I'm planning out the work to introduce MIDI CC Automation to Midicake ARP and I'd love your input. Essentially, ARP will be outputting MIDI CC sequences and LFOs, alongside or instead of note data. Here is a first draft on what I'd like to achieve. Please read through and let me know your thoughts. Have I missed something? Would this achieve what you are looking for? Would you use this feature at all? All feedback is greatly received. Thank you! Introduction ARP can output automated MIDI CC messages, either as a continuous modulation (LFO) or as a stepped pattern. This is controlled by three parameters under the MIDI OUT button:- • CC Output - (Off, CC Value, Pitch as CC, Velocity as CC) • CC Number - (0 to 127) • CC Value - (0 to 127) If CC Output is set to CC Value, the value of the CC Value patameter will be sent:- • on play • on unmute arp • up to 50 times per second (every 20ms, 50Hz) • a) if set as a modulation target and the value changes • or b) if assigned to a macro and the value changes If CC Output is set to Pitch as CC, the pitch value of each sequence step will be sent alongside every NOTE ON message generated by the arp sequence. If CC Output is set to Velocity as CC, the velocity value of each sequence step will be sent alongside every NOTE ON message generated by the arp sequence. How to Configure In Set Mode, press the MIDI OUT button until CC Control is shown, then select the desired control number, using the UP/DOWN buttons or the TEMPO knob. To set CC as a macro target • Press and hold a Macro knob and press the MIDI OUT button, until CC Value is selected. • Note that unlike the current CC Macro assignment, you'll be able to select the CC number. For a CC LFO • Use the MIDI OUT button to select CC Value and set the value to use as the base value for the lfo. • Then, press either FX, MOD A or MOD B and set the Modulation Target to MIDI CC Value. • Note. If CC Value is the target of multiple modulators, the output value will be the sum of the modulation. For a stepped pattern sequence • Set CC Output to Pitch as CC. • CC messages will be sent on every step of the sequence with the note pitch being used for the CC value. Tips: • Note, Scale and Octave Lock will prevent unwanted shifts when changing note or chord. • Note Offset and Octave modulation can be used to great effect. • Use Jump for larger value changes. For a stepped pattern that can be used alongside a note sequence • Set MIDI CC Output to Velocity as CC. • CC messages will be sent on every step of the sequence with the note velocity being used for the CC value. Tips. • Use Rhythm Patterns, FX or Modulation to adjust the velocity over time. • When this mode is engaged, the velocity of the MIDI Notes is fixed to the Velocity parameter value, to prevent wild and unwanted velocity changes to the sound. Assigning CC to your device Try assigning the CC output to a filter cutoff. To assign the CC to your synthesizer, you may need to select the desired CC number as defined in your synthesiser's documentation. If using a DAW or device that has a CC Learn function, you'll need a way to isolate the CC Output to only the control number you wish to assign. An easy way to do this is to assign MIDI CC Value to one of ARP's Macro controls. Then turn the knob to output messages on the control number set on the MIDI CC Control parameter. Disabling note output If you don't want ARP to output note data (sent alongside CC) just set Velocity to zero. Note that this will not work with Velocity as CC Notes Assigning Macros to CC using CC Learn will continue to function as is.

What is MIDI Host? What is a MIDI Hub and how do I use it to connect different modules to the ARP? Why is it better than daisy chaining? The USB Host port can be used to plug USB devices directly into ARP. This is useful if you have a MIDI controller that doesn't have a MIDI DIN Out. A MIDI Hub can be used to split the sending of MIDI messages to different devices. I.e. One cable out of ARP connected to the hub, then the hub connects to many devices on separate cables. Something like this: - https://kentonuk.com/product/thru-5/(https://kentonuk.com/product/thru-5/) You can of course use daisy chaining, using MIDI Thru. I.e. A cable out of ARP connected to Device 1 that sends the MIDI data out to Device 2 on the 2nd MIDI cable. This has two potential drawbacks though. Some devices don't support MIDI Thru and many devices use what's called a "software Thru". In the latter, each MIDI IN message is processed and then resent via the MIDI Out. MIDI data is serial and each MIDI message takes around 1 millisecond to process. There are a lot of messages to process so this delay can cause an audible lag. If you have, for example, 5 devices in a daisy chain, the 5th device will take at best 5ms to receive the message. If you have a lot of MIDI messages it can take far longer and that may disrupt your music. A MIDI Hub forwards the MIDI data, in parallel, to each of its MIDI Out ports. Therefore, each connected device receives the data at the same time. For a small number of synths, daisy chaining is perfectly fine and you'll probably never notice any lag. I often use a 1 to 3 Hub and daisy chain 2 or 3 synths on each output. I hope that helps.

Midicake ARP has 4 MIDI output channels so why not run a Eurorack modular rack with 4 separate voices? Here’s a list of 4-Channel MIDI to CV converters that might work for you. Prices are in GBP and include shipping and calculated customs tax into the UK (where applicable). https://www.endorphin.es/modules/p/shuttle-control (https://www.endorphin.es/modules/p/shuttle-control)- £435 4 channels - Clock exclusive - 12hp - MIDI DIN/USB/2x USB Host https://six4pix.net/product/cvocd (https://six4pix.net/product/cvocd) - £150 4 channels - clock exclusive - Not Eurorack - DIN/TRS https://majella-audio.com/shop/mcvc-midi-to-cv-converter-diy (https://majella-audio.com/shop/mcvc-midi-to-cv-converter-diy) - £215 4 channels - clock inclusive - 14hp - DIN https://www.hexinverter.net/mutant-brain (https://www.hexinverter.net/mutant-brain)-(https://www.hexinverter.net/mutant-brain-) £180 4 channels - clock exclusive - 8hp - DIN https://doepfer.de/a1905.htm (https://doepfer.de/a1905.htm)-(https://doepfer.de/a1905.htm-) £270 4 channels - no clock - 16hp - DIN/USB https://afterlateraudio.com/collections/midi-cv/products/threads-1u (https://afterlateraudio.com/collections/midi-cv/products/threads-1u)- £219 4 channels (no velocity) - 1U format - TRS/intellijel https://www.signalsounds.com/flame-uqmcv-eurorack-midi-to-cv-convertor-module (https://www.signalsounds.com/flame-uqmcv-eurorack-midi-to-cv-convertor-module)- £163 4 channel - clock inclusive + thru - 6hp - TRS https://michigansynthworks.com/products/mbrane-6hp-yarns (https://michigansynthworks.com/products/mbrane-6hp-yarns) - £218 4 channels (no velocity) - no clock - 6hp - TRS Mutable Instruments Yarns Discontinued - £270ish on Ebay There’s a good article on this topic here: - https://www.perfectcircuit.com/signal/midi-to-cv(https://www.perfectcircuit.com/signal/midi-to-cv)

A list of multi-timbral synthesizers that pair well with Midicake's multi-channel MIDI approach. Please comment if you have any more suggestions. ACCESS MUSIC • VIRUS/VIRUS TI AKAI • MPC; 1, • LIVE, X • FORCE • ALESIS • ANDROMEDA ARTURIA • ORIGIN (4 PARTS; UP TO 32 VOICES) DAVE SMITH INSTRUMENTS • TETRA (4 PART; 4 VOICES) ELEKTRON • DIGITONE • MONOMACHINE (6 PART; 6 VOICES) • OCTATRACK (8 PART; 8 VOICES) • ANALOG 4 (4 PART; 4 VOICES) E-MU (Samplers) • PROTEUS Series (up to 32 PART; 128 VOICES) FRED'S LAB • MANATEE (4 PART, 10-16 VOICES) • TÖÖRÖ (4 PART, 6 VOICES) • BUZZZY (4 PART, 16 VOICES) FUTURESONUS • PARVA (up to 8 PART; 8 VOICES) KODAMO • ESSENCE FM (16 PARTS, 300 VOICE POLY) KORG • RADIAS (4 PART; UP TO 24 VOICES) • TRITON RACK MICHIGAN SYNTH WORKS • XENA (6 VOICES, 6 PARTS, 1x6 Poly, 2x3 Poly, 6x1 Mono) NORD • WAVE 2 • LEAD/A1 & 4 • MODULAR RACK (4 part) NOVATION • SUPERNOVA 8 PART; SCALABLE UP TO 48 VOICES QUASIMIDI • POLYMORPH (4 PARTS; UP TO 16 VOICES) ROLAND • FANTOM 6,7,8 • MC707 • MC 101 • INTEGRA AND OLDER ROMPLERS • JD-XA AND JD-XI • JUPITER X / XM (5 Parts, 4 Osc per voice, 256-note polyphony) • SH-4D SYNCLAVIER • REGEN (12 PARTS, UP TO 98 VOICES) SYNTHSTROM AUDIBLE • DELUGE (16 part / variable voice) TASTY CHIPS • GR-1 (4 part / variable voice) WALDORF • BLOFELD (16 PART; DYNAMIC UP TO 25 VOICES) • Q (16 PART; UP TO 32 VOICES) • KYRA YAMAHA • MODX • MONTAGE • MOTIF RACK XS • RS7000 • FS1R - 4 part / 32 voice • TG33 - 4 part / 32 voice Of course, you can also use a DAW and a myriad of VST Plugins that will work with your Midicake.

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