How do I do this?

[exaisle]

Ive recently acquired a couple of Stairville HL-X High Power LED Washes which I can control via midi from my pc or sequencer and a midi to DMX converter.

 

My old system was controlled by notes for each lamp....note on = lamp on, note off = lamp off. I dont really need fancy crossfades etc.

 

Unfortunately, with DMX, I cant seem to find a way to leave the lights on indefinitely at the end of a song (until another song starts). This was easy to achieve with the old system - just include a sustain pedal on command at the end of each song...and a pedal off command at the start of the next song.

 

Can anybody tell me how to do with with DMX please??

 

TIA,

 

DR

[ryandell]

Hi There,

 

What DMX Software are you using to control the fixtures with at the moment?

 

Currently with your DMX software is there a cue stack. If so you might want to try building a cue that incorporates the Lanterns at a certain level. Then you might be able to trigger that cue with a certain note on the keybaord, or with a foot pedal as a remote for that cue.

 

Hope this Helps,

 

Ryan

[exaisle]

Hi Ryan, thanks for the reply.

 

At the moment, Im using an NJD midi-to-DMX controller to which I'm sending commands. This translates midi control changes to DMX commands. So, Im not using any DMX software as such....I'm just sending individual commands to the lamp which happily, is doing what it should.

 

Exaisle

[sleah]

How about this. I have a cheap nasty Beheringer LC2412 DMX lighting desk that also has MIDI in/out. I've played with inputting midi signals from a PC (ShowCAD Artist to be exact) and it outputs DMX.

So you may be able to connect your midi controller to it and just use it as an interface. I don't know if you could softpatch the channels though....

You would have to use the midi to activate a 'memory' (effectively a submaster) on the LC2412.

 

It might be worth downloading the LC2412 manual to see if it's possible.

 

Linky to product page :)

[Tomo]

This is a function of your DMX controller - you'll need to look up exactly how this device works.

 

From your description, it sounds like it's simply using Note On = Channel to Full, Note Off = Channel to Zero.

 

So make sure you don't send a Note Off command.

 

Sustain is different to not sending Note Off, as it's a modifier (controller 64) rather than a lack of Note Off.

(The result of Sustain is often different to simply holding down the note key, although it depends on your sequencer)

[exaisle]

Hi Tomo, thanks for the input.

The difficulty is that in Midi, each note is defined with a specific length (be it one beat, one bar, or a thousand) by a note on and note off signal.

While sustain may be different to not sending Note Off, it has exactly the same effect in a simple midi to light channel controller.

The fact that DMX is a more sophisticated system is actually my downfall. I need to be able to run a lighting sequence, which, at the end will revert to, say, one lamp on at either side of the stage for an indeterminate period (ie. indefinitely).

My experience of DMX so far, is that once the midi file ends, the DMX controller in the lamp detects this and switches it off...

 

I'm sure there's a relatively easy work around but I'm a total newbie to DMX and am still, to a degree, in the dark (sorry, pun intended).

 

D.

[Tomo]

The difficulty is that in Midi, each note is defined with a specific length (be it one beat, one bar, or a thousand) by a note on and note off signal.

Actually, MIDI doesn't require that Note Off be sent at all. There may be a way to force your MIDI source to send *just* a Note On at the end of a given song, with the Note Off waiting until the start of the new song. How this is done depends entirely on your chosen MIDI source though!

My experience of DMX so far, is that once the midi file ends, the DMX controller in the lamp detects this and switches it off...

No it doesn't. It's being commanded to do so by the way the NJD device responds to the final Note Off commands.

 

DMX is just a protocol (like MIDI). The features are all in the controller!

 

You are being limited by the NJD MIDI to DMX converter - this has nothing at all to do with DMX.

Would you blame MIDI for a bad sound from your sequencer?

 

You've got an extremely simple control system at present - it's actually a direct MIDI to DMX converter, rather than a lighting controller.

- So right now, you're being limited by how this controller interprets MIDI. Presumably, your old system interpreted "Sustain" differently to the new one.

 

I suspect that you really want a lighting controller that contains a set of 'scenes', and the MIDI input is used to select which 'scene' to play back.

During each track, it plays back various scenes selected by MIDI notes or whatever, and then at the end is commanded to play a scene between songs.

 

There are a lot of DMX lighting controllers that can do this - have a search around the Blue Room and online for them.

[Skumling]

The difficulty is that in Midi, each note is defined with a specific length (be it one beat, one bar, or a thousand) by a note on and note off signal.

Actually, MIDI doesn't require that Note Off be sent at all. There may be a way to force your MIDI source to send *just* a Note On

 

I think this will be impossible with a lot of sequencers, as "Note Off" is something that is just generated automatically when the tone has played. And you definately do not want hanging tones at the end of a song, so a lot af sequencers also will send an "All Notes off" controller at the end of playback. Whether the NJD device responds to this, I don't know.

 

As others have said - one approach is to get another controller in which you could build some scenes, and then just trigger these via note on commands or program changes. These kind of controllers almost always ignores any Notes Off commands.

 

Another option is to manipulate the MIDI-signal to your NJD controller. If you are generally happy with the way of programming your DMX-channels individually using MIDI-notes, I would suggest adding a MIDI Solutions Event Processor to your MIDI signal path. This would allow you to configure a Note Off filter, which you can then toggle on and off via a specific MIDI event. In the end of the song, turn the Note Off filter on. In the start of the song - turn the filter off.

 

And if you some day redesign your lighting system, you may be able to use the Event Processor for other tasks, as it is a extreme versatile little unit for manipulating MIDI data in various ways.

[exaisle]

Tomo & Skumling....

 

Thank you both for your responses.... The idea of a controller which would trigger scenes makes much more sense. As it happens, my midi sequencer has the option of not sending "all notes off" at the end of playback so that might do the trick...

 

Regards,

 

E.

 

 

The difficulty is that in Midi, each note is defined with a specific length (be it one beat, one bar, or a thousand) by a note on and note off signal.

Actually, MIDI doesn't require that Note Off be sent at all. There may be a way to force your MIDI source to send *just* a Note On

 

I think this will be impossible with a lot of sequencers, as "Note Off" is something that is just generated automatically when the tone has played. And you definately do not want hanging tones at the end of a song, so a lot af sequencers also will send an "All Notes off" controller at the end of playback. Whether the NJD device responds to this, I don't know.

 

As others have said - one approach is to get another controller in which you could build some scenes, and then just trigger these via note on commands or program changes. These kind of controllers almost always ignores any Notes Off commands.

 

Another option is to manipulate the MIDI-signal to your NJD controller. If you are generally happy with the way of programming your DMX-channels individually using MIDI-notes, I would suggest adding a MIDI Solutions Event Processor to your MIDI signal path. This would allow you to configure a Note Off filter, which you can then toggle on and off via a specific MIDI event. In the end of the song, turn the Note Off filter on. In the start of the song - turn the filter off.

 

And if you some day redesign your lighting system, you may be able to use the Event Processor for other tasks, as it is a extreme versatile little unit for manipulating MIDI data in various ways.