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Midi knobs to add tactility to soft synths

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Comments

  • @senhorlampada said:
    I was gonna mention a regret on not getting a Korg Microkontrol back in the day... and I saw your snippet

    This sure would be awesome nowadays with iOS :tongue:

    That's a good looking keyboard!

    If you find one used in decent condition, it's nice that almost every parameter or setting can be assigned or modified directly from the front panel. I'm surprised that many recent MIDI controllers rely on PC software to do this.

    And those individual LCDs cannot be customized with your own text, you have to choose from a list.

  • @AlmostAnonymous said:
    I don’t know of any, but some other forum members might be able to answer that.

    Not answering that, but kind of connected... It's probably about time Quantum Kontroller by @soundtemple got an honorary mention here. It's a phenomenal suite of mozaic plugins for sequencing and control in AUM. The KNTRL element alone is worth investigating for it's ability to control multiple synth parameters from 4 knobs.

    It was designed for use with a Launchpad mini and a Midi fighter Twister as hardware controllers. I've used it extensively with a Launchpad X and both a Behringer X-touch mini and now a Midi Fighter Twister. The crucial point here is that it does offer a level of bi-directional feedback to the MFT.

    It took me a while to get to grips with, but each step was a creative process in itself. There's good documentation and video tutorials. As I say, in the context of this thread, you don't need to learn / use the sequencing elements to make use of the KNTRL/control Mozaic element. There are several synth templates built in and you can also build your own (no Mozaic scripting involved, you can do it in the GUI). The package comes with a very useful repository of AUM channels for various synths. I started with controlling Lagrange (which was new to me) and have not looked back.

    https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/43006/now-available-free-make-songs-in-aum-with-scenes-automation-control-1000-params-4-knobs

  • Hopefully soon, we'll see powerful MIDI 2.0 controllers, with proper bi-directional MIDI feedback built in, without the hacks desktop developers are forced to use now (Mackie's thinning of rotten MIDI feedback loops, etc.). Apple's on the MIDI 2.0 bandwagon.

  • @ocelot said:
    Behringer BCR32: Those little LEDs around the encoders are excellent for bi-directional feedback, plus it has CV/Gate outputs and USB MIDI, and the Zaquencer sequencer. Supposedly will support the iPad with the camera connection kit.

    I think I will invest in one of these when it’s available.

  • edited June 2021

    @Foleslaw said:
    A used Akai MIdimix could do the job as well. Get one and exchange the knobs for some of your preference (that's what I;m doing, still waiting for the knobs to come though) as the stock ones are really lame. Just be sure to buy D-shaft knobs and you should be good to go.
    All in all this controller+knobs would be a pretty cheap investment. Mind that the LEDs on the controller don't light up when using with iOS.
    I sure like the other options mentioned here though they are at a higher price point.

    +1 but the knobs on Midimix are simply not very ergonomic and the spacing between them rather small. Are there any good alternative knobs you can recommend @Foleslaw ?

  • @ocelot said:
    @AlmostAnonymous Do the Eventide plugins on the desktop support bi-directional feedback?

    Which iOS apps support HUI or MCU? Any?

    Just recently Cubasis 3 became one

  • The Behringer looks cool. Definately a synth controller layout. Certainly cheaper than the audio4c option plus an ipad mini. Oh well.

  • With the Behringer plus apps. Can ios achieve what a vermona perfourmer can. I think it has a cycle function per voice. Not sure but it seems you can play more live. What would be needed in ios synths with the controller to be like the vermona or is it just a function that isnt essential ( not worth £1200+ ) etc. Would be good to know asap as I might be able to return an audio4c. Why would I need it if I dont buy another ipad.

  • Guess Im sticking to the plan ( my only fan )

    A behringher controller would likely not need me buying another ipad. It were just for a couple of synths ( which can obviously sound bad if you keep tweaking ) but.. a flick of of hexagliphics here. A shoom there.

    With the behringer plus a billion other controllers. Its the ultimate ios setup in terms of control.

    If it still not ideal. Then its either me or the system.

    Think I need to complete the mission.

  • @michael_m, @sigma79 The BCR32 was announced in January this year and while a number of other new products have been released by Behringer, it has become surprisingly silent about it.

    Anyone's got an update?

  • @rs2000 said:
    @michael_m, @sigma79 The BCR32 was announced in January this year and while a number of other new products have been released by Behringer, it has become surprisingly silent about it.

    Anyone's got an update?

    Not sure rs.

    Just heard about it here.

    What would the sequencer be like compared to ios. Can you sequencer plus use to control synth parameters. Would it be easy chords. Would there be an app that cycles to the synths ( like a Vermona )

    Havent really studied the Vermona setup posted in the techno thread. So probably unsure. Dont even use chords or know about scale settings and there seems to be a billion apps for these. Will see though when the Behringer is released.

  • @sigma79 said:

    @rs2000 said:
    @michael_m, @sigma79 The BCR32 was announced in January this year and while a number of other new products have been released by Behringer, it has become surprisingly silent about it.

    Anyone's got an update?

    Not sure rs.

    Just heard about it here.

    What would the sequencer be like compared to ios. Can you sequencer plus use to control synth parameters. Would it be easy chords. Would there be an app that cycles to the synths ( like a Vermona )

    Havent really studied the Vermona setup posted in the techno thread. So probably unsure. Dont even use chords or know about scale settings and there seems to be a billion apps for these. Will see though when the Behringer is released.

    Ooh, too much to list here and the sequencer is already out there on the BCR2000 if you've purchased the custom firmware:
    https://zaqaudio.com/

  • @rs2000 said:

    @sigma79 said:

    @rs2000 said:
    @michael_m, @sigma79 The BCR32 was announced in January this year and while a number of other new products have been released by Behringer, it has become surprisingly silent about it.

    Anyone's got an update?

    Not sure rs.

    Just heard about it here.

    What would the sequencer be like compared to ios. Can you sequencer plus use to control synth parameters. Would it be easy chords. Would there be an app that cycles to the synths ( like a Vermona )

    Havent really studied the Vermona setup posted in the techno thread. So probably unsure. Dont even use chords or know about scale settings and there seems to be a billion apps for these. Will see though when the Behringer is released.

    Ooh, too much to list here and the sequencer is already out there on the BCR2000 if you've purchased the custom firmware:
    https://zaqaudio.com/

    Seems good.

    Thanks

  • @rs2000 said:
    @michael_m, @sigma79 The BCR32 was announced in January this year and while a number of other new products have been released by Behringer, it has become surprisingly silent about it.

    Anyone's got an update?

    After seeing the render I have immediately done a Google search to find out the price but found out it's not on the market yet. Hopefully they will produce it because it is a beautiful piece of kit. Those knobs with led indicators look incredibly useful and knowing Behringer's pricing policy, it's most likely a device I can afford.

  • @audiblevideo said:
    If you want a screen for you stand alone knobs I saw one gut hookup an iPhone/pod to his twister using OSC to mirror and label the knobs on the twister… can’t remember the video though

    It's been in my to-do list for some time. It shouldn't be hard to do in TouchOSC or Lemur, just need to find time.
    I don't have the twister but I have a keyboard with 16 encoders and I can't get used to them. When I switch from one synth to another, I always forget what each encoder is mapped to. A screen, even small would definitely help. Plus I would be able to ditch the cable and connect to my computer or ipad via Bluetooth

  • I bought a Modal Cobalt 8. With that I got an incredible synth and a perfect controller for any soft synth that has a somewhat similar layout. I love that, though now I tend to use mostly the Cobalt. Lol.

  • Yes the Behringer looks great but I must say that I made the experience that with so many knobs you quickly get lost what is the meaning of the knobs. Its just too many at once. I think the electra one is the superior concept as you have a visualization of what is the meaning of the knobs and you can group the controls in meaningful pages.

    But then I got another idea. MidiDesigner Pro has got the concept of a pedalboard. On a pedalboard you can add hidden controllers, so called super controllers, that control normal controllers. Then you can create several pages of controllers each mapped to a synth parameter and to the super controllers while having the super controllers midi learned to your HW controller. With this setup you can effectively do the same as the electra one. Having a smaller set of knobs that can control parameters and several pages that define and visualize which actual parameters are mapped to the knobs. I put this on my iPhone and attached it to my HW controller. Works.

    Well, but honestly I never did more than my prototype because it was a huge effort to cover only one of my numerous synths.

  • @FloRi89 said:
    I bought a Modal Cobalt 8. With that I got an incredible synth and a perfect controller for any soft synth that has a somewhat similar layout. I love that, though now I tend to use mostly the Cobalt. Lol.

    A Modal Craft Synth should be showing up at my door tomorrow, after several months of contemplation. Realizing it could also be used as a MIDI controller and save me from a Fighter Twister (for now) really sealed the deal for me.

  • @FloRi89 said:
    I bought a Modal Cobalt 8. With that I got an incredible synth and a perfect controller for any soft synth that has a somewhat similar layout. I love that, though now I tend to use mostly the Cobalt. Lol.

    The module one, or the keyboard one? Or the even more keyboard one?

  • @israelite said:

    @Foleslaw said:
    A used Akai MIdimix could do the job as well. Get one and exchange the knobs for some of your preference (that's what I;m doing, still waiting for the knobs to come though) as the stock ones are really lame. Just be sure to buy D-shaft knobs and you should be good to go.
    All in all this controller+knobs would be a pretty cheap investment. Mind that the LEDs on the controller don't light up when using with iOS.
    I sure like the other options mentioned here though they are at a higher price point.

    +1 but the knobs on Midimix are simply not very ergonomic and the spacing between them rather small. Are there any good alternative knobs you can recommend @Foleslaw ?

    Sorry, didn't see your reply.
    I'll let you know if the type of knobs that I ordered do the job as soon as I get them. Nothing fancy though. Cheap chinese ones - still should be way better than those stock ones.
    I don't have a clue how come they put such crappy ones in a controller that's mostly knob based. I have an MPD218 and Fire as well and the knobs on those controllers are waaay better

  • @krassmann said:
    Yes the Behringer looks great but I must say that I made the experience that with so many knobs you quickly get lost what is the meaning of the knobs. Its just too many at once. I think the electra one is the superior concept as you have a visualization of what is the meaning of the knobs and you can group the controls in meaningful pages.

    But then I got another idea. MidiDesigner Pro has got the concept of a pedalboard. On a pedalboard you can add hidden controllers, so called super controllers, that control normal controllers. Then you can create several pages of controllers each mapped to a synth parameter and to the super controllers while having the super controllers midi learned to your HW controller. With this setup you can effectively do the same as the electra one. Having a smaller set of knobs that can control parameters and several pages that define and visualize which actual parameters are mapped to the knobs. I put this on my iPhone and attached it to my HW controller. Works.

    Well, but honestly I never did more than my prototype because it was a huge effort to cover only one of my numerous synths.

    Not the case if you use controller for sequencing ( Euclidean ) as the tracks will be the same but the verdict is still out. Same controller though could be used to tweak standard sequenced drum ( sounds ) and not the sequence.

  • @Sawiton said:

    @FloRi89 said:
    I bought a Modal Cobalt 8. With that I got an incredible synth and a perfect controller for any soft synth that has a somewhat similar layout. I love that, though now I tend to use mostly the Cobalt. Lol.

    A Modal Craft Synth should be showing up at my door tomorrow, after several months of contemplation. Realizing it could also be used as a MIDI controller and save me from a Fighter Twister (for now) really sealed the deal for me.

    Yes, and it works really great, you'll be happy about it, you'll see.

    @u0421793 said:

    @FloRi89 said:
    I bought a Modal Cobalt 8. With that I got an incredible synth and a perfect controller for any soft synth that has a somewhat similar layout. I love that, though now I tend to use mostly the Cobalt. Lol.

    The module one, or the keyboard one? Or the even more keyboard one?

    It was a birthday present and they go me the Cobalt 8X, so the even more keyboard version. Also I play piano, so more keys really come in handy.

  • Anyone thinking of picking up an arturia beatstep for its 16 banks of 16 encoders, don't bother.

    I got one for dirt cheap, and while I'm impressed by the heavy metal chassis and pad quality, the encoders are extremely erratic and unreliable. All of them jump around, skipping values, even with acceleration off, no matter what settings I tried, even with the latest firmware.

    This video pretty much matches my experience when I try to do a slow controlled filter sweep. Same on iOS PC etc.

    I'm mostly disappointed in that I thought the thing would be somewhat reliable since arturia is fairly prominent in the synth world.

    Insult to injury, there's no octave shift. You can only change octaves by adjusting the transpose blindly 1 semitone at a time and count 12 clicks.

    To be fair it was an impulse buy, saw one for cheaper than a nanokontrol so I grabbed it without doing my research. But I'm still surprised.

  • @FloRi89 said:
    I bought a Modal Cobalt 8. With that I got an incredible synth and a perfect controller for any soft synth that has a somewhat similar layout. I love that, though now I tend to use mostly the Cobalt. Lol.

    I might end up going down this route. The cobalt and argon are definitely right up my alley. Sexy metal boxes with knobs, and they have good synth engines inside...

  • @Sawiton said:

    @FloRi89 said:
    I bought a Modal Cobalt 8. With that I got an incredible synth and a perfect controller for any soft synth that has a somewhat similar layout. I love that, though now I tend to use mostly the Cobalt. Lol.

    A Modal Craft Synth should be showing up at my door tomorrow, after several months of contemplation. Realizing it could also be used as a MIDI controller and save me from a Fighter Twister (for now) really sealed the deal for me.

    Wow the craft is really 150$??? That's... That's a great deal. Gonna have to look into this more.

  • edited June 2021

    @GeorgeL909 said:

    @Sawiton said:

    @FloRi89 said:
    I bought a Modal Cobalt 8. With that I got an incredible synth and a perfect controller for any soft synth that has a somewhat similar layout. I love that, though now I tend to use mostly the Cobalt. Lol.

    A Modal Craft Synth should be showing up at my door tomorrow, after several months of contemplation. Realizing it could also be used as a MIDI controller and save me from a Fighter Twister (for now) really sealed the deal for me.

    Wow the craft is really 150$??? That's... That's a great deal. Gonna have to look into this more.

    The skulpt is only a few dollars more for 3 more voices. The angular layout took a hot minute to get used to.

  • The Modal Craft synth showed up fine and seems to be very capable of making some beautiful noises. The knobs, however, are somewhat underwhelming feeling. They are much less sturdy feeling than the knobs on my MPK261 and even less sturdy feeling than the knobs on my old nanoKONTROL. Looks like a Fighter Twister is back on the menu, Boys!

  • Oh, a LOTR fan :D

  • Faderfox EC4 labels all its knob mappings

  • I really love encoders on AKAI APC40. They are super sturdy, yet smooth when moving. Also quite big and with a grip surface. As a DJ I am really picky when it comes to encoders and these checked most of my marks.
    But of course, this is quite an overkill if you want to just control a synth. Unfortunately, seems like other AKAI controllers use cheaper encoders. But maybe worth more digging, I don't know by heart their whole product range.
    But I think MIDI fighter should be a reasonable option - at least from feedback I stumble upon here and there, people really praise the quality.

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