Befaco VCMC voltage controlled MIDI controller

[Befacosynth]

Any idea when this will be released officially to upgrade the VCMC?
Thx - looking forward to it

The Hex file is in github to try it out!!

[trigger303]

I am trying VCMC v1.1 beta. Almost working fine, but nothing happens when I tweak the fader on ch1.
Ch1 Meter on LCD doesn't respond and it doesn't send any MIDI message.
Other faders are working fine. The ch1 fader is assigned to CC #23.

As far as I remember this didn't occur when I was using previous version.
I want to try previous version again to confirm that behavior but it seems that I can't download older versiion...

[trigger303]

Sorry, I found v1.1 RTCOUT firmware on my desktop!
In this version, the ch1 fader works fine.

[trigger303]

nothing happens when I tweak the fader on ch1

Isn't anyone experiencing the same thing on v1.1 beta ??
I haven't been able to avoid this issue yet.

[Sinamsis]

Just picked one of these up and getting to know it. The manual mentions a web editor but the website brings up an error. Is there a web editor available?

[Paranormal Patroler]

Web editor can be found here: https://www.befaco.org/VCMCconfig/
It only works with 1.2 version which is the latest.

[Befacosynth]

Just picked one of these up and getting to know it. The manual mentions a web editor but the website brings up an error. Is there a web editor available?

Version 1.2 has been released Today! so you need to update the firmware first, as the editor only works with version 1.2

Follow instructions to upload from Hex file from our github.

[Sinamsis]

Really weird... I guess it's case sensitive... haha I guess I never knew that was a thing. Now it works. Thanks!

[Plugman]

Updated VCMC to v1.2.
After setting and saving the settings,
I could not load the settings after turning the power on again.
The only solution is to set and use it after a factory reset each time you boot.
Are there other people with this condition?
Also, please let me know where you can download the old Firmware 1.0.

[Paranormal Patroler]

I just edited my settings, saved them to User1, and turned the case off and on again. Settings are there. Are you sure you saved? Sorry, that might sound stupid, but sometimes I forgot to save my configuration, so I have to ask.

[Bonati]

I am struggling with this module. The application I'm trying is Harmonaig -> VCMC -> midi synth (in this case Volca FM for testing).

I managed to update the firmware - that took a while. I'll let everyone laugh but I'll pass along n00b advice to other n00bs who also have no experience updating via a Teensy USB thingy - don't use the front USB port, pull the module out and plug in a micro USB cable to the Teensy and then to your computer. That finally dawned on me. The update from 1.0 to 1.2 managed to fix a stuck ch7 gate I always had on startup. Ok, good.

The browser editor is working (using Chrome) but some settings take and some don't? For example, sometimes changing the midi ranges will change the sound in real time, in other cases I seem to have to wait for changes to take effect. Sometimes they never stick. Doesn't seem to matter if I hit the "send to VCMC" config command or not. Is there an order of operations scheme I'm not getting right here? I would change a parameter and click "send to VCMC" and see "sysex received" on the VCMC screen, but it really seemed random on whether the midi range/trim changes would stick or not.

The Harmonaig -> VCMC combo was just an idea to be able to trigger & play around with some chords. Not having much luck with this. I would test the VCMC->Synth connection by setting the CV mode to "V/oct to note" and using the the VCMC buttons to confirm a note is playing. Got that to work. Would then patch the 4 quantized outputs on the Harmonaig to CV inputs 1-4 on the VCMC and set the CV mode to "note". I have no experience setting proper midi ranges so I would experiment until I got the notes in the register I wanted (quick & dirty test). Even then all four notes sounded a bit out of tune. In addition, there was always some intermittent triggering of notes from Harmonaig (I assume). I could never get that to stop.

Has anyone tried a setup like this? I'm frustrated. Seemed like a fun combo on paper but it just ain't happening. I am new to both modules but have spent a non-trivial amount of time trying to get this working.

Sorry for the long post!

[Plugman]

I just edited my settings, saved them to User1, and turned the case off and on again. Settings are there. Are you sure you saved? Sorry, that might sound stupid, but sometimes I forgot to save my configuration, so I have to ask.

Thank you for your reply. Certainly the saved value is also visible, but it does not seem to work as it should. For example, the display shows that the assigned MIDI channels are sounding on the same MIDI channel.

[Sinamsis]

I updated with relative ease, and got the editor working no problem. I do, however, have an issue with the poly v/oct setting, and I suspect I'm doing something wrong. The way I read the manual, a gate into the 8th block's gate input will trigger a note to be sent from all channels set to v/oct. I assumed that a note on message would also be sent, but perhaps this is not a correct assumption. Anyways, using stackable across all of these gate inputs works, but I was hoping to set up something that doesn't need this. Certainly not a deal break, but it would be nice to sequence chords progressions this way (I'm using a Sinfonion to generate the chords).

[Paranormal Patroler]

I updated with relative ease, and got the editor working no problem. I do, however, have an issue with the poly v/oct setting, and I suspect I'm doing something wrong. The way I read the manual, a gate into the 8th block's gate input will trigger a note to be sent from all channels set to v/oct. I assumed that a note on message would also be sent, but perhaps this is not a correct assumption. Anyways, using stackable across all of these gate inputs works, but I was hoping to set up something that doesn't need this. Certainly not a deal break, but it would be nice to sequence chords progressions this way (I'm using a Sinfonion to generate the chords).

No, a single gate at the 8th input will fire all the tracks set at Poly mode. So you only need one single gate to be fired, and all poly tracks will play at the same time.

If I understand your post correctly you've set it up wrong, but it can do what you're asking for.

[Sinamsis]

I updated with relative ease, and got the editor working no problem. I do, however, have an issue with the poly v/oct setting, and I suspect I'm doing something wrong. The way I read the manual, a gate into the 8th block's gate input will trigger a note to be sent from all channels set to v/oct. I assumed that a note on message would also be sent, but perhaps this is not a correct assumption. Anyways, using stackable across all of these gate inputs works, but I was hoping to set up something that doesn't need this. Certainly not a deal break, but it would be nice to sequence chords progressions this way (I'm using a Sinfonion to generate the chords).

No, a single gate at the 8th input will fire all the tracks set at Poly mode. So you only need one single gate to be fired, and all poly tracks will play at the same time.

If I understand your post correctly you've set it up wrong, but it can do what you're asking for.

I don’t know I played with it a bit and using only the 8th input, I was only getting one note. If I wanted a chord I had to mult the gate to all the other inputs. All channels were set to poly v/oct. Did I miss something? I’ll play with it some more tomorrow.

[trigger303]

Updated to v1.2.
Overall it's working correctly, but the fader value response seems laggy.
I don't think it happened in older versions.

[Befacosynth]

Thanks everyone for the comments! Let me try to answer a few questions.

The Harmonaig -> VCMC combo was just an idea to be able to trigger & play around with some chords. Not having much luck with this. I would test the VCMC->Synth connection by setting the CV mode to "V/oct to note" and using the the VCMC buttons to confirm a note is playing. Got that to work. Would then patch the 4 quantized outputs on the Harmonaig to CV inputs 1-4 on the VCMC and set the CV mode to "note". I have no experience setting proper midi ranges so I would experiment until I got the notes in the register I wanted (quick & dirty test). Even then all four notes sounded a bit out of tune. In addition, there was always some intermittent triggering of notes from Harmonaig (I assume). I could never get that to stop.

If you set CV to Note it will send a Note on with a fixed length. After this fixed time it will automatically send a note off. Check v1.2 manual page 5.
I would suggest to choose v/oct mode and get cv and gate from Harmoniag, if possible.
If you are getting one semitone shift in your notes it might be a matter of callibration. Make a callibration for your sequencer, making sure it is sending the right voltages,
Did you tried poly mode? Maybe this mode will be better for this module.

No, a single gate at the 8th input will fire all the tracks set at Poly mode. So you only need one single gate to be fired, and all poly tracks will play at the same time.

If I understand your post correctly you've set it up wrong, but it can do what you're asking for.

This seems like the right answer for Sinamsis

Updated to v1.2.
Overall it's working correctly, but the fader value response seems laggy.
I don't think it happened in older versions.

Ok, this is new in firmware 1.2 and was waiting for someone to point it out!
Fader readings have been smoothed to increase stability and minimize fader values jumping from one to another when set to the limit of the value. Unfortunately this smoothness will lead to laggyness.
We have implemented a filter setup in factory calibration. By default filter is set to 90, while maybe a better setup would be around 60.
To enter this calibration go to global settings > Credits then hold encoder button for a couple of seconds. when you are returned to global menu, factory cal should appear in the menu.
I will edit readme.md in github to add this info.

Please let me know if this helped!!

[Paranormal Patroler]

My only issue with v1.2 is that I now have to mod the code (via github) in order to get my screen to be positioned correctly. There's an angle issue which is irksome.
The explanation and procedure is on github, but boy, having to figure out how to mod the code and download all the Arduino stuff to pull this off is a bit of a chore.

I'll get to it eventually though. Maybe it's a good opportunity to actually get into all this!

[Befacosynth]

Are you talking about VCMC?

If so, what value did you used for the screen?

EDIT: Uploaded a new binary file for you to test without compiling

[trigger303]

Updated to v1.2.
Overall it's working correctly, but the fader value response seems laggy.
I don't think it happened in older versions.

Ok, this is new in firmware 1.2 and was waiting for someone to point it out!
Fader readings have been smoothed to increase stability and minimize fader values jumping from one to another when set to the limit of the value. Unfortunately this smoothness will lead to laggyness.
We have implemented a filter setup in factory calibration. By default filter is set to 90, while maybe a better setup would be around 60.
To enter this calibration go to global settings > Credits then hold encoder button for a couple of seconds. when you are returned to global menu, factory cal should appear in the menu.
I will edit readme.md in github to add this info.

Thanks!!
It sounds very good to have smoothing filter. I will try adjusting it!

[deftinwulf]

I think this might be a viable replacement for my dying Novation LaunchControl XL, in a way that would allow me to make my modular the primary performative element of my live sets, rather than the LCXL.

I sort of overlooked the module when it was announced but it suddenly hit me how cool this could be as a way to integrate CV/eurorack into my midi controller performance of Ableton Live. Sorry if it was mentioned already but does this appear in Ableton as a class compliant midi device? Or are drivers required?

Aside from drivers, only things I'm not sure about are the (seemingly necessary) filter smoothing (I wonder how much response time I'd be giving up?) and the size difference between the two... Seems VCMC may prove to be too fiddly for me to control in live context, compared to the larger LCXL. Certainly keeping my eye on this...

[revoltcrews]

Morning, I updated to the latest firmware. couple quick things:

-getting serious ghost trigs: with each channel's block fully programmed and set to its own output from 1-8, and having only channels 1 & 2 with gate/cv patched, practically every other channel is ghost triggering.

-perhaps this is a bug, or not: my channels only function if both Gate & CV are patched.
I noticed, if I only patch a Gate in to each channel, even with the midi channels set from 1-8, they only trigger Channel 1, until I patch a CV in, then they output to each channel properly.

I'd love to be able to simply patch a Gate in and have the channel function., maybe I don't want CV for that patch. Is there a setting I'm missing?

also, do I have to recalibrate after every firmware update?
thanks

[Befacosynth]

Morning, I updated to the latest firmware. couple quick things:

-getting serious ghost trigs: with each channel's block fully programmed and set to its own output from 1-8, and having only channels 1 & 2 with gate/cv patched, practically every other channel is ghost triggering.

-perhaps this is a bug, or not: my channels only function if both Gate & CV are patched.
I noticed, if I only patch a Gate in to each channel, even with the midi channels set from 1-8, they only trigger Channel 1, until I patch a CV in, then they output to each channel properly.

I'd love to be able to simply patch a Gate in and have the channel function., maybe I don't want CV for that patch. Is there a setting I'm missing?

also, do I have to recalibrate after every firmware update?
thanks

Do a Factory reset, configuire one channel and save to one of the memories.
sometimes memory gets funky after update

[revoltcrews]

*memory isn't the issue:

Factory Reset and still ghost trigs on channels with nothing patched into them.
I've programmed every channel to be its own channel from 1-8, saved to memory slot, still ghost trigs when only cv/gate patched into channel 1.

thoughts on this:
channels only function if both Gate & CV are patched.
basically if i only patch a Gate into each channel they all trigger ch 1 midi output, until a corresponding CV is patched per channel, then it operates normally.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vxlososr1w9ga ... M.mov?dl=0

also, Gate in 1 fires midi 1, Gate in 6 also fires midi 1, is this normal behavior?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pl0vjm4tawn6w ... M.mov?dl=0

Is there a download for rolling back the firmware?
cheers

[revoltcrews]

??