drkzrg/boutklik

A better Roland Boutique Chain mode

GREAT NEWS FROM ROLAND !!!! Chain mode was updated.

UPDATE HISTORY [ Ver.1.21 ] SEP 2019 Change the specification The specifications have been changed so that notes passed "thru" via MIDI OUT in Chain mode are passed "thru" on the MIDI channel specified in System Settings. Here you go:

https://www.roland.com/global/support/by_product/jp-08/updates_drivers/242034a9-88f0-4b25-8206-288d6d852f3c/ https://www.roland.com/global/support/by_product/ju-06/updates_drivers/bc4da5e6-55a8-407a-b976-56ab83b482fb/ https://www.roland.com/global/support/by_product/jx-03/updates_drivers/e9c013b6-ce65-4c1b-a50f-1d0744c36b4d/

BoutKlik

BETA 2 VERSION. A better Roland Boutique Chain mode

I own 2 JP-08 and I love the sound this "mini" Jupiter 8 is producing. But as I used the Roland Boutique "chain mode" to get 8 notes polyphony, I faced to several issues, as many users :

1. The midi channel of the Boutiques must be mandatory 1, and only 1.
   The overflow notes are sent on channel 1, whatever the midi channel is on the master.
   If you change the midi channel to other than 1 on the master, the chain mode works, but mod wheel, pich bend and all other channel messages stops working because not sent on the same channel as notes.
   You can't change the midi channel on the slave, as the chain mode is sent to channel 1, else chain mode stops to work. This behaviour forbids to use many Boutiques chained (I own also 2 JU-06 and 2 JX-03) in the same midi loop, i.e. midi dedicated port for each chain on midi channel 1.

2. When you play more than 8 notes, the "steal note" issue surround. With a real Jupiter 8, if you attempt to play more than 8 notes the 9th will not be sent to the sound module. With the JP-08, the 9th note will replace one of the existing 8 notes currently playing. This behaviour is very annoying for me and many Boutique users.

As the chain mode is a full MIDI process, I decided to rewrite my own one. This is the BoutKlik project. This project reuses the design of the USBMIDIKLIK4x4 board and firmware (one of my other project).

https://github.com/TheKikGen/USBMidiKliK4x4

Note : Unlike UMK4x4, this firmware has no USB midi interface. It is a standalone jack midi firmware.

BoutKlik logic

BoutKlik maps the midi listening channel of a 3 chains ( 3x2 boutiques) to any midi channel you want, allowing you to use these chain in the same midi loop than your other synths.

. The Midi OUT Port 1,2,3 are assigned respectively to the JP-08, JU-06 and JX-03.

. All master Boutique devices must be set to midi channel 1

. The JP-08 slave must be set to midi channel 2. All other slaves must set to midi channel 1.

. Each of the masters must be set in Chain mode

. The slave JP-08 Boutique MIDI OUT must be connected to the BoutKlik MIDI IN 3.

. Boutique Slaves MIDI IN jack must be connected to the MIDI OUT of their Boutique master

The midi root channel will be used to set the listening midi channels on BouKlik MIDI IN port 1, 2 and 3, respectively, to , <MIDI root channel +1>,\n <midi root channel + 2>.

For example, if the midi root channel is 6, BoutKlik will route events from midi channel 6,7,8 respectively to Midi out 1,2,3. Midi channel events will remapped to channel 1, or channel 1/2.

About the advanced chain mode

This is a full rewritten chain mode allowing a "better" chain mode for 2 JP-08 Roland Boutique. The original Roland Boutique Chain mode transmits all notes beyond the 4th to the slave. The BoutKlik chain mode distributes notes equally : odd notes are transmitted to the master, and even notes to the slave.

For example : notes 1,2,3,4 played will be distributed as (Master 1)(Slave 2)(Master 3)(Slave 4). All notes played exceeding the polyphony of 8 (or 4 in DUAL) are simply not processed as the original JP-8. The mode is always active.

Chorus FX mode

It is possible to activate the hidden 3 chorus mode on the JP-08 directly on the master.

To set the chorus, Press DUAL+POLY when in POLY. That will switch from no chorus to chorus 1, 2, 3, at each new press. The UsbMidiKlik led will blink 1 time if no chorus activated, 2 times for chorus 1, 3 times for chorus 2, 4 for chorus 3.

If The POLY mode is not the current one, go to POLY first, then press DUAL + POLY to change the chorus, and come back to your original mode SOLO or UNISON. This can be obviously obtained also by sending the CC 93 (V = 0,1,2 or 3) to the MIDI IN 1 or 2 (being merged) to the "root" midi channel adressing the midi OUT 1.

Configuration

If you plug the board to your computer with a USB cable, you can change the root midi channel by accessing to a configuration menu.

You need to install a terminal emulation like TERATERM (or any other), and open the serial port corresponding to the board. Once connected, you must press the "C" key on your keyboard.

BOUTKLIK CONFIGURATION MENU
(c) TheKikGenLabs

Magic number       : BTK2-1.210228.1859
JP-08 Midi OUT/IN# : OUT 1 / IN 3
JU-06 Midi OUT#    : OUT 2
JX-03 Midi OUT#    : OUT 3
Root MIDI channel  : 7

m. Set root MIDI channel
f. Restore factory settings
s. Save configuration & exit
x. Abort without saving

 Your choice =>

Use the 'm' choice to change the root midi channel, then save with the 's' option. The default root channel is 7.