MIDI controller for the JD-Xi - would you buy it?

Forum for the JD-Xi Keyboard.
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brakjoller
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MIDI controller for the JD-Xi - would you buy it?

Post by brakjoller »

Hi,

If you have read another thread of mine (viewtopic.php?f=58&t=51967) you know I am building a custom MIDI controller for my JD-Xi (you have to read up on the details in that thread if you want to know more).

For me it has always been a personal project and I have not thought much about making it into a "real" product. A few days back however a friend of mine suggested that I try to "productify" it into something others could buy and use too, perhaps as a pre-packaged kit to build (* see links below similar projects), or as a finished product. I liked the idea :) Not so much for making money, because I don't think that one could make much money out of this (the parts costs quite much with a small-scale product like this), but more to let others have a better time with their synth. But before I invest more time into something like that, I would want to know if there is an interest out there, from the JD-Xi community.

So, this is my small marketing survey: Would you be interested in buying such a "thing", and how much would you be prepared to pay? (right now, the part costs are not very high, somewhere around $20 or so, but I think a proper enclosure and board would make the price higher)

Primarily it is custom made for the JD-Xi, but it should be possible to make it into a completely generic MIDI controller too. MIDI CC stuff is easy to make generic, but I'm not sure about SysEx commands... I know how SysEx works on the JD-Xi, but have no idea on how it works on other synths, especially when it comes to checksums and such (if you happen to know, don't hesitate to share...)

/Mathias

* http://digitalwarrior.co/, https://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=381433.0
baz55
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Re: MIDI controller for the JD-Xi - would you buy it?

Post by baz55 »

Personally I wouldn't buy it because I have no need for it as I already have a Behringer BCR2000 MIDI controller which can be programmed to work with any synth (currently I don't have a BCR2000 template for the JD-Xi but sooner or later I will program it if nobody else does it before me).

That said I admire your skills and initiative!
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brakjoller
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Re: MIDI controller for the JD-Xi - would you buy it?

Post by brakjoller »

baz55 wrote:Personally I wouldn't buy it because I have no need for it as I already have a Behringer BCR2000 MIDI controller which can be programmed to work with any synth (currently I don't have a BCR2000 template for the JD-Xi but sooner or later I will program it if nobody else does it before me).

That said I admire your skills and initiative!
Thanks for the feedback! About the Behringer, it was an alternative for me to buy one when I started all this, but I wonder; can it send any kind of SysEx message that is needed?

Since I now know quite well what the Xi need, I know it first needs a long string of bytes that identifies the Xi itself, then particular SysEx messages for the parameter you want to control, as well as the value. And lastly you need to calculate a checksum in a special way and send that too, as part of the quite long message. Does the Behringer has the flexibility to do all that?

Since I am new to synths, MIDi and SysEx, I don't know if the latter part about checksums are "standard" or not. If it is, then I guess what I have been creating is a Behringer-competitor, but a more shaky version :)
baz55
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Re: MIDI controller for the JD-Xi - would you buy it?

Post by baz55 »

I haven't tried to program a template for the JD-Xi on the BCR2000 yet, but I wouldn't expect any problems as the BCR2000 is very flexible. By the way it's not necessary to send a correct checksum to the JD-Xi, it accepts sysex parameter changes with incorrect checksum too.
(in my experiments sending sysex to the JD-Xi from the PC via software I have always left the checksum set to zero)
jay-mz
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Re: MIDI controller for the JD-Xi - would you buy it?

Post by jay-mz »

Hey man! i would definitely buy it - especially if its around the $50-$60 so im not sure if that suits you - but for me the more controllers and gadgets the better :) especially if its made for JDXI!
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funktree
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Re: MIDI controller for the JD-Xi - would you buy it?

Post by funktree »

brakjoller wrote:Thanks for the feedback! About the Behringer, it was an alternative for me to buy one when I started all this, but I wonder; can it send any kind of SysEx message that is needed?
Yes I used to do templates for MC808 using Sysex for all partials. If I remember there were four partials on MC808... powerful box but didn’t really take off. so yes the BCR2000 is a beast, wish it was smaller
but then I have some success with a iPad app called "Midi Designer pro". I just didn’t have enough time to complete the drum section layout(s) that was the most important for me to control via external gear.
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funktree
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Re: MIDI controller for the JD-Xi - would you buy it?

Post by funktree »

baz55 wrote:Personally I wouldn't buy it because I have no need for it as I already have a Behringer BCR2000 MIDI controller which can be programmed to work with any synth (currently I don't have a BCR2000 template for the JD-Xi but sooner or later I will program it if nobody else does it before me).

That said I admire your skills and initiative!
How much will you charge for it ? ... week BCR probably does not have enough knobs to do drums & synths
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ahgi
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Re: MIDI controller for the JD-Xi - would you buy it?

Post by ahgi »

I would buy it
Depend how much ???
Willvandervliet
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Re: MIDI controller for the JD-Xi - would you buy it?

Post by Willvandervliet »

Me too.
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brakjoller
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Re: MIDI controller for the JD-Xi - would you buy it?

Post by brakjoller »

Hi, and thanks for the recent comments. Seems there is an interest after all :) I have no idea on how much a "productified" version might cost, but a DIY kit should not be very expensive, if you are prepared to do some soldering. I'll try to post an update soon, in the main thread about the controller.
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funktree
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Re: MIDI controller for the JD-Xi - would you buy it?

Post by funktree »

Do you have a idea what is going to be included eg:

10 knobs 10 switches etc.

What are they going to control Digital1 Digital2 or drums too.

Excited to hear more what you have in your mind

Cheers
FunkTree
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brakjoller
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Re: MIDI controller for the JD-Xi - would you buy it?

Post by brakjoller »

funktree wrote:Do you have a idea what is going to be included eg:

10 knobs 10 switches etc.

What are they going to control Digital1 Digital2 or drums too.

Excited to hear more what you have in your mind
Currently I am using 8 knobs, and they can be used for the "switching" (on/off) parameters as well. I have only added the analog parameters to the parameter banks, but it's just a matter of time to add the digital parts as well. But, you should have a look in this thread for details, I describe my progress there, and also the basics of how it works :)

viewtopic.php?f=58&t=51967

There are some challenges, mostly when it comes to get a good user interface as the number of parameters increase.
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funktree
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Re: MIDI controller for the JD-Xi - would you buy it?

Post by funktree »

brakjoller wrote: There are some challenges, mostly when it comes to get a good user interface as the number of parameters increase.
Ha ha, :) I found the same issue when trying to come up with a layout for drums, you have 4 partials with a lots of parameters so I almost gave up
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