Connecting the KO II to external gear.

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Links:

+ TE website

+ KO 133 website

+ KO II 133 online manual

+ KO II online sample tool / editor

Eurorack & Analog 16' Clock

This is an analog trigger. It's equivalent PPQN is 4.( ie four pulses per quarter note
or 1⁄4 the duration of a quarter note.)
It's also called 16th because a note is sent or received every 16th note.

enter system settings by pressing (shift) and (erase).

use (minus) and (plus) to navigate to the sync settings, then press (enter) on the pads.

use (minus) and (plus) to navigate to ‘in’ or "out", then hit (enter). 

use (minus) and (plus) to navigate to ‘16’, then hit (enter)

The K.O.II will now listen for or send out  a 16 clock pulse on it’s sync-in/out jack, 

The output clock pulse is 3.3V

RING: Start/Stop

Sync input

max level: 10 V

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Pocket Operator, Korg SQ-1, Volcas (8' clock)

(POs sync on audio pulses... essentially a click track).

Korg SQ-1 sequencers and the Korg Volcas use this standard.
A single KORG pulse is equivalent to just 2 PPQN.

It's also called 8th because a note is sent or received every 8th note.

enter system settings by pressing (shift) and (erase).

use (minus) and (plus) to navigate to the sync settings, then press (enter) on the pads.

use (minus) and (plus) to navigate to ‘in’ or "out", then hit (enter). 

use (minus) and (plus) to navigate to ‘8’, then hit (enter)

The K.O.II will now listen for or send out  a 8 clock pulse on it’s sync-in/out jack, 

The output clock pulse is 3.3V

RING: Start/Stop

Sync input

max level: 10 V

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roland Drum machines (Sync 24)

In the case of MIDI (and Roland DIN Sync), the standard is 24PPQN.
Lots of old Roland Synths such as the TB303 & TR606, 808, 909 use this standard.
Most DAWs will also use  a 24 PPQN signal

enter system settings by pressing (shift) and (erase).

use (minus) and (plus) to navigate to the sync settings, then press (enter) on the pads.

use (minus) and (plus) to navigate to ‘in’ or "out", then hit (enter). 

use (minus) and (plus) to navigate to ‘24’, then hit (enter)

The K.O.II will now listen for or send out  a sync24 clock pulse on it’s sync-in jack, 

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MIDI (in)

Teenage E use TRS MIDI type A connectors These transmit MIDI over standard Stereo cables

+ Midi/DIN  to TRS 3.5mm

control K.O.II with a midi keyboard

once you have your midi keyboard connected, K.O.II will detect any notes and light up the MIDI or usb icon (depending on what input is used) on the screen.

Each note of the keyboard will play a different pad

If you want to play one pad transposed across the keyboard just press (keys)!!

MIDI (out)

To control external synths with the KO II

Go into EDIT

(Shift + Sound)

Press the +/- key till you arrive at MID

Each pad sends MIDI on its own channel.

Select a pad and Use the orange knobto change the midi channel.

Midi clock using the Kenton Solo Eurorack module

 Some settings of a very useful Eurorack module. ... the Kenton Solo

 

I think this is ideal for use with a Modular - 

eurorack

 

Preset 70 has too fast a clock.

Use P.71 instead 

available values c24, c48 & d2 to d24,
- sets the ratio of MIDI clocks to output pulses from the Clock1 output.

 

 D12 seems about perfect.

If set to d2, there will 12 pulses from the clock1 output 

for every 24 MIDI clocks = 12 cpqn
If set to d24, there will be 1 pulse from the clock pulse output for every 24 MIDI clocks = 1 cpqn
(Note there are 24 MIDI clocks per quarter note)

 

So d12 = 2 pulses from the clock output for every 24 MIDI clocks

The MPE QuNexus sequencer with modular synths

 The New firmware greatly expands of the capabilities of this keyboard

I bought my black controller nearly 10 years ago and Keith is still updating them.

The new red version has the keys labeled differently,

It's now a powerful 25-key MPE keyboard controller and three track Arpeggiator/Step Sequencer.

 Each track can control different instruments, arpeggiate, and play step patterns up to 32 steps in length.

What's MPE?

MIDI Polyphonic Expression. or Multidimensional Polyphonic Expression.

 

It was largely popularised by ROLI , the LinnStrument and the Haken Continuum

It's allows more acoustic like controls from your instruments

allowing more modulation of individual notes.

This is done by sending/receiving additional control messages along with each note. An MPE controller will transmit multiple ‘dimensions’ of expression alongside each note’s pitch 

It's not actually new as it uses tech that has existed when MIDI was first created in the 1980s.

 

 The MIDI protocol uses 16 channels.

A standard MIDI keyboard usually uses just one of these. 

A MPE controller can use all 16 on a per note basis. Each note can have its own MIDI channel

and have the equivalent of a pitch,modulation wheel & aftertouch..

The QuNexus keyboard has two dimensions (Tilt and Pressure) that can be configured to send these messages, and the MPE factory preset (Preset C) defaults to Tilt as CC74, and Pressure as Chanel Aftertouch

 

 For more info 

https://www.midi.org/midi-articles/midi-polyphonic-expression-mpe

 

 

 Back to connecting to a synth.

These are some basic notes to get you started.

The power is supplied via the right USB connector (marked MIDI expander).

 

There are 2 CV output ports on the left side of the QuNexus and 1 CV input port on the right side.

I found one of these cables works fine.

photo*

Outputs

The two outputs are
3,5mm (1/8”) stereo plugs that you need to split to dual 3.5mm (1/8”) mono plugs

Output 1 is a Gate1/CV1

Output 2 is for CV 2 & CV3

 
The default routings for factory preset A (Basic 2.0) are:
• Gate - Track 1 - Note Ons and Offs. Note Ons are expressed as 5 volts.
• CV1 - Track 1 - Note Pitch
• CV2 - Track 2 - Note ons and Offs. Note Ons are expressed as 5 volts.
• CV3 - Track 2 - Note Pitch

Inputs

The input jack on the right is a stereo jack. 

It receives data from the 2 CV inputs and converts them to MIDI messages:
• CV1 - CC#112
• CV2 - CC#113

 

Sequencer

To turn on a track’s step sequencer, 

1. hold shift and press “Sequence”.

 

2.  While still holding shift, press
     “Rec” and then let go of shift.

     You are now in Step Input record mode. Each note that you play on the
      keyboard will be entered sequentially into the step pattern

 

 2a .Add/delete rests, ties

      To enter a Rest, hold Shift and press/release the “9/Rest” key.

      To enter a Tie, hold shift and press/release the “10/Tie” key

   

 3. To play the sequence

     hold Shift and press/release the “Play” key

 

 4. To stop the sequencer:

    Hold shift & press stop.

 

5. To clear the notes stored in a sequence
    hold Shift and press “Stop/Clear” for 3+ seconds.

 Overdub sequence

While a track is playing, you can overdub or  record notes into its sequence pattern.

Hold Shift and press “Rec” while the sequencer is playing.

 

You can erase notes during overdub recording by holding shift and pressing or holding “9/Rest”.

 This is a really cool way to change your sequence of the fly

 

 

Korg Midi Synchronizer - KMS 30

 This is a useful and pretty rare piece of kit from the 1980s.

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Made in Japan, its great for clocking old gear .. esp Roland 808s, 909s, 303s etc

It enables sync between vintage Korg and Roland units. Not just MIDI sync but also DIN sync.

The KMS30 converts Midi clock to 24/48 PPQ  

Old Roland gear uses 24 PPQ

Korg gear uses 48 PPQ.

 

 

So this box is useful if you want to sync a Roland TB 303 with a Korg KPR-77 drum.

 

There are actually 3 time formats - Tape, Midi, and Din Sync.

 

Tape sync is now pretty obsolete, but it may come in handy if you have an old tape multi track deck 

You would need to record a TAPE CLOCK click track on one track of the tape. Then for your overdubs, as you play back the tape, you would connect the click track to the RCA tape in jack of the KMS30

 

 The KMS-30 can also be used to record a click track onto tape.

Note, this "click track" is FSK --- not an analog signal.

The DDM-110 is an old Korg Drum machine. 

  + DDM-110 (Digital Drum Machine)

There are plenty of old drums that will do this job, but it's a good example as it has

 a TAPE OUT jack & DIN sync jack

 

You sync it to the KMS30 via DIN and record it's audio (from the tape out) onto tape to make the click track.

 

Power supply is a 9V external PSU polarity (negative tip) .

 

 

Thanks to Ed of Elk Elktroniks for repairing it for me.

 

https://www.elkelektronik.com.au/ 

https://www.facebook.com/elkelektronik/  

Youtube

Instagram

 

A bit about Midi, and Din Sync.

In the case of Roland DIN Sync, the standard is 24PPQN.

Lots of old Roland Synths such as the TB303 & TR606, 808, 909 use this standard.
Most DAWs will also use  a 24 PPQN signal 

 

 

 

MIDI clock in comparison sends a tick 96 times per quarter note.

 

Korg has it's own version of DIN Sync.
It uses the same 5 pin cable/socket, but the PPQN is 48.
When syncing Roland and Korg gear via DIN sync, they will work, however the Korg machine will run at 1/2 the tempo/speed of the Roland unit. 

 

This can be corrected with several devices which will translate 24-48 sync, such as the Korg KMS-30.

Another useful and easy to find device which will translate to 48 PPQN is the Arturia Beatstep pro.

 

A bit about the Tape out on this machine.

Can the tape in/out be used for syncing the clock of analog gear?  

No! Its Binary FSK (usually referred to simply as FSK) for syncing with multitrackers.

FSK is for slaving digital hardware to tape 

FSK =  Frequency-shift keying.

 

It is a modulation scheme typically used to send digital information between digital equipment such as teleprinters and computers.

 

You can actually hear the FSK signal if you plug it into some speakers.

There are 3 types of tone:

1. Clear, high pitch - leader tone. Usually it lasts for 3 seconds.

    Indicates that data output is about to begin

2. Lower pitched-noisy sound - data tone.

    Contains your patterns / songs/ clock encoded as digital data.

3. Clear, high pitch - end tone. Usually lasts for 2 seconds.

    Indicates that data output is over.

 

Note that many old 1970s, 1980s era synths and drums have a TAPE sync in/out.

The TR-909 has DIN sync IN, TAPE sync IN/OUT and MIDI. 

The  TR-505, 626, 707,727 all have midi, DIN & FSK/TAPE which makes them

pretty useful.

This is the rear of a 505.

This is the rear of a TR-707

 

Tape, in those days was really useful. In addition to being able to handle syncronization, you could also use it to store your pattern data.

The TR 707 & 727 drums have MIDI, DIN SYNC and TAPE SYNC sockets. 

If you set it as the master, it sends sync signals out from all of the sockets. 

However, if you slave it to TAPE SYNC, it only sends out MIDI and DIN SYNC signals.
When set to be the slave it does not send any sync signals.

 

The Roland MC-202 has TAPE IN/OUT, one DIN sync IN and two OUT sockets.

Sadly no MIDI. If you slave the machine to TAPE sync, it sends DIN sync out on both sockets. 

Roland MC202

 

 

+ Modular Clocks - Analog, MIDI , PPQN 

+ https://familyaffairslytribute.com/bobbynathan.com/wp-content/html/key1.html

 

Playimg around with the DinSync 303 filter.

Sounds great.

The Endorphin.es Terminal is the old model .. just a buchla style LPG

 

 

 

The output of the Terminal is patched into the VCF 303 filter

I'm using the Terminal's LPG & left envelope Generator along with the Dinsync VCF 303 filter. 

 

The sound source is a endorphin.es furthrrrr generator. 

Sequencer : Winter Modular Eloquencer

Happy 606 Day

 Happy 606 day to everyone.

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I love my funky little Roland drum.

Small in stature, but big in sounds

The TR-606 Drumatrix was designed to compliment the TB 303.

Launched in 1981, it was neglected in favor of it's bigger brothers the 808 & 909.

It still sounds great, esp with the Analogue Solutions mods.

The 606 is a useful interfacing device.

In the insta video, its the master clock.

It can also be the slave, and receive DIN clock (or MIDI clock if you use a midi to din converter).

DIN sync sends 24 pulses per quarter note.

Also known as Sync24

 

This is the rear view of the DIN cable.

It looks just like a MIDI cable, but the signals it carries are different.

 

Pin 3 is the clock

Pin 2 is ground

Pin 1 is Start/stop

 The important signals are the clock & Start/stop

The clock is a pulse wave 0/+5 volt.

stop = 0 volt, start = +5 volt 

There are plenty of Midi to Din converters in the market, however conversion of

DIN to MIDI clock is more complicated.

Conversion from din to midi requires a microprocessor.  

So this might be possible using an arduino.

Currently, the only devices that can do this, that I'm aware of are:

Roland SBX10

Korg KMS30

Innerclock Systems Sync-Split2

 

The Pioneer Toraiz may also do this job, though I haven't tested this yet.

The roland TR-707s and 727s have both din and midi.  .... though its a bit weird needing to use a drum to sync a drum.

The Roland SBX-80 may be another option

 

sOME pics of the Analogue Solutions/Roland TR 606

This is it's breakout box