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Yup, that’s a bad pot for sure. Happens about once in 2,000. I’ll send you a new one. Shot an email to info-at-zeppelindesignlabs=dot=com. Include your serial number if you’ve got it, and shipping address.
Meanwhile you can confirm the pot is bad (and check out the other wave forms) by gently pressing down on the pot stem while turning. That should put the wiper in contact with the little carbon strip inside.Patrick, sorry about the trouble with your Altura, but thank you for the video! That is very helpful. I see two significant things going on: the sensors are facing the table, and the knobs do not appear to be functioning correctly. So one at a time:
1) The sensors sense over a wide, cone-shaped space. Laying on the table as in the video, they are both sensing the table at all times and transmitting a static, default, minimal value. This will tend to confuse the display. For testing, please flip the sensors over so they face the ceiling, and tape them to the table or something. In most contexts, only the left sensor affects the display. Set the first two knobs (Data far, Data Near) to full opposite positions and move your hand in and out over the left sensor. What do you see? You should see (in most contexts) numbers spinning by. Nudge the third pot (Function). As it moves, you should see numbers 1-7 scroll by. If not, leave the knob at the 9 o’clock position, which corresponds to 2 or 3.E 5 is not an error message. It means you are playing in the key of E in mode 5, which is phrygian or something.
Even if the display remains unresponsive, please plug the Altura into a MIDI device (a synth). Do not run it into a DAW or other computer system at this point; just run it straight into a MIDI IN jack. Set the last two knobs to 12 o’clock, which sets the Altura to play over one ocatve right in the middle of the keyboard. Wave over the right sensor. Hear anything? Is the MIDI light flickering on the synth? This is testing whether the device is transmitting data.
Finally, check the Articulation mode. Turn off the device, turn all knobs full left, turn on again. What do you see? The display should read 2.1.2 (the latest software version), then change to a number which is a multiple of 15 (the articulation setting).
2) At 1:25 in the video, I see the more compelling issue: When you twiddle the knobs like that, you should see more action on the display. It may be different when the sensors are face up, but I am guessing this will not completely solve the issue. I think we have seen this once before. I will consult with my partners this morning and follow up.
What you describe is a known issue. The keyboard will become increasingly unstable as the voltage from the battery drops. Try a brand-new name brand alkaline battery. Further, the keyboard is sensitive to grounding. It generally works better the more stuff you plug into it — headphones, line-out, power supply. You will notice that the keyboard behaves better when you have a finger touching the far left or right edge. It will work better when your hands are sweaty, or if you lick your fingers.
Another user recently experimented with adding a ground plane by placing a piece of aluminum foil on the inside bottom of his Macchiato cabinet, and connecting it with a bit of wire to the PCB. Some time soon I intend to post his procedure to this forum.
That cabinet model to which you refer, if memory serves, leaves room for improvement. We do still hope to publish some models one of these days.AZ, there is good news and bad news. The bad news is, the Github page instructions appear to be out of date and misleading. The good news is, the current instructions are super-easy. The latest Macchiato release v1.1.3 (Macchiato_Mini_Synthv1_180109.ino) was compiled with Arduino 1.8.4. Try adding MIDI.h and Mozzi to your 1.8.4 libraries as described; then compile the sketch with no further file editing or configuration at all. Flash it to your synth and see if it works.
When my software guy is in tomorrow, I’ll review the Github with him and we’ll update the README with corrected instructions.Thanks for writing JRK! You need to set the Altura transmit channel to match the Macchiato Receive channel. It’s easier to set the Altura Transmit channel, so start there. Set Function = 7, and twirl the far left knob (Data Far). You should see numbers 1-16 spin by. One of these will match the Macchiato Receive channel, and when you hit it, the Macchiato should spring to life.
If you need to set a specific Macchiato Rx channel (eg, to resolve a conflict with other devices), do the following (BTW, these instructions are covered in the respective Owners Manuals):
1. Set your Altura to the Transmit channel upon which you wish the Macchiato to
receive, and connect its MIDI OUT to the Macchiato MIDI IN.
2. Turn off the Macchiato.
3. Turn all the Macchiato’s knobs full right, except Volume. Leave Volume wherever you like.
4. Turn the Macchiato on.
5. Play a note with the Altura by waving your hand over the right sensor to send a Note On to the Macchiato. The Macchiato reads the channel number from the first MDI event it sees, and permanently sets itself to receive only on that channel henceforth. This setting remains in place until such time as you change it again.Of course, it’s also possible the Altura is not actually transmitting data, or the Macchiato is not actually processing the received data. Do you have another synth with which to confirm the Altura is transmitting? Another controller with which to confirm the Macchiato is receiving?
Let me know what you discover.
Glen
Hmmm… Yes, that sort of behavior us usually associated with instability in the cap. touch keyboard. Sometimes, here in the Lab, a synth will sound just because it’s humid. Does this happen consistently, all the time, or is it pretty erratic? Try placing a finger on the edge of the PCB, on the blue border but beyond the printed keys. Does that stabilize performance? How about when it is plugged in to a power supply vs a battery? How about when you’ve got earbuds or something else plugged into the line out? All these things affect the grounding of the PCB and stability of the keyboard.
If the random-note behavior is unaffected by any of these factors, then there’s something goofy with the circuit. Each key has an associated resistor; if any of them are damaged or loose it could create this behavior.
Macchiato inventor Brach may have other suggestions when he is back from holiday.
Howard, that’s good to hear. Yeah, we had to learn the same lesson the same way. Merry Christmas everyone!!
Howard, sorry for the delayed response; too much pumpkin pie this weekend.
It sounds like you did some good troubleshooting. Here are a couple more things to check, to help us narrow this down.- First, be sure the Altura is NOT in X-Y mode during testing; it’s a little trickier to set up. Leave it in Function 2 so the left hand controls the mod wheel and right hand sends notes. Also set DATA NEAR and FAR to 0 and 127; set OCTAVE NEAR and FAR to 5 and 6 or so. This assures you will send easily=perceived effects.
- Please connect the Altura directly to one of your keyboards, using just a standard MIDI cable. Make sure the Altura transmit channel (Function 7) is set the same as the keyboard RECEIVE channel, or that the keyboard is in OMNI mode. Can you make the MIDI light blink on the keyboard? Can you hear stuff?
Let us know what you get.
Glen
Holy Hotsauce, Nate! That unit’s serial number is right smack in the middle of the others in this thread! I guess all those problematic units were NOT “accounted for”!! Guess where your kit spent a year, laying low while we were sorting out these other units? In an English customs house. I am refunding your purchase price of the USB-Tiny right now.
Incidentally, we just updated the Macchiato software today, to add the ability to set its MIDI receive channel. If you are using the Macchiato with an external keyboard controller, you may find that useful. It’s version 1.2.2. Follow the instructions in the ZDL Updater Help to “run as administrator”, and it will fetch the latest update for you.
I again apologize for the hassle.
Glen van Alkemade
Nate, I am very sorry to hear this! I know all to well the pain of frustration. Do I understand that you successfully re-flashed the synth? Did this work? Please respond with your synth serial number. This is super-important for us to figure out what may have happened to your synth. The three units described in this (pretty old) thread were result of an isolated incident, and all affected units are accounted for. It is therefore unlikely the problem with your unit was that it shipped with no software at all; there are a few other possibilities with DIY kits.
Again, so sorry.For testing, leave Function = 2. This causes the left sensor to send modulation messages (CC#1). Set the DATA NEAR to 0 and DATA FAR to 127. Now look for a screen in Ableton that monitors incoming MIDI data. You should see streams of NOTE ON/NOTE OFF messages when you wave your right hand, and streams of MOD data when you wave the left. Can you do this? This will prove out what data is making it to Ableton. If the data is arriving, then you should be able to hear modulation of a vst with that left hand: notes with the right, modulation (usually vibrato) with the left. Can you make this happen?
Mike Hermans demo video. Mike really captures the beauty, scope, sweep and range of possibilities the Quaverato offers.
Marco, thanks for writing. First, have you succeeded in getting the Altura to communicate with Ableton at all? You should be able to easily play some patch or synth or SOMETHING: notes with right hand and, for example, modulation with left (Function = 2).
If no, then make sure Ableton is listening on the same channel on which the Altura is transmitting. Set the transmit channel with Function = 7.
Once you establish communication, you need to MAP one of the Altura’s left-side functions to have the desired effect in Ableton. You need to sacrifice one of Modulation, Note On Velocity, or Channel Volume (Functions 2-3-4). Pick one, then follow the guidance in this Ableton article, Creating MIDI Mappings, to map the Altura to your VST.
Please let us know how this goes!
