Interface modules for the ER-301?

Hi!

I’m interested in hearing what people use to control the ER-301. Looking at the module, I’d imagine I’d want offsets – sliders and knobs, probably tactile gate sources, too. That’s not the whole story, of course – a sequencer is nice :slight_smile: But I’m specifically interested in creating an interface for the ER-301 here.

A couple of ideas:

Soundmachines LS1
Soundmachines LP1
Joystick modules (Ladik, Doepfer, Intellijel, Flight of Harmony(Discontinued)
Ladik modules, like the U-081 (single fader in 4HP, range: 0 to 5V, 0 to 10V, -2,5V to +2,5V or -5V to +5V)
Mutable Blinds

Any other modules people have found to be useful?

Thanks!

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Well since you have brought it up I am currently working on a “performance controller” module design with Jason Lim (ex Qu-bit) of Instruo. We are thinking it might be around 24HP and it will have (8) 30mm faders and (8) LED back lit buttons under each fader.

The current idea is there will be (3) modes of functionality for each “channel” accessible by a three position switch under each “channel”. Mode (1) would simply be a “manual mode” with each fader sending out 0-5V and each button would latch on sending a gate out. Mode (2) would be a “trigger mode” where a tap of the button sends a trigger out or if you hold the button down it would send triggers synced at the rate of an incoming clock rate. As you increase the fader level while holding down the trigger button the rate of triggers could multiply to get ratcheting. The idea for Mode (3) would be a “sequencer mode” where fader movements could be recorded and then play back looped to the incoming clock. Button presses would also be recorded and looped then sent out as rhythmic triggers. Also considering each channel would have an input for attenuating a signal and also the possibility of a master output so you could use it as a mixer as well.

Those are the ideas I have presented to Jason for the design and we are still discussing features so if any other 301 user have any input we would be open to your suggestions. :wink:

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Sounds really nice indeed!

It would be kind of pretentious for me to start throwing suggestions, since my 301 is a few months out, but I hope you keep us posted about the details like price, ETA and such :slight_smile:

I love simple offsets. This system has 6 independent offsets (4 from the quadratt 1U and 2 from the A-174-1).

I would like to add some manual triggers/gates in the space remaining in the 1U row…(hoping Danjel reads this).

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My favorites:

Malekko Voltage Block: 8 offset generators. You can sequence these generators, each with separate lengths, clock divisions, quantization, etc. You can also jump to any stage, hold a stage, or arpeggiate a subset of stages by using the stage buttons. Even if you never use the sequencing capabilities (:bell: Shame!), the 8 fader offset workflow can feel somewhat similar to a controller like the Faderfox UC4. In my opinion, this is the single best 301 partner.

Monome Walk: This is key for the Looper unit. This uses two footpedals to generate six gate outputs: two momentary outs, two toggled outs, and two logical outs based on both pedal states. I love that the momentary and toggle outs are available simultaneously instead of existing as separate modes. Bonus: It’s cheap and 4HP.

Intellijel Planar: There’s the obvious X/Y joystick out, and the joystick is large and awesome if you haven’t used one. Less obvious is the fact that this works really well as a 4-channel vector mixer, making this a perfect way to scan the four outputs of the 301. (EDIT: Alternatively, you can use the 1-to-4 capability to take one input and smoothly distribute it to the 301’s four inputs for variable processing)

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I really really wanted to put the Planar in my little couch system (the one pictured above) but it wouldn’t fit. I will probably take another crack it at some point. It also would give me a manual gate plus the sense gate which is really useful for driving envelopes in the ER-301.

Does the Intellijel headphone module take a stereo signal in? It looks like that is what you have going on in your patch?
Thanks!

I can’t believe I forgot this:

Mutable Frames: This is great because you can morph between a number of system state keyframes. There are multiple interpolation strategies, so these changes can be abrupt or flowing. You can either use this to mix the four 301 outputs or to generate four offsets for control.

@odevices, You could replace the Doepfer joystick and the 4HP LFO with the Planar. The Intellijel Noise Tools 1U tile can double as a stable clock. I imagine you could plug the PULSE out to the SLEW in to get a smooth LFO.

Another fun Planar patch is to take two modulation sources and use them as the X/Y CV inputs. If you put an offset into the A/PAN input, the four outputs are now mutations of those two inputs. This is also a great way to waveshape audio in unusual ways. It’s definitely one of my desert island modules! Hilariously enough, I don’t think I’ve ever used its manual gate in a patch. It gets lost on the panel for me.

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I’ve got a meng qi voltage memory I’ll be using with my 301 when it arrives
I think If I really get on with the euro format I may end up switching it out/pairing it up with the voltage block as that seems pretty perfect and I love using offsets in different ways with my current setup

Do you know something that I don’t?

I bought it assuming that the two jacks on the left would let me patch the left/right channels with the left normalled to the right (as the panel states). However, it seems that the signal from both jacks gets summed and output to both the left and right channels of the headphones. This really confused me and had me panicking for a bit thinking that all this time the stereo channels on the ER-301 were not going out in stereo.

So the answer is: No. My headphone tile is just acting like a unity mixer.

Bummer, but thanks so much for the clarification!

I assumed it worked the way you have explained but your patch made me think that it might be able to do L/R inputs. Oh well…

But wait. Why would you assume it worked this way? I was pretty surprised.

I’m surprised that it acts as a unity mixer! That seems like a really odd/bad design choice. Almost every other headphone module that I can think of (including Intellijel’s own uJack) behaves the way that you originally imagined (L is normalled to R, but they do not sum).

Maybe there’s a defect on your unit? Alternatively, is there a jumper on the back that changes between mono and stereo behavior (like the uJack’s front panel switch)?

The only problem with the Planar gate button is that it’s not de-bounced so sadly, it’s pretty inaccurate. I spoke with Dan about it directly to confirm.

New unit for the list: DEBOUNCE
:smile_cat:

Edit: Actually, I guess the envelope follower unit will already do the job.

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Nope. No jumpers. Time to message Danjel.

I may need to start thinking this way. Everything is currently set up in such a way that I have to play standing. After working at a standing desk all day, the couch starts to sound pretty appealing…

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I mean that I always assumed it was mono in with the jack below being a pass through.

Just got a message from Danjel saying that the Phones 1U should behave as I was assuming (i.e. stereo in stereo out). So I took a closer look and found a solder bridge which I was able to fix in 3 seconds with a soldering iron and now I have stereo! Hooray! :tada:

Needless to say Danjel apologized profusely and feels really bad about missing this in QC. Needless to say, I know EXACTLY how he feels. :smile_cat:

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Very cool! Thanks for reaching out and I will pick this one up for sure now.

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