or just for fun), trying with an external keyboard with PB or an app that can send PB MIDI messages (but you need a MIDI DIN interface, because NE3 USB is for updates only, no MIDI) is a matter of minutes.
Last edited by maxpiano on 27 Oct 2021, 08:27, edited 4 times in total.
deenigewouter
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Re: I made a DIY pitch / mod stick

Post by deenigewouter »

Wandelkookem wrote: I bought a mini controller AKAI with only In/Out USB, but it was not possible to do this communication with the Electro 6 HP.
If you connect both the Nord and the AKAI via USB to your pc with a DAW like Ableton or Logic, you can do some MIDI trickery to make it work.

1. Go to the Nord's system settings and go to page 11 - CHANNEL. Global Midi is set to 1 by default, external midi to 16. Take note of the external midi channel listed here.

2. In the Program section, hold the shift key and click on 'External KBD to Lo'. Now if you assign an engine to the LO split, it will listen to Midi input on the external midi channel.

3. In the DAW, route both the Akai and Electro Midi OUTS to the Electro Midi IN on channel 16 (or some other channel you set as external midi in step 1). This should merge the Nord's keybed with the Akai's pitch bend.
vcfvca
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Re: I made a DIY pitch / mod stick

Post by vcfvca »

This is a great bit of programming. I started mine from scratch - could have saved some time. The MagicPot library is really useful. Going to try and merge your code with mine - the LFO mod is fantastic!!!
Last edited by vcfvca on 11 Sep 2022, 20:37, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: I made a DIY pitch / mod stick

Post by vcfvca »

Here is an update on my electrobox Pitch Bend controller. The first release will only have Pitch Bend. The Mod Wheel option will be added to the second version. This new version adds an Extra Channel function so you can use your Electro with another synth and use Pitch Wheel and Octave Shift. Hoping to have real photos and a video soon!
electrobox.png
electrobox.png (28.13 KiB) Viewed 1506 times
ebox1.png
ebox1.png (479.39 KiB) Viewed 1506 times
Features:

Pitch bend - uses a standard sprung pitch wheel to control the Ext to Lo ( Channel 16)
Freely assignable Split Point - split the keyboard anywhere! Or just use the fixed Electro splits
Mono Mode - for playing synth lead/bass or any monophonic instrument
Flip - swap Upper and Lower parts
Program Advance - use a foot switch to advance to the next program
Midi Activity LED

Use the MIDI Out to connect your Electro to another module and use as a simple controller keyboard!

Extra Channel - this uses Channel 2 and is always active.
Octave Shift on the Extra Channel +/- 3 octaves set from the Electro
Pitch Bend on the Extra Channel

The electrobox case is red and made from aluminium. USB powered with standard MIDI In/Out.
Last edited by vcfvca on 21 Sep 2022, 17:18, edited 3 times in total.
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maxpiano
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Re: I made a DIY pitch / mod stick

Post by maxpiano »

Very nice project @vcfvca, probably it would deserve a dedicated thread once finalized :thumbup: :)

Just a question/suggestion: have you thought of using a stereo input for the Program footswitch, so that you could allow the usage of a double switch and implement a next/previous function like in the on the NS3?
Last edited by maxpiano on 21 Sep 2022, 10:28, edited 1 time in total.
vcfvca
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Re: I made a DIY pitch / mod stick

Post by vcfvca »

maxpiano wrote:Very nice project @vcfvca, probably it would deserve a dedicated thread once finalized :thumbup: :)

Just a question/suggestion: have you thought of using a stereo input for the Program footswitch, so that you could allow the usage of a double switch and implement a next/previous function like in the on the NS3?
Yes that could be an option. I wonder how many players would need it. I prefer to have the programs in sequence for each song and use step/advance.

Here's a photo of the smaller box that uses a joystick.
electrojoy.png
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Last edited by vcfvca on 21 Sep 2022, 17:17, edited 1 time in total.
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