Pitchbend wheel support
Whilst playing about on djchainz_soundbox today I discovered that using a pitch bend wheel function might be rather useful when mixing, along with some other assignable functions to apply to the continous controllers in the MIDI spec. This could be almost as good as the arrowkey functions, but global to all the channels...
This idea has been added to the to-do list, which also includes a few other tasks such as "make more skins" and "edit audio API". Perhaps a function for "master tempo" a.k.a. changing tempo without changing pitch would be good...
Anyhow, I must get back to developing other things that we have decided to busy ourselves with. Adios, reader!
Release
We released version 2.1 of djchainz_soundbox today and updated the demo and webpage. A very celebratory event, this is the fourth version to be released on the internet in total after 1.0, 1.1 and 2.0.
Oh, and another thing; there is now an 'Easter Egg' in djchainz_soundbox; i.e. a small thing that if you manage to find/uncover in the documentation then you will be rewarded with a somewhat comedic scene.
We are now scratching our heads on what to implement next and it will probably require editing of the fundamental audio API. If you have any suggestions for what we should add next, don't hesitate to contact us with a request ! We are always open to new ideas and inspiration ;)
Now, to get some more sound packages online...
MIDI Support
OK, I got back from holidays two days ago, and since then all that has been done is MIDI support. It is coming along nicely and I would give a screenshot but there's not much to see just use :P
The various controls have been split into 4 sets which can be moved in channels and then notes, but you can overlay them onto the same channels. The control sets are : cue channels, general controls (including hotkeys), beatpad and the arrowkey control. By selecting a MIDI device plugged into your PC and enabling MIDI, you can do pretty much everything on MIDI rather than with the PC keyboard; a very good advantage.
For a start MIDI allows for more than three keys/notes to be pressed; in fact it can have 'unlimited'. This is obviously important musically ! Secondly, the MIDI equipment is sturdier and seperate from a computer, and most musical hardware can support MIDI messages from controls. Maybe later djchainz_soundbox will also support the OSC / Open Sound Control format; make requests.
Some devices that generate MIDI signals and are therefore compatible with the next version of djchainz_soundbox are listed here:
Til next time, happy sampling.
