Device Details


Overview

Name | Version: TheWheelOfFortune 1.0
Author: byebyeempire
Device Type: MIDI Effect
Description: All right, I know what you’re thinking… ByeByeEmpire///@BrianBuchanan57, didn’t you *just* release another version of this device last week called BoethianVengeance!!! ???

Yes. I did. And as of this writing, it sits at 217 downloads, which (for me) ain’t too shabby! In fact if I had just stopped there, I’m SURE the accolades would’ve eventually’ve come pouring in and I’m SURE they would’ve sounded something like this:

“A defining leap forward in the MIDI sequencing genre, truly.” — internet nerds
“*chef’s kiss*” — a chef
“Who is Boethius?” — everyone

That might’ve been enough to keep me content, enough for me to wipe away the sweat from my forehead with my calloused hands and say something cliché like, “My work here is done.” I could sit back and soak in the rest of summer on a beach chair with shades on and a drink in hand containing one of those little umbrellas… right?

WRONG!!! Look, summer is the time of BLOCKBUSTERS and I, for one, also have a drive within me to take a concept and expand upon it (perhaps dubiously) AKA make a SEQUEL. Naturally, I had to ask the question — how do I take my original idea for a Euclidian-ish(?) type MIDI sequencer and elevate it to the level of TrueClassic™? How do I make The Empire Strikes Back of max4live devices???

The answer, my friends, is … … … with THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE!!! 🥳 🥳 🥳

In order to bask in the glory of the wheel, let’s do a brief recap of, like, what it actually does. I was trying to answer this fundamental question: what if we had a MIDI sequencer that triggered notes based on a frequency relative to whatever the bpm is? If we set quarter notes to be “1 Hz” then eighth notes — no matter the bpm — would be “2 Hz” or twice as fast. Sweet.

What’s the benefit? Well, with most Euclidian-type sequencers, the subdivisions are defined by integers — say, 17 steps over the course of a measure (or whatever). But by changing this to frequency, you could change the number of steps per measure to anything in-between — what would pi or e steps per measure (or whatever) sound like?

BoethianVengeance!!! did that OK-ish enough? Here was the issue I kept running into, though — I was busting out a calculator way too often to try and come up with some saucy irrational, polyrhythmic subdivisions. I’m a millennial and everyone knows that if we can’t be instantaneously ensorcelled by something, then really what’s even the point??? The other problem was that anything over “1 Hz” was automatically TOO FAST and that was only cool in limited circumstances.

The new solution? The frequency is now set by defining a fraction! Please, ladies and gentlemen, hold your applause. I know — *nothing* pumps the creative juices like introducing ~fractions~ into the mix. Trust me, though, this way of functioning is waaaaay more intuitive than it was previously.

But wait! There’s more! I’ve also added a button to define the RECIPROCAL of that fraction instead (inverting = same spaced triggers over more time). Ahh, ~reciprocals~… now we’re cooking with spice!

Something else I added… this wasn’t really a #problem in and of itself, but I was finding that having everything start on the downbeat all the time was… Antiquated? Archaic? Anachronistic? Any aged “a” adjective applies, actually. So I’ve introduced a shift feature to move stuff out of phase however much you want. Or not; I can't tell you what to do, I’m not the police…

Or am I???

… … …

Nah jk, do whatever you want. Let me tell you, though, this was a NIGHTMARE to figure out so please use this feature a lot is what I'm saying. I'm begging you.

The lauded ??? feature remains, but it has a slightly different flavor than before. Hope ya don’t mind. THAT SAID — I *did* figure out how to display these shifts on the wheel this time around, and they look really silly & fun lol. I’m just a g like that I suppose and also *extremely* humble. 😏

Everything else is basically the same. Define the note values, note on/off, global controls, the mysterious fortune button… … …

ANYWAY — !

Sit back, relax, and enjoy!

🔥 🔥 🔥 BoethianVengeance!!! 2: The Wheel of Fortune!!! 🔥 🔥 🔥

@BrianBuchanan57 ✌️

Details

Live Version Used: 9.7.7
Max Version Used: 8.0.6
Date Added: Jul 11 2019 14:10:58
Date Last Updated: Dec 07 2019 02:25:15
Downloads: 1552
License: AttributionShareAlike
Average Rating (1)

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5

Files

Device File: TheWheelOfFortune!!!.amxd
 


Comments

Freddy Mercury will roll in his grave :-)
This is brilliant!
very cool. beats polyrhythmus in some ways
no idea what I'm doing but I like it. This thing rocks. Thx!!

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