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OLED display upgrade option

19

(I know, not only software)
Develop a hardware and software patch which replaces the current 4 digit display with a 128x32 OLED display. This would dramatically increase the usability. Publish the instructions for this (hardware) patch online and/or tell us a price and a service partner where to send the device.

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Comments

  • 1
    IcoustikIcoustik NorwayModerator, Beta Tester, Mentor Posts: 1,017

    Not happening for a long time - but maybe in the future :)

    ~ Distinguished Delugate ᕕ( ◎_◎)ᕗ

  • 1
    amiga909amiga909 Central EuropePosts: 1,078

    yeah, rather for Deluge 2.
    actually i think it is a strength Deluge works very well without having a display.

  • 5
    cypher79cypher79 UKPosts: 157

    I wish the Deluge's screen could display letters correctly, my decade old car stereo has one of these style screens and it can display any letter just fine? Would be great though if we could switch the screen out for one that isn't a pain to read.

  • 2
    amiga909amiga909 Central EuropePosts: 1,078

    dont know why they decided to go for a spartanic display. one reason might be portability, a large display needs loads of juice. dont think cost saving was a big issue too as small displays go cheap nowadays.
    i believe it was intentional to keep you away from using a display for music making, or let's say the grid is the display. let's me do more things by ear than by eye which isnt a bad thing. the used font is a bit hard to get used to, could be friendlier to read, yes.

  • 2
    cypher79cypher79 UKPosts: 157

    Yeah I totally get why they didn't want the focus to be on the screen, but it seems bizarre that they went for one which is so difficult to read? It isn't easy trying to navigate through large sample libraries on this thing :(

    I'm not asking for a 7" colour touchscreen or anything like that, but just something like the screen from the Electribe 2 would have been fine for me.

  • 0
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • 2
    cypher79cypher79 UKPosts: 157
    edited June 2018

    Why can't the Deluge display letters like this?

    It would have been so easy to add, and made such a big difference to usability.

    Post edited by cypher79 on
  • 3

    I was never talking about a large screen. A 128x32 pixel OLED display has almost exactly the same physical dimensions as the current one. The power consumption is also very low since all black pixels have almost no power consumption. It also seems that there's enough RAM available for managing such a little frame buffer (The last statements even sounded like that they don't know what to do with all the RAM) and even the control of such a display is pretty straight forward.

    The lack of a proper display is a PITA even after months of usage and I'm thinking about selling the device because of this :/

  • 3
    muleskinnermuleskinner Bath, UKModerator Posts: 128

    @cypher79 said:
    Why can't the Deluge display letters like this?

    Because the Deluge display has far less components per letter.

    I find the display a pain when browsing samples, nothing else really - though the ability to label sections and tracks would be a boon.

    I really like the Tempest's display in terms of balance between usability and not feeling you have an iPad stuck to your device (eg the new MPCs).

    It ain't gonna happen though.

    Noise, Noodles and Doodles: http://bit.ly/mrjonesthebutcher

  • 0
    amiga909amiga909 Central EuropePosts: 1,078

    @muleskinner said:

    Because the Deluge display has far less components per letter.

    I find the display a pain when browsing samples, nothing else really - though the ability to label sections and tracks would be a boon.

    Totally agree it is a pain when browsing samples, sometimes i have to use the computer to locate a sample. i try to avoid too many nested folders and mixing folders and wavs in the same folder. naming songs would be very nice too. not terrible for me as i usually name songs when they are finished, using some cryptic name like 'ssdf1' while composing.

    Yeah, Deluge display is a seven segment LED display which gives you 3-5 letters (depending on alphabet size). i believe the Pioneer display above is called dot matrix display. can only guess why Synthstrom went for seven segment display. i'd guess the big advantage is that this kind of display is so simplistic it can almost never die.

  • 4
    sanomatsanomat colognePosts: 1

    this should have been enough, i guess...

  • 0
    VJFranzKVJFranzK Los Angeles USABeta Tester Posts: 129
    edited June 2018

    Possible work around: Have a really good computer editor app,
    handy for doing the more complicated things, such as arranging kits, and making new synth patches.
    ( I still miss doing this on something like Reason, where I can see everything in front of me. )

    I would love to have Song Names visible on the existing LED too ( separate thread there )

    I've taken to using this screenless machine more than I first thought I might. ; - )

    It's also not impossible a screen ( or even an HDMI out ) could be grafted on to the existing hardware somehow.
    ( an "expansion module" as it was described with 8bit computers. )
    I would definitely buy this!

    Post edited by VJFranzK on

    Music, Visuals, Reviews of Synths, Drum Machines, Apps
    YouTube: VJFranzK

  • 3
    darenagerdarenager Between a rack and a hardware placeBeta Tester Posts: 222

    I don’t mind the lack of a graphic disply, I thought it might bother me but it doesn’t - although if the grid could be used to display sample waveform as per the recent feature request then that would make coarse navigation through a long sample easier, but for names and function descriptions the 7 seg LED does the job ok, for me.

  • 0
    gjvtigjvti Beta Tester Posts: 34

    Well I agree with this - the sample management is really painful on current display - apparently I'm too old to cacth and read the flying letters... well yes but proper PC/iOS editor would be solution too. Downrush sadly didn't work for me when I tried it stand alone on windows PC - it simply did't work.

  • 0
    nosepeoplenosepeople United StatesPosts: 49

    An editor that ran on a Raspberry Pi with a touchscreen would be fabulous - nice and small for travel, and it already has HDMI + Keyboard + Mouse support built in for when you're in your studio...

  • 0
    amiga909amiga909 Central EuropePosts: 1,078

    @nosepeople said:

    An editor that ran on a Raspberry Pi with a touchscreen would be fabulous - nice and small for travel, and it already has HDMI + Keyboard + Mouse support built in for when you're in your studio...

    u can use downrush with anything that has a browser. i dont think there is a better solution than using a wifi sd card. usb and midi are not possible or not practical afaik.

  • 0
    nosepeoplenosepeople United StatesPosts: 49

    @amiga909 said:
    @nosepeople said:

    An editor that ran on a Raspberry Pi with a touchscreen would be fabulous - nice and small for travel, and it already has HDMI + Keyboard + Mouse support built in for when you're in your studio...

    u can use downrush with anything that has a browser. i dont think there is a better solution than using a wifi sd card. usb and midi are not possible or not practical afaik.

    Downrush is very cool but it's just a file transfer utility, yes?

    I'm talking about a sample & preset editor. Probably not possible, unless there's a sysex spec that we don't know about. But it's not a big deal, I can edit samples on a laptop, transfer them, and do the program editing on the Deluge. I'll have a laptop with me when traveling, even if I don't use one onstage.

    Dedicated editors end up becoming incompatible with newer OS versions, hardware etc. anyway. Probably not worth anyone's time to develop one, esp. with editing on the Deluge being so accessible. It's not a DX7 :-)

  • 0
    WillWill Middle of NowHere, CanadaPosts: 236

    OR... a what about a wireless external editor/display which runs on a iOS device?
    (wireless touch screen editing on your iPhone of iPad - like you can do as an alternate screen with things like the Spectrasonics Omnisphere)

    Perhaps I'm barking up the Downrush tree here?

  • 0
    ShadowPilotShadowPilot SeattlePosts: 2

    I know this thread is a bit old.. but this x1000 for me. I use the Deluge for studio work and have to keep track of all my projects, patches, song sections, midi channel outs to external gear. An LED of the same size, DSI or Electribe style striclty for labelling and information would be make it incredibly more usable. As it stands, I have to use an MPC Live for the brain simply because of all of the labelling/information options.

  • 2
    WillWill Middle of NowHere, CanadaPosts: 236

    @ShadowPilot said:
    I know this thread is a bit old.. but this x1000 for me. I use the Deluge for studio work and have to keep track of all my projects, patches, song sections, midi channel outs to external gear. An LED of the same size, DSI or Electribe style striclty for labelling and information would be make it incredibly more usable. As it stands, I have to use an MPC Live for the brain simply because of all of the labelling/information options.

    Yeah, I hear you. I love this little box, but if you want to use it to do a bunch of more in-depth compositions and arrangements, there's just far too little information available to allow it to replace other gear I have.
    I find the Deluge lends itself really well to just a few types of workflow and performance work. It offers some great opportunities, but also lacks in a lot of ways.

  • 0

    Well... I guess Akai heard my cry and reacted adequate~
    But it's still a kinda love-hate relationship with the Deluge.

  • 0
    amiga909amiga909 Central EuropePosts: 1,078

    agreed sample browsing is too painful and time consuming, long names are a pity.
    i try to rename things in a way i can differentiate it by looking at first 4 chars but it is not so cool...

    if an OLED display would be possible, i'd buy it for sure.
    IMHO it would fit well to the Deluge if the pad matrix could display text and aid in the file browser.
    http://forums.synthstrom.com/discussion/13/alphanumeric-kbd#latest
    would already help me.
    another idea to use launch/sections to aid in file browser
    http://forums.synthstrom.com/discussion/1644/file-browser-use-launch-section-columns-to-show-current-folder-content#latest

  • 0

    I hope updates could offer browsing samples by the 1s, 10s, 20s, 50s, 100s, simply by using shortcuts similar to other functions that use the grid and knobs to speed up things. It would be great to browse samples this way. Maybe have the screen flash the ## you have jumped to until you insert a proper single digit to select out of samples.
    *have pads on grid use 0-9 numbering system
    * reserve 1 pad to browse(jump) through samples by the 10s,
    * another pad does the same by the 20s, and 2 more pads do the same by the 50s, and 100s

    So offer alternative use of 4 pads(10s,20s,50s,100s) and have additional pads for entering #0-9

    Would this help?

  • 0
    fenixsongfenixsong United StatesBeta Tester Posts: 45

    I agree with this because I create songs with Deluge using different external hardware. On one song it is my full modular setup, on others it is just the Digitone or Blofeld. Having a bit more screen would help to be able to Name/Label songs to remind me what gear goes with what song. Of course, I do like the battery life on the Deluge to last a long time, so I'd want to know what the trade offs would be.

  • 0
    VondragonnogginVondragonnoggin California, USAPosts: 199

    While I don’t think an OLED display is critical, it would be welcome to have more information displayed for browsing samples, parameter info, modes displayed, labeling tracks, etc

    Right now I’m resorting to naming multi’s on my Virus and Nord Lead as Deluge song numbers. That is a luxury though as not all my synths are multitimbral with multi-mode naming available or some even any naming.

  • 3
    MyrkMyrk Bristol, UKPosts: 93
    edited March 2019

    I just can't understand the reason for the 7 segment per character calculator display - as mentioned above the 14 segment provides a huge leap in terms of shape variations, which makes the alphabet so much easier to read. I'd love to see a mod to allow a 14 segment display variation.

    Post edited by Myrk on
  • 0
    punchedoutpunchedout United StatesPosts: 29

    Love this thing. Just got Downrush going and feel like we may be able to realize most of our needs through an ipad app, but I would also LOVE to see the OLED upgrade if possible.

  • 0
    TenebrousTenebrous EnglandPosts: 49

    Another way that Rohan could support this without too much effort (on his part at least!) would be to have Deluge-specific SysEx messages - then we can write something on a PC or we can create a stand-alone device to communicate with the Deluge using those messages. Kinda like Downrush but using the MIDI connection and not FlashAir etc.

  • 0
    punchedoutpunchedout United StatesPosts: 29

    After using flashair and Downrush for a day, I would have to agree. I would prefer to use SysEx as the flashair method seems unreliable at this point due to the wireless aspect. I'm planning on doing more testing and trying to get to the bottom of it, but it does not seem to be as robust as I would have hoped.

    Being able to manage the deluge without wanting to pull my hair out is imperative. Please consider better file management as a top priority. Many of us love the device, we just want to cram it full now and abandon our pc's for a little while.

    Thank you for considering our suggestions!!

  • 1
    amiga909amiga909 Central EuropePosts: 1,078

    fantastic ideas!
    searching samples def. is a big pain point atm.
    related ideas to help with file browsing with onboard capabilities:

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