Hi all. I have a Voyager with VX-351 & CP-251, plus expression pedal & footswitch. The Voyager obviously can’t store the patch lead placements between all these bits of kit, and it’s a real pain trying to keep track of all that spaghetti!
I’m currently in the early design stages of writing an Access database where I can store all my physical patches, and print them out on a one pager, so they can be stored in a clip file and be kept alonside my Voyager for easy referral.
The main idea at the moment is to have easy to complete forms, to record the source and detination of each patch cord using drop down selectors in the database, and a number of reports for printing hard copies. The database will cater for all connections between the voyager back panel, VX, and CP, and have the basic ability to note which preset the patch was created for use with.
It’s great that the Voyager has Midi, but not all of use have it available to us, so next up would be to expand the database so that I can record new presets that I come up with on a simple blank form (printed from the database), as i’m “tweaking” the Voyager, and then transfer the settings into the database for a safe keeping, along with the patch cord placements. While this is never going to be as accurate as storing the files via Midi on a PC, it’s will at least let you get back somewhere close to the sounds you created, if you don’t have the ability to store your presets any other way.
For Midi users, the database could still be very useful, as the Midi/sysex files won’t save your spaghetti!
This is going to take some time because that’s a lot to go at, so i’m going to start with the patch side of things first (which is most important to me), and develop the rest afterward. I’ve already started on this by mapping out the voyager, cp and vx. I have not accounted for “Virtual” patches yet, as this is something that I rarely use. I may include this if feedback insists, but it will take a little more research to make it accurate.
So what’s the point of this posting? I intend to share the database with anyone using these forums, who might find it useful, so i’m basically just after some early feedback on what you would like to see in there. It’s a lot easier to plan things in from the start, than to retro-fix these things! Obviously if the feeback is “We don’t really need or want this”, then I’ll just throw something together to cater for myself!
At a later date I intend to add a set of Moogerfoogers into the mix, but I’ve bankrupted myself buying what I already have, so I will not be including these in the database until I can get hold of a set. These things need to be accurate and I would not be happy adding them in until I have them in front of me. The manuals just don’t provide what I need to be sure that all the functions & controls are accurately catered for.
If the feeback is good, i’ll post again when I have a useable “beta” and send a copy to anyone who wants it for more feedback, before completing it. A couple of things to bear in mind are, 1) This will be Microsoft Access database, and you’ll need a copy of Access to run it. 2) It will take me a fair amount of time as I have other projects on the go as well.
Cheers, Seamus.
