Taking control

[cedd]

Something I've been looking for for some time.

 

In my rack I have a couple of TC electronics effects units. Both of these have a midi input and output.

Various note on and off commands can be used to call presets, change parameters, etc.

 

What I'm keen to do is run a piece of software on my pc whereby I can attach different midi messages behind buttons, which I can label. For instance when I'm busking a gig or piece of theatre, it would nice to be able to in effect, create my own set of presets on the pc. I can hit the button and call a set of parameters. I could have a "cave", "big hall" or "squeaky voice" button for instance. The effects unit has presets on it, but to have a nice pc screen (possibly a touchscreen if I get my way) over my mixer so I'm not turning away would be really nice and offer far better flexibility.

 

Is there anything out there that can do this? I've had success using a sequencer to send the commands to test that the theory is sound, but really want proper buttons!

Am I going to have to write something myself? I've never tried midi in visual basic, I'm not even sure it can be done!

 

C

[boswell]

Cedd, If I understand you correctly, SCS with a numeric keypad (which can be modded into big buttons if required) will do all you have asked for.

It's also cheap!

HTH

[henny]

take a loook a vvvv.org

Should be very easy to knock somthing up .

[cedd]

Wow, vvvv looks like a steep learning curve. Interesting interface though.

SCS too looks like it will do the job I want (though it looks like the professional edition is needed to do midi - as a yorkshireman $180 is a lot! It's an addition I'd really like to see on multiplay. I'm willing to pay for a solution, but as scs isn't 100% what I'm looking for (external keypad rather than on screen), I might take the longer and cheaper path of writing it myself. As there doesn't look to be anything on the market that does what I need, I might be the first!

Cheers all

C

[dbuckley]

PCStage with the ButtonPanel plugin will do just what you want. Will need to register to make it work for more than an hour, but without the lighting interface, registration is quite cheap.

 

Alternatively, VstLua under SaviHost provides a very flexible MIDI control interface full of possibilities.

 

And for a Yorkshireman on a budget, I better not suggest StarDraw or Max/MSP :)

[Modge]

Am I going to have to write something myself? I've never tried midi in visual basic, I'm not even sure it can be done!

 

http://www.codeproject.com/KB/audio-video/MIDIToolkit.aspx

The link is in c# however most things .Net can be translated fairly easily.

[cedd]

Ooh, that's very useful, thanks for that! I'm pretty good in C, and the syntax of C# looks similar, I might give it a go.

 

As for the suggestion of PCstage, when I get a free night I'll download it and have a play.

I think what I'm after is pretty specific, it might be better writing my own, especially now I've got some source code to look at.

 

Cheers all

[dbuckley]

If you've got programming chops then I suggest you take a look at VstLua. Heres a one button example tosend a UDP message it cant get much easier than this

 

-- This is a comment :)

function openCb()
vprint( "Starting...\n" )
socket = require("socket")
thing1 = socket.udp()

newcontrol = {x=150, y=125, type=GUITypes.kickButton,  label="Lights UP"}
LightsUp = guiAddControl(newcontrol)

end

function valueChangedCb(tag, value, str)

if tag == LightsUp and value == 1 then
	vprint( "Lights Up Button!\n" )
	thing1:sendto("c1g", "192.168.1.43", 60)	
end

end



function resetCb()
--clean up

thing1:close()
end

[Gareth Owen]

CTR Electronics CSC will do what your after but it might be using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

 

A slighly different approach might be to use a Midi Solutions R8. You could then program each trigger input with diffrent effects settings and plug what ever you wanted in to it buttons wise. Hell, you could build your own custom control panel with all sorts of cool stuff. Reverb longer, reverb shorter, pre delay up, pre delay down, tap tempo etc etc... Or is that just silly?

[cedd]

Thanks for that one, I've seen the midi solutions boxes before, though I think you mean the f8, not the r8 which is a relay module. If I'm going for a hardware solution then it opens up several options, there are some units floating around now with motorized faders and the lot, or foot pedals. At the minute though, I'm keen to keep it PC based.

 

At the minute, PCstage with the button plugin is looking like the cheapest option. Not that cheapest is always best, but as this is a "I'd like" and not an "I need", I can't justify too much of a spend. To be honest, the idea of writing my own software is sounding quite exciting, I've done it before but I think I'm going to have to change language as I feel this is a little too much for plain old C!!! The C# syntax is very similar though. If I produce anything useful then I'll stick it up on the web somewhere. It may take me a while!

 

Many thanks for the samples of code, they're going to be really useful.

[Modge]

I didn't mention this before because it's probably pushing the boundaries of what the blue room discusses (and I didn't get round to PM'ing you...), but seeing as you mention it:

 

If you know c and vb then c# is a fairly easy step for you, easier if anything than c++. The basic syntax is C, though you have have to declare your code "unmanaged" if you want to use pointers in the traditional c manor. If you're used to vb .net then most of the it uses the same libraries as well, though be aware that (like straight c and unlike vb) it's case sensitive.

 

You probably could do the whole thing in VB if you wanted, though speaking as a man who used to do boring stuff with VB and databases for a living I'd sooner stab my self in the eye with a spoon. Download c# express edition from the M$ website (it's free and suitable), have a browse of the code project website or buy your self Stephen C. Perry's "C# and .Net". Ether way treat this as a learning exercise and it should be perfectly doable.

[David Duffy]

OK, sounds like you need a midi version of the Serial Buttons software I just wrote.

 

Is it just Note On and Note Off message you need?

 

How many buttons?

[cedd]

OK, sounds like you need a midi version of the Serial Buttons software I just wrote.

 

Is it just Note On and Note Off message you need?

 

How many buttons?

Hi David

I'll have a look into just exactly what's needed. I'll go through my manuals and see what's going to be most useful, I'm not sure how things like delay time and "wetness" are set, I guess they'll use a velocity or something along those lines. Will get back to you.

[David Duffy]

I had a quick look at the MIDI spec earlier today. The Note On and Note Off messages have Note and Velocity parameters. Hopefully that's all that's needed.

[David Duffy]

I've been busy programming and my Serial Buttons software now has a brother - MIDI Buttons!

 

This is my first foray into MIDI, so I hope I have the implementation correct.

 

The GUI is almost identical to Serial Buttons, but with the data field replaced with Message, Channel, Note and Velocity fields.

 

I'll release version 1.0.0.0 on Saturday more than likely.