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Connect ORCA to VCVRack2 via OSC

Written:     21/11/24
Last update: 19/12/24

Grab a module capable of receiving OSC signals

I chose cvOSCcv from trowaSoft.

Set ORCA OSC port to the same one as the receiving port of your module

In my case I will be setting the ports on both the module and ORCA.

For ORCA: Communication -> Choose OSC Port (Or Alt+O) -> Type the port (Can be seen in the bottom left. I will be using port 7777)

ORCA with port set to 7777

For cvOSCcv: Open the module configs -> Type in the port


Set cvOSCcv to the correct IP

ORCA sends OSC commands on IP 127.0.0.12 so the module should be set on the same IP.
If you with to update the ip you can set it by pressing Ctrl+R (to enter the ORCA terminal in the bottom right), then type "ip:" followed by your desired ip. Then press Enter.

Enable the OSC connection

cvOSCcv requires to press the "ENABLE" button in order to start to receive/listen to signals.
Once pressed the button should now say "DISABLE".

Test the connection

In order to correctly receive signals we must listen to the right channel. To do this I will first create a simple program in ORCA to send commands...
.D.....
..=a123
This will send a command (every 4 frames I think...) on channel "a" containing "1", "2" and "3", this command can then be read by cvOSCcv.
For that I must set the channel name to "a" otherwise it won't output anything (setting it to "/a" also does not work).This is a lie, I think it does work
ORCA and cvOSCcv configured

Additional Info

Since the order of the values sent from ORCA is kept in VCVRACK it is possible to encode a message containing all the wanted information. It is then possible in VCVRACK to split the polyphonic signal read from ORCA to the wanted values.
Additionally, to send data on the same network you need the ip of the receiver/listener, then the steps are the same.

Useful links

ORCA by Hundred Rabbits
VCV Rack
cvOSCcv by trowaSoft

I may add an explanation on how to send signals from one PC to another to the same network. For now no promises. Peek in Additional Info ;).