16n is a bank of faders [release thread]

[rennerom]

Got mine from synthcube. They have a good variety of colors, including blue!

mini toggle switch/slider pot rubber color cap

[studio_snippets]

Hello all, first post here!

I updated my 16n to the new firmware last night and have a curious issue - after the update, fader 11 is no longer sending any midi message (it does however continue to send cv). I downgraded back to v 1.34 and it all worked properly (ie sending midi) but then re-updated and the same problem arose. Would anyone have any thoughts about how I could fix this one channel’s midi that’s not behaving?
Many thanks.

[infovore]

one idea:

on 2.0.1, open up the editor, and try changing the configuration of the channel that’s not working - eg, set it to channel 2. Zap that config over, see if it works then? If it does, zap it back to what you’d think of as “factory” settings?

I’ve seen similar reported here but haven’t encountered it myself, I’m afraid. It’s good to know that it’s working in 1.34, though: that confirms a firmware issue, not a hardware issue.

[M4ngu]

IMO making a sweet 32 would be a hard work of routing (making the layout of the Sweet Sixteen was already a hell), I don’t recommend this to anyone unless you are really good/experienced on PCB design. Much easier would be to make a 32n, the electronics of the 16n are way simpler. That said, it’s not impossible, and for sure you’ll learn a lot during the process (as we all do on every project)

[Raoul]

So cool! happy with this one and the banana conversion

[eblomquist]

Any tips on getting Ableton to recognize 16n as a MIDI input? It’s not in the list in the MIDI preferences.

EDIT: Oh, I figured it out, duh… I had to select it as a control surface in the MIDI preferences…
I’m using it to control Fundamental’s oscillator pitch and amplitude…
Very nice!

[infovore]

aha, you worked it out! Pleased you got it going. You were nearly subject to another round of “are you sure it’s not a power-only USB cable?”

[eblomquist]

I just discovered something a bit weird with my 16n, wondering if this is a known thing…

I find that when using the faders to send MIDI into Ableton, there is a little spot at the very bottom of the fader “throw” where there is no MIDI being sent. I dropped a MIDI Monitor m4l device onto the track, and see that the MIDI value hits 0 before the fader gets to the bottom of the slider path (what do you call the slot that the fader fits inside of?). Anyway, between that 0 value and the very bottom of the slider path, there is nothing at all. If I then slide the fader up to get to a value of 1, there is a bit of space where it’s moving, but still showing 0, before it gets to 1.

Once it hits 1, it seems to be pretty uniform in terms of distance per value, until it gets to the very top and the same thing repeats with value 127, which kicks in before the fader is at the top of its throw.

anyone else see this? Is there any way to fix that or is it inherent in the 16n design?

Does this happen with CV as well? I should give in a buy a voltmeter, I suppose…

Thanks!

[unity2k]

Have you calibrated the 16 faders?

[eblomquist]

No, how does that work?

[unity2k]

I calibrated mine with a Teletype but in the 16-n-faderbank.github.io/editor/ app in Edit Configuration/Device Options there is a setting you can work with. In that window there is the following: “Bearing in mind there is a small dead zone at either end of a fader”

[infovore]

So, mechanically, there’s a dead zone on the fader at either end. It’s particularly noticeable if you’re looking for it. That’s not meant as trolling, it’s just true: once you know it’s there, you’ll see it a lot. It’s not a problem with the 16n; it’s just how the slide pot works.

However, the deadzone at the top might be exacerbated by the firmware, and this is where the ‘calibration’ process available in the firmware editor (assuming you’re on firmware 2+) will help you fettle it.

But what you’re running into is actually part of the design of the fader, I think, rather than the design of the 16n.

[eblomquist]

Thanks that’s very helpful!

[IOSISdrone]

I’ve got an ER-301 and a TELEXb, and I just picked up a second 16n.

Does anybody know if it’s possible to use both 16n’s simultaneously to control my ER-301via the TELEXb, and if so are there any considerations that I should be aware of?

[infovore]

not without firmware modification at at least one end. they’ll just conflict and not work. one 16n per I2C bus is how it’s all set up.

[wolfgangschaltung]

If you do have a Teletype or crow, perhaps this post might help.

If you have a crow and a norns, you could connect the ER-301 to crow, connect crow to norns, and connect both 16n faderbanks via USB MIDI to norns and use a modified version of this script/library to collect the MIDI CC data from both 16n faderbanks in norns, send these over to crow, and have crow send them out via i2c to ER-301.

I have not tested any of the above, as I still only have one 16n (a Sweet Sixteen, to be precise) to control my ER-301.

[yams]

Updated to the latest firmware earlier today and everything seemed to go off without a hitch — my 16n interfaces perfectly with the software.

However, the orange LED next to the reset button is lit constantly now, where it was never lit before. Is this anything to be concerned about?

For context: I’m using a MSW-built unit, which has an LC.

[coreyr]

This is fine. I believe that there is a toggle in the config to change that behavior if you prefer.

[Benjamin_Mauch]

Hello all. I recently built a 16n and am having an interesting problem. The faders work if all of them are around 50% and above, but if one of them goes below this threshold, it immediately goes up to 127 and all of the other faders move up as well. I looked on this thread and it seems like other people have had similar problems, but as far as my eye can see, everything has been soldered pretty well. Not really sure what I have done wrong, would love some help!

Video: https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMTjpkdXrMoeIGj1jeTIfHL69RVajA4eVIr72Hq
Photos: https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMPPdvD_CJdDTnOBgiU1amk00XTi6EcSXMlmwGf
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipM_ngaKQFcL609_AzIl6UZ7k0nyFfT_chxsWHta

[infovore]

Yep, the default on a new unit is “power light on”. On the options tab in the config software you can alter this - both whether or not it should be on, and whether it should flicker on midi data.