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NTL2009

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About NTL2009

  • Birthday 01/19/2022

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    Northern IL, USA
  1. I see Guido replied before I saw the questions/comments. As he points out, the Mojo 61 does not respond to these Web-Editor assigned CC#s if they are internally generated, only externally. I think it would be a benefit to users if this was changed - the 9 drawbars are just sitting there, asking to be used! The Clav has 4 filter switches, 2 pickup switches, and a damper setting, so the first 7 drawbars could be used for live performance, with 2 to spare. That sure makes playing the Clav a LOT more usable, and fun! Guido, can this be part of a future upgrade? I've been working on a little DIY module for this, (plus much more: more VB3 presets, presets for the other keys, direct access to the Effect settings for live performance changes, and the option to store all this with the presets), based on the little Pro-Micro Arduino board used in the Crumar open-source D9U. It should be very easy for someone with even limited DIY skills to build, there are inexpensive display and switch modules ( < $5, as is the Pro-Micro) that connect with just a few wires. I'll post an update when I get to a point to share, I've been distracted by another project. But the display makes it far more usable than the Korg nanoKontrol like I described above (Post 3035949), but that works. Related to that, it seems the USB port on the Mojo 61 does not transmit any of the internally generated CC values? These only appear on the 5-Pin-DIN MIDI OUT? It would be helpful to have these CC#'s and panel switch changes transmitted over the USB port, so that an external box could respond. Guido, any chance for that in an update as well (or am I missing a setting for this?). Playing with my "beta mode" module, it sure is a lot more fun to play those other instruments when you can jump in and have direct control over effects, pickups, filters, etc. I need to finish it! One more thing - the D9U is open source, but I haven't found a group that is active in making changes to it, or building on that base. Do you know of any "communities" of programmers/DIY-ers for that? If not, is there a good place for me to start one? Regards, and thanks for producing the Mojo 61 - I enjoy playing it every day.
  2. Wouldn't you be able to do this by setting the lower manual to transmit on MIDI channel #1? Normally, the lower manual sounds of the Mojo61 are set to receive CH#2, bass pedals sounds receive CH #3, and the upper manual (and pianos), receive CH#1. So I would think setting the lower manual to transmit on CH #1 would do this. Might not be convenient, depending on the lower manual access to channel changes, but I think there are also boxes that do this with a push button.
  3. QUESTION/OBSERVATION on the Mojo61 HOST (TYPE A) USB port: As I mentioned earlier, I've plugged a Korg NanoKontrol2 into the Mojo61 HOST (TYPE A) USB port, and it works fine to change Continuous Controllers (use the Web Editor to assign a CC# to access other parameters, and config the NanoKontrol2 to match). I experimented some more, using a < $4 Arduino Leonardo clone (Pro-Micro - the same one Crumar uses in the D9U drawbar controller), and also connecting to a computer (with two USB-MIDI>DIN-MIDI adapters, back-to-back), and it seems the Mojo61 does not send any info at all over the HOST (TYPE A) USB port. But it does send all internal changes (notes and CC# and PC#) over the ' TYPE B' ('client'?) port. This seems odd to me, why the difference? Or am I doing something wrong - do I need to tell the Mojo61 to transmit over the USB HOST? I ask because it looks like I can pretty easily and cheaply use these cheap Arduino controllers not only to provide access to things that aren't on the front panel (like I did with the NanoKontrol2 - change Effects on the fly, change the pickups and filters on the Clav, etc), but also to store presets for all the instruments, and probably even to optionally include settings not normally stored with presets (Perc, Drive, Reverb, Rot, C/V, , etc). But to make these presets editable from the Mojo61, I'd need to be able to read the buttons, knobs, and drawbars as they are set, so I can store them. It should be very simple to add this capability to the D9U, or build a separate box (w/o drawbars) - in the Arduino world, there are displays and switch readers that require just 4-5 wires (including power and ground) to an Arduino Pro-Micro (which is tiny, like .75"x1.5"), and the Pro-Micro just plugs into (and gets power from) the Mojo61 HOST USB port. Then load a program into the Pro-Micro (also pretty easy for non-techies) that I will finish writing , and that's it. If I can't get CC#'s out of the HOST USB port, I'd could either add a MIDI-IN to connect to the MIDI-DIN OUT port, or just leave the presets defined by the program (easily editable by a non-techie), which is still easier than re-wiring the panel in a real B3. FYI - the Arduino can't connect to the Mojo61 USB-"B" port, that requires the Arduino to be a HOST, and that is beyond what these controllers can support. If no one knows, I can try contacting Guido at Crumar. Anyway, if there is any interest in this project, I could start a new thread, or maybe there is a better place for it? The Crumar D9U is open source, but I have not found any discussions of mods to the code or hardware on the web.
  4. I didn't see a separate thread on this, did anyone else notice (after the earlier hints?): https://www.crumar.it/?a=showproduct&b=39 https://www.crumar.it/?a=showproduct&b=38 No piano/clav? Price? I have a few more comments, but I'll leave it at that if there is a new thread for these.
  5. Is there a "Mojo61 Feature Request" thread? That might be a good idea. Being able to real-time edit presets is attractive, but a little tricky. Two considerations that I can think of offhand, I'd need to sit down at my M61 to fully think this through: 1) We already have the HOLD function, so that we can move drawbars w/o changing the live sound, so it needs to work with that. 2) If the preset (for example), is 88800000 and your drawbars are at 88888888, but you want to bring in just a bit more high end. What happens when I touch the upper 4 or 5 drawbars? Does the sound "jump" abruptly from 0's to 8's as soon as they move? Or do you need to push them to "0" first, to reset before they become live again? But then any drawbar not moved through the preset value doesn't reflect the actual sound (motorized drawbars anyone? ). Of course, Hammond presets couldn't be changed live, but then again, they had 9 presets, cancel, plus A#, B drawbars. It can be done I think, just a little tricky. I have mine set up as a full B3 (I added my old DX-7 as a lower manual, and MIDI-fied a set of 25-note pedals from an old Yamaha E3 console), so I built my own set of 4 drawbars, and a control panel for switching between 16 presets for each manual, upper/lower C/V, etc. I just don't like not having direct control. But I understand wanting to make the most of the built in hardware, especially for gigging. Another option is Crumar's D9-U drawbar module. I also wish those drawbars could be live when the piano's are selected. They could be used to set the pickups, filters, and damper for the CLAV, and/or effects, and this could be done by setting the CC#'s for these parameters in the Web_Editor, as I described above using the Korg NanoKontol2.
  6. FYI: An Easy, Cheap real-time extended editing panel for your Mojo61: I just set this up, and thought I'd pass it along. If you want more detail, let me know if I should start a new thread, after all, this thread is already looooong. I bought a Korg NanoKontrol2 a few months back ( ~ $75 @ Sweetwater), just to experiment with. I had a few project ideas, but hadn't got around to anything yet. The NanoKontrol2 has 8 sliders with 3 buttons each, 8 pots, and a few more 'transport' buttons. You can connect it to a computer, and use Korg's program to configure a MIDI CC# to each pot/slider, and/or a MIDI note # any button. The settings (a 'scene') are saved in the unit. Link to NanoKontrol2 @ Sweetwater, couldn't get a good image link here << link-able image from Amazon The other day, I had fired up the Web Editor on my Mojo61, and realized it would be really nice to have some live buttons/knobs for things like the Clavinet pickups, filters, dampers, and a direct way to access the effects, w/o having to do the press/wait/cycle routine. Playing the Clav w/o being able to reach out and flip those pickups and filters is like playing a Hammond w/o being able to grab the drawbars - just not as much fun. So from the Web Editor, I assigned some unused CC#'s to each of the parameters I wanted to control, and set up the NanoKontrol2 to match. Just plug the NK2 into the Mojo61 USB Host port (the NK2 draws < 100mA, so OK for the Mojo61 250mA max warning), and it worked! I had sliders 1-2 set up for the Clav A/B, C/D pickups, slider 3-6 are the Soft, Mid, Treble, Brilliant filters, and 7 is the damper. So now I can change them on the fly, and have visual feedback from the slider position on how they are set. For accurate visual, you should move them once - they transmit only when moved, so the Mojo61 won't be in-sync with the physical position until you move them once. Then I set the pots 1-3 to Effect#1 Type, Depth, Speed; and pots 4-6 to Effect#2 Type, Depth, Speed. Changing the Effect Type while notes are sounding might create some digital grunge, so you might want to do that between notes, but otherwise it all works really nice. I forget you could use the pedal as a Wha-Wha. These effects are for the pianos too. That still leaves a slider and 2 pots free, plus a bunch of buttons for other stuff (assign one to each 'tine' piano model? VB3 organ model?). Anyhow, I thought this was pretty cheap and easy way to add some flexibility to our Mojo61's, w/o having to mod anything. You can always use the NK2 on something else, or disconnect it at any time. I would think you could hook up 2 or more NK2's through a powered hub for even more controls, but I have not tried that yet.
  7. Funny, I thought the only combo organs on a Mojo61 were farfisa and vox :wink: That one took me a while! And I actually owned an Ace Tone combo organ (1967?)!
  8. (Retired Electrical Engineer here) - The resistance (within limits) shouldn't make any difference at all. tl/dr: Yep, the FC7 works fine for me also. More: These pedals are wired and used as a voltage divider. I can't find my notes right now, but I'm pretty sure the Mojo outputs +5 V and ground to the volume pedal. The +5V and Ground would go to the ends of the pot, and the Mojo reads the voltage out from the wiper of the pot. So regardless the resistance of the pot, when it is at bottom, the voltage out is near 0V, at the top near 5V, and ~ 2.5V in the middle. It just divides it as a ratio of the resistance, top to bottom. Then the Mojo probably applies a response curve to that linear voltage swing to control volume (and EQ - to mimic the Hammond 'loudness' function - boosting Bass/Treble at lower volumes). That "within limits" comment: A very low R value might load down the voltage that the Mojo supplies, so you would never see full volume. And a very high R might be loaded down by the input of the measuring circuit on the Mojo. You could experiment with a linear pot wired to a TRS jack, but I'd be surprised if anything between 1K and 470K didn't act the same. I'll see if I can find my notes later, I had the old DX-7 pedal that I wanted to re-use, and that uses a mechanical shutter between a light bulb and a Light Dependent Resistor (a very nice way to do it), and I determined that that light bulb drew too much current for the Mojo to source, so I never plugged it in to try. So I do have some measurements.... somewhere!
  9. Yes, the Mojo61 has a Local Off button on the front panel ('Shift-hold' and the Perc button for 2nd/3rd). I had a need to try it today (but with my old DX7 as the lower manual, not the Crumar add on), and it definitely works (for me at least). But if the Crumar lower manual is on MIDI channel 2, it will play the lower manual 'brain' of the Mojo 61. If you want it to play the upper manual 'brain' of the Mojo61, it will need to transmit on Channel 1. The web editor says you can change the transmit channels of the up/low/pedals (always an n, n+1, n+2 relationship), not sure if that changes the receive channels as well.
  10. Oh, and here's a youtube link to the song for reference, organ intro is first 16 seconds of this:
  11. I've got some questions about playing the intro to Somebody Loan me a Dime, the original Boz Scaggs / Duane Allman version, with the Muscle Shoals studio band, Barry Beckett on keyboards. Now that I've got my Mojo61 set up with a lower keyboard and bass pedals, I'm really getting into the subtlety of the distortion and all the other 'magic' of some of the old classic Hammond sounds. I've always loved this intro, so I'm trying to learn to replicate it. I'm still working on getting the notes down exactly as the recording, I have a lousy ear but it's pretty simple blues stuff (kind of makes it harder for me, as any blue note 'fits', but I want to play what Barry played!), so I'll get it eventually, but I'm more interested in input on the organ settings. I hear intro as: First line notes - A C E, over an Am (plus 7th? 9th?) chord, then D over a Dm chord. Now that upper manual line sounds pretty bright to me, like some black drawbars in there, and the lower drawbars pushed in some? And the D note to me sounds like it mellows out quite a bit from the previous notes. Though he can't be changing drawbars as he holds those chords (unless this is overdubbed, I don't think so?). Is it just a little tonal change from less distortion from pulling back on the swell? I hear the volume drop, and I can see it clearly in Audacity (sound editing program). Then a few blues notes over that Dm. Then I hear a shift to what I think is an E5. I think the chord goes from an open E5, then fills out to a full E7th for the last note. After the shift to E5, there is a big change in tonality in the upper manual. It sounds like he pulls out some higher drawbars, but maybe also some tonal shifts by playing in/out of the fold-back range of notes? So maybe it is an overdub? Then the chord hangs there with a lovely subtle distortion growl, until the piano transitions to the song. So much for me to appreciate in such a short and simple intro. Probably the sort of thing Barry Beckett threw out without a thought. So what do people think about drawbar settings? Were the chords overdubs? The vibrato/Leslie sounds consistent throughout the intro. Is that just subtly miked Leslie, and/or a vib/chorus setting? Appreciate any help on this.
  12. Well, it is low level, and I use mine in a quiet home setting, with a clean amp and kinda hi-fi monitors right behind me, at ear level. After I'm playing for 10 minutes or so, I tend to not really notice it. Maybe my brain filters it out, or something settles down? And I would not be surprised if there was unit-to-unit variation, maybe some grounding somewhere is better or worse in different units? Grounding can be tricky and non-obvious. To Barryjam: OK, I'll write to Guido about disassembly, but does anyone know if there are any instructions on the web?
  13. Very interesting - thanks for posting! Is this the noise that I have called a "helicopter noise"? Sort of a low level wump-wump-wump-wump? How do you take the M61 apart to get to this? When I got mine, I could hear something, (a loose part, solder ball?) rattle/roll around inside. I just tilted the M61 until it seemed to settle to the lower right where I figured there weren't any electronics, and I really didn't want to return it for this. But once it is out of warranty, I will take it apart to remove it. It wasn't obvious to me which screws need to be removed to open it. Editing over USB would be good enough for me (preferable actually, I can keep my computer on my network to access other stuff), but maybe a switch could be wired to turn the wifi on/off for people who do use it?
  14. Welcome to the club! For #1, the upper (M61) manual transmits on MIDI CH#1 and the lower manual on MIDI CH#2, and that is how the M61 'knows' to direct those note on/off events to the upper or lower manual tones of the B3 sound engine. So it sounds like what you want is: A) for the lower manual to transmit on MIDI CH#1 when you are on piano, or... B) For the piano sounds in the M61 to 'listen' to MIDI CH#2. I looked at the WiFi editor, I didn't see anything to do this. You could: For option A - put some sort of MIDI box in between to change the CH# from #2 as it is received to transmitting #1 - I'm pretty sure there are things on the market for this, though you need to think about the power through, you might need a break out cable/box for that? For option B - Put in a request to Crumar to support this. Seems like the Single/Split/EXT-LOWER buttons could be used for this (RCV on #1, #2, or "all"?), since they are inactive when the piano is selected. Seems like a lot of people might want this, and they have been pretty responsive. I'll look into the other things later, if no one else chimes in.
  15. The second "issue" of the high drawbar dropping off at the G - it is supposed to do that, it's called "foldback" - and that is how a Hammond is wired, so this just emulated the B3, as it should. It actually becomes a part of the 'magic', not every note sounds the same. Hammond did it to avoid needing another 12-24 tonewheels, and the pitch gets really high anyhow. It doesn't go away, it repeats from an octave lower, and you'll see it a bit higher up on the next 2 drawbars down. Try listening with just 1' pulled out, it'll be obvious. Embrace it! If it didn't do it, the Hammond fans would be complaining.
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