RC4 just posted (Aug 11 2007)
_______________________________

RC4 changes:

 - *IMPORTANT*: changed prefix to '/40h' instead of '/box'
 - added shift-alt-drag     to adjust a HORIZONTAL row of pad params at 
once (MIDI Out Note, SEQ Len, Pad Type)
 - added shift-control-drag to adjust a VERTICAL   row of pad params at 
once (MIDI Out Note, SEQ Len, Pad Type)
 - green display for "PAD" (e.g. "1-1") now adjustable with mouse
 - clicking "virtual monome" buttons (to set current displayed/edited 
pad) more reliable
 - added "CC Faders" mode function ("NOTE OUT" = CC#, intended for 8 
vertical pads..try the CC Faders preset...use shift-control-drag to 
assign mode and/or Note(CC#) to the entire column quickly
 - added an optional LED mode for SEQ named "STATUS"(inverted so you can 
see active sequences easily)
 - "SEQ LED" option, which determines aforementioned Monome LED-mode for 
the Sequencers.
 - added 3 more presets
_______________________________

RC5 - now also AudioUnits on OS X (DOESNT SEND MIDI YET)
    - sends /40h/clear messages on patch change + LED mode change
_______________________________

RC6
- the AudioUnit version sends MIDI out via the *last* IAC-bus installed 
in your system.  Make sure at least one IAC bus is enabled in your 
AudioMIDI setup (Applications/Utilities/).   This MIDIout-AU could use 
serious testing.
- improved timing for MIDI notes generated and MIDI sync.  For Ableton 
live users, version 6.0.9 or later is strongly recommended (as I found a 
bug in earlier 6.0.x versions).
- "inverse" is now the default LED mode
- fixed a bug in triggering sequences when triggering Monochrome from 
MIDI (monome-free operation).
_______________________________
RC7
- CPU savings
- stepsequencer direction can be set to reverse, pendulum, random 
(per-row, alt-click any of the 8 controls along left to set to all)
- Sending MonoChrome MIDInote 101-114:  SetProgram (sets MonoChrome 
factory preset #1-#14)
- "warp" knob shifts the upbeats ('even' steps) but not downbeats (handy 
for odd fills / pattern variation)
- MIDI CC's for controls:
  70    groove
  71  gate
  72  wrap
  73-80 stepsequencer direction
- LED blink rate is now always 75% of the 16th note (to keep blinks 
visible regardless of gate slider)
- shift-click on the pads to trigger on/off (Seq mode only for now)
_______________________________
RC8
- pressing monome pads now also displays pad in top area to edit
- added global transpose (changes notes out for Normal/Latching/SEQ),
also shows as a 'vst' parameter
- There are now 2 channels (Midi Inputs) to Monochrome.

  MIDI Channel 1 is for the main functions (trigger LED/Sequences) with
the one change that LED's now illuminate based on their MIDI OUT note
number.
  MIDI Channel 2 will set the Global Transpose (-36 to 36 semitones,
midi notes 12 to 84) and has the global MIDI notes above (101-114 for
programs, 120 or greater for AllSeqsOff
________________________________
RC9
-some code changes (to make way for a 16x16 separate future version)
-added "clear" button (to send /40h/clear message)
-added "Seq Off" button (to shut off all active sequences).
-fixed a bug introduced in RC8 (Seq Pads not triggering via MIDI)
-fixed a stuck-note bug (with shift-click to deactivate sequences)
________________________________

http://www.deadmau5.com/duda/MonoChromeOSX.zip
http://www.deadmau5.com/duda/MonoChromePC.zip

all questions/comments/requests most welcome.

whoa, this is absolutely amazing, especially the sequencing of Impulse - 
thank you thank you thank you :)

steve, thanks a billion for this. using the impulse sequencer with 
varying sequence lengths is just plain fun!

This is really super awesome.  Do you have any documentation/help files 
for this app?

thanks for the nice words guys.

 Its nice to know that I'm not the only one using it :)

The only "docs" are the readme file in the zip, and the basic info in 
the Wiki entry here:

http://wiki.monome.org/view/MonochromeVst


"CC Faders" mode currently does nothing (non-functional).

I should make an additional preset for sequencer mode, but more "zeroed 
out", as the default sequencer settings might add extra confusion (each 
pad is its own sequencer, which you can edit by clicking the mouse on 
the pad, and drawing in the stepsequencer).

don't hesitate to ask any questions!

-Steve

Hi,

I'm having trouble getting MonoChrome SeqRows to work on my PC.
I've communication with 40h and Ableton via Serial XP 2.01 beta.
I can trigger synths in note mode and Monochrome lights + plays battery 
in another midi track, no problems.
When i change from Note Mode to SeqRows, press play in ableton, i can 
still trigger drum sounds manually, i press a note on 40h (it makes a 
drum sound only the one time i press the 40h), it flashes, Monchrome 
flashes, the sequence runs on my 40h + Ableton - but no sound even 
though its triggering?
I tried doing the same to impuse drum sampler - i can trigger bass + 
snare drum manually (the rest of the drums seem to be off the scale of 
my 40h) only in Impulse and the sequence on the 40h + Monochrome works 
fine - except still no sound in seq mode.
Any ideas? I think it maybe a midi mapping problem.


I'm using Centrino PC Laptop, WindowsXP, Ableton 6, M-Audio 410,

Serial XP 2.01 beta.
Orientation - Left
OSC In = 8080,
OSC Out = 8000.
Midi Input = Midi Yoke NT 2, Channel 1
Midi Output = Midi Yoke NT 1, Channel 1

In Live - Midi Preferences. track,sync and remote turned on for ;
Input: Midi Yoke NT 1
Output: Midi Yoke NT 2

Track 1 Midi = MonoChrome (volume 0)
Track 2 Midi = Battery - Midi From = Midi Yoke NT 1, All Channels, 
Monitor In.

Cheers

It sounds to me like you're using SerialXP in MIDI mode instead of OSC.

You don't need Midi Yoke at all with MonoChrome.  Thats the beauty of 
it.

Simply put MonoChrome on a MIDI track, put Impulse on a second MIDI 
track.
On the Impulse (second) MIDI track, select:

"MIDI From: (first track name)"
and below that in the rectangle you select "MonoChrome".

Hope this helps, let me know!
-Steve

Thats great Steve - it works - I hear sound!

I'm getting confused with Midi + OSC + the Ableton Live setup files on 
here that said use Midi Yoke.
I still used Serial XP 2 beta but deselected the Midi option and also 
Midi Yoke option in Ableton.

Just one thing - MonoChrome lights up + plays the sequence but the 40h 
doesn't light up - is that correct? It would be great to see the lights 
on the 40h as well as the MonoChrome.

Anyway - superb program!

Thanks

Jason

Hey Jason,

Glad you like it :)

The lights on MonoChrome and the 40h should be showing the same thing.

If you're certain presses are working (e.g. not over MIDI Yoke, but 
direct via OSC) then thats a bit strange, I had one such situation with 
SerialXP and older builds of MonoChrome, but I resolved it in the latest 
build of MonoChrome as far as I can tell.

 It could be a port issue, e.g. your PC is blocking port 8080 for some 
reason (software firewall or something) but Im a bit stumped if you're 
on the latest monochrome.  You could try the now-obsolete 
"SerialIODotNet" (older version of SerialXP) as if that works perhaps 
*somehow* theres something I need to still do with OSC messages.. with 
that said it works on multiple XP machines with SerialXP for me.

Best,
Steve

Steve - its the firewall - i've had Zone Alarm on when using the 
internet.

The lights on MonoChrome and the 40h are showing the same thing now.
I guess it makes sense when using OSC messages and not midi.
Lesson learned for me.

Now this program is twice as superb!

Thanks for you quick replys.

Big thanks from Hanoi!

Jason

the windows firewall, if its on, will also try to block apps.  its kind 
of annoying when you are actually programming the thing yourself and 
then when you finally run it the first time, windows asks it you want to 
block it!!!  i turned off the firewall, finally!

im using this now inside of Kore 2 (im beta testing it, yay!), working 
perfectly controlling Tau 2 303 clone, actually alot of fun using it 
with a synth.  the only thing i find difficult is not knowing which 
steps are on/off until they are triggered, but i guess thats not 
insurmountable.  it would be nice if you could tell via the screen, even 
if the leds ont he box still worked as-is.

thanks for this and mononym, you rock!

im starting to understasnd the sequencer now - it only works as a normal 
8x8 sequencer if you want it to, otherwise its much more complex.  ive 
expermineted with all sorts of methods for doing step-sequenced control 
for a liver performance instrument, the best ive done is beat_step for 
reaktor 5, in the wiki, but this has given me alot of ideas of how to 
take things further!  thanks a million!

about monochrome, presets would be very nice, since the numeric controls 
are really reallly hard to use!  they are the only thing i dont like so 
much about it, although things got better when i realized they slide 
horizontally, and not vertically.

again, thanks so much, you are awsome!

some minor questions:

i haven't got the idea about the different sequence length in ableton, 
how does that work ?

i get it working with impulse, but haven't fiddled out what the 
different sequence length is affecting.

each pad is it's own sequencer and seq length.

Try altering the sequencer length while holding the option key (alt key) 
to assign all 64 pads' seq len at once.

-Steve

new build posted! (RC4)
...see first post in this thread for the changes.

Absolutely brilliant! Pairing Monochrome with Ableton Live's toolset
(Random, Arp, Scale, Chord) is pure bliss!

I do have two questions:

1. When I switch between saved VST presets with the Monochrome LED in
Status mode, the saved preset recalls my sequence but doesn't reset the
LEDs from the previous sequence.  Is there any way to reset the LEDs
when loading a saved sequence?

2. Any chance we will see an AU version of Monochrome?  AUs have better
preset management in Ableton Live (i.e., they appear as a list below a
given AU in Live's browser on the left for easy auditioning).

Cheers!

>Absolutely brilliant! Pairing Monochrome with Ableton Live's toolset
>(Random, Arp, Scale, Chord) is pure bliss!

Thanks for the nice words, good to hear :)

>  Is there any way to reset the LEDs when loading a saved sequence?

I meant to add that (clear on patch change or LED status change), added!

> Any chance we will see an AU version of Monochrome? 

DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH WORK THAT INVOLVES?

only kidding...well, it took me at *least* 5 minutes... :D
MonoChrome AU version added to the OSX zip! :)

Holy cow, that was quick!  Unfortunately, there appear to be a few bugs 
to work out. Using Live 6.0.7, the /40h/clear message doesn't seem to 
work when loading a another preset or patch (i.e., the lights from the 
previous patch remain on).  Were you able to get this to work on your 
machine?  I tested both the new VST and AU, but neither would clear the 
LEDs.

With the AU version, I can save presets and they appear in Live's 
browser (which is great!), but when I attempt to select one of the 
presets that you created, such as SEQ 4X16, it crashes Live altogether. 
The other problem I'm experiencing with the AU is that, even if I don't 
attempt to load one of your presets, I can't get the AU to communicate 
with another midi track in Live.  When the VST is loaded, the "MIDI 
From" pulldown selection includes another subcategory for "Monochrome." 
However, with the AU, that disappears, leaving only PostFX or PreFx. Is 
there another trick to get another midi track to receive notes from the 
Monochrome AU?

Thanks!

[Ableton Live 6.0.7, OS 10.4.10, dual 2.7 GHz G5]

I think I can fix the problems you mention besides the most important 
one (not sending MIDI in AU operation).  I'll try to look in to it later 
(CoreMIDI nooooo)


-Steve

i can see monochrome as an instrument in logic express
i don't know how to route it to an other software instrument
can anabody help?

AU doesn't seem to send MIDI at this time (though you can use it to make 
LED light shows).

Playing around with this, potentially exciting!! Thanks

I'm getting some weird behavior though - any ideas

In Mixo mode currently - and in the first button row, I get some unusual 
presses

- the first button is generating Db3 instead of what seems like should 
be C-1

- the LED output to the monome is off from what my keyboard outputs - is 
there some adjustment possible for this?  to be honest I can't quite 
figure out the offset, but the lights which activate on the 40h are not 
correct, when triggering from another device

So this last revision is great! The 4x16 preset is a nice addition. Also 
love the status mode. Makes it much easier to work with complex 
sequences. Thanks for all the hard work!

I'm wondering if it is possible to use any of the presets (or create a 
new one) for controlling sliced clips in ableton live like ahlstrominfo 
is doing with monogrid. I know monochrome isn't necessarily intended for 
that purpose, but it would be convenient to switch presets and do both 
sequencing and loop slicing. Would the led feedback work like in 
monogrid? Sorry, I haven't had a chance to try this and probably won't 
for a few days...

Thanks!

thanks for the nice words, hypnosapien!

>I know monochrome isn't necessarily intended for 
>that purpose, but it would be convenient to switch presets and do both 
>sequencing and loop slicing.

I'm not sure what you're aiming for precisely, but sounds to me like 
MonoChrome isn't the tool for the job.  However as of today, if you run 
MonoChrome as an AU, you can trigger clips with it:

-In Live's prefs, enable Input: IAC (last bus) as a MIDI remote source.
-in Monochrome, choose a note preset like "ionian".

you can control monome LED's by sending MIDI notes to Monochrome (in 
normal mode, notes 36-100).

...I tried for kicks with the AU, seems to work well:

http://www.deadmau5.com/duda/monochrome_loopexample_for_AU.zip
(Ableton Live / OSX / IAC Bus / latest MonoChrome AU required)

-Steve

MonoChrome RC6 works beautifully!  Nice work, Steve!  Thanks so much for 
developing this 40h gem for the Monome community!

The only improvement I can think of would be to incorporate an option to 
change the direction of MonoChrome's built-in sequencer.  In addition to 
going forward, is it possible to make it run in reverse, in pendulum 
mode, or play steps in random order?

Cheers!

I haven't tried the loopexample set linked above with the monome 
connected yet, but it looks like it might do the trick.

My two favorite monome uses are sequencing with monochrome, and playing 
sliced loop monogrid (ala monogrid mlr style). I'd really like to be 
able to do both in the same live set without having two monomes (maybe 
some day...). A few monochrome presets for sequencing, and a few for 
triggering sliced loops.

Speaking of presets, is there any way to control switching between them 
with midi, like you can with mode?

Thanks again! This is great stuff!

>MonoChrome RC6 works beautifully!  Nice work, Steve!  Thanks so much for 
>developing this 40h gem for the Monome community!

thanks!  nice words will get you everywhere...

>The only improvement I can think of would be to incorporate an option to 
>change the direction of MonoChrome's built-in sequencer.  In addition to 
>going forward, is it possible to make it run in reverse, in pendulum 
>mode, or play steps in random order?

done :)  RC7 just posted!

>Speaking of presets, is there any way to control switching between them 
>with midi, like you can with mode?

the latest version (rc7) has this added as well, MIDI notes 101-114 will 
set Monochrome to that particular preset.  Not well-tested..   Also keep 
in mind that every pad in Monochrome has its own settings (including 
mode, which shouldn't have been showing on the vstparams) so it is 
pretty easy to create a preset which has some sequencers and some 
regular MIDI notes.  Also it should be possible to use multiple 
Monochromes, and create MIDI mapping in your host to toggle the bypass 
states (so one is active at a time).

Same download URL's

http://www.deadmau5.com/duda/MonoChromeOSX.zip
http://www.deadmau5.com/duda/MonoChromePC.zip

-Steve

Hello Monome community,

Are any of you having success with Monocrome rc7, ableton 6.09, 
monomeserial, ... on a mac g4/ 10.4.10?

I cannot seem to monochrome to send within live from one midi track to 
another.

Thanks

Terry

The VST version uses internal routing (VST MIDI Events):

1) put Monochrome on a track (e.g. 1-MIDI)
2) on the destination track (e.g. 2-MIDI), select the above track as a 
MIDI source (e.g. 1-MIDI)
3) on the rectangle below ("Input Channel") change it to read 
"Monochrome".


The AudioUnits (and not the VST) uses the IAC Bus (last bus in system). 
IAC is not needed/used in the VST version.

Best,
Steve

Superb work, Steve, on RC7!  I like the way you integrated the seq 
direction options. Bravo!  I'm havin' a blast with MonoChrome!

In my case, Monochrome VST used to work and kick ass some time ago 
(don't exactly remember my exact past setup, actually).

Now, perceived yyeeaarrs later, with the following setup, it doesn't 
work anymore:
Monocrome rc7 (VST), ableton live 6.09, monomeserial, macbook pro, os x 
10.4.10

I have the VST routing setup 100% genuinely bulletproof a la steve's 
description above. i also tested with ableton live 6.07, but seems to 
send no midi here as well.

should the midi in activity led in the upper right corner of the live 
gui light up when 40h pads are being pressed and midi is sent from one 
to another midi track?

or are you guys all using any earlier 6.0.x versions to make it work or 
are we 6.0.9 grinds missing something? :-)

best regards from hamburg,
christophe

Hi Christophe,

I've re-upped the OSX zip file (readme says 'RC7b' in file name)..
perhaps I had a build flag set wrong on the VST compile... Should work 
now, sorry for the problem :)


Best,
Steve

Wow. This thing just keeps getting better and better!

This will end up becoming a stand-alone app before it's all over :)
Ableton schmableton...

Great work, Steve. Thanks so much!

Works! awesome.... fantastic....

Thanks Steve for making this plug and providing it to us.

terry

Thanks for all these updates!

I think I understand now the offset of the LED's from the monome presses 
vs. other MIDI inputs flowing through the channel in Live.

The monome lights correspond when using the chromatic scale preset.  It 
is only on the other scale presets where incoming MIDI continues to 
display chromatic -

Am I making sense?  Don't know if that's coming out right ;)


So I guess the question is:  how possible would it be to filter incoming 
MIDI to display LED's according to the chosen scale?

cool. i love monochrome.

I'm building a second 40h, would it be possible to do 16step sequencing 
with monochrome?

A feature that would be awesome for me would be the ability to toggle 
through different sequences and be able to route them to different 
channels. So when you open up ableton the sequences are saved in the vst 
state settings, and you could sequence separate instruments with 
monochrome.

sorry if that sounds confusing my brain is a little dead today.

Anyway thanks a lot for monochrome!

> So I guess the question is:  how possible would it be to filter incoming 
> MIDI to display LED's according to the chosen scale?

I didn't do this initially for several reasons - but they're rather 
minor reasons.
(conistancy for using clips to generate LED, all the other scales have 
duplicate notes row1/8 so "C" notes will illuminate two LED's)

Also there are the higher notes for presetswap/allseqsoff but I moved 
these to a 2nd input channel (and made the lower keys on the 2nd channel 
a global transpose).

..but it'll work like you ask in the next version.

> I'm building a second 40h, would it be possible to do 16step sequencing 
> with monochrome?

This should functionally work using a sepcial build for a 2nd instance 
of MonoChrome (and creating your own modified presets, the same idea as 
SEQ-4rows preset but with all even rows on the 2nd MonoChrome).

there's an older build that uses ports 9000/9080 in another thread.  I 
haven't had any confirmation that it works for a 2nd, if it does I'll 
build a 9000/9080 (Monochrome-b) update in the future.

(2nd monome only! ports 9000/9080, older build!)
http://www.deadmau5.com/duda/MonoChrome-B-PC.zip
http://www.deadmau5.com/duda/MonoChrome-B-OSX.zip

>A feature that would be awesome for me would be the ability to toggle 
>through different sequences and be able to route them to different 
>channels. So when you open up ableton the sequences are saved in the vst 
>state settings, and you could sequence separate instruments with 
>monochrome.

Its a bit too vague for me to understand.  The sequences are already 
saved in the vst state settings.. I could add MIDI channels but also, 
one temp-solution to try (until I understand what you'd want a bit 
better):

You can use ableton's "pitch" midi-effect on each destination channel to 
restrict (and re-transpose) a certain MIDI range.  This way you can have 
multiple tracks recieving from Monochrome, with the different 
notes/ranges from Monochrome only sounding on one particular instrument.

I posted a new version just now:
RC8
- pressing monome pads now also displays pad in top area to edit
- added global transpose (changes notes out for Normal/Latching/SEQ), 
also shows as a 'vst' parameter
- There are now 2 channels (Midi Inputs) to Monochrome.

  MIDI Channel 1 is for the main functions (trigger LED/Sequences) with 
the one change that LED's now illuminate based on their MIDI OUT note 
number.
  MIDI Channel 2 will set the Global Transpose (-36 to 36 semitones, 
midi notes 12 to 84) and has the global MIDI notes above (101-114 for 
programs, 120 or greater for AllSeqsOff

http://www.deadmau5.com/duda/MonoChromePC.zip
http://www.deadmau5.com/duda/MonoChromeOSX.zip

Best,
Steve

hi there,

i'm all excited about usig monochrome as part of my live setup. I don't
own a monome, I'd like to wire up monochrome using Usine as the host
(www.sensomusic.com). What's strange is that monochrome isn't outputting
any midi. I've tried different presets. Downloaded RC8. Any idea what I
might be doing wrong?

thanks a lot in advance for any assistance.

antwan

>What's strange is that monochrome isn't outputting
>any midi. I've tried different presets. Downloaded RC8. Any idea what I
>might be doing wrong?

Hi antwan,

it seems fine here in Usine Free.

With no monome, you need to shift-click the pads (or send MonoChrome 
MIDI notes) to trigger sequences (send out MIDI).  Monochrome is 
obviously designed with the monome 40h in mind.

Best,
Steve