Vegard Hella has launched a Kickstarter project to fund production of the SP MIDI, a reissue of the device, which corrects MIDI issues with the E-mu SP-12 and SP-1200 samplers.

“Back in 2014 I created this tool for a few friends and sold a few online,” explains Hella. “Over the years people have asked for more units, but I’ve not had the means to make them. This is an attempt to correct that.”

The SP MIDI converts non-standard MIDI messages from the SP-1200 to regular MIDI. One such message is note off, which is required to set the length or duration of sequenced notes. The SP MIDI also translates the pitches of bank D to a continuous range of notes to store and sequence external devices. When recording it is necessary to set rec mode.

Internal mode is used to select up to three samples which then have their 16 pitch levels mapped out over the keyboard. Now supporting note off you can play like you would normally expect, where the sample mutes when the key is released. Excellent for looped samples, i.e. bass lines.

External mode is used to sequence other instruments. It uses bank D1-D6 to record notes on one MIDI channel and D7-D8 on another channel. D1-D6 is mapped to a full note range by pad number and pitch, making it possible to play a melody using the pads. Also note off is sent as you hit the pads a second time, unless F1 oneshot is selected. D7-D8 is combined together to give a full range of note numbers and is best used with a keyboard.

Pricing and Availability:

The SP MIDI is available to project backers for €449.

Note: Crowdfunded projects can involve risk. See the project site for details.

via Andreas