Midi Foot Controllers??

Henry Robinett · Post by **Henry Robinett** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 3:45 am

Anyone use midi foot controllers? Tips and hints as to their use? I have an ancient "Midi Mitigator RFC-1" foot controller. I'm hoping this'll work. I think I need just to change scenes. Maybe some clips but as far as I can see advancing and going back to scenes.

I'm still trying to figure out how I can use Live with my band. I'm a guitarist, hence the footcontroller need. I don't want to play and have my fingers on the Powerbook. I'm hoping I can also get a pedal to trigger tempo. Maybe have two - one for me the other for the drummer. I have a little Fastlane with two ports I/O.

Is anyone using foot controllers and if so what are you using? What works? What doesn't? What problems do I have to look for over the horizon??

MrYellow · Post by **MrYellow** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 4:05 am

If the footswitch only sends MIDI program change msgs then just
use "MIDI OX" or "Bome's MIDI translator" to make them into MIDI notes
or controller msgs which can be used by LIVE.

-Ben

Henry Robinett · Post by **Henry Robinett** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 4:19 am

What's Midi Ox or Bome's Midi Translator? I'm searching for them now . . .

Henry Robinett · Post by **Henry Robinett** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 4:21 am

At quick glance those look to be Windows applications. I'm on a Mac.

AdamJay · Post by **AdamJay** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 4:31 am

i believe Plogue Bidule will do the translation..

hoffman2k will certainly chime in in the next 12 hours with confirmation on that....

www.plogue.com

Henry Robinett · Post by **Henry Robinett** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 5:09 am

OK, I downloaded Plogue Bidule. We'll see in th enext couple of days if I can get up to speed with what it is.

So I take it that midi notes are needed for controller changes in Live? The Mitigator does all the controller changes apparently. I don't see note numbers. OK, I guess I'll have to go back to the manual. I wishh transitions were easier . . .

Henry Robinett · Post by **Henry Robinett** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 2:43 pm

Question: Why would I want to assign midi note numbers to Live? Don't I basically want program change numbers? If what I want to do is change scenes . . .

I'm just trying to get the hang. I'm not playing this from a keyboard controller where I will be hitting notes. Since I'm a complete novice help me understand the reasoning.

MrYellow · Post by **MrYellow** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 3:27 am

Most cheap and simple foot switches are designed for changing Banks and
Programs on keyboards and such. They send program change messages.

For automation of software you will need notes or Continuous Controller
messages.

Changing banks is a message type that Live is best to leave for other
software or keyboards to pick up on and use. Thus you have to translate
them into notes or CC messages.

If your footswitch sends notes or CC then you don't need to change
anything.

-Ben

j · Post by j » Thu Feb 03, 2005 3:41 am

Hello

I use a foot controller (FCB1010) and it took me awhile to figure it all out.
One thing that really helped me was MIDI Monitor which is free for OS X. It shows you what messages are being received.

Someone here, Borg, posted a message that really helped me out...you could search by user or by FCB1010...although of course it may not translate for your controller.

I have a fever and feel like I will pass out so forgive if me if this is nonsense!:oops:

good luck
j

joeyfivecents · Post by **joeyfivecents** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 2:10 am

is there any way you could tell me how to program the fcb with live? I have an oxygen8 and can do it with no problem but the fcb is driving me crazy.

joeyfivecents · Post by **joeyfivecents** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 3:53 am

if soemone could help me with programming the fcb1010 in live(windows xp), I would be forever grateful.

Maurice · Post by **Maurice** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 3:29 pm

For OS X, this would map program change data to notes: http://www.charlie-roberts.com/controlAid/

I've played around with it a bit--I'm using a Digitech Control 8, and can send on/off and CC data in a different mode, which is nice...although since it has fewer buttons, I really only get four on/offs and two cc's per channel (as I need to leave one on/off free for holding down two buttons simultaneously to get into the channel change mode). Once I get comfortable with that, I'll get into using ControlAid to see if I can trigger a bunch of things at once.

Here's the URL for MIDIMonitor: http://www.snoize.com/MIDIMonitor/

Henry Robinett · Post by **Henry Robinett** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 3:39 pm

That's great! I suppose Plogue Bidule does the same thing but just much more?? But the explaination is what I need. I've been dead in the water as a creative person goes. I hate tinkering. I'd much rather be playing!

I'll give this a try.

Maurice · Post by **Maurice** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 3:51 pm

Henry Robinett wrote:That's great! I suppose Plogue Bidule does the same thing but just much more??

Dunno. I've used Bidule for other things in the past, before I was playing around with MIDI and Live, so I've not tested it for this application. Yes, it does do a whole lot more--possibly more than you need, with a lot more overhead. (Regular Bidule users--please correct me if I'm wrong.)

But the explaination is what I need. I've been dead in the water as a creative person goes. I hate tinkering. I'd much rather be playing!

I'll give this a try.

According to this, your pedal does send note-on, note-off and cc data, so I'd dig into the manual to figure out how to get into those modes. MIDI Monitor should be helpful with that process, so you can see exactly what it is sending to the Mac.

After you've set up your pedal to send the right data, then another stage of work begins: you have to work on developing a plan for which button in which channel should perform which function. The only way you can do that is try something, play around with it, see what works, what doesn't work, what you find yourself forgetting, etc. Should all global controls be on the same MIDI channel? Should you organize the setup so that all controls for a given track are on one MIDI channel, or what? It's wide open, so you'll need to figure out your style of working. In a way, you're building your own multi-effects pedal with this. I bring this up because it's disorienting, but don't get discouraged. Good luck!

Henry Robinett · Post by **Henry Robinett** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 4:20 pm

This is extremely helpful. Thanks. Now the question for today is: Do I practice guitar or do I spend the rest of the day figuring this out?

Thanks.