Just to add another vote for a USB audio interface. In my case the minimum requirement would be 4-channel out. I don’t need all the options of an ES-8, but getting more channels into the DAW utilising the existing USB port on the case (or even on the front panel) would be cool.
Getting 4 channels out via two of the existing 1u output tiles requires a fair amount of 1U space, a lot of 1/4" cable patching when you set up along with the cost of upgrading my existing audio interface. A dedicated USB audio module would be a nice solution for this.
I’ve explored the idea of doing a USB audio interface and also used an Expert Sleepers for that purpose. It seems like a good idea on paper but has quite a few practical limitations. For example if you have an existing interface then you can’t really use them both at once unless you do a composite device on macOS or… I’m not even sure what on Windows, ASIO4ALL I guess? In any case it’s a bit of a hack and has always lead to glitches and issues for me. The other thing is that developing a USB audio interface is actually not that easy if you want to get good audio quality. There’s lots of technical issues with USB clocking / sample rate sync to deal with. So I kind of feel like it would be a lot of development effort for something that’s probably not going to be hugely popular and also kind of boring to work on
Thanks for the reply, makes sense. I guess for my use case I’d try and avoid having to aggregate inputs with another interface and probably use the existing interface for output only. But yeah I can see that might be a niche product.
ADAT might be an option though there seems to be a lack of affordable interfaces with ADAT in so the total cost if you don’t already have one ends up being towards that of an ES-8.
If we ever come up with something that seems like a workable solution to the problem we will surely do it, but I think for now the best bet is to invest in a larger audio interface or other kind of recording device.
I know @slowwild has had good results with running Eurorack directly into a Zoom L12 which works great as a mixer, standalone recorder, and audio interface.
Here is my dream 1u module. I wonder if any company in history has made (or will ever make) something based on an idea someone else came up with on a forum, probably not. But screw it, here goes hope you all like the idea.
CV Recorder in 1u. 14hp (used Duatt as the template)
Two rows of CV Recording. A & B.
RECORD (switch is left):
IN - CV (e.g. knob twiddle from Duatt/LFO/FSR) goes into the input.
NO CABLE in Trigger input
Recording starts as soon as switch goes to the left.
Recording stops as soon as switch goes to the right.
Cable IS in Trigger Input
Recording starts on first trigger
Recording stops on second trigger
PLAYBACK (switch is right):
Trigger - Starts playback of recorded CV to the output (ONESHOT)
Negative Gate into Trigger - Plays as a loop for as long as gate is open
CV - Changes playback Rate
Simple and effective, covers all the main CV recording features in a small framework, no need for knobs etc as this can be done externally.
Extra: No CV is recorded if in the record position and no cable patched into the (IN) input (this is to avoid accidentally erasing a recorded CV).
I’m choosing a negative gate into the trigger to loop so it can be distinguished from a trigger. There are other possibilities, such as a small switch to choose between one shot and loop for each channel
@Danjel - You teased us with the new µMIDI 1U on the Perfect Circuit show… give us some details!! 14HP? Expanders?! Reconfigurable ports? oh my.
…I’ll rip out my mults and replace them with robot hubs.
Velocity isn’t blue on the older module, so I have a feeling the two blue outputs are clock and 1/16th. The labelling of the 6 black outputs definitely aren’t multiple CV/gate, so it looks like they’re the same as before.
He did say reconfigurable ports… at least for the expander that will be released in the future. This make prime contender for me to free up 8HP used by my Expert Sleepers FH-2.
I think this would be a brilliant move. I love my µMIDI 1U for that one complex “lead” voice - with velocity, AT and articulate trig in addition to gate, and CC control. But for creating that complex array of voices µMIDI falls flat. This is where the FH-2 is nice - you can configure those 8 ports to do anything you want.
The main reason I bought µMIDI is that it costs almost a 1/3 of the FH-2 and has 10 ports vs. 8 on FH-2. So µMIDI has become my permanent clock/run source - driving my USTA and Pamela’s NEW! Workout; and the permanent lead voice MIDI-CV. Which leaves the FH-2 to do 8 channels of anything else. But a new µMIDI, especially if the ports are reconfigurable, would render the FH-2 obsolete for my purposes.
That 8HP of 3U freed up could mean a new Dixie2+ for me as well!
It would be nice if the Headphones 1U module got a update. Why can’t it be connected to the internal case jacks? In a Palette Case for example, this would make great sense, since space is very limited and the need to buy a Stereo Out module, just to be able to connect to the internal case jacks, is a bit space-waisting. The lineup would make more sense in general too, buy the stereo out to connect to the jacks, get the Headphones if you need extra monitoring. What are your thoughts? Love your products, Vincent.
