Orestes‐One Overview - rjsmith/rsbatech-modules GitHub Wiki

This is the documentation of the RSBATechModules Orestes-One VCV Rack module and related Electra-One Mk II MIDI controller preset.

The Orestes-One VCV Rack module provides external VCV Rack parameter control from the Electra-One MK II MIDI controller with two-way display value and control label feedback, remote module switching, automapping etc. It works together with a custom Electra-One MIDI Controller preset called "VCV Rack 2", which you must have loaded into a preset slot on your Electra-One device.

First demo and basic mapping tutorial (Youtube)

Separate user guide pages for the module and the Electra-One preset are linked below, followed by a list of main user workflows using them both together. The main idea is that once you have completed any module mapping you need to do for a Rack patch, you can then let go of your mouse and play the patch using only the Electra-One controller.

[!WARNING] 10 May 2025 The "VCV Rack 2" preset will ONLY work with firmware 4.0 or above running on an Electra One MK II (sorry MK I owners, see this post on the VCVRack forum).

Getting Started

  1. Until / unless the RSBATechModules VCVRack plugin is added to the VCVRack Library, you will need to install it yourself using a pre-built installer available in this git repository. See the repo README for instructions on how to install the pre-built binaries or compile and install yourself.

  2. Make sure you running Electra One MK II firmware v4.0.0 or above.

  3. To improve your experience of using the VCVRack preset on Electra One, I recommend to change these device configuration settings (either from the https://app.electra.one/electra/ Configuration tab, or on the device itself ([https://docs.electra.one/userguide/settings.html]("Settings" page)):

    • "User Interface" -> Control tap actions -> Double-tap action = "None" (The VCVRack preset does not use local default values for mapped controls, instead it optionally allows you to double-tap to send a "set to default" command to the mapped control in the VCvRack module itself).

    • This preset also uses the new v4.0 Preset Menu feature to give quick access to secondary mapping and module navigation actions, so it is recommended to also configure a hardware button that is set to the Open Preset Menu action. You can also just swipe down from the left side of the screen (see the Electra One documentation for more details), e.g:

  4. Load the "VCV Rack 2" preset from the Electra-One Preset Library into a free preset slot on your Electra One controller. Make sure your Electra-One is connected to your computer via USB.

  5. Add the Orestes-One module to a VCVRack patch. It will automatically load a copy of the factory module mapping library (the mapped module count in the bottom right-hand corner should be greater than zero!)

  6. Select the four MIDI Ports needed for 2-way communication with your Electra-One controller (the Electra-One USB port names might be different on your computer - they vary between mac, windows and linux):

    • e1 data port input = Electra Port 1 Channel 1
    • e1 data port output = Electra Port 1 Channel 1
    • e1 ctrl port input = Electra CTRL Channel 1
    • e1 ctrl port input = Electra CTRL Channel 1

  7. Orestes-One will load and copy its factory mapping library into the module if the preset does not already have a mapping library selected. The number label on the bottom right-hand corner shows the number of loaded mapped modules.

  8. The Electra-One "VCV Rack 2" preset should briefly show "Searching for compatible Orestes-One..." on Page 1, then display the current parameter mappings in the Orestes-One module. If there are none, this will just show a page with unmapped controllers.

  9. Press the Electra-One [MENU] button and select Page 12 "Select Module".

  10. Page 12 "SELECT Module" will display any pre-mapped modules in your VCVRack patch that is in the loaded mapping library. Press a module button control on the Electra-One display to load that mapping into Orestes-One.

  11. Electra-One switches to Page 1. You can now start adjusting any of the first 36 controls which will immediately change the mapped VCVrack module parameter.

More Information

See Pages 1-6 for more details on how to use and navigate around the VCVRack patch.

See Settings Page (Page 11 of the preset for some VCVRack preset - specific configuration options that can be saved to (& reloaded from) the device.

See the Orestes One VCVRack module user guide for details on how to map VCVRack patches and modules, how to use the extensive factory module mapping library etc.

Mapping Workflows

Typical mapping workflows, in approximate order of increasing complexity and sophistication

  • Map a small number of performance parameters for one Rack patch only
  • Use pre-mapped module mappings from the Orestes-One factory library
  • Switch between a Rack patch - level mapping (e.g. some manually mapped Patchmaster modules) and individual module mappings
  • Auto-map all modules in a Rack patch that are not already included in the Orestes-One mapping library
  • Auto-map a single module
  • Manually map a single module (or edit an existing module map), save in the mapping library (this is the recommended approach to map and save modules to your mapping library)
  • Manage the mapping library loaded into the O1:
    • Import /overwrite mappings from another O1 mapping library JSON file
    • Import / overwrite mappings using the RSBATechModules factory mapping library
    • Select a different O1 mapping library file
    • Delete all mappings from the current loaded library file for a given plugin
    • Export all mappings from the current loaded library for a given plugin
    • Delete the mapping of a single module from the current loaded library file