Locutus

Locutus is a MIDI expansion module designed exclusively for the Assimil8or sampler. It adds bidirectional MIDI. External MIDI instruments can trigger and modulate Assimil8or. Assimil8or's CV inputs can also be converted to MIDI CC output. Locutus connects to Assimil8or's CPU through an included internal ribbon cable. It has no standalone function.

Locutus is 6 HP wide and fits any standard Eurorack case. It must be mounted within roughly 16 inches of Assimil8or because of its fixed connecting cable.

No. Locutus is powered entirely through the internal ribbon cable from the Assimil8or CPU board. It does not use a standard Eurorack power connector and draws zero additional current from your bus board. You only need to account for Assimil8or's own draw of 220 mA on +12V and 30 mA on -12V.

Locutus connects to the Assimil8or CPU board behind the panel, through an included special ribbon cable. That cable reaches up to about 16 inches from the top-right corner of Assimil8or. It cannot be extended or substituted. Generic ribbon cables will not work. Plan to mount Locutus within roughly 16 inches of Assimil8or.

Locutus requires Assimil8or firmware v3.0 or later. The update is free and loads from an SD card. Locutus has no firmware of its own. You configure everything through Assimil8or's menu system.

Yes. Rossum offers powder-coated black front panels alongside the standard silver for Assimil8or, Locutus, Morpheus, Panharmonium and Linnaeus. You can also buy a replacement black panel separately to swap onto an existing silver-panel module.

Locutus has three standard 5-pin DIN jacks: MIDI In, MIDI Out and MIDI Thru. There is no USB MIDI.

Locutus offers several assignment modes that set how incoming MIDI notes map to Assimil8or's eight channels:

• Dynamic: cycles through available channels for polyphonic patches, allocating voices on the fly like a poly synth.
• Multi: notes on eight separate MIDI channels map directly to Assimil8or channels 1-8, starting from the Basic Channel number. This suits multitimbral sequencing.
• SP-1200: triggers Assimil8or from an SP-1200's MIDI output. It works with both the Rossum SP-1200 Reissue and original E-mu SP-1200/SP-12 instruments.
• Indexed KZ: eight successive keys select a channel's zone without triggering it, which suits preset zone selection.

Not freely. You set a Basic Channel from 1 to 16. Assimil8or channels 1-8 map sequentially from that starting channel. For example, Basic Channel 9 maps MIDI channels 9-16 to Assimil8or channels 1-8. You cannot arbitrarily assign MIDI channel 3 to Assimil8or channel 7. Many users expect that. The system does not accommodate it.

Indexed KZ is a MIDI Multi assignment mode, added in Assimil8or software 3.02, in which eight successive keys act as index keys that select a channel's zone without triggering the channel. It uses a MIDI Setup parameter called Index Base Key, which sets the lowest note number of those index keys. For example, with Index Base Key set to 1, MIDI notes 1 through 8 select Assimil8or zones 1 through 8. This lets a controller or sequencer choose the active zone independently of the notes that trigger playback. It is useful for switching samples or articulations on the fly. Indexed KZ requires Assimil8or software v3.02 or later.

Yes. You can trigger some channels over MIDI and others with analog gates. For example, in Multi mode with channels 1-4 receiving MIDI, you can patch analog triggers to channels 5-8 and they work normally. All analog trigger inputs and buttons keep working regardless of the MIDI settings.

MIDI CC reaches Assimil8or's parameters by standing in for its CV inputs. Assimil8or has 24 CV inputs arranged as three columns of eight — CV A, CV B and CV C, one of each per channel. In Utility > MIDI Setup, each column can be substituted by MIDI in one of two ways, and both give you per-channel control:

• One CC number across eight MIDI channels. Choose any CC from 0 to 95, or Pressure, Velocity or Note Number, and each Assimil8or channel takes it from its own MIDI channel, counting up from the Basic Channel.
• A block of eight consecutive CCs on one MIDI channel. Choose a block (CC 16-23, 24-31, 104-111 or 112-119) and the eight CCs arriving on the Basic Channel feed the column's eight inputs in turn.

Because the CC replaces the input rather than the destination, each channel still routes it wherever you like. A column left on CV in Jacks ignores MIDI and uses the physical jacks as usual. Full detail is in the LOCUTUS MIDI Reference (PDF).

Yes. Velocity and channel pressure (aftertouch) can modulate Assimil8or parameters. You configure them in the MIDI Setup pages.

Yes. A MIDI source on Locutus's MIDI In can select Assimil8or presets with MIDI Program Change messages. Locutus's MIDI Out can also transmit a Program Change whenever the preset changes. Other gear can then follow Assimil8or's preset changes.

Yes. Locutus can convert the analog control voltages patched to Assimil8or's 24 CV inputs into MIDI CC data on the MIDI Out port. This lets your modular system control external MIDI gear. Program Change messages are also optionally transmitted when Assimil8or presets change.

No. Locutus does not output control voltage. It converts MIDI to internal Assimil8or parameters only. It can also convert Assimil8or's CV inputs to MIDI CC output. For MIDI-to-CV conversion you need a separate module. A common workaround is to connect your MIDI source to Locutus's MIDI In and chain the MIDI Thru to a dedicated MIDI-to-CV converter for gate and CV outputs. Modules like the Hexinverter Mutant Brain or Endorphin.es Shuttle Control work well.

No. Locutus does not support MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression).

No. Locutus has no alternate tuning offsets or MTS support at this time.

No. You must start sampling from Assimil8or's front panel. MIDI note on/off cannot trigger the record function.