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Any bluetooth midi controllers w faders/knobs out there?
The nanoKONTROL Studio is all I’ve found on the subject. Are there any other? It has to be Bluetooth and on battery. It’s for working with subtractive synthesis on iOS and macOS. And yeah: NO key bed.
Kindly,
Joachim
Comments
https://www.studiologic-music.com/products/mixface/
That looks awesome! But will it work with GarageBand on iOS as well? Could I assign any fader/knob to any midi cc?
On the spec page of the link provided, at the very bottom, it says GarageBand on iOS is not supported, so perhaps not. Of course, sometimes companies list that things are not supported when in fact they are, so perhaps someone with the unit can let us know for sure.
Ah. Ok. Well that’s a big deal for me since I’m a heavy user of AudioLayer. 🙂
I'm looking for a really clean-lined set of faders. Minimal by design. I like the ones on Slate + Ash, The 16N, but they're not available right now, and out of stock at the moment. Anything cheaper, but still minimal in design? I'd be happy with 8 faders, in a minimal black or white case.
Any links or names etc most welcome.
I have a Mixface, I like it a lot. On iOS with Bluetooth I mostly use it as a mixer for Loopy Pro.
The Bluetooth functions can be programmed on the unit and mapped in IOS like any Bluetooth controller. I think the compatibility refers to the USB DAW modes, of which GarageBand is one, these are configured for Desktop not iOS. There is also the option to use it over USB with your own assignments.
It’s a very versatile controller, highly recommended. Be aware though that the knobs are pots and not encoders.
I came across it earlier. It looks interesting, for sure, and the bluetooth option is a sweetener. I previously used a Korg NanoKontrol Studio, but sold it, I really didn't need so much. It's just the faders I'm after. Nice it can be used over USB too.
Can you please explain the difference between pots and encoders?
Pots (potentiometers) have a fixed physical start and end position/value, like a pan or volume knob on a mixer. Encoders go round and round and rely on feedback from whatever they are controlling to determine the value. There may be more to it than that, but I think that’s the nubb of it.
on the minimal tip:
https://nakedboards.org/products
Thank you. That's really helpful.
Pots (potentiometers) have a fixed range of travel and send a voltage within fixed range according to their position. This is then translated by a microcontroller into MIDI values from 0 to 127 typically.
Encoders send a repeating signal as they're turned, positive in one direction, and negative in the other. This is translated by a microcontroller as something like +1 for clockwise and -1 for counter clockwise, though this can vary. The software then translates this into increasing or decreasing the value of whatever it is controlling.
Feedback isn't used to determine what the encoder is sending. Feedback is used to update the hardware controller's display of the value for that knob if it has a way of doing so. For instance some controllers have a LED ring that reflects the value in the software, or, this could be displayed on a LCD readout.
Thank you!
See some threads here - from what I remember, very few apps apart from the odd exception will actually fedd back to the encoder controller (some Sinan apps are exceptions, Fundamental 2 for example) so you will likely be wasting your money on these for iOS, even though they sound cool. So for most work flows where you are saving sessions in aum and your sessions have a lot of variety, and want to open those back up, using any kind of controller started to feel like a waste of time for me, I'd rather just use the touchscreen, except maybe for very simple things like controlling volume faders, and even then you're gonna have to make sure that your faders on the controller are set up right every time you open an aum session. Same goes btw for virtual controllers - let's say you use sqsl Temp or Latch, even when they get presets systems - which is looking likely! - unless you remember to resave your preset exactly at the same of any AUM jam you want to recall, you're going to have problems with knobs in aum being out of sync with the sequencer, and unless you initially go through and align everything, you'll get sudden and possibly unpleasantly fast and unmusical results when you open an old session you haven't saved exactly as it was left and start tweaking controller slides / knobs etc. But at least with a preset system you'll have that option, so all you'll need to do is leave a session in the state you next want it to start at and remember to save a preset
Tldr : controllers are better in theory currently than in practise. You can get a lovely fader unit that feels fantastic to the touch, but it mostly won't give you the same experience as working with knobs directly in an app, if using regular low res midi - you may hear stepping etc when changing values. So on this level I understand why some people just prefer hardware
This is why encoders can be more useful than faders or pots. At least with encoders you know that at any time turning clockwise will increase and counter-clockwise will decrease the control. The software has to support encoders however, and that is rare.
With encoders, any visual feedback on the controller itself is a problem if the app doesn't provide feedback to the controller. Even the almighty Drambo doesn't do that natively.
I wrote a Mozaic script that can be a help with this in some situations: https://patchstorage.com/controller-tracker-and-snapshots/.
I agree that aside from having fun noodling, the problems mentioned above make me feel like it's not very worthwhile to use a hardware controller when returning to saved projects. Apps that support "pickup mode" are a help. At least then, the control doesn't engage until you cross the existing setting. So, if a control is at cc value 73, and your controller knob is at 40, nothing will change until that knob moves to value 74.
To me encoders are more practical. I don't care much about feedback to display the current values on the controller since it's so problematic. I would only reference the UI of the app anyway.
Of course, faders can't be encoders. So that's means being stuck with knobs.
Honourable feedback capable mentions due then to the mighty Turnado and also QNTM:KNTRL V2 by @soundtemple, the latter a set of Mozaic scripts that lets you use encoders to control more or less anything in a multi synth AUM session.
Tood, I knew you would have deep insights into this. Will likely save Andō a bunch of cash!
Here’s a good vintage solution if you can find one. Evolution X-session, 16 knobs (pots). It’s a cousin of the UC-33 which comes with additional faders.
I Bluetooth’d mine with a CME widi and USB powerbank.
You can also convert any other USB MIDI class compliant controller (like the cheap KORG NanoKontrol with 8 faders and more buttons) with a Yamaha UD-BT01 or a CME WIDI Jack plus adapters and a USB powerbank.
It's mostly for a piece of desktop software I have. Although it would be nice to add it's use to iOS too.
@steve99 @rs2000 do you know if host apps treat these bluetooth connections as persistent? For instance, if I restart the host app, will the bluetooth connection be automatically restored? Will it be restored if I leave the host running and turn off the device for a while and then turn it on?
This does happen with wired devices, so I'd like to know if a similar workflow is possible with minimal additional fuss.
No, I do have to re-connect almost every time.
BT MIDI connections will usually persist as long as you're working on the iDevice though.
Got it, thanks!
If you’re rich and beautiful and have tiny-ish fingers, the teenage ingeneering tx-6 works really well as a controller with 6 faders, 18 knobs sn a couble of buttons. BT and battery built in, ladts vor many hours and us a capable audio interface with way too many gimmicks. very expensive, but really amazing!