A lot of work was done on the PU-2 over the last many months by Emanuele and I. More specifically, we wrote hundreds of line of code to make the FCB1010 work with Banks of Stompbox mode midi commands. This is the main feature of the next version of the firmware.
At the same time, many of the existing routines were optimized/re-written. The Expression Pedals interface is one example. It is now much smoother and responsive than before.
But while this was happening, I decided to work on a more general midi processor, that would work with the FCB1010 or any other pedal board. Basically, an interface between a midi input and a computer, or other midi devices. I would also want this interface to accept signals from various sensors and controls.
So, the PU-2 will still be developed specifically for the FCB1010 modification, but now, the MP-1 (Midi Processor – 1) will evolve in parallel. Basically, we will re-use most of the code of the PU-2, but generalize the data structure to support more input and output formats.
There are already many people working on similar projects: lg-fcb.com, gordius.be, midibox.org are a few examples. But my interest is still for the do-it-yourself crowd out there, using a standard Arduino and some extra parts.
The first version of the MP series will accept Midi input from a Midi device, and send Midi output to the same or a different device. Also, a Midi Through port will be present. The MP-1 will accept control signals from a few analog and digital sensors and convert these signals to midi commands. There will be a display, and room for my beloved rotary encoder and a few status LEDs. There will also be a USB port, for Midi communication with a computer. The programming will be done by the user, using the Advanced Data Structure that the team is working on.