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Eurorack Knob Idea

(mitxela.com)
311 points po | 4 comments | 25 Apr 25 13:19 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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diggan ◴[25 Apr 25 14:04 UTC] No.43793686[source]▶
Interesting idea for sure, but how is the feel of actually turning the knob? Seems to offer short to no resistance, which would make fast but precise movements pretty hard, something that is important for things like performances.

What would be a huge bonus point (but maybe unrealistic? I don't quite understand how the current implementation actually works) would be software-configurable resistance (physical, not electrical). I've spent a lot of time for my DIY modules to find the right knobs, or the right process to adjust the resistance of my existing knobs, being able to control that digitally could introduce a whole new level of fun.

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scottapotamas ◴[25 Apr 25 14:16 UTC] No.43793815[source]▶
You might enjoy https://github.com/scottbez1/smartknob

The complexity of this approach (ignoring the display and flair) unfortunately means you won’t see this used too often due to cost.

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weinzierl ◴[25 Apr 25 14:42 UTC] No.43794111[source]▶
My dream is a piano keyboard with entirely software controlled mechanical key response. Every key individually mounted on a servostepper. As a bonus it could be used as a fake player piano. Or for practice you could make the wrong keys hard to press. Endless possibilities.
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1. Q6T46nT668w6i3m ◴[25 Apr 25 14:44 UTC] No.43794128[source]▶
Great idea and I’m shocked this doesn’t exist.
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2. robotresearcher ◴[25 Apr 25 17:38 UTC] No.43796445[source]▶
It would likely be very, very expensive.

A compromise that is affordable and does exist is programmable response curves to key velocity and aftertouch pressure. It can make sense to have different curves for eg. piano vs harpsichord even if you can’t change the mechanical key impedance.

I haven’t seen it in the wild, but using this you could make the wrong notes quieter/louder or even play a different sound. But I think we all know when we play a wrong note, so the utility might be small.

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3. mrandish ◴[25 Apr 25 20:20 UTC] No.43798138[source]▶
> key velocity and aftertouch pressure.

Just a tangential note to say whenever I see these terms in discussion of MIDI keyboards it reminds me how disappointed I am the vast majority of MIDI controller (and multi-thousand dollar flagship synth) keyboards still don't fully support per note velocity or polyphonic aftertouch. It's only been 40 years kids... (sigh).

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4. otabdeveloper4 ◴[26 Apr 25 07:51 UTC] No.43801704{3}[source]▶
Not really needed. A synthesizer is not a piano, it's essentially a wind instrument.