prowla
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Everything posted by prowla
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Trace Elliot - some missing knobs!!!!
prowla replied to Mudpup's topic in eBay - Weird and Wonderful
Technically it is correct - there are some missing knobs... ...and it is advertised as "For parts or not working". -
New Bass restoration project Day! And diary
prowla replied to uk_lefty's topic in Repairs and Technical
That's a cracking neck! (...gets coat...) -
Yes - I work in IT and am always having to think about whether the 1st item in an array or character of a string is at "0" or "1"; from my 80s C programming, it should (of course) be 0, but you can never be sure and there's always someone out to get you!
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Yes - I would agree that most folks wouldn't connect a MIDI controller to the FI, and so would never encounter any issue. In my case, I just wanted something to allow me to enter the channel number without embellishment - what a foolish notion! I really didn't want another programmable unit to configure as I've just plain got too many of them in my life - just wanted something simple! If I were to go for a programmable controller, I might consider a Keith McMillen SoftStep, as I already have a 12-Step and a QNexus; of course, now I have to confirm it does the 0-127/1-128 convention as required...
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Yes, the PK-5A has a Prog button and the pedals C-whatever are 09, with A being Enter. Neither the pedals nor the Minitaur display the channel, so there's no visual issue there.
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I haven't tried it with my Minitaur, because it would have no function there; I have a PK-5A bass pedal unit for that and the Minitaur lives in a rack unit which is all set in place.
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Echo that, and I hope that nothing I have said here (other than in expressing thanks) could be construed as directed against you personally! 🙂
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Yes - Andras; that was specifically relating to your correction (noted) that the FB site is not the manufacturer's support site, but rather an enthusiast's site, and he posted there as a company representative.
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I have raised the issue with Tech21 also; they may not be going to respond out of business hours. The unit itself is a sealed unit and I don't know if it is programmable; it's presented as a black box. I suspect any fix they come up with would be in the release of a new product, rather than an update to the existing one. Maybe I'm just unlucky in having chosen a product which introduces this interoperability issue; hence my suggestion of mentioning in the manual. Whether you should phrase it as "as it should", or in more neutral terms is something to consider; the MIDIBUDDY MP128 unit I have states this in its manual: That seems fairly neutral. As to the code space; yes, I appreciate that; hence I have made an enhancement request (not a demand!). 🙂 Of course, companies will choose and prioritise what should be included in development(s).
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Excuse me - from the manufacturer's representative, then. And there you have it - the "not my problem" position. The arguments as to whether it is "right" or "wrong" are not the point; the real-world fact is that companies produce kit with different interpretation. And some companies have a setting so they will support either. The question is whether the respective companies consider it important enough to address. A product which can handle both conventions is plainly more flexible and compatible with other units.
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Assuming that "deal with it" doesn't just mean go away and shut up, I have: Made (constructive) recommendations that the manual be updated to highlight the issue. Requested that the product might be enhanced to add support for both forms of PC number formats: 0-127/1-128. I do understand the underlying numbers and, for what it's worth, appreciate that 0-127 is "correct" from a programming point of view, as it is 7 bits of data. However, we are in a world where some companies have taken it upon themselves to say that people can't handle having the 1st item be number zero, and so-on, so they've chosen to present them as 1, etc. As a mitigation against that, some companies allow a 0-127/1-128 option, for instance another MIDI switch I have, the MIDIBUDDY MP128 has a DIP switch on the back panel. (But unfortunately, I wanted something more compact.) I think that requesting a feature enhancement that the FI firmware has a similar capability is perfectly reasonable. If every piece of kit, including controllers, modules, software had such a switch, then it would become a non-issue. Of course, in DAWs and suchlike, it may not be important, as you'll probably label them anyway by the song or some description of the sound. And that also applies to a programmable hardware switch unit, where you have a text display. Unfortunately, the hardware switcher is a non-programmable sealed unit, so it can't be changed. However, the FI firmware presumably could.
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@Quatschmacher Yes, I hadn't realised that you were working on a volunteer basis and I do appreciate the effort you put in. However, you did say: And on the manufacturers support page I got the response: Which are what prompted me to say: and: Of course, none of those comments are directed at anybody personally, but at the words posted.
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The issue is the incompatibility, not a fault of either product per-se, and it's down to a flaw in the MIDI standard which allows two products to be branded MIDI and not work properly together. It is unproductive when representatives of a company say they are right and therefore it's the other company's fault or the customer's problem to sort it. If either of them allowed an option to select 0-127/1-128, then the issue would be resolved. The FI is run by software (firmware), and so could be enhanced to support the capability if it was deemed worthwhile. Unfortunately, the Tech21 switcher is a sealed unit and so cannot be changed. (I am disappointed with them too, but that's not an FI customer support issue.) There is nothing in the FI documentation or support to say that switchers must support 0-127 PC encoding, and in fact it is misleading, because the table on p.51 states: Based on that, it might be logical to infer that the MIDI PC implementation is 1-128 (but that it only goes up to 99). At a minimum, I would suggest that: The manual should be updated to make it clear that the FI operates on PC 0-127 mode. The MIDI compatibility section be extended to highlight the PC issue. The requirement is mentioned in mind in general discussions about the product. Further, I would like to raise an enhancement request: Can the FI firmware please be updated to include an option for Program Change (PC) 0-127/1-128 support. Saying "it's not my problem" and recommending the purchase of another unit costing almost as much again as the FI to resolve it is not really what I would've hoped for.
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So, can you set it to 0-127/1-128 offset? I'm really disappointed with the incompatibility between the MIDI Mongoose and the FI, but I wouldn't want to get another switch controller and find it is just the same? I think the FI's usability is really compromised with its Program/Patch selection and without a usable & compact controller switch it'll be stuck with being a novelty unit rather than a Swiss Army knife.
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That's an annoying error in a "standard"! So I have two devices which display "1", but one is thinking "0". Something is interpreting binary "00000000", as "00000001". Which one is it which is displaying "1" when it is actually at "0" - do you know? Does the FI firmware have an option to choose? Is there a name for that (like "big endian" or whatever)?
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Thanks!
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Something weird... I've just plugged in a Tech21 MIDI Mongoose to the FI and the numbers are 1 out. If the MM is on 1, the FI does nothing, if the MM is on 2, the FI is on 1, etc.
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I think if you can find a few killer sounds, then stick with them. It is a device you program, though.
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sure. (prowla is a name, not a description!)
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From Hipshot... https://hipshotproducts.com/products/hb6-1-2-ultralite-bass-tuning-machine
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ebay's a good place to keep an eye on. There's also a Warwick group on Facebook.
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Pickups-wise, Warwick J-style ones do come up on occasion.
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Grrr - I dismantled it and the main headshell is directional; the keywind shaft will only go in from one end. The part of the shaft leading out to the keywind has a sleeve around it and it has a tiny metal bar (a bit like if you snap the lead on a propelling pencil) which locates into a notch on the headshell. So nope, they're not reversible.
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Well, quite different in quality, for sure; the Vox is plywood. I got it at a car boot - remember them?
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They're not dissimilar in style to the Vox Clubman I'm working on. I got it with the silver & lines overpaint and amusing gold-painted "Fender" logo; it's now (almost) stripped and ready to paint.
