Demos with a Rhodes Chroma & TB3 Published on Jan 24, 2019 Martin Pavlas
A new programmable MIDI USB controller from Martin Pavlas of https://www.electrasid.com
"Electra is a fully programmable MIDI controller for studio or live rig equipment. The controller provides real-time visual feedback for up to 36 MIDI controls at once. Features high resolution 360 degree pots with touch sensing and a capacitive touch display. Extended connectivity offers USB MIDI device and USB Host interfaces as well as four DIN5 MIDI In / Out ports.
The driving idea behind the project was to make programming of Rhodes Chroma synthesizer easier. Chroma has got almost one hundred sounds parameters and editing them without seeing other relevant parameters at the same time affected the creative part of the process. Over the time, Electra has become an all-purpose MIDI controller with extensive USB MIDI interface and host integration.
The main concept of Electra MIDI controller is so-called Control. The control represents a MIDI parameter, its value, and assignment to a MIDI port and channel. An example can be, say, Cutoff frequency of Rhodes Chroma connected to MIDI port 1 channel 2.
A control visualizes value of an assigned parameter as well as it can modify the value either turning corresponding pot or with a touch gesture on the display. Watch the demo of control manipulation on youtube.
There is a number of control types: faders, dials, switches, buttons, and selection lists. All controls can trigger CC, SysEx, or NRPN MIDI message.
Controls are organized on Pages. A page is a set of controls that are displayed on the display at the same time. Pages may group controls by their meaning (Oscillator, Filter, etc) or can be collections of controls that should be close together for a performance purposes (Filter cutoffs and modulations of several connected synthesizers).
A set of pages is called a Preset. A preset is a top level configuration of Electra and consists all information about controls, pages, connected instruments, and MIDI routing.
Presets can be created with an Electra Controller Editor application and users can easily switch between them.
