Beatrix*Jar have posted a photostream from the 2008 Bent Festival in Minneapolis. Included are pictures from the MSA-R MIDI Decoder workshop conducted by Michael Una. Photos from the workshop begin here.

Roglok in Germany created this custom enclosure for the UMR universal MIDI retrofit. The i/o connections are exported to a DB-25 connector–which allows a variety of keyboards to be used with the box after a DIP switch adjustment. Music by Roglok and many others is available from the Upitup netlabel.

Michael Una will conduct a MIDI robotic percussion workshop on Friday, May 2nd at Bent Festival Minneapolis. Participants will receive free MSA-R kits donated by Highly Liquid. The workshop is free and open to all on a first-come, first-served basis. More details available at the Bent Festival site.

A sampling of Michael’s Ableton Live & MSA-R-based instrumentation can be seen here (Vimeo) or here (YouTube).

The popular DB-25 Panel Mount Plates have been restocked.

The Rock Band MIDI drum modification discussion at the Rock Band Forums continues, approaching 1,000 posts. The detailed how-to has also been updated.

Below are some user-created MSA-P project enclosures for the mod.

Forum member bandaddy:

Forum member netgo:

Forum member k1ds3ns4t10n:

MIDI System Exclusive (”SysEx”) messages are used to configure Highly Liquid MIDI decoder products.

Bome’s SendSX (Windows) and SysEx Librarian (Mac) are stand-alone applications which make it easy to send SysEx configuration messages. Both are free to download.

More details can be found at the MIDI SysEx How-To.

Kaseo posted a new video response to the MSA-R MIDI-controlled Pikachu from the last user project roundup: an octet of toys, each tuned to a different pitch, sequenced through the MSA-R as a single instrument.

MIDI kit user projects on the web:

• MSA-T-controlled MIDI animatronic Halloween skull quartet (Mindshaft Music)
• MSA-R-controlled MIDI circuit bent Pikachu (Kaseo)
• Rock Band MSA-P MIDI drum mod demo using a Simmons SD7K
• Modified Casio SK-8 with VCF and SKM MIDI retrofit (Graham Meredith)
• Wii controller-triggered MIDISpeak & SKM (Bill Byrne)

Firmware has been updated for the MIDISpeak, MIDI2600, MPA, SKM and UMR kits. The updates address an incompatibility with some MIDI controllers & sequencers which can cause an imperfect note response. The recent MSA firmware update also addresses this issue.

Products purchased after February 1, 2008 include the updated firmware. Microcontroller ICs from earlier products may be returned for a free upgrade. Please send email for additional information.

Several Rock Band drummers have used the MSA-P to provide MIDI control over hacked game controllers, allowing the game to be played using an electronic drum set. The mod is supported by the recent MSA firmware update.

See the ongoing discussion at the Rock Band forums and a resulting how-to. David from Toronto created the diagram below and a demo video featuring the Roland VD-20.