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another thing we have just bought that we have been eyeing for ages: an “Intech Studio KNOT”. this is a tiny, very cute little box with open-source hardware and firmware, but also a commercial product you can just buy, and it's seemingly the world's best USB to (TRS) MIDI adapter
we've been wanting one so that we can use the PSS-A50 with our old MIDI devices without needing a computer in-between, but we've been hesitating because it is, like, slightly more expensive than the PSS-A50 itself as an accessory! however, it really seems like it's worth it?
we'd also been wanting to just make our own MIDI host with an Arduino or something, and make such a thing solve all our other problems too, but the thing is we still haven't Done that! it seems good to own something that just solves the biggest problem and solves it very well
oh my god right if we have one of these we'll be able to play the Squier Stratocaster Guitar and Controller (the Rock Band 3 electric guitar/MIDI controller hybrid) into the PSS-A50… very exciting
our Intech Studio KNOT arrived! look at this thing, isn't it adorable? there simply is no USB MIDI host on the market that has a smaller or higher-quality enclosure than this, and it's open-source hardware, open-source firmware and made in the EU to boot!
feels good to own
Can a 1992 Roland General MIDI module and a 2019 Yamaha toy keyboard really fall in love?
(something something tying the KNOT… hehehe~)
we had to patch a bug in the KNOT's firmware (https://github.com/intechstudio/knot/pull/28), but with that done, the PSS-A50 and the Squier Stratocaster Guitar and Controller can finally be friends!!! yesssssss
@hikari oh it supports host! you're not just patching everything on a computer
@hikari wait wait wait what, MIDI exists over TRS jacks?
that makes us much more open to the idea of putting MIDI on things
@hikari barrel jack power only or does it support PD?
@valpackett the USB-C port is for power mostly! (and firmware updates)
@hikari the tiliqua supports it btw
the designer of it has added support for specifically pss-a50
@hikari it has an FPGA so it can do pretty much whatever you want. also it's like a full blown synth all on its own
@whitequark hmm noted, having a base to work from would certainly be useful (we don't really want to write the gnarly USB stuff unless we have to)