Midi Drawbar controller help

[maxpiano]

Check this one out GM Lab D9U, it's ad DYI project (but also available preassembled) and it is re-programmable so you can easily set it up to match any (Nord) model drawbars CCs

Seems hard to find. The Norwegian distributor has no items left. Couldn't find any at Sweetwater, Thomann og KraftMusic, neither at eBay or Amazon.

You can buy it directly from the Crumar/GSi sales site http://www.myrigshop.com/, no need to go to other distributors.

[catosim]

You can buy it directly from the Crumar/GSi sales site http://www.myrigshop.com/, no need to go to other distributors.

Well, not quite. When I try to select an item to buy, I'm prompted to select a country > and there I'm directed to a local distributor.
I'll try to contact the Crumar sales by email, and ask to buy directly from them.
Thanks

[catosim]

Aaaaa......just learned that I don't need to select a country, just click Europe as location .
Purchased! for help and advices

[MartinJ2EX]

I ordered one as well

Only thing left to figure out now, is how I will send the CC messages to the Nord
Nord Global Midi is set to USB-1, which iPad sends to, so I’ll have to find a way to send the MIDI thru the iPad

Thanks so much for the info about D9U !!

[maxpiano]

I ordered one as well

Only thing left to figure out now, is how I will send the CC messages to the Nord
Nord Global Midi is set to USB-1, which iPad sends to, so I’ll have to find a way to send the MIDI thru the iPad

Thanks so much for the info about D9U !!

If the Global is on USB you have to use the Slot and/or Organ Section MIDI settings (putting them on a MIDI x Channel), or viceversa (if I remember well the NS2 will handle Program Changes also when received at Slot level)

[MartinJ2EX]

If the Global is on USB you have to use the Slot and/or Organ Section MIDI settings (putting them on a MIDI x Channel), or viceversa (if I remember well the NS2 will handle Program Changes also when received at Slot level)

Thanks a lot for the tip!
I just knew 100% that Stage 2 only sends the drawbar CCs on the Global MIDI channel - now I know that it can receive CCs in Slots as well .... nice !

I went for a rather complex MIDI merging setup (already ordered) ...

Doepfer d3m MIDI notes Ch. 1-10 (per Instrument / Slot)
Crumar D9U MIDI CC drawbars (Ch. 1 OR Slot channels)
iPad MIDI PC + CC Ch. 1

everything above MERGED to 1 MIDI cable into
Nord Stage 2 EX MIDI input

Because the MIDI input of my d3m is covered by the custom wood chassis, maybe I'll try connecting the MIDI drawbar to the d3m and routing it thru to the Nord...


It's gonna get interesting as soon as D9U arrives...

[catosim]

So...received my Crumar D9U last week.
Turns out you need a minijack to DIN5 connection. Ordered one, waited 5 days, and was thrilled to test the unit.
No connection, no midi-signals was received on the Nord Stage
Had to read about this cable, and learned that I needed a "TRS to MIDI Type B".
So, this time I decided to perform a DIY cable, and went to the basement to find the old soldering iron.
Cable worked, and the connection between the controller and the synth was established.
Next problem was the MIDI-sends from the controller, which was pre-programmed to channels 12-20 and, 21-29 (Channel A/B)
The Nord Stage Drawbars MIDI cc are 16-24, so this wasn't a perfect match! Time to read some more.
In order to re-program the D9U, you need a software called Arduino IDE. I'm not gonna try to explain the usage
On the Crumar website I found some links to a script for the D9U, where one can change the CC sends and update the settings by opening the script in Arduino, which sends the new settings to the D9U.
Voila: Works perfectly!! I now have a working MIDI Drawbar-Controller

[catosim]

Since the process of changing the MIDI CC on my Crumar D9U was a bit challenging (un-known) for me, I came to think that if someone else is considering this product, I’ll be happy to give an explanation of the process:

First of all you need to download and install a program called Arduino IDE, which is a software that allows you to write program-codes, and program circuit-boards within the Arduino environment.
The program can be downloaded and installed from: https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software

Then enter this URL https://www.crumar.it/default.asp?a=page&p=D9U
On the bottom of this page, you are directed to a Zip-file download, containing complete documentation and sketches for the Crumar D9U and Arduino card.

Open the PDF called “Crumar D9U”. Here you will find useful information.
First of all, there are a couple of libraries you will need to install in order for the Arduino to communicate properly with the D9U:
https://github.com/FortySevenEffects/ar ... di_library
And
https://github.com/arduino-libraries/MIDIUSB

Download the Zips of these two libraries and save them to a folder on your computer.
Now its time to start the Arduino IDE. First thing to do is to install the two newly downloaded libraries into Arduino, by using the IDE library functions. Do a re-start of the program before proceeding.
Now connect the D9U to your computer, and from the TOOLS menu, select BOARD -> Arduino Leonardo. From the same TOOLS menu, make sure the selected PORT points to Leonardo.

Now its time to open the sketch called Crumar_D9U.ino This is located in the very first Zip file you downloaded from Crumar website, the folder is: Crumar_D9U/Arduino/Crumar_D9U
When you open this sketch (opens in Arduino), you will see this text:
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // This is where you can define your CC numbers for the Bank 0 or 1 int CCMap[2][9] =
{
{ 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 }, // Upper drawbars
{ 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 } // Lower drawbars

Simply change the numbers, to the ones corresponding with the drawbars on the Nord Stage:
16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

I used the same settings on the Upper and Lower drawbars.
Then you are good to go. Transfer the sketch with new MIDI CC to the D9U. This is done by clicking the icon with the arrow pointing right. This will compile the sketch and upload it to the board.

Now power up the D9U with a Cellphone charger as power-source, and connect it to the Nord Stage using a TRS to MIDI Type B cable: https://www.midi.org/articles-old/updat ... din-cables
The Crumar D9U should now send correct MIDI CC to your synth, and you can use it as a drawbar-controller on your Nord Stage.

[maxpiano]

Well done catosim as we said from the beginning this is a DYI solution so some skills are required, but the D9U instructions pdf https://github.com/ZioGuido/Crumar_D9U/ ... ar_D9U.pdf is pretty complete (including reference on how to build the TRS-to-MIDI DIN cable) and once you know how to edit an Arduino program and send it back to the unit it is not that hard, isn't it?

[catosim]

and once you know how to edit an Arduino program and send it back to the unit it is not that hard, isn't it?

No it is not that hard, once you know it
But to be fair: I bought the pre-assembled unit, cause I haven`t got any good soldering iron or experience in assembling electronics
This code-issue brought me lots of , therefore I decided to put together a shorter and easier description, from my point of view
But as you said, once you understand it, its not that hard. Glad the Text-sketch was already Written and available though
Now I just need to to find a way to attach the controller to the NS, so its a bit more steady during performance.
...and maybe change the color to RED