Just Friends v4.0

unity2k · 2020-07-16T22:24:12.694Z

whimsicalraps/Just-Friends/blob/main/Just-Type.md

# Just Type

monome's *Teletype* (and since, *crow*) excites us. Writing simple scripts away from a computer; executing tiny morsels of musical composition. Just Type is a suggestion for how these ideas can be extended & deeply integrated with elements of synthesis.

At it's most basic, Just Type is a set of invisible patch cords. But more than a cloaking device, it extends the base functionality of Just Friends into more complex territory. Every output can be driven with varying velocity, and the INTONE relationship can be altered away from the default harmonic structure.

Beyond these general-purpose modifications, Just Type brings two entirely new modalities. *Synthesis* allows explicit or automatic polyphonic control over each channel. *Geode* instead pursues rhythmic manipulation of striated repetitions, creating polymetric bursts with dynamic decay.

Enough! Just. Type.

*[Jump to the Teletype reference](#teletype-reference)*

*[Jump to the crow reference](#crow-reference)*


## Install?

Just Type has shipped on every new module made since late 2017. A substantial update was released in July 2020, opening up a host of new features, and fixing many shortcomings of the original formulation.

Get the [latest release](https://github.com/whimsicalraps/Just-Friends/releases/latest) and you'll be all set to type!

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desolationjones · 2020-07-16T22:35:08.349Z

We’ll need the exact message bytes that are expected by JF

Galapagoose · 2020-07-16T22:45:19.312Z

The specification is here. If you’re feeling adventurous you could write a script to autogenerate the bindings.

Hawthorn · 2020-07-17T00:53:31.631Z

Ugh, I fear I may have messed things up. I either managed to start Logic playing the file back as I was powering my synth on, or I managed to jump into the middle of the file. Either way, the entire file didn’t play, and I can’t get the module back into bootloader mode. Gonna email Support, but figured I’d post here in case anyone else has a suggestion of how to, uh…fix…this…

mdtz · 2020-07-17T13:38:15.328Z

silly question maybe, but are slower cycle times still possible or even part of the firmware now?

yams · 2020-07-17T15:01:40.840Z

send a negative offset to time if time full ccw isn’t slow enough

I’ve also noticed that folks asking this are sometimes using more obtuse curve / ramp settings, which will have periods of moving quickly vs. slowly that are really ‘shape’ issues and not ‘speed’ issues (but can sound like speed issues). I’ve found the most satisfying ‘gradual’ shift is with curve, ramp, and FM at noon, with time and intone both fully ccw.

Galapagoose · 2020-07-17T15:19:42.690Z

The ‘slow cycles’ version of the firmware became the primary version way back in April 2018 (v3.0.5).

mdtz · 2020-07-17T16:03:41.615Z

20 chars of a big thank you!

Deru · 2020-07-17T21:51:39.814Z

I had trouble too. It took me a lot of fiddling to get the volume right. As the doc states I had to attenuate my euro signal to a bit less than 1/4 volume. For some reason it didn’t like the file playback from Cubase but it worked from Live as well. That part is a head scratcher, but maybe it will help.

michael_matos · 2020-07-17T21:57:15.533Z

Thanks for the tip. It was just weird because it always made it all the way through to the end and just never rebooted properly. It took a few redownloads and trashing of the files and luck to get it. I think…haven’t tested the new features so I’m not sure if it took. Fingers crossed.

joe_biomassa · 2020-07-20T12:17:48.319Z

This is completely amazing! I have just one question (as i got slightly confused) — should we expect new Just Type commands in one of the upcoming TT betas?

desolationjones · 2020-07-20T16:19:24.526Z

No one has assembled these commands yet, to my knowledge. I just got JF 4.0 installed last night so I might get inspired to make the OPs but please don’t count on that as I am quite busy these days. In the meantime you might check out @scanner_darkly’s generic I2C OPs which should let you manually define your TT messages.

joe_biomassa · 2020-07-20T16:20:30.326Z

desolationjones:

let you manually define your TT messages

thanks! i didn’t even realize i could do that. will look into that tonight!

scanner_darkly · 2020-07-20T16:32:03.682Z

i’ll see if i can add it quickly - but i’d say we should concentrate on reducing the number of betas we currently have first (we have 6).

desolationjones:

I’d suggest “JF2” versions of all JF OPs rather than adding an argument to all the original JF OPs.

there are several ways to go about it, here are some things to consider.

backwards compatibility must be ensured, so yeah i don’t think we should modify any existing ops in a way that would make them incompatible with older scripts
for ops that take a voice or output index as a parameter i suggest modifying them to address 1st JF for voices 1-6 and 2nd JF for voices 7-12 - this way you could easily write loops that would address both. we’ll need to think what to do with the special value of 0 (all voices) - should that affect both units? just 1st? should another special value be introduced to address all voices on all units?
we could have an op to specify the current unit: JF unit would set the current unit and all subsequent JF ops will address that, JF would return the currently selected unit. this has the benefit of not having to modify the script if you want to change the unit. i did this for disting, and i found i wanted an easy way to temporarily address a unit different from the current unit…
for that we could introduce a special pre: JF1: ... and JF2: ... - anything following that would address the specified unit regardless of the currently selected one.

SimonKirby · 2020-07-20T16:52:53.551Z

A big thumbs up from me for reducing the number of betas and consolidating things a bit with teletype. All the new stuff is very exciting but I’ve found myself sitting back and waiting a little for things to settle down because with a module as rich and complex as teletype I really want things to feel consistent across the language. (And, to be honest, I’ve also found the blizzard of updates a little confusing to stay on top of! Of course an embarrassment of riches is a nice problem to have…)

kasselvania · 2020-07-20T17:04:58.169Z

This is probably the biggest change to the monome family of products since the introduction of variable brightness with the grids. Things are popping off and it’s hard to keep it all straight. I’ve got my TT taking a bit of a nap waiting for the changes to be consolidated too.

joe_biomassa · 2020-07-20T17:06:40.156Z

scanner_darkly:

i’d say we should concentrate on reducing the number of betas we currently have first

Totally agree with that — I’m keeping it on the “official” beta build till things settle down.

scanner_darkly · 2020-07-20T17:17:42.447Z

yeah i was afraid it would be a side effect of having too many betas - i would say though if you can pick any new feature and help with testing it, it would really help us consolidate new features quicker - one of the reasons we have so many betas is because we want to hear feedback from teletype users before merging them.

desolationjones · 2020-07-20T17:21:02.607Z

scanner_darkly:

we could have an op to specify the current unit: JF unit would set the current unit and all subsequent JF ops will address that, JF would return the currently selected unit. this has the benefit of not having to modify the script if you want to change the unit. i did this for disting, and i found i wanted an easy way to temporarily address a unit different from the current unit…

Oh I really like this idea. And index 0 should only target all channels on the one “active” JF.
L 1 2: JF I; JF.NOTE 0 X Y still fits on one line anyway.

scanner_darkly:

i would say though if you can pick any new feature and help with testing it, it would really help us consolidate new features quicker

Dittoed for truth. If anything under development looks interesting don’t hesitate to reach out with feedback or questions! The beta thread looks wild right now because there’s a lot more detail in there than any TT user needs and the action keeps bumping it up. We could also do a TT dev discord or something but I honestly always loved seeing the action from the sidelines and weighing in.

I think to help with engagement I will take a page from scanner’s book and start posting little video snippets with my TT experiments.

Kiptaylor · 2020-07-22T22:20:47.220Z

I’m having a hard time updating my JF… as soon as i turn on my case (in boatload) identity lights up & 6n is pulsating. when i run the audiofile, nothing… I’ve tried Quicktime, logic, audacity from my mac ( with & without sound card ) different levels. & I’ve tried to run it from my iPhone with no luck. when i run the signal to hot I get a steady signal from 3n…