It is based on @olaf’s SuperCollider implementation, which can be found on sccode.org.
Requirements
Norns
Installation
Blippoo is available on Maiden in the community package section.
Alternatively, enter this command into Matron to manually install:
;install https://github.com/cfdrake/blippoo
Reboot or reset your Norns, as this script installs a new engine.
Documentation
The main Norns UI provides two pages of performance controls. The first page affects the oscillators and output volume, and the second page affects the twin peaks (filters). A third page affects the built-in delay effect.
KEY 2 tap for oscillators page
KEY 3 tap for filters page
KEY 1 hold for delay page
ENC 1 / ENC 2 / ENC 3 alter params on page
For detailed control of the synth, head to the PARAMS page. All of the modulation controls are located here (FM from S&H, the Rungler, and oscillators). Small adjustments can have a drastic effect on sound, so hold KEY 3 when changing parameters to finely tune them!
Thank you @cfd90
This is wonderful. Totally amazing. What a script. David Tudor. Thanks for porting. Head cleaner. I was admiring mudlogger’s bippobox on Instagram this week and now this.
Heartily recommended.
Funny, as a friend yesterday was showing me the Blippoo, which i havent noticed for a reason. Then i found this. I love Lines
Not sure what im doing here. I mapped the parameters to the 16n for inmediate action
It makes weird sounds. I have no control. I don’t know what is happening. Who am I? What is what?
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Thanks everyone Glad y’all are enjoying it, I immediately had a ton of fun when I found it on sccode.org and knew I had to port it. Kudos again to the original author
@Blit love it, nice recording! I have a MIDI Twister being delivered later today, would love to add some kind of “first class” auto-mapped feature for Twister and 16n if that’s possible.
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P.S. I silently added this to the official Maiden index yesterday
Added first class support for MIDI Fighter Twister
Better tuning of parameter ranges (including exponential control for oscillators)
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Steps:
Connect your MIDI Fighter Twister in SYSTEM => DEVICES => MIDI on port 1. Ensure Bank 1 is selected on the MFT.
Run blippoo.
If you see [mft] displaying in the lower left, it means your device was found.
Dials should display the values of the initial patch, and are automatically mapped to params in the order they show on the PARAMS page (dials 1-15, 16 is unused).
Note that your MFT needs to be plugged in before launch.
I have an original Blippoo and am loving the combination of the two in complete chaotic tandem.
The Norns version sounds great! I find the biggest differences so far are how you interface with each device. The Blippoo is very reactive, every minor manual transition creates new territory to explore. The Norns version is similar but less immediate given the interface. I haven’t mapped anything via MIDI so I’m sure that opens up a lot of similar-ish possibilities.
Sonically they sound similar but I don’t think it’s an exact 1:1. The low frequency percussive territory as well as high frequency full chaos zones have different outcomes. Neither better or worse. All that said this Norns version is an absolute blast to explore Thank you for the time and effort on this one!
@Blit
i also have an actual Blippoo Box and they are similar and not in several ways.
the actual noiz from a Blippoo Box is very watery sounding.
(best way i can describe it)
it tends to easily sound like forms of water…drops, drips, rushing, etc.
this norns version can mimic that but it can go into digital noiz terror land rather easily.
also…the filtering tends to sound more like a Formant Filter on the norns version.
which the actual Blippoo doesn’t.
@cfd90 thanks for creating such an awesome script of the Blippoo!
i am REALLY digging this and also i really dig the couple of things the Blippoo doesn’t have:
MIN / MAX knob button presses!
A VOLUME KNOB!
I just tried (on a new-to-me Norns) to launch Blippoo, map some knobs to my OP-Z (virtual port #2), reboot, and the knobs are still mapped on the subsequent launch.
There should be a file at ~/dust/data/blippoo/blippoo.pmap to store your MIDI mapping. I don’t think anything is required to save it, it should just happen. Did your Norns power off correctly? Maybe it wasn’t written to the SD card after a bad shutdown?
Update: the latest version of Blippoo now has a built-in delay (disabled by default).
The delay is implemented using Softcut (same code as Awake), so no reboot should be needed AFAIK.
Controls are the same as before (K2 = oscillators, K3 = filters), but now you can hold K1 to edit the delay effect. When you let go of K1 you will be brought to the prior page you were editing, to keep a nice flow when performing.
In delay mode, ENC1 is delay volume, ENC2 is delay rate, and ENC3 is delay feedback.
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Edit: And one more update… MFT can now be connected on any virtual port and still be discovered, and (bugfix) will no longer show as connected if still configured in virtual ports but not physically connected at launch.
Are you on the latest Norns update? I think older Norns versions require you to save a PSET to get the MIDI mappings to save. Newers Norns versions should save the MIDI mappings automatically though.
Past this I’m not too sure, especially with no 16n to test Any worrisome looking console logs maybe?
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Pushed a teeny tiny update: moved the delay code into lib/ so no extra blippoo_halfsecond.lua entry should show in the script launcher anymore.
The La Synthèse Humaine has a video where they explore the ideas behind a Blippoo box. It might provide context for this script for y’all, like it did for me.
Any worrisome looking console logs maybe?