Heya;
Very rather new here, and seeking advice on a CV to MIDI converter “object” or “module.” Anyone had some sound HA! experience with CV to MIDI stuffs, cause your expertise is good as even gooder.
Blessings,
Damon †
One day I got a call from my own phone. How did it get my number?
Unless you need a lot of polyphony, the best value might be a device that does CV->MIDI conversion in addition to its primary feature set.
I use a Moog Minitaur and a QuNexus. The QuNexus can convert two CV inputs, the Minitaur up to four inputs. The caveat here is that they only accept 0-5v unipolar inputs, so if you have bipolar control voltages (-5v to 5v) or 0-10v you will need an additional converter/scaler to handle that.
You could also look into Teenage Engineering’s Oplab, which is a veritable Swiss (er, Swedish) Army Knife of MIDI and CV conversion. It can cross-convert USB MIDI, DIN MIDI, and CV/Gate in a variety of different configurations, and it has built-in calibration so you won’t have the voltage scaling issues I mentioned above.
There are also a number of options available that just do CV->MIDI conversion, either standalone or in Eurorack, but the first two options above have been working well enough for me.
I’d like to revive this thread in search of a good DIY project to use some board (arduino/teensy/raspi) to build one of these (simply for clock) in lieu of spending $150. I’m asking on behalf of the music project that may need several of these hence why I think we could do it for far far less.
Anyone know of anything / done something similar?
For example : There’s the « Temps Utile » module which is based on a Teensy like Ornament and Crime. What do you want to do exactly ? There are so many cv to midi and midi to cv options now 
I’d like turn a CV that’s sending clock to MIDI that will clock (but DIY )
Oh yes, that’s right, DIY. In that case there are not as many options as I imagined… but I guess it wouldn’t be too hard to create one based on the Temps Utile that I mentioned. I thought Ornament and Crime Hemisphere could do that as well but not out of the box apparently. I’ll have a closer look tomorrow, Teensy (even an old model) seems to be a good solution
Disting mk4 + expander
Same person behind Temps Utile and Ornament and Crime also designed a CV to Midi module
Now I just gotta take the dive and finally learn how to solder surface mount. Great find, thanks for passing this on
If you’re not afraid of Eurorack and need cheap prices check Ladik. He has a Clock to MIDI Clock module which is cheaper than most DIY kits.
Expert Sleepers Silent Way has a CV-to-MIDI plugin if you don’t mind doing this in a DAW.
Silent Way works most seamlessly with their ES-8 or ES-3+ES-6 modules for input and output.
If I recall correctly, the software might also work straight from an interface that has DC-coupled inputs, though I’ve never tried this, and I assume you’ll have to account for voltage level differences.
ADDAC 222 is a 4 channel CV to MIDI note
ADDAC 221 is a 10 channel CV to MIDI CC
I’m working on getting a 222 right now. Only US distributors that lists it online is Analouge Haven, but I’m talking to a local place that might be able to special order me one.
Neither module sends out MIDI Clock. Just sayin
Yeah, an unfortunate absence, I agree. For myself i picked up an ALM PEXP-2, but there are a handful of choices out there for just CV clock to MIDI.
Far from an absence in my opinion. I don’t want my MIDI clock message to mess around with the barage of CC/Note info I’m sending via these modules. And, as you said, a dedicated module is a far better solution.
It might be worth comparing with the upcoming Befaco VCMC, which looks quite promising (if you’re not in a rush)
If polyphony is not an issue and you require CC messages you should go with the a-192-2. Cheap and flexible. Duophonic. I don’t think it can send Pitch Bend though, but you could probably assign Modulation and do that for you.
I don’t get your distinction between notes and gates. In MIDI there is no difference, so what exactly do you mean?
Hi, i always suggest this one, the first oplab, not the module that works with op-z, it connects everything with everything… unfortunately it’s no longer being produced.
On the modular side, you’ll definitely need to provide both a gate and a pitch-CV, so in that sense you are absolutely right. MIDI combines the two data types to one, which is the MIDI NoteOn/Off data.
The only thing that you should keep in mind about the a-192-2 is that you’ll have to make sure that your sequencer sends the Gate after its Pitch CV is “stable”. To clarify, sequencers like the Intellijel Metropolis, and most modular sequencers, prioritize their Gate output as timing is more important than pitch precision. As you can imagine, in MIDI you have to define the Note before you order the device to “fire” it. So the a-192-2 requires, logically, that your Pitch CV is at the required value before the Gate is received. It’s not a problem, it’s how it works. You might need to have a gate delay if your sequencers seems to be unstable.
I’m not a big fan of precision when it comes to CV-to-MIDI, as in I don’t care that much for a false note here and there, depending on the situation. Most of my work on this area is jazz-based, or simply atonal, so I cope with the translation problems between the two “languages”. If precision is important for you, you’ll need to be precise in your modular side as well. It’s not difficult by any means.
Again, I don’t think I have any CV-to-MIDI devices that provides Pitch-bend data. Well, if I’m being honest, I do own one now, but it’s still in prototype form https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxu7g7eB55b/ so don’t expect it anytime soon. It will be ultra cool though 
Feel free to ask more questions if you have them. My favourite device so far is the ADDAC222 which offers different modes of triggering. There is nothing else that does automatic triggering of the MIDI Notes when a 12-tet note has been hit by the CV, it’s absolutely lovely as it allows you to go crazy with the CV you send. It’s also, by far, the most performable CV-to-MIDI module out there. And yes, I’m very much looking forward to the Befaco design, but I still think the ADDAC222 will hold its own ground (disclaimer: I was a beta tester for the ADDAC and I might end up testing the Befaco as well, so take my biases under consideration).
You should also look at the C2M module by mxmxmx, which is DIY, in case you’re inclined to make your own. It’s also open source, so that might be something you can coax to your advantage?
Anyway, here to help
The answer is both. I use external synthesizers, which are better suited to modeling of physical instruments, so my instrumentation is (sometimes) derived from jazz instrumentation. That’s not always the case, I have a few diverse setups, but when that happens I’ll mostly work around typical or a-typical combinations of chords and scales. That’s not hard to achieve; one solution I’ve found is by having a sequencer define both your chord structure and your scale structure. If you use programmable quantizers, you can have your scale match the chord, which is the groundwork required for such a jazz setup, coming from jazz theory.
Here’s a couple of examples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1btU5ceDHQs VS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeKnHJA0e-o using the same setup (what I call my jazz setup). The prototype module you saw comes after working with this setup and will solve some of the issues I’m facing with it. Long story! I have a long way to go with my sound design skills, but it’s something I’m working on. Took a detour with piano design and woodwinds, but I learned a lot and I intend to apply this knowledge on my brass sound. I’m happy with the double bass so far; not so much with the drums.
But I digress. Honestly, sequencing-wise you can do whatever you want with the proper mindset. You don’t have to improvise, it can be very structured, or not. Case in point, the examples below are using similar principles but are quite diverse:
Abstract : https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwe9W0KFhMu/
Minimalism : https://www.instagram.com/p/BpKedHJh7Ph/
Moondog inspired jazz : https://www.instagram.com/p/BU-Hsd-hU7N/
Guitars : https://www.instagram.com/p/BU_zGZShjGP/
Funk : https://www.instagram.com/p/BVZc7a3g88j/
Solo : https://www.instagram.com/p/BVajUWBgmgj/
Drumming : https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ3Er8wASEv/