Guitar

Guitar-ZyX:: MasterControlProgram


gzmcp_attached       gzmcp_attached       gzmcp_attached       gzmcp_attached

uncommented online source code
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v0.2-2009_11_22 release available
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GZ-MCP info in Guitar-ZyX release notes
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 [Screenshots] [The D1] [Building the D2] [The D2]

Overview

The Guitar-ZyX(tm)::MasterControlProgram lets you velcro a nintendo-DS(tm) to your electric guitar, and paradigm shift into a new world of TouchScreenWhammyPadness preparing you for the radical new guitar effects interface world that will be coming in the next decade. In other words, a cool wireless remote control for the rakarrack realtime guitar effects processor.


Instructions

  • start always switches to and from the main menu

  • select toggles whammypad engagement

  • A B X and Y choose 4 presets (clean-amp, underwater-ii, soft stereo, and classic chorus)

  • The crosspad adjusts the midi parameter being mapped to x and y on the touchscreen. By default volume and global f/x wet/dry.

  • Left trigger held and x (or b) cycle through all available effects.

  • Both triggers held and start and select dis/enable the visual and cowbell metrognomes. Both triggers held and left (or right) adjust the cowbell metrognome bpm.

  • The left trigger + start button either takes the NDS offline, or begins trying to get online.

  • ssid listing/scanning and entry now an option under the advanced submenu (settings and help still unimplemented)

  • fetching, executing, and optionally burning in replacement programming via wifi are now advanced menu options

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Whassa TouchScreen-WhammyPad? Does it do Pitch Bends?

Pitch bends are what a real whammy bar does, and certainly in the works. For now, at the simplest level, the MCP is a 2 axis MIDI parameter controller. If you've got software or hardware that can be controlled via MIDI that can perform a pitch bend, then yes, you can perform a pitch bend. I however am still only a year or two into my guitar hobby, and have a severe bent toward not spending a dime on any guitar amplifier or f/x equipment. Ryan Billing of the Rakarrack team has explained to me that there is code in rak that could be used for a pitch bend, but that it isn't exposed yet, and 'eats CPU like a wolf'. It certainly will eventually make it into rak as an exposed feature, even if I have to put it there myself in my own fork. But being able to perform various levels of arbitrary MIDI control from a touchscreen attached to your guitar... Well, lets just say, the future is now, but there is still much to come.

Can I record music and play back recorded music with or via the NDS?

Currently to play back music on the NDS with the Guitar-ZyX::MCP you must go to the main menu by pressing start, browse the filesystem, launch DSOrganize, and use it to play oggs and mp3s. The MCP roadmap includes integration of the lowmem tremor library, to play oggs natively. As well as exposing the PC's rhythmbox UI remotely. I've also done proof of concept recording straight from my guitar to the NDS's microphone input. I'm not yet sure what quality I can record to the flash memory, or pipe over wifi into jack on the PC side. But even at an extremely low sample rate, those things obviously open up very useful possibilities...

Q: Is this unique? Has this been done before?

This TouchScreen-WhammyPad implementation is more or less the same as the only alternate implementation I'm aware of that predates the GZMCP. I.e. this guy's wired Kaoss Pad embedded in a guitar. Or at least I think that is the guy that first did that. Obviously Matt Bellamy of possibly my favorite young band Muse took that implementation to rockstardom level, embedding a KaossPad in his guitar, and apparently you can even buy one yourself. (note that I consider Muse to be the modern young heirs of Rush/PinkFloyd, and their ranking in my book has nothing to do with their coincidental use of this tech. Apparently Matt even uses it for stage lighting effects.). Unlike the KaossPad solution however, the MCP's NDS implementation is wireless (maybe Matt's is wireless?), and allows you to recycle and extend existing tech instead of going out and buying new tech. And my plans for future features go way beyond what a KaossPad can do.

Q: The MCP seems to be having trouble connecting to my Access Point

I really need to add a repetitive retry in the NDS's MCP code. You might try holding the left trigger and pressing start, to go offline and then again to start trying to get online. If it fails to immediately (in less than 2 seconds) say it connected to the AP and is now in server discovery mode, then repeat the retry. Repeat up to 15 times before giving up completely. In a subsequent release I'll at least automate the retry process so it needn't be done manually.

Q: What kind of worthless uncommented open source code is this?

If you are a potential employer I'll gladly give you a sample of the commented version of the source. Likewise, if you are a supporter of this project, lets say to the level of sending me a $10 chipotle gift card, I'll also share with you a non-GPL version of the source code that includes all comments. At some point in the future I would like to publish a book on NDS+LiveAppliance development, which includes the comments as the marginal added incentive to purchase the hardcopy.