Cheapest/easiest way to get Taurus sounds?

[jasonbraatz]

OOOOH this is new (or at least, I hadn't seen it before!)

DIGIKICK BASIC13+ MINI MIDI BASS PEDALBOARD W/ BUTTONS - eBay (item 290554730351 end time Jun-09-11 08:56:41 PDT)

Looks great!

 

[HenfieldJ]

Has anyone tried any of the MIDI Pedals from this guy?

Link Removed

 

[Footbutt]

For those who were looking to go with BASYN, anyone tried this guy yet?

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

gah! i've been trying to figure out my "organ Pedal" dilema for a while now. i have a mint condition set of Hammond organ pedals ready to be midi-fied, and yet i'm hung up on the next step.

that controller looks pretty nice but for $40? i could probably get a used Midi keyboard for about the same cost.

 

[jasonbraatz]

$40's cheaper than the Basyn board, and the support forum seems amazing. I'm going to order a controller from them and see how it turns out!

I already have a box built with an octave of arcade buttons plus program and octave - with how extensible the MIDI CPU looks I think I'm going to do buttons for program up / down and octave up / down, maybe a couple extra for hold or chords, and a couple of expression pedal inputs for volume and modulation.

 

[idoru]

I'd been using the bass pedals to drive a DX-21 via parallel connection to the bottom octave, but finally decided to go MIDI. Had the Basyn kit for ages, just finished assembly last night.

Result? No good. I've yet to hook up to MIDI OX to see just what is happening, but I'm getting rapid note-on/off signals.

The 'Program Change' button interrupts the note-on barrage, but the Octave change does not.

I've triple-checked the switch wiring, it's fine (you get the same issue with the bass pedals disconnected).

I've checked the PCB for shorts, it's fine.

I've wired in my own DC jack, so I have no problems with Boss style power adaptors...

BUT - how stringent is the requirement for a 300 ma power supply? I only have a Boss PSA (200 ma) and a big one via eBay seller 'Johnny Shredfreak' which is regulated 3A.

I get exactly the same problem if I try either of those, and I'd like to avoid buying another PSU if necessary.

About to go in for one of the kits mentioned above - now THAT is how a business should be run. If the forum was any more helpful, it'd make you a coffee while it does your tax for you

c-

 

[idoru]

Nix that, I got out a magnifying glass and double-checked all the solder joints. Guess what? Found a little blob of solder on the end of a freely-moving resistor. Nice work, Mr Levine. "72 hrs of burn-in", my derriere.

Now I have the issue where only half the keys work and I'm stuck in octave 0...

c-

 

[Engine207]

Levine's profile said he last logged on here on 4/21. Obviously, he has nothing to say in defense of his crappy product...

 

[idoru]

Replaced the octave switch, touched up every single solder connection on the board just in case. I'm almost back on track - except I'm getting two notes played per single keypress. Could work well with my sampler if I 'stack' detuned samples...

I'm going to completely re-wire the switches, then check out the MIDI channel jumpers but other than that I'm at a bit of a loss until my MIDI - USB cable arrives and I can see exactly what's coming out of this infernal circuit.

c-

 

[jasonbraatz]

About to go in for one of the kits mentioned above - now THAT is how a business should be run. If the forum was any more helpful, it'd make you a coffee while it does your tax for you

c-

Seriously! Support and community is so important with something like this.

Their board having the ability to take expression pedals is just icing on the cake.

 

[idoru]

Yikes - just checked out 'Freighter' - great stuff!

c-

 

[idoru]

Update: finally got it working, not entirely sure why though. Used MIDI OX and a MIDI to USB cable, made some contacts and could see single note-on messages incoming instead of the two that was triggering the synth. Could have been the synth, but now it's working normally... Oh well, result - for now.

c-

 

[jasonbraatz]

Finally got around to ordering one of the Highly Liquid MidiCPU boards. I had posted what I wanted to do on the HL forums, and one of the admins there confirmed that everything I wanted to do was easy to get going - AND that they'd help me program it once I get everything put together.

So cool...now I just need to find a used Mopho.

 

[Colonel Monk]

Finally got around to ordering one of the Highly Liquid MidiCPU boards. I had posted what I wanted to do on the HL forums, and one of the admins there confirmed that everything I wanted to do was easy to get going - AND that they'd help me program it once I get everything put together.

So cool...now I just need to find a used Mopho.

I never used my Basyn Board, based on what I'm hearing I should never ever bother.

This one looks of good quality, could be worth a try! Should probably buy one before they disappear....

 

[twocargar]

I can say that the Highly Liquid MIDI CPU board (and message board) are great. While it may take a few more parts and soldering to get rolling (AC adapter & MIDI jacks), I think it's worth it because of their online forum. There were many other people who have run into the same issues I was having, and with a couple searches on their forum I was back in biz.

It's a shame about BASYN and their customer service. I've seen Levine on a couple of the other boards here but he hasn't responded to the posts in this thread. My site, midipedals.com did a review of the BASYN kit, and their lack of CS was one criticism I had along with someone else on the site who concurred. We are working on a review of the Highly Liquid board and hope to have that up soon too. We'd love to see your project pedals!

 

[jasonbraatz]

I never used my Basyn Board, based on what I'm hearing I should never ever bother.

This one looks of good quality, could be worth a try! Should probably buy one before they disappear....

I'm going to be able to transfer the majority of what I did for the Basyn setup onto the MIDI CPU board without much hassle, so if you already have the Basyn board you might as well give it a shot?

 

[bjlevine]

Wow. Obviously, I've managed to tick off a couple people. If you've got a board from us and believe it to be not working, email me at [email protected]. I will send you a prepaid mailing label to return your unit, which I will replace at no cost or refund your original purchase price.

I'm a little confused at the post above, since I've never received a call, letter or email from an attorney concerning our product. I take these claims pretty seriously, and certainly don't want anyone unhappy with their unit, especially since we've now reintroduced the Sonosaur board and synth pedals. We'll do our best to make good on any problem units.

 

[twocargar]

Hi Brian,

I would like to invite you to log into my site's forum, midipedals.com, and offer your assistance to anyone who has a non-working Basyn board, or even some technical support. Thanks for your post here!

 

[Engine207]

Wow. Obviously, I've managed to tick off a couple people. If you've got a board from us and believe it to be not working, email me at [email protected]. I will send you a prepaid mailing label to return your unit, which I will replace at no cost or refund your original purchase price.

I'm a little confused at the post above, since I've never received a call, letter or email from an attorney concerning our product. I take these claims pretty seriously, and certainly don't want anyone unhappy with their unit, especially since we've now reintroduced the Sonosaur board and synth pedals. We'll do our best to make good on any problem units.

Fair enough, Brian.

If we can get my Basyn either working, switched for a working one, or refunded...I'll vouch for your sincerity, then pimp you shamelessly. PM me your phone number, and we'll schedule a troubleshooting session. If we can't figure it out, we'll go from there.

Cool?

And twocargar, thank you for your offer to help. I may just take you up on that kind offer. My pedals have been on the backburner since I hit this roadblock. Hopefully, Brian and I will get this whole thing worked out like a couple of guys.

 

[bjlevine]

BTW, here's some troubleshooting tips:

1. The Basyn MIDI Kit (BMC) uses a 9v 300mA Center-Positive power adapter. A lot of guitar pedal power adapters use center negative. Make sure this is right.

2. Does it light up when plugged in? Assuming the power adapter is correct and plugged in, it should light up. If it doesn't there is a problem and the unit should be returned for replacement.

3. It lights up, but you get no sound. The unit defaults to using MIDI channel 1. This can be changed using the 8 pin jumper block near the top of the board (refer to the guide that was sent with the unit for settings). For testing, make sure your sound source (synth or module) is expecting MIDI data on channel 1. Also, make sure your MIDI cable goes from the BMC to the MIDI IN on your synth or module.

4. On the 14 pin connector, pin 1 (low C) is on the pin nearest the outside edge of the board. Each pin should be connected from the appropriate pin on the 14 pin wiring adapter to one side of the pedal. The wire all of the other sides of the pedals in series to pin 14 of the wiring adapter. This is diagrammed in the guide.

Still not working? Either the board has a problem and needs to be returned for replacement, or your pedalboard is not using normally open switches. The latter is easily checked with an ohm-meter.

Hope this helps. In most cases, wiring this up is pretty easy.

 

[twocargar]

Thanks, Brian. I saw your posts on midipedals.com, and hope your product users will see that they can get in touch with you about any issues they're having.