Minitaur VCO 2

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chris_hwgfihw
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Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2013 1:24 pm

Minitaur VCO 2

Post by chris_hwgfihw » Thu Apr 25, 2013 1:39 pm

Hi!
I have a question about the panel control of the VCO 2 frequency. If I want VCO 2 at the same frequency, I have to turn the knob a little bit to the right. It´s not at the center position.
1.) Is this normal?
2.) Is it possible to callibrate VCO2?

Thanks, Chris.

milltertime
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Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2013 1:34 am

Re: Minitaur VCO 2

Post by milltertime » Mon Apr 29, 2013 11:20 am

I just purchased a new Minitaur and I have am similar issue. VCO 2 frequency is NOT an unison at the 12 o'clock position. But it is in unison closer to 3 o'clock. Is there something wrong with my unit? The manual states the following on page 9:

VCO 2 FREQ (CC# 17):
Sets the frequency offset of VCO 2 from VCO 1. The offset range is +/-1
octave. Center position tunes VCO 2 in unison with VCO 1. NOTE: If playing
between notes 60 and 72, the pitch of VCO 2 is limited to note 72 (C4)
regardless of this control setting.

milltertime
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Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2013 1:34 am

Re: Minitaur VCO 2

Post by milltertime » Tue Apr 30, 2013 8:43 am

I was able to fix my issue. It was a calibration issue. As I was researching this problem I came across the Minitaur downloads page. There's one called Useful Minitaur SysEx Commands. Inside the zip file is text file that details various SysEx (System Exclusive) commands. There are 3 SysEx commands that when used correctly, will calibrate your control knobs or pots.

This was my first time using SysEx commands. To aid others who need help using sysex commands the following minitutorial should get them going:

System Exclusive messages are part of the MIDI standard that allows manufacturers to write custom commands for their hardware. These commands allow for a number of actives including loading/dumping: firmware, patch information, tuning tables, and calibration information. In order to use SysEx you will need your device turned on and connected via MIDI to your computer. You will also need software capable of sending SysEx messages. A popular and free tool for OS X is SysEx Librarian. It can be downloaded from http://www.snoize.com/SysExLibrarian. Lastly, you will need the actual SysEx messages themselves. (The 3 pot calibration .syx files were not included in the Minitaur SysEx commands zip file so I had to create them. I tried to upload them to this post but .syx files are not allowed.)

SysEx Librarian uses a binary file format which presents raw data to your device. Other SysEx tools may allow you to type the hex SysEx message in directly, but SysEx Librarian requires us to load binary .syx files. Creating a message in TextEdit and then changing the file extension will NOT work since the resulting file is not in binary. Highly Liquid provides a free web tool that will take your hex message and convert it into binary .syx files. It can be found at http://highlyliquid.com/hl2012/support/ ... -converter.

Using the Highly Liquid web tool create 3 separate .syx files. Enter the message data one message at a time. F0 04 08 14 00 00 F7 is the minimum pot calibration command, F0 04 08 14 01 00 F7 is the maximum, and F0 04 08 15 00 00 F7 is the command for the midpoints of VCO 2 Freq and EG Amount. Each time you click Convert! a sysex.syx file will be downloaded. Rename each file to reflect the message you created. (i.e., _Minitaur_Pot_Cal_Min.syx, _Minitaur_Pot_Cal_Max.syx, and _Minitaur_Pot_Cal_Mid.syx.) Connect and turn on your device and open SysEx Librarian. In the Destination drop down box select your device/port. In this case Moog Minitaur. Drag the 3 .syx files into SysEx Librarian. Set ALL Minitaur knobs to their minimum value, select the _Minitaur_Pot_Cal_Min.syx file inside SysEx Librarian and click the Play button. Watch your Minitaur's MIDI LED to see if it received the message. The LED should light up and then turn off. If it didn't you either missed it light up or you have a MIDI transmission/connection issue. Next set all the Minitaur knobs to their maximum value and play the Minitaur_Pot_Cal_Max.syx message. And finally, set the VCO 2 Freq and EG Amount knob to their center point and send the _Minitaur_Pot_Cal_Mid.syx message. Your Minitaur is now calibrated!

chris_hwgfihw
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Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2013 1:24 pm

Re: Minitaur VCO 2

Post by chris_hwgfihw » Wed May 01, 2013 3:27 pm

This is really helpfull. Thank you!

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David Smyth
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Re: Minitaur VCO 2

Post by David Smyth » Thu May 02, 2013 5:39 am

Thanks milltertime, that was very useful!

Note that for Windows (in my case Windows 7) I successfully used the free Bome SendSX (beta version) available here: http://www.bome.com/products/sendsx/downloads to calibrate my Minitaur. After selecting the Minitaur as the MIDI device, you can simply copy and paste those codes into Bome SendSX to send them to the Minitaur (without having to convert them into .syx files first).

Thanks again! :D

David
NZ
Minimoog Voyager XL, Little Phatty Stage II + CV Output Mod, 2x Slim Phatty, Minitaur, MP-201, EP-2, 2x CP-251, MF-102, MF-104M, MF-107

Tsaddeous
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Re: Minitaur VCO 2

Post by Tsaddeous » Wed Apr 11, 2018 12:43 pm

Thank you so much milltertime !!!!

I had the same problem with the VCO2, now all my pots are calibrated !!! :D

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MC
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Re: Minitaur VCO 2

Post by MC » Wed Apr 11, 2018 7:28 pm

milltertime wrote:Highly Liquid provides a free web tool that will take your hex message and convert it into binary .syx files. It can be found at http://highlyliquid.com/hl2012/support/ ... -converter.
Link no worky.

Highly Liquid used to be a good resource but the owner seems to be AWOL.
Gear list: '04 Saturn Ion, John Deere X300 tractor, ganged set of seven reel mowers for 3 acres of lawn, herd of sheep for backup lawn mowers, two tiger cats for mouse population control Oh you meant MUSIC gear Oops I hit the 255 character limi

psound74
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Re: Minitaur VCO 2

Post by psound74 » Fri Apr 13, 2018 12:29 am

Thanks for the calibration info! New out of box (s/n 13584) VCO 2 tuning and VCF amount knobs were so out of whack I thought i had a dud...fixed!

flatwhitechris
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Joined: Sun Nov 17, 2019 10:07 am

Re: Minitaur VCO 2

Post by flatwhitechris » Sun Nov 17, 2019 10:15 am

Hi guys, I'm having the same issue with my Minitaur sounding out of tune.

Struggling to find the .syx files, or any way to convert them from text myself (mac).

Can somebody point me in the right direction?

Chris

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bichuelo
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Re: Minitaur VCO 2

Post by bichuelo » Mon Nov 18, 2019 9:36 am

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