March 28, 2024, 08:33:54 pm
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register
News:

Arturia Forums



Author Topic: Softsynth MIDI control  (Read 4377 times)

bg

  • Beta-testers
  • Full Member
  • *
  • Posts: 104
  • Karma: 0
Softsynth MIDI control
« on: July 22, 2004, 05:50:00 pm »
Recently, Arturia took a survey of user preferences for MIDI controllers.  I'd like to offer a suggestion that I forgot to include in my original response.

Doepfer has proposed an elegant solution for controlling softsynths with their Pocket Dial hardware controller.  You may read about it here.  Their idea is to use MIDI Continuous Controller #96 (decimal) / 60 (Hex) and #97/61, but change the function of the third data byte.  Normally, the third byte contains the vaule for the target CC.

For example, the CC message:
B0 07 09
means "set Continuous Controller 7 (volume) to a value of 9."

Similiarly, the CC message:
B0 60 09
means "set Continuous Controller 96 (decimal) to a value of 9."

Doepfer's idea is to re-assign the third byte to the target CC number.
B0 60 09
would now mean "increment CC 9 by 1."

B0 61 09
would now mean "decrement CC 9 by 1."

CC's #96 and #97 (decimal) were chosen simply because the MIDI spec calls these Increment/Decrement controllers, but it's an arbitrary choice.  There's nothing special about 96 and 97.

Of course, this scheme works only if the rotary encoders are programmed to send data this way, and if the receiving softsynth is programmed to respond in kind.

Presently, Doepfer's Pocket Dial and a couple softsynths by Linplug are the only one's to co-adopt this convention.  The effecient thing about it is that the softsynth does not have to transmit CC values to the hardware in order to stay in sync.  The hardware simply sends a string of increment or decrement messages to the softsynth's respective controller number.  You always get jump-free editing because the hardware is truly sending relative (not absolute) values.

I have no connection with Doepfer or Linplug.  I believe their proposed standard is elegant.  I hope Arturia will consider it in future software or hardware planning.

Bart Garratt

xavier

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 73
  • Karma: 1
Softsynth MIDI control
« Reply #1 on: August 12, 2004, 02:43:08 pm »
Thank for this post Bart.
I will look on this method.
Do you know if there is other Midi Controllers which use this feature ?
Xavier

bg

  • Beta-testers
  • Full Member
  • *
  • Posts: 104
  • Karma: 0
Softsynth MIDI control
« Reply #2 on: August 16, 2004, 09:40:18 pm »
Xavier, other than Doepfer's Pocket Dial I'm not aware of any other controller which uses this feature.

I downloaded the user manual for the new Behringer BCR2000 & BCF2000.  The manual refers to Absolute mode as well as Increment/Decrement mode, but it was not clear to me what it actually transmits in Inc/Dec mode.

Anonymous

  • Guest
Softsynth MIDI control
« Reply #3 on: August 31, 2004, 11:45:05 pm »
I think the Novation remote 25 is that way as well

bg

  • Beta-testers
  • Full Member
  • *
  • Posts: 104
  • Karma: 0
Softsynth MIDI control
« Reply #4 on: September 01, 2004, 04:57:37 pm »
I looked on Novations's website, but didn't see anything about the Remote 25 implementing Doepfer's method of CC transmission.  Do you have any more info on this?  Thanks.

 

Carbonate design by Bloc
SMF 2.0.17 | SMF © 2019, Simple Machines