MDLR.STREAM

Manual: Scale Editor for Helical

About Scale Editor for Helical (Sdkc Instruments)

This is a tool for creating scale.txt, the scale configuration file for Helical (v2 and later), a 16‑channel polyphonic synthesizer module by Sdkc Instruments.

Key features

  • Choose colors from a palette
  • Assign random colors
  • Swap banks
  • Copy/paste/clear banks
  • Define scales up to 2 octaves
  • Toggle Root Emphasis
  • Import/export scale.txt

How to use

Import / export

  • Use the Import File button to load your Helical scale.txt from your local device.
  • Use the SAVE button under Export File to download the edited scale.txt to your local device.

Editing

For each bank (Bank #1–#16), you can edit the following.

LED colors (color picker UI)

You can specify the colors shown on Helical’s LEDs. The RGB values written to scale.txt are corrected for Helical’s LEDs.

  • Use the 1 and 2 color pickers to choose the two colors for your Helical’s LEDs from the palette.
  • Randomize picks two colors at random from the available palette and assigns them to 1 and 2.

Scale (keyboard UI)

  • On the Scale keyboard, turn individual semitones on or off. Tap white or black keys to toggle selection.

Root Emphasis

  • With Root Emphasis enabled, on Helical in the lowest octave, only the lower-octave notes among those you turned on on the keyboard will sound.
  • In higher octaves, the scale you set across the full keyboard applies as usual (multiple notes available as normal).

Bank toolbar

  • Swap (up arrow) swaps this bank with the one above; Swap (down arrow) swaps with the one below. At the top or bottom bank, the corresponding button is disabled. After swapping, Bank # labels are renumbered to match the new order.
  • Copy (duplicate icon) copies the current bank as a single scale.txt line to the clipboard.
  • Paste (clipboard icon) reads the first valid line from the clipboard and applies it to the current bank.
  • Clear (eraser icon) resets that bank’s LED colors, scale, and Root Emphasis to their defaults.

Terms of Service

  1. This tool is free to use. There are no ads or affiliate links. If you would like to support the project, donations are accepted via Ko-fi.
  2. All processing related to the Scale Editor is completed on your device (in your browser). No data is sent to any server.
  3. The file downloaded via the Export button (the “output”) is a plain text file that follows Helical’s scale.txt format. While it has been tested with Helical, the output is provided without warranty. We are not responsible for any damages or trouble arising from use of the output (including output that has been modified by the user).
  4. Copyright of the output belongs to the user. We do not claim any rights to the output. You are free to publish, distribute, and modify the output.
  5. When publishing the output, linking to or mentioning this tool is not required, but it is always appreciated.
  6. This tool is a third‑party tool published with the approval of Sdkc Instruments. Please note that Sdkc Instruments does not provide support for this tool.
  7. The content of this tool may be changed, or the service may be discontinued, without notice.
  8. By using this tool, you are deemed to have understood and agreed to the above.

About the features

  1. Generates scale.txt compatible with Helical firmware v2.xx and later. Operation on v1.xx has not been verified.
  2. A contact channel for bug reports is currently being prepared. It will be added here once available.

External libraries

  1. The Scale Editor code does not use any external libraries; it is built with vanilla JavaScript. (Astro is used to generate HTML, etc.)