ARCUS User Knobs

Rainbow-colored custom knobs with lots of flexibility in a 1U package.

Curves with precise high/mid/low boundaries, rewireable sources (including performance properties), multiple bi/uni modes, smoothing, mod inputs, configurable outputs, text labels on the front/back/folded front, etc.

Primarily meant for controlling and modding other devices via CV, combinators, remote, MIDI loopbacks, etc. It can also be used as a CV and automation lane shaper.

This device is still useful within combinators even though combinators grew up!!

The colored knobs are an experiment in being able to read knobs’ positions more intuitively, at a glance.

Front:

• 4 user knobs with rainbow coloring (violet through green, on the front and folded front)

• large text labels (front, back, and folded front)

• number and 2d plot displays (high, mid, and low can be drawn on the plots too)

• up/down meters on both, showing the current value, high, mid, and low

• high and low boundaries

• midpoint curving (with option to do relative to high/low or as a fixed point)

• s-curving (a single s-curve amount for this, but with toggles for each section to use it or not)

• 5 curve functions

• multiple bi/uni modes: bipolar, unipolar, negative unipolar, notes, smooth notes, and velocities (some are functionally equivalent but display differently)

• sources (freely-chosen from the knobs and performance properties)

• special behaviors for knobs with non-default sources (adding to or scaling the value as bi/uni, etc.)

• level adjusters (0%-400%) with an option to choose how this is centered

• direct invert, negate, and level adjustment on the displays

• a general CV smoother with a setting for conversion from one audio rate to another

• drop-down option menu that shows abbreviations of the important options in its display

Back: (for each section)

• 3 main outputs

• 3 configurable outputs with invert and negate toggles, plus amount knobs (0%-400%)

• 1 direct knob output (bi or uni)

• direct mod inputs for the knob/value and midpoint with amount knobs (+/- 0%-200%)

Etc.:

• help popups on the front and back

• 46 example combinator patches

Updates:

Version 1.1.1 fixes the glass for high-res (12+) and older versions of Reason.

Version 1.1.0 updates the high-res graphics (more to come).

Version 1.0.5 changes the input amount knobs so that they are only highlighted (bright green) when not 100%.

Version 1.0.4 restores the tooltip popup with extra text (1.03 removed it :)) to make clear that the popup is a bipolar value. It also makes ctrl-clicking restore default values for the displays and fixes a minor graphics bug.

Version 1.0.2 fixes 2 graphics bugs: the displayed note values were 2 octaves too high and another minor bug.

Version 1.0.1 adds 24 more combinator patches, mostly from the Reason Talk community patch competition.