Can I use MIDI to get a free bass

[mtj]

I recently bought a Beltuna Leader V with a MusicTech-Midi Q-Link. I don't have the cable or power supply. The bass side has a mute switch. I am wondering is it possible to have the MIDI bass output C system free bass. I am thinking since MIDI is just digital messages a software program should be able to convert the note on/off messages arbitrarily. I am wondering if there is a hardware/software solution to do such a mapping. I am curious if such a system exists or if others with more familiarly with MIDI on accordions think such a thing is feasible. I don't know enough about MIDI to know how it sends out chords.

Anyway I'd appreciate any information or advice.

 

[JerryPH]

Not from the factory, no. That said, you likely could go via MIDI and somehow "remap" the chord buttons to a Free Bass system. It's doable, but I am not even sure how I would start... lol

 

[mtj]

Not from the factory, no. That said, you likely could go via MIDI and somehow "remap" the chord buttons to a Free Bass system. It's doable, but I am not even sure how I would start... lol

Thanks. I guess that's what I should expect. I see lots of remapping software that will potentially do this kind of thing. But remapping in real time is quite another thing. Apparently not much of a business case for this.

 

[dak]

I recently bought a Beltuna Leader V with a MusicTech-Midi Q-Link. I don't have the cable or power supply. The bass side has a mute switch. I am wondering is it possible to have the MIDI bass output C system free bass. I am thinking since MIDI is just digital messages a software program should be able to convert the note on/off messages arbitrarily. I am wondering if there is a hardware/software solution to do such a mapping. I am curious if such a system exists or if others with more familiarly with MIDI on accordions think such a thing is feasible. I don't know enough about MIDI to know how it sends out chords.

Anyway I'd appreciate any information or advice.

The answer is "no". Bass MIDI on an acoustic accordion does not track the bass buttons (like it would on a Roland) but rather tracks the mechanisms of the 12 bass pallets and the 12 chord pallets.

For one thing that means that everything will repeat after 12 buttons, so the only free bass system you could even hope to use would be quint. For another, you get 3 notes for each chord, but that only leads to an identifiable button as long as only a single chord button is pressed.

 

[Alan Sharkis]

I’ve done some experiments in MIDI remapping, but they all incolve Roland accordions. Zac is correct. The mechanical setup of the Stradella bass in an acoustic accordion cannot be overcome in an effort to get free bass via MIDI message remapping.

However, if the acoustic accordion has solenoid-activated bass, that opens up another “can of worms.”

 

[dak]

I’ve done some experiments in MIDI remapping, but they all incolve Roland accordions. Zac is correct. The mechanical setup of the Stradella bass in an acoustic accordion cannot be overcome in an effort to get free bass via MIDI message remapping.

However, if the acoustic accordion has solenoid-activated bass, that opens up another “can of worms.”

An acoustic accordion with solenoid-activated bass that cannot do free bass on its own volition would be a very strange beast indeed.

 

[Alan Sharkis]

An acoustic accordion with solenoid-activated bass that cannot do free bass on its own volition would be a very strange beast indeed.

Agreed. So far, the only solenoid- activated bass I’ve seen advertised does have that converter function wired in. Controlling that function externally via MIDI? For what purpose? And wouldn’t that be a warranty-violating hack job?

 

[Ventura]

from October 1994.. does the original poster even still have the Beltuna ?
and the question was answered to his satisfaction back then

but i digress

one COULD convert a 120 bass stradella to MIDI freebass
if they had 120 very small and reliable switches and a mute
shift for the chords.. might as well use an old Cordovox donor
accordion for this as they had a half-wrap around aluminum
bass coverplate which gives pretty good physical access to
the 120 button aluminum legs

it would be tedious and a labor of love to do this massive
wiring chore then find a MIDI brain that could take the
input from 120 switches (something like MILO's Midi kits)
and of course this would result in a rather unique
accordion only it's Mother could love, but yes, it could be
done.. and even to retrofit the bass on the Beltuna if one
didn't mind de-valuing the accordion as an unintended consequence

there is no "App" for that sort of thing, so likely will never happen
as modern experimenters prefer to 3d print an idea out or just
app it somehow then go on Shark Tank to fund it

 

[Alan Sharkis]

An accordion project? I doubt that anyone on Shark Tank would fund it.

 

[mtj]

from October 1994.. does the original poster even still have the Beltuna ?
and the question was answered to his satisfaction back then

but i digress

one COULD convert a 120 bass stradella to MIDI freebass
if they had 120 very small and reliable switches and a mute
shift for the chords.. might as well use an old Cordovox donor
accordion for this as they had a half-wrap around aluminum
bass coverplate which gives pretty good physical access to
the 120 button aluminum legs

it would be tedious and a labor of love to do this massive
wiring chore then find a MIDI brain that could take the
input from 120 switches (something like MILO's Midi kits)
and of course this would result in a rather unique
accordion only it's Mother could love, but yes, it could be
done.. and even to retrofit the bass on the Beltuna if one
didn't mind de-valuing the accordion as an unintended consequence

there is no "App" for that sort of thing, so likely will never happen
as modern experimenters prefer to 3d print an idea out or just
app it somehow then go on Shark Tank to fund it

I'm going to assume you mean 2024 and that would be me. Yes I still have the Beltuna. I know there are people that will MIDI-fy accordions using small switches. I wouldn't do that since mine already has MIDI. The genesis of my question I guess was what kind of messages do the buttons send out. I thought if there was some kind of button identifier in the note on/off messages then one could map it in real time. (I was thinking like how Windows PC keyboards in addition to ASCII/Unicode also had keyboard scan codes available which were key identifiers). I suppose if I get motivated I could get a whole setup with a MIDI sniffer to see what MusictechMidi sends and see if there is something I can use. But given that say it's just the effective notes I can see how there is no way.

 

[Ventura]

those beltuna's are nice playing boxes

 

[Caps]

from October 1994.. does the original poster even still have the Beltuna ?
and the question was answered to his satisfaction back then

but i digress

one COULD convert a 120 bass stradella to MIDI freebass
if they had 120 very small and reliable switches and a mute
shift for the chords.. might as well use an old Cordovox donor
accordion for this as they had a half-wrap around aluminum
bass coverplate which gives pretty good physical access to
the 120 button aluminum legs

it would be tedious and a labor of love to do this massive
wiring chore then find a MIDI brain that could take the
input from 120 switches (something like MILO's Midi kits)
and of course this would result in a rather unique
accordion only it's Mother could love, but yes, it could be
done.. and even to retrofit the bass on the Beltuna if one
didn't mind de-valuing the accordion as an unintended consequence

there is no "App" for that sort of thing, so likely will never happen
as modern experimenters prefer to 3d print an idea out or just
app it somehow then go on Shark Tank to fund it

I think it would definitely be more trouble than it is worth even though it "could" be done. Back in 1980 I converted an old IBM selectric typewriter into a printer for my Heath 89 computer by putting little solenoids under each key, building an interface and power supply and then having a smart friend do the software. It did work, sort of, mostly, but I ended up paying more for all the parts than a real printer would cost. I think the same would happen if you tried to convert the accordion.

 

[Ventura]

and miss out on all that fun ?