ADA Depot - A Forum To Support Users of ADA Amplification Gear

ADA Preamps => MP-2 => Topic started by: rADAr on November 16, 2016, 02:59:20 AM

Title: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: rADAr on November 16, 2016, 02:59:20 AM
Hi guys

Just saw this over at The Gear Page:
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/ada-mp-2-program-editor-for-windows.1763790/

Thought some of you might be interested :)
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: rnolan on November 16, 2016, 03:47:15 AM
Well spotted  :thumb-up: , Valdiorn is a depot member but maybe didn't get the approval email  :dunno: , anyway I emailed him so hopefully he'll join us soon.
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: MarshallJMP on November 16, 2016, 05:41:58 AM
I also mailed him, didn't see you already did R.

Now that looks like a kickass program, I'm really impressed.  :headbanger:
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: vansinn on November 16, 2016, 10:19:39 AM
Well, that looks interesting.. :agreed:

(will take a look when having replenished against hunger)
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: Dante on November 16, 2016, 02:31:58 PM
HOT DAMN!

I gotta re-acquaint myself with my Windows partition on my Mac
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: Harley Hexxe on November 16, 2016, 04:32:09 PM
That would be a VERY useful program to have handy WOW :o
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: rnolan on November 16, 2016, 05:48:28 PM
I downloaded it from the link. There was also a tar.gz version, possibly Mac friendly ? as mac is basically BSD unix. Unfortunately I don't have a Midi interface for any of my working confusers to try it out yet but it looks really good.

Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: Rawk777 on November 17, 2016, 07:48:52 PM
Wow, it works perfectly!

It makes it so much easier to edit programs! You don't have to hold the up and down arrow for 5 seconds to get to the desired value, and you see every parameters for everything all at once!

Thank you Valdiorn !
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: Micky on November 18, 2016, 02:57:17 AM
Very good!  :thumb-up:  :headbanger:

Now it's time to do the same for MP-1...  ;D
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: rnolan on November 18, 2016, 08:17:06 AM
Valdiorn said he was going to do MP1 as well, it's much more simple than MP2 (and hpefully add MB1 and MP1 classic  :whoohoo!: ).  Hope to see him on the depot soon, both MJMP and I have emailed him...  Valdiorn where are you ??  I also saw Guitar Builder was posting to the forum where he posted the program.
Now we need MJMP to turn it into a 1 RU ADA preamp editor hardware addition so you don't have to connect it to your confuser.  Though don't know how .net stuff will work with that concept (PLC etc.).
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: MarshallJMP on November 18, 2016, 08:48:37 AM
Well I'm working on a handheld box so you can do some editing without a pc. Just a small box with midi in and out, a 20x4 lcd 2 rotary knobs and a few push buttons.
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: rnolan on November 18, 2016, 09:05:14 AM
Would be nice to have a bunch more rotary knobs so it's a bit like walking up to a Marshall (etc) and turning the pots.
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: Dante on November 18, 2016, 09:25:27 AM
Well, I've spent a few hours wrestling with the PC partition on my Mac. No go

I get an error message:
Quote
To run this version of this application, first you must install one of the following versions of the .NET framework:
v4.0.30319
Contact your application publisher for instructions about obtaining the appropriate version of the .NET framework

Restarted the PC, notice it's running Windows7, googled the .NET Framework, got an installation. Don't have enough disk space in my PC partition to load the damn thing  :facepalm:  So, I'll have to increase that partition and reinstall Windows....if only I could find that Windows installation disk   :facepalm:

I tried running the .exe on my Mac OS, using Wine. No go. I created an App with WineBottler, no go. Frick.
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: rnolan on November 18, 2016, 09:55:32 AM
Hey Dante, as far as I understand the new Mac windows thingy lets you spin up a virtual windows session (ala VMwear) so acts like a hypervisor so you can spin up a windows OS install where you can install what you need. Are you running the latest Mac OS ?? as Macs have changed how they do windows stuff, they used to do windows emulation (in previous Mac versions which is slower and harder and less compatible), these days Macs just spin up a virtual PC using a hypervisor similar to VMwear or Citrix etc equivalent.  This was all made possible by Mac using intel CPUs and microcode (they used to be based on Motorola 68000 CPUs, very different instruction set/assembly code to intel (and better IMHO, if you've ever had to program in assembly code)). But Intel reigns supreme... bah humbug..
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: MarshallJMP on November 18, 2016, 10:14:41 AM
Would be nice to have a bunch more rotary knobs so it's a bit like walking up to a Marshall (etc) and turning the pots.

Well I thought about it but you need to poll all of them and it's best to use an interupt input on those rotary's so each turn is registered.And I'm limited on interupt inputs.Also they are not so cheap.So I went back to the bare minimum.So a up/down or left/right button to go through the parameter and the rotary to change it.The other rotary I would use to change the preset nr.
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: rnolan on November 18, 2016, 11:08:15 AM
Ok, does the display show all the current settings ?
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: Dante on November 18, 2016, 12:42:32 PM
I'm running El Capitan (OSX 10.11.6), using Bootcamp

Hang on, I'm bootlegging a copy of Parallels to see if that's any easier. Parallels is a no go, so I used VMWare Fusion. I can start my PC that way, but it's no different from the Bootcamp install. I am going to find my Windows disk and try to install a copy on an external hard drive with more space than my internal hard drive.
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: MarshallJMP on November 18, 2016, 12:57:22 PM
In case of the mp-1 and the classic, yes that should be possible, the mp-2 will be too much.

My goal is to make it as simple and cheap as possible ,like in the 20-30 euro range.
An arduino, a I2C 20x4 LCD display, 2 rotary encoders and a few buttons.And of course 2 midi connectors.
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: valdiorn on December 07, 2016, 03:52:09 PM
Hey guys.
I'm the developer of the editor. Never got around to actually posting this here, apologies :)

Anyway, I'm working on a couple of improvements, and will try to make another version for the MP1 at some point, although please don't hold your breath in anticipation.
I tend to flip-flop between my side projects, right now I'm working on a VST guitar preamplifier, but I'll try to find a couple of spare days to work on the editor some more :)

In the meantime, hope you find it useful, don't be shy to contact me if you have any issues or if you find bugs, I'll do my best to fix them.

Regarding compatibility; I need to add a section on that in the documentation. It requires .NET Framework 4.5 (most users on windows 7 or never will already have this, and if not you can upgrade via Windows Update) and it is Windows only - sorry Mac users :( I work with .NET and WPF (which is used to build the GUI) all day long, I was able to build this very quickly because I am so familiar with the toolset, but unfortunately WPF is very tied to Windows.

The one bonus is that I've documented the sysex format pretty well, there's an Excel sheet in the Gitub repo (https://github.com/ValdemarOrn/Mp2Editor) that has everything you need to build a cross-platform editor, if someone else wants to give it a go on Mac or cross-platform
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: vansinn on December 07, 2016, 11:25:02 PM
Yo valdiorn, welcome in here!
Great work you did on the editor, and the docs on the file layout.

Would it be possible to abusively manipulate you to:
* include the Wah settings? You know, some of use the Wah for things like touch/triggered wah or auto wah..
* add the System settings in the editor. There's a lot of sexy stuff in there for redefining how certain things works
* setting up MIDI CC pedal-control of the shelving/scooping of the 9-band EQ
* moving presets around (time consuming from the front panel)
* setting up MIDI linking of presets.
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: Griphook on December 08, 2016, 03:23:58 AM
Wow :bow:

Way better than my approach. I could send you my project-files from the MP-1 Editor. Maybe this would be helpful for your MP1 Editor.

EDI: Nevermind. I should read/watch the Readme first :facepalm:

Awesome SysEx-Documentation btw :)
Maybe we can sum this up to one big pdf-File?
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: rnolan on December 08, 2016, 03:26:29 AM
Hey Valdiorn, you made it finally  :thumb-up: , I saw GuitarBuilder was posting to the github, he lurks here from time to time LoL.
Thanks for the editor, I suspect you may get a few requests for additional functionality here.  The ones Van has suggested would be good. And maybe a way to build new macros ? (not sure how the inbuilt macros are stored, probably in the EPROM ?
Be nice if it evolved to handle MP1, MB1 and MP1 Classic (big wish list I know...)
Feel free to post updates and doco here.  I'll set you up a board  to post to if you're up for it.

Cheers R
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: vansinn on December 08, 2016, 04:34:45 AM
...And maybe a way to build new macros ? (not sure how the inbuilt macros are stored, probably in the EPROM ?

Nope, can't be done, as there's no code in the MP-2 firmware for defining new macros.
Those are code in the eprom (like all other code), with the selected settings stored in volatile memory, i.e. the battery backed-up static RAM.
The only way to add more macros would be to have the actual source code..

Of course, code can be reverse engineered, but I'm pretty sure the MP-2 (and the others) were coded in assembly, and if anyone has ever tried their luck with rev.eng assembly, then Schönes Glück with that, because.. first step would simply result in a long listing of CPU-specific mnemonics - but with no comments, from which all will need to be poked and commented. Painful, very painful, unless you're seasoned in it ;)
I could do it, but it's been a loooong while since I worked in 8080/8085/8031/8051/Z80 assembly. Think I sold my assy reference books in 1983 or so.. Ahh, nope, was in 1986 (pfew, almost lost a stack pointer).
Besides this, an external developments board would be needed, onto which the EPROM would be placed, with cables to/fro the hardware under development; all to allow patching parameters and single step instructions, think you've found the culprit, place breakpoints, execute until break, nope, not here, so keep hunting, and such.
Real fun doing, it's not that. I used to debug code for 8" floppy drives on the CPm OS, doing head engage, seek, read data, head disengage, and such. Real fun :facepalm: :lol:

Stop giving me those flashbacks, folks. It's enough that my memories got sold when Angel became a center fold, but having  to go peek'n'poke and dereference those old memory lane structures, locate the breakpoints, and find my way back home is quite beyond my capacity.
Soon I'll need to listen to the Tubes "Come fly with me" and see flashes of Re Styles before my hurting eyes again. Sheez kebab..
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: Griphook on December 08, 2016, 06:28:57 AM
Hey Valdiorn,

How about these things?
I love the Auto-Update Function!

Do you have any idea, why the saving  of the preset does not work with the programm?
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: vansinn on December 08, 2016, 07:39:14 AM
  • Make the Values scrollable. I think currently the whole mouse has to be moved

Indeed. Methinks this could be done simply with MouseOver, and then read MouseWheel (whatever those classes are really named).
Ahh, the life of a programmer. Give 'em some code, and they'll behave like the crocodile wanting the whole arm ;)
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: rnolan on December 09, 2016, 02:04:45 AM
Come on Van, Z80 assembler isn't that hard LoL, though IIRC one line jump subroutine command in 68000 assembler = 16 lines in Z80  :facepalm: .  Maybe Mike and I could have a shot at it, we had fun at Uni emulating a Z80 in Pascal (when we did opp systems I think  :dunno: ), Somewhere in my pile of stuff I may even have the Z80 instruction set. It's fiddly but I kind of like assembler.  We also had to program the microcode, now that was real fun  :whoohoo!: . (albeit 1990-91).
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: Rawk777 on December 09, 2016, 10:14:28 PM
Hi Valdiorn,

Thanks a lot for the editor, it makes it much easier to work on the MP2 :)

Here is a few ideas that could be useful:

UI:
- EQ display as a graphic EQ... Would it be complicated to have sliders instead of rotary buttons? It would be easier to visualise.
- Drop-down menu for non-digit parameters like Voicings, noise reduction mode, tremolo waveform, wah filter mode and waverform.
- ***Like Griphook said, it might be nice to have notches on rotary knob that are not 0-100 (like tone control), but drop-down menus or toggle switches might be more usefull on non digit parameters.

Program management:
- Bulk load of the program names, and a list with the names and numbers to shuffle between the stored programs.
- Bulk load/dump to backup the entire MP2.

Question:
- There is no way to save the programs with the editor, without having to touch the mp2?


Thanks again for the editor. Even at v.01, its one of the most stable and useful editors for midi devices I've tried :) .
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: drexuz on December 16, 2016, 03:28:09 PM
Hi Vladiorn,

Thanks for the editor - the only time I've come in contact with my MP-2 again :)

Looking at the source code now - I hope you don't mind on few asks.


Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: onedge custom on May 15, 2017, 06:50:07 PM
In case of the mp-1 and the classic, yes that should be possible, the mp-2 will be too much.

My goal is to make it as simple and cheap as possible ,like in the 20-30 euro range.
An arduino, a I2C 20x4 LCD display, 2 rotary encoders and a few buttons.And of course 2 midi connectors.

Did this ever come off?
Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: MarshallJMP on May 16, 2017, 12:01:59 PM
Nope, I did work on it a bit but I just don't have the time to finish it (story of my life  :D ).


Title: Re: ADA MP-2 editor
Post by: Kim on May 16, 2017, 12:38:06 PM
Nope, I did work on it a bit but I just don't have the time to finish it (story of my life  :D ).

We're rowing the same boat.   Lol