Westlicht PER|FORMER Sequencer (DIY)

sneak-thief · Post by **sneak-thief** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 7:35 am

Why is there no thread about this??

I just stumbled across the PER|FORMER in the DIY 2019 thread:
viewtopic.php?p=2998922#2998922

https://westlicht.github.io/performer/
https://www.facebook.com/pg/performerseq

You can even run a simulation of the sequencer via the website. Classy.

FWIW this is something that deserves to be discussed in the regular Eurorack section - the documentation is extensive and the project looks so well thought-out. If you can't DIY it, then ask someone here to do it.

bkbirge · Post by **bkbirge** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 10:17 am

Looks awesome, and utterly bonkers insane for those of us with SMD challenged soldering skills. I don't think my eyes are good enough even with glasses to tackle that one.

Tonescape · Post by **Tonescape** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 11:11 am

Wow, I am blown away by this thing

Wish my SMD skills where up to the task.

jmax313 · Post by **jmax313** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 11:19 am

Whoa.

Markthom · Post by **Markthom** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 2:23 pm

Yeah this is very interesting, just waiting on boards arriving from China post New Year break.......not a cheap build by any manner of means, but still a more affordable way to get what seems like a quality sequencer.

windspirit · Post by **windspirit** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 4:48 pm

If anyone has a spare board for this in the US lmk, seems pretty interesting.

Tonescape · Post by **Tonescape** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 3:11 am

Markthom wrote:Yeah this is very interesting, just waiting on boards arriving from China post New Year break.......not a cheap build by any manner of means, but still a more affordable way to get what seems like a quality sequencer.

Are you going to have any boards up for sale?

forestcaver · Post by **forestcaver** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 5:13 am

Yes it’s awesome - huge amount of work from Simon. Got all the parts yesterday - just need to find some time to build it but am very excited about this - been following the project for ages! It’s only just been released at 1.0....

sirjpink · Post by **sirjpink** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 7:03 am

Oh wow!

This is awesome and may just be what I was looking for to replace the BSP with. Now all I gotta do is teach myself SMD soldering.. of 0603 packages

forestcaver · Post by **forestcaver** » Fri Feb 08, 2019 4:38 pm

sirjpink wrote:Oh wow!

This is awesome and may just be what I was looking for to replace the BSP with. Now all I gotta do is teach myself SMD soldering.. of 0603 packages

It’s a pretty straight-forward build - pretty spaced out. But probably not ideal as a first 0603 or SMT build as there are a lot of components and it’s an expensive build (but definitely worth it) - but there are a few delicate very expensive parts that would be a pain to damage....

Been playing with mine today for the first time and it’s really really great. I may even sell my bsp pro as well !!! (But not quite yet though !!)

I am really really impressed with it - it’s so powerful and easy to use....

mdoudoroff · Post by **mdoudoroff** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 8:44 am

Looks cool! I’ve stubbed out an entry in my sequencer comparison table:

http://doudoroff.com/sequencers/

Please let me know if you’ve any corrections/augmentations. Also, this thing needs a decent frontal photo and ModularGrid entry.

sirjpink · Post by **sirjpink** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 10:59 am

mdoudoroff wrote: Also, this thing needs a decent frontal photo and ModularGrid entry.

I think it's already there, just hidden under other/unknown manufacturers (link).

forestcaver wrote: It’s a pretty straight-forward build - pretty spaced out. But probably not ideal as a first 0603 or SMT build as there are a lot of components and it’s an expensive build (but definitely worth it) - but there are a few delicate very expensive parts that would be a pain to damage....

Thanks for the confidence boost. I've just finished designing a 1u 104hp multiple-bus module with the main board in 0805 as a practice project to get into it.

mdoudoroff · Post by **mdoudoroff** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 11:10 am

sirjpink wrote:
mdoudoroff wrote: Also, this thing needs a decent frontal photo and ModularGrid entry.
I think it's already there, just hidden under other/unknown manufacturers (link).

Ace! Thanks! Updated the comparison.

naturarerum · Post by **naturarerum** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 11:11 am

this is an extremely interesting project. I'll never be able to tackle it DIY, but I'm sure that someone will build a few of those down the line.

Markthom · Post by **Markthom** » Mon Mar 04, 2019 3:41 pm

Well, if you can build, this is well worth going for, really impressed so far and Ive only just scratched the surface....

[video][/video]

sduck · Post by **sduck** » Tue Mar 05, 2019 12:47 am

There's now a build thread, sort of, in the DIY forum : viewtopic.php?t=214360

(working on mine currently. Finished soldering on the mouse turds tonight. Already did the fly wings, mostly soldered in random locations because i couldn't see where they were supposed to go. Next up: the floor sweepings.)(no really, you need some serious smt soldering chops for this one.)

Markthom · Post by **Markthom** » Tue Mar 05, 2019 10:28 am

sduck wrote:There's now a build thread, sort of, in the DIY forum : viewtopic.php?t=214360

(working on mine currently. Finished soldering on the mouse turds tonight. Already did the fly wings, mostly soldered in random locations because i couldn't see where they were supposed to go. Next up: the floor sweepings.)(no really, you need some serious smt soldering chops for this one.)

Cool thanks for the link - I didn't think the components were too bad, but mounting the panel was "fun"!

synthcube · Post by **synthcube** » Thu Mar 07, 2019 12:55 pm

we did reach out to the designer Simon to inquire about the possibility of arranging these for availability thru the webstore-- we very much hope so!

toneburst · Post by **toneburst** » Fri Mar 22, 2019 8:05 am

This is a Great module! Simon has done a phenomenal job on the firmware.

Some niggles with the hardware, but it's a lot of fun to play with, once completed, I have to say.

I'm particularly enjoying using the Random Generator to make crazy patterns, and sequencing some of my old MIDI synths.

Markthom · Post by **Markthom** » Fri Mar 22, 2019 8:37 am

Agreed toneburst, this is a great module, well worth building or cajoling a builder friend to build it for you.

I just uploaded my latest experiment with it last night

[video][/video]

toneburst · Post by **toneburst** » Fri Mar 22, 2019 9:16 am

Very nice, @Markthom.

toneburst · Post by **toneburst** » Sun Mar 24, 2019 5:55 pm

Wonder if I'm the only person using the MIDI output of the Performer.

I not, has anyone else managed to get the Note/Gate/Velocity from different tracks working?

I wanted to use Track 2 to generate Velocity for the sequence playing on Track 1.

I've setup Track 2 as a Curve, track, and on MIDI Output 1, set Track 2 as the Velocity source.

When I set a simple modulation sequence on Track 2 (just Min/Max values, with no interpolation, see below)

It seems to have no effect- I hear no variation in level of the notes generated by Track 1, even though the patch on my MIDI synth is has velocity mapped to note volume.

What am I doing wrong?

Cobramatic · Post by **Cobramatic** » Sun Mar 24, 2019 7:32 pm

Very interested to learn more about the Midi controller implementation on this.

I know the Launchpad is supported but what exactly will it do? There seems to be precious little info on this feature right now but for me it would be the golden ticket!

I'm particularly interested in the ability to add note CV date via the pads rather than the more tedious method of turning the encoder per step.
And given the Launchpad is only 8 columns does it 'follow' the sequencer over 16 steps (I guess by changing screen effectively)?

That also brings up another question:
What other midi controllers could be / are supported?
For example the Monome GRID - would seem to be an obvious companion with its 16x8 pad format.

Or a Midi keyboard for entering Note data?

I know it is an open source project (which is really great) so maybe thats up to somebody who knows how to write the implementation code for other midi devices?

sduck · Post by **sduck** » Sun Mar 24, 2019 9:02 pm

Has anyone gotten slide working properly in a basic note track? I can switch it on for the various notes, and hear some kind of change in the sound, but nothing like what I'd expect or want. Is there some kind of setting i've missed?

base615 · Post by **base615** » Sun Mar 24, 2019 9:55 pm

Looks awesome. I just wish I didn't appear to have Parkinson's while soldering so I could attempt something like this.

MOD WIGGLER

MOD WIGGLER

Westlicht PER|FORMER Sequencer (DIY)

Westlicht PER|FORMER Sequencer (DIY)