justdraw new

just draw

a one-voice instrument for norns, played on a wacom one pen tablet. the tablet plugs straight into norns. nothing else is needed.

the voice is a just friends-style oscillator. it glides in pitch as the pen moves up and down, gets louder with pressure, and morphs through sine, curves, saw and pulse into fm noise as the pen moves to the right. it doesn't fold. it can also play a midi synth and a modular through crow, alone or together.

install

copy this folder to /home/we/dust/code/justdraw/ on the norns. once the repo is public, ;install https://github.com/williamthazard/justdraw in maiden does the same.

the first install needs a norns restart, so the new engine registers.

the pen

• the pen's height on the tablet is pitch. it glides across the dots; there are no steps.
• the pen's side to side position is the sound: sine on the left, then curves, saw and pulse, then fm noise on the right.
• pressure is loudness. a light touch is quiet.
• the two buttons on the pen shift the octave up and down. a press while the pen hovers applies to the next note.
• lifting the pen lets the note go over the release time.
• the dots on the screen are the tablet's 15 x 10 grid.

encoders and keys

• E1: noise
• E2: ratio
• E3: release
• K2: octave down
• K3: octave up

the encoders work on a note that is sounding, and whether or not the engine is switched on.

outputs

each output is switched on or off in params. engine is on at first; the rest are off.

• engine is norns' own sound.
• midi plays one channel. pitch bend carries the pitch between notes, channel pressure the pen pressure, and one cc the x position (74 at first). velocity follows the landing pressure. "send CC" in params sweeps the cc, for midi learn.
• crow puts pitch on out 1 (1 volt per octave, middle c at 0 v), the gate on out 2 (5 v), pressure on out 3 (0 to 5 v, falling over the release time at the lift) and x on out 4 (0 to 5 v).
• just friends over ii. each touch plays the next of six channels. E2 sets the fm ratio.
• w/syn over ii. each touch plays the next voice. x moves the wave shape.

settings

all in params, so a pset saves and loads every one of them.

• noise, ratio, release
• engine level: the engine's output level in dB (-60 to +6, -10 at first). a safety limiter at -1 dBFS always sits after it, so a loud moment is held down instead of overloading norns. if the sound is still too loud, lower the engine level; if it is too quiet, raise it.
• tablet readings: switch on to show the tablet's raw numbers in place of the normal screen: the largest x, y and pressure since you switched it on, the last pen button pressed (upper or lower, and which code it sent) and the live x, y and pressure. it is for checking the tablet's range and which pen button is which. playing still works underneath. it is not saved in a pset.
• root and octave
• flip 180: turns the tablet around
• tablet: auto, or a hid port 1 to 4
• outputs: engine, midi, crow, just friends, w/syn
• midi: device, channel, bend range, x cc, send cc
• just friends mode (normal or synthesis); w/syn voices, lpg time, lpg symmetry, hold or pluck
• effects (engine only), all off by default:
  • reverb: "reverb send" sets how much of the voice goes in; room, damp and level shape it.
  • delay: "delay send" sets how much goes in; decay, level, "delay to reverb" and "delay to dry" route it. delay sync is "1" by default, so the delay lasts one beat of the norns clock and follows its tempo, whether that is set in params, by link, by midi or by crow. pick a division from 1/16 to 8 beats, capped at 8 seconds. choose "free" to set delay time yourself, in seconds.
  • carter's delay: a granular delay (from schicksalslied 2) that stays unallocated until the "carter's delay" switch is on. "send to delay" feeds it and "delay level" sets its volume. the granular switches are freeze, octaves, fifths & 4ths, sub-octaves and reverse. a feedback patch (amp, balance, hpf, and noise and sine injection) writes back into the delay. grain delay scale takes effect the next time the switch goes off and on.

good to know

• with no tablet, the screen says "plug in the tablet". plugging it in or out while the script runs is fine.
• loading another script lets go of every note and drops the crow gate.

mit license. made by william hazard.