Byte Arts MIDI Rocker User manual

MIDI Rocker Quick Start Guide
Firmware Revision 2.4. Feb 9, 2009
First of all, I want to thank you for purchasing a IDI Rocker box from Byte Arts. I really appreciate the business and hope that
it helps you get the same enjoyment from Rock Band that my family has. What a great game! And now with the IDI Rocker,
you can take it to the next level!
This quick start guide is meant to help you get started using the IDI Rocker. Be sure to check the website
(www.ByteArts.com/midi ) for updated documentation, software and firmware. Okay, so let's get started!
First, here's some charts to familiarize yourself with the controls and connections on the IDI Rocker:
FRONT PANEL CONTROLS AND INDICATORS
Control/Indicator Function
Home Button Equivalent to the “PS” button on a Playstation controller. Press this button to access the
X B menu.
Back Button Exits the current menu level and backs up a level. (Equivalent to hitting the RED drum).
Also, when in Program 1 or Program 2 mode, pressing this button will erase the IDI note
mappings for the selected drum button.
Nav Button Like a little joystick, you can use this button to navigate up/down and left/right in the menus.
Pressing down on this button is equivalent to pressing SELECT on a Playstation controller.
Start Button Just like the START button on a Playstation controller.
Function Switch Selects between “drum mode” and “cymbal mode”.
In the DOWN position (Function B), the drum buttons 1-5 on the front of the IDI Rocker
are equivalent to the drum pads on a Rock Band drum set; Button 5 (orange) is like the
bass pedal.
In the UP position (Function A), drum buttons 2,3 and 4 are equivalent to the Yellow, Blue
and Green cymbals in Rock Band 2 respectively. Buttons 1 and 5 (Red and Orange) are
NOT functional in this mode!
ode Switch Selects between normal (Play) mode and one of the two program modes. Program 1 mode
is used to assign a single IDI note to a button, while Program 2 mode can be used to
assign up to 10 notes to a button (see below for more information).
Adjust Knob Adjusts the IDI note velocity threshold. Turn this know all the way counter-clockwise to
set the velocity to 0, all the way clockwise to set the velocity to 127 (the max IDI note
velocity). Any IDI notes received which are less than this velocity are ignored.
Drum Buttons and LEDs The functionality of these buttons depends on the position of the “Function Select” switch.
If the Function Switch is in the DOWN position (“Function B”):
Buttons 1-4 are equivalent to the Red, Yellow, Blue and Green drums respectively. Button 5
is equivalent to the Bass Pedal. Each button has an LED above it which shows when that
input is active.
If the Function Switch is in the UP position (“Function A”):
Buttons 2, 3, and 4 are equivalent to the Yellow, Blue and Green CY BALS. Buttons 1 and
5 are inactive in this mode.
IDI LED Flashes briefly whenever a IDI note is received on the IDI input.
USB LED Illuminates when the IDI Rocker is connected to an active USB host such as the
Playstation or a PC. It will blink while connected to the Playstation or a PC. If the system
switch on the back of the IDI Rocker is in the XBOX position, then the USB LED will
remain on continuously and doesn't blink.
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BACK PANEL CONTROLS AND CONNECTORS
Control/Connector Function
USB Port Connect to the Playstation, Wii, Xbox, or PC using the supplied cable.
System ode Switch Selects between firmware update mode (UPDATE), Playstation Drum Controller mode (PS3), and
Xbox 360 Interface ode (XBOX). This switch should remain in the PS3/Wii position for normal
operation or when connected to the PC for use with the GUI software. You need to unplug the
IDI Rocker from the USB when changing the position of this switch – the IDI Rocker only
checks the position when it is first plugged in.
Ext. Input Used to interface other electronic equipment to the IDI Rocker. Contact [email protected]
for more information.
Ext. Output Used to connect the IDI Rocker to other electronic equipment. For example, this port can be
used to interface the IDI Rocker to a “modified” Xbox Rock Band drum controller using the
special Xbox interface cable available from Byte Arts.
IDI Input Connect this to the IDI output of your drum set, keyboard etc.
Setup the MIDI Roc er
To use the IDI Rocker with your Playstation, Wii (or Xbox 360) and IDI instrument (drums, keyboard etc..), do the following:
1. Check that the system mode switch (next to the USB port on the back of the IDI Rocker) is set to the “PS3” position
(the middle position) – unless you are using the Xbox Interface option, in which case you should set it to the “Xbox”
position.
2. Check that the ode switch (on the front panel of the IDI Rocker) is in the “Play” position, and the Function Select
switch is in the “Function B” position.
3. Connect the IDI cable from the IDI OUT of your instrument to the IDI port on the IDI Rocker.
4. Connect the USB cable between the game console and the IDI Rocker. When you plug in the IDI Rocker all the
LEDs should flash briefly, and the USB indicator light should come on
5. You should now be able to navigate the menus on the console, and even play the drums in Rock Band (or Guitar
Hero World Tour) using the drum buttons on the front of the IDI Rocker. Note: In 360 Mode, you will have to use
your Rock Bank drum controller to access the Start and Back functions.
6. Now try playing a note on your instrument – the IDI LED on the IDI Rocker should flash briefly.
Assign a Single MIDI Note to a Drum Button (Program 1 Mode)
Program 1 mode will assign a single note to a button, and will clear out any other notes which have been assigned previously
to that button. To program a drum button to correspond to a IDI note, do the following:
1. ove the ode Switch to “Program 1”.
2. Put the Function Select switch in the DOWN position (Function B) to program a drum button (buttons 1-5), or put it in
the UP position (Function A) to program a button as one of the Rock Band 2 cymbals. (Only buttons 2, 3, and 4 can
be used as cymbals). If you have loaded the Guitar Hero version of the firmware, then only the Orange button (button
5) can be programmed when the Function switch is in Position A. Here's a chart which summarizes the options:
Firmware Mode Function position B (down) Function Position A (up)
Rock Band Buttons 1-4 used as drum pads, button
5 is the pedal.
Buttons 2,3 and 4 correspond to the
yellow, blue and green cymbals.
Guitar Hero World Tour Buttons 1, 3, and 4 correspond to the
red, blue and green pads. Button 2 is
the yellow cymbal, button 5 is the pedal.
Button 5 is used as the orange cymbal.
3. Press the button you wish to program – the LED above the button will turn on.
4. Play the note on your instrument which you wish to assign to that button. The LED above the button will blink and
then turn off, indicating success. If the ED doesn't turn off, try turning down the Adjust knob to lower the velocity
threshold.
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5. To program another button, simply press the desired button and repeat the process.
6. ove the ode switch to the “Play” position – now when you play one of the programmed notes on your instrument,
the corresponding LED on the IDI Rocker will flash and that drum note will “played” in the game.
Note: To erase any note mappings assigned to a button, press the BACK button on the IDI Rocker after Step 3 above.
Assign Multiple MIDI Notes to a Drum Button (Program Mode)
Program 2 mode is like an “append” mode – it will add notes to any existing notes that are assigned to a button.
You can program up to 10 IDI notes to any of the drum buttons by doing the following:
1. Put the ode switch into the “Program 2” position.
7. Put the Function Select switch in the DOWN position (Function B) to program a drum button (buttons 1-5), or put it in
the UP position (Function A) to program a button as one of the Rock Band 2 cymbals. (Only buttons 2, 3, and 4 can
be used as cymbals).
2. Press the drum button you wish to program – the LED above it will come on.
3. Play a note on your instrument – the LED above the button will flash, indicating that it has been programed. This note
is now added to any existing IDI note that has been programmed to that button.
4. Repeat step 4 to program more notes to that button.
5. Once you've assigned 10 notes to a particular button, the LED will turn off and stay off.
6. ove the ode switch to the “Play” position and rock out!
Note: To erase any note mappings assigned to a button, press the BACK button on the MIDI Rocker after Step 2 above.
Using the GUI Software
You can use the GUI software on a Windows PC to quickly and easily save and recall note mappings and change other
parameters. Here's a quick overview of how to use it:
1. Set the system mode switch on the back of the IDI Rocker to the “PS3” position.
2. Plug the IDI Rocker into a USB port on the PC.
3. Run the software (go to the Windows Start menu, and look under “All Programs → Byte Arts → IDI Rocker GUI”.
4. The GUI software should detect the IDI Rocker and display the firmware version number (the latest version of the
GUI software requires firmware 2.3 or greater) and game mode (Rock Band or Guitar Hero).
•You can hit the “Get ap from IDI Rocker” button to upload the current note maps from the IDI Rocker.
•To assign a note to a button, either enter the note number into a slot underneath the desired button, or drag and drop
a note from the chart into the desired slot.
•Press the “Store ap on IDI Rocker” button to store the mapping in the IDI Rocker's memory. When you next plug
the IDI Rocker into the console, the stored map will be used.
•Use the “Get ap from File...” and “Store ap in File...” buttons to save and recall mappings from files saved on the
PC. If you recall a map, be sure to press the “Store ap” button to store it on the IDI Rocker.
•On the Settings page is the IDI Note Duration setting. This setting tells the IDI Rocker how long to “pulse” an
output when an assigned IDI note is received in order to simulate a drum hit on the drum controller. If the time is too
short, then the game software won't recognize the drum hit, but if it is too long, then long sequences of fast notes
may not be played correctly Experimentation and extensive testing has shown that 50millisecs seems to be the best
value.
•The Diagnostics page lets you check the functionality of the switches and knobs on the IDI Rocker .
•The MIDI Logging page can be used to see what IDI data is being transmitted from the drums to the IDI Rocker.
Check the “Enable Logging” option and then play a note on the attached IDI device to see the IDI data. It will
display both “NoteOn” and “NoteOff” data along with the associated note velocities and the time interval (in millisecs)
between events.
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Updating/Changing the Firmware
From time to time firmware updates are made available in order to add new features or fix bugs. Your IDI Rocker is shipped
with the latest firmware already installed and so you don't normally need to install an update. You can check for information on
the latest firmware and software versions at www.ByteArts.com/midi/index.htm.
When you install the GUI software on the PC, it also installs a copy of the instructions for updating the firmware. You will find
these instructions under the Start enu → Byte Arts → Firmware Update Instructions.
There are several “flavors” of the firmware available, depending on which drum controller you want the IDI Rocker to behave
like, and which console you use. Here is a list of the current firmware files:
Firmware File Description
R_PS_GH-V2_4.hex Load this firmware to use the IDI Rocker on a Playstation as a Guitar
Hero World Tour drum set with 3 pads, 2 cymbals and a pedal.
R_PS_RB-V2_4.hex Load this firmware to use the IDI Rocker on a Playstation as a Rock
Band 2 drum set with 4 pads, 3 cymbals and a pedal.
R_Wii_RB-V2_4.hex Load this firmware to use the IDI Rocker on a Wii as a Rock Band 2
drum set with 4 pads, 3 cymbals and a pedal.
By default, the MIDI Rocker is shipped with the Rock Band firmware loaded unless otherwise specified.
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