Minibrute as CV interface for Pro One

[Grumblepig]

Hi - I'm already over my head on this, as I've never done nothing with CV interfacing etc, but here goes...

I'm bringing my Pro One back to Berlin where I already have a Doepfer Dark Energy and a Novation X-Station.
Wondering if I end up buying a Minibrute if it somehow would be usable as an midi interface with the Pro One. I don't know about the various 1oct/volt biz - I'm not a tech head in the least. But I know many of you on this forum know the deep nuts and bolts of all things synth. h**l, as I read my own post I wonder if the Dark Energy would serve the same purpose for the Pro One.

That said, I'm also curious what anyone might think of the Minibrute as a sonic companion to the Pro One and the DE. I'd toyed with getting a CS-5, but seems for the money I'd be happier with something fresh and highly functional like the Arturia synth. I've not played one yet, only seen/heard demos online, but I've certainly been intrigued after reading so many raves etc.

Cheers!

[Z]

The MiniBrute can ast as a MIDI to CV/Gate converter as I have interfaced my Roland Fantom X6 to my ARP 2600 using the 'Brute.

[jaypodesta]

h**l, as I read my own post I wonder if the Dark Energy would serve the same purpose for the Pro One.

Yeah you can use the Doepfer as a CV interface too.

[Sir Ruff]

I think your CV controller options are covered already in the pro-1. So I would really just look at the minibrute as a diferent sound source, which it would be within your current setup. But it would be a much better controller than the pro-1 anyway (better wheels/keys).

[Grumblepig]

Thanks guys! Bear with my ignorance, but this all means I can consider the Pro One to be sort of "MIDI-able" via the Doepfer (and/or MiniBrute)? Say I've recorded some midi tracks, these could be played back on the Pro One from the CV connections out of the DE etc?

[Sir Ruff]

Thanks guys! Bear with my ignorance, but this all means I can consider the Pro One to be sort of "MIDI-able" via the Doepfer (and/or MiniBrute)? Say I've recorded some midi tracks, these could be played back on the Pro One from the CV connections out of the DE etc?

Yes... But I'd also suggest you do some basic reading up on midi and how cv/gate work before buying anything.

[sequentialsoftshock]

I think your CV controller options are covered already in the pro-1. So I would really just look at the minibrute as a diferent sound source, which it would be within your current setup. But it would be a much better controller than the pro-1 anyway (better wheels/keys).

I quite prefer J wire p1 keyboard to minibrute. Plus it's 3 octaves.

[Grumblepig]

Thanks guys! Bear with my ignorance, but this all means I can consider the Pro One to be sort of "MIDI-able" via the Doepfer (and/or MiniBrute)? Say I've recorded some midi tracks, these could be played back on the Pro One from the CV connections out of the DE etc?

Yes... But I'd also suggest you do some basic reading up on midi and how cv/gate work before buying anything.

For as long as I've been playing synths, I've never bothered with much in the way of informed interfacing. Meaning, I'd once in a while plug something into something and when it didn't do anything interesting, I'd unplug and go back to twiddling the filters etc. I'm grateful that MIDI/USB is easy enough to get things going with, but this is looking like my first experience doing the CV/MIDI thing. Sounds like the DE/Pro One will be a good starting point on that front, so forward march!

[Grumblepig]

I think your CV controller options are covered already in the pro-1. So I would really just look at the minibrute as a diferent sound source, which it would be within your current setup. But it would be a much better controller than the pro-1 anyway (better wheels/keys).

I quite prefer J wire p1 keyboard to minibrute. Plus it's 3 octaves.

I did just have Greg... (sorry, forgotten his surname) in Oakland fix up the keyboard on the Pro One, so it's in great, playable shape for the first time in years.

One thing, amidst all this talk of interfacing etc, is that since I've been back in California is that I've done zero MIDI work - any synth tracks have been live to "tape." I mean, of course I can cut and paste away any wrong notes, but I'm really liking the looseness - even the occasional double-triggered notes are just a part of the performance.

I have a Novation X-Station in Berlin, and I love the keyboard on that. I use the Novation more as much as a controller as a sound source, but there's something to be said for plonking away on whatever synth is making the sound. The feel of the Pro One keyboard, even the plastic sound the keys make is so different than how the MS10 keys sound and feel, and that's a part of the experience for me.

[n3wt15]

99% of my minibrute usage is a MIDI to CV converter for my serge system.
Basically I take the midi out from my tempest into the minibrute midi in, and use the CV outs on the to control my serge.
Lots of fun as the arp on the minibrute does different clock divisions, with swing, all tempo synced to the incoming clock, hours of fun to be had...plus its an extra sound source.

[Sir Ruff]

Thanks guys! Bear with my ignorance, but this all means I can consider the Pro One to be sort of "MIDI-able" via the Doepfer (and/or MiniBrute)? Say I've recorded some midi tracks, these could be played back on the Pro One from the CV connections out of the DE etc?

Yes... But I'd also suggest you do some basic reading up on midi and how cv/gate work before buying anything.

For as long as I've been playing synths, I've never bothered with much in the way of informed interfacing. Meaning, I'd once in a while plug something into something and when it didn't do anything interesting, I'd unplug and go back to twiddling the filters etc. I'm grateful that MIDI/USB is easy enough to get things going with, but this is looking like my first experience doing the CV/MIDI thing. Sounds like the DE/Pro One will be a good starting point on that front, so forward march!

The above tells me you're probably not getting anything interesting out of the DE either if you're sticking to just filter tweaking and random plugging in of stuff.

Obviously, it's YOUR gear, so do what you want with it.... but I've got a friend with a DE, also in the same "ignorant tweaking" boat, and it just seems like a waste of decent equipment to hardly know how to use it. Doesn't the DE come with a manual? I'm sure a read through that would be very enlightening.

[Grumblepig]

The above tells me you're probably not getting anything interesting out of the DE either if you're sticking to just filter tweaking and random plugging in of stuff.

Obviously, it's YOUR gear, so do what you want with it.... but I've got a friend with a DE, also in the same "ignorant tweaking" boat, and it just seems like a waste of decent equipment to hardly know how to use it. Doesn't the DE come with a manual? I'm sure a read through that would be very enlightening.

Well, I wouldn't say I'm not getting anything interesting out! I mean, I can crank out all sorts of sounds and am a very comfortable synth-twiddler as well as a plain old boring decent player and all that. It's more that I've not delved into old world-meets-new interfacing - the CV/MIDI biz at the heart of this particular post. I've never been deeply tech-headed, though, and the term "CEM chip," for example, isn't anything I'd known until I signed up here. I do enjoy flipping through manuals, sometimes, and in particular the Dark Energy manual is quite entertainingly written, bit of sass mixed in with the tech etc. But I work intuitively more than anything, and I do music more with my ears than eyes, if that makes sense.

Maybe this is a sneaky way to present a track, but here's one of my first uses of the DE. The squishy, sugary, obviously synthy sound on the choruses (and elsewhere) is double-tracked Dark Energy. The Prophet-sounding sync tone is my long gone Korg R3...

http://soundcloud.com/anton-barbeau/my- ... nute-tease

[Sir Ruff]

Just saw this rather handy looking device.



Would actually be ideal for controlling the minibrute from a DAW.