#227

Thanks a lot!

Uhm just to make sure, Ansible on the other hand does power usb midi devices? (and grids…)!?

#228

well it at least definitely powers grids. which leads me to believe that it will attempt to power anything, but it of course may not be successful.

#229

ansible earthsea doesn’t have shapes, so i woudn’t say that it makes the original earthsea obsolete.

in terms of older grids they should work, but not sure about all editions. 2012 walnut and grayscale will definitely work. 64 should work too for the most part, most controls are on the left, so you’ll just get a smaller keyboard. but yeah, some runes/grid modes etc that extend to the right half of 128 will be missing.

Ansible 8x8 grid compatibility (40h)
#230

Don’t believe everything you read on Modulargrid. :stuck_out_tongue: Unless I’m mistaken, ES doesn’t generate envelopes or LFOs. It will generate gates of various lengths (depending on the edge-mode, as @GoneCaving mentioned), and it has three CV outs that correspond to the “Shape-Memories” that @scanner_darkly mentioned (and which Ansible Earthsea doesn’t yet support).

So, short answer: there are still things the original does that Ansible doesn’t yet do. :slight_smile:

#231

Okay i just got a better understanding of Earthsea and play freely and loop as sequence is really the only way i enjoy sequencing.

Did that make it to the ansible port?

And how can i imagine the envelope/shape function?

If id know if one of them, ansible/earthsea that is, also powers midi keyboards my decision would be a lot easier to make. The one midi ch in addition would be fine with me. It seems to be a more hands on module bco the knobs

#232

Neither of them (Original Earthsea or Ansible Earthsea) directly support using anything other than the Monome Grid, as far as I know. You can use the Ansible with a Midi Keyboard as a standard Midi>CV converter, but that is a separate mode from it’s Grid-connected and Arc-connected modes (Kria, Earthsea, etc). But you could use it for, say, playing your modular with a usb midi keyboard, or Ableton Live (etc).

There is a video and documentation for the original Earthsea here: https://monome.org/docs/modular/earthsea/

#233

Jup but same (function isolated) for earthsea right? (Midi keys)
That thing grows on me…

Would be just too nice if one of em forwards power to a keyboard too. I ve my case mounted with a power bank and works wonderfully really. Can only recommend doing so. But the usb power of it wont keep the keyboard running correctly for more then a minute… well but if not, another reason for smal,old beaten up grid for me :slight_smile:

Wich again should favour ES bc Ansible supports less of the older grids if i got it right… ough…much to learn.

#234

Huh… I actually didn’t know that the original Earthsea also worked as a simple USB MIDI > CV host, but apparently you’re right! :slight_smile:

#235

ansible earthsea is a polyphonic version of the original earthsea when it comes to creating sequences. however it doesn’t support shapes, which are 3 CVs that can be set with shape gestures (i should probably clarify i have no intent to add them to ansible earthsea port - sorry @PacificNorthWes!)

CV shapes can be slewed, so they can be used for modulation similarly to envelopes/LFOs, which is probably why it’s tagged that way in modulargrid.

please note that MIDI function is not related to earthsea app, it’s an addon on the original earthsea module, and a separate mode on ansible.

power wise i imagine both earthsea and ansible being able to power whatever is connected to the USB port, it’s part of USB spec. you must keep in mind both were rated for grids specifically, so it’s possible some MIDI devices exceeding the maximum allowed amount could potentially spell trouble if they draw too much power.

another thing to keep in mind is that ansible has its own +5V regulator so it will draw less power on that bus. if you plan on using earthsea make sure you have sufficient power in your rack! (well, ansible too, but this is much more critical for earthsea).

4 Likes
#236

I have an original Earthsea, I’m all good! :smiley:

1 Like
#237

Power Consumption: 473 mA +12V | 202 mA -12V | 42 mA 5V

Distribution power in amps:
1.5A +12V
0.75A -12V
0.5A +5V

Is that allrite for ES or would everything „melt“ as soon as a grids is used?

Just a shady shadowy crow isnt in the specs yet. Otherwise thats my case with ES representing the 5v draw

#238

An interesting alternative might be to reinstate the rune shapes that cooresponded to cv on the original earthsea, but instead have the (3) shapes output gates on outputs 2-4 on ansible (depending on their shape).

In this way, those gates could be sent out to trigger modulation sources, envelopes, or lpgs within the modular system in tandem with the notes and gates of channel 1 (in mono mode of course).

For example: I record a sequence (with only the 1st channel of ansible outputting notes/gates-mono), and play it back with a three-button rune that’s programmed to output a gate on channel 2. That gate (from channel 2) is sent to a gate/trigger in of JF, MI Stages, Maths, etc., which is used to modulate the cutoff of a filter or timbre of the oscillator being sequenced by ansible’s channel 1.

This might be easier to implement than creating faux “knobs” within a separate grid menu (mimicking those on the original earthsea) and the corresponding cv output. You could even distinguish between the two-button and three-button shapes of the original that determined whether a gate was output or not (in this case channel 1 of ansible). Just a thought…

#239

this is definitely not sufficient for earthsea. from the doc:

As mentioned at top, monome modules require high +5v current. Before powering up your case, make sure the power supply can provide at least 600mA of current on the +5v line. Even if it appears to work in an underpowered case, it may degrade slowly over time until it fails and destroys the Earthsea. These repairs are not warrantied.

definitely many interesting variations could be done - i’m going to suggest that norns is a much better platform for exploring such ideas (obviously not modular but eventually could be integrated into a modular setup or now via midi2cv modules) - you could have multiple shapes defined easily and send them to multiple engine parameters, so you won’t be limited to 3 CVs / 3 gates.

1 Like
#240

Point well taken. Regardless, I’m incredibly grateful for what you’ve contributed here even if it progresses no further.

#241

thank you! i do plan to come back to ansible earthsea at some point (norns is… very distracting) and have some ideas i’d like to explore but they’re all around sequencing.

6 Likes
#242

Ansible it is for me than :slight_smile:

#243

@scanner_darkly I’ve been using your version of Earthsea pretty heavily - and it’s really opened up the modular in a lot of ways. I want to thank you for your work on it.

5 Likes
#244

+1 20 characters of THANK YOU FOR YER AWSUM JOB ON ansible earthsea! my liveset has reached the next level with er-301, fh-1, ansible (earthsea) + grid

1 Like
#246

I wanted to ask if there is a slight chance the midi functionality of Ansible will ever recieve some kind of clever code changes that would allow for a few slimmed down functions that are usually only accessible via the monome hardware modes.
I am thinking about very simple sequencing duties like note/melody loop for example. Not sure what else exactly…

I dont have my hopes up, but figured i would ask.
On the edge of getting one, but feels quite idiotic on the other hand for midi only use.

#247

do you mean making earthsea work with midi or something else?