Device Details
Overview
| Name | Version: | Hacktribe Companion 0.0 |
| Author: | xanadu |
| Device Type: | Instrument |
| Description: | Hacktribe Companion – work in progress Eleven years ago I bought a Korg Electribe Music Production Station (the synth version; the sampler hadn’t been released yet). Back then I wrote the Electribe2 Pattern Editor and uploaded it to MaxForLive.com—currently 4042 downloads. My Electribe was eventually relegated to a drawer, but the Electribe2 community is still alive with the Hacktribe from Bang Corrupt as a motor, so my unit is back on the desk. At the time I considered converting it to an Electribe Sampler too risky; today I switch the firmware freely between the Hacktribe Sampler and the original Electribe 2 synth. This month 1010music is releasing the Bento. It outclasses the Electribe in almost every respect—but at a hefty price. I’m more a programmer than a musician: I prefer gear I can extend. The Hacktribe firmware offers plenty of hooks, so a new project was born: Hacktribe Companion. Limitations I have to work around Panel MIDI – The Hacktribe wiki claims every knob/encoder can send NRPN, but I haven’t got that working yet; the box is still meant to drive itself, not act as a general MIDI controller. NRPN input – At the moment only global parameters seem writable via NRPN; pattern and part parameters must be sent as a full dump (≈ 1.1 s over USB, 6 s over DIN). Menu system – Lots of turning and pressing, very little context. An external overview screen would help—dedicated to Hacktribe, not like a full Ableton Live display. Minimal extra gear – No extra MIDI interfaces if possible; just a mouse and (when useful) a QWERTY keyboard. Conventions in this project - Parts 1–8 → melodic (pitch and velocity changes, chords possible). - Parts 9–16 → drums/percussion (pitch fixed to C4) velocity changes possible. - Part 8 holds a silence-sample; I record dial moves into this part so no sound is generated while editing. - You can override these conventions if needed. What the Companion will not become - No full Push integration—the Electribe feel stays central. - No feature overload outside the Hacktribe concept. What the Companion will add (phase 1) A 1024 × 768 window (shown on an iPad via Duet Display or Twomon) featuring - global-parameter editor - pattern & part editor - per-part step-sequencer overview - Menu editing with a simple mouse click. Further plans (phase 2) Extra MIDI tricks – e.g. use part 8 as a silent “ghost track”, process its notes/CCs in Max (probability per note, ratchets, etc.), then feed them back into part 7. Preset/librarian section with - Factory Electribe sounds (including dial settings) - Factory sequences - Chord progressions from Scaler 3 - Patterns from XO and MicroTonic - Various sample libraries Download & feedback Please download the dummy if you are interested. Probably I will abondon the project if no downloads occur. I have no working Demo yet, but I plan to publish a weekly progress build. Have ideas or suggestions? I’d love to hear them! |
Details
| Live Version Used: | 12.0.5 |
| Max Version Used: | 8.6.2 |
| Date Added: | Jun 23 2025 22:31:36 |
| Date Last Updated: | Jun 23 2025 23:32:45 |
| Downloads: | 59 |
| ⓘ License: | None |
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Files
| Device File: | NoDemoYet.amxd |
Comments
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The device now can:
1. Read and alter the global settings of the Hacktribe
2. Read and alter pattern settings
3. Read and alter part settings
5. Draw a sequencer for a polyphonic part
6. Draw the triggers for a drumpattern on the lower 8 parts
7. Read motion (automation) settings and create new motions
8. Some basic MIDI io stuff is ready to
A lot of work still has to be done:
1. Updating the part from from mouse clicks
3. Updating the part from the Electribe/Hacktribe dials
3. Sending and receiving patterns from and to all kinds of places.
4. Checking the JavaScript classes behind the code
After this is ready the first version can be released, as always for free on MaxForLive.com. I think it will take some months of work to get this first release.
The flaws and restrictions of the Electribe/Hacktribe remain a challenge for me.