Being unable to find all the things I was looking for to build a remote control on an Android tablet, the last august I started learning Max from scratch and I managed to implement both MIDI and OSC bi-directional communication for my tracking activities.
I created a Max big patch I put in an "OSC aux" track in a template that has all the tracks I wish to control, I used Clyphx free and TouchOSC Mk1.
When I want to start a new recording project I load that template.
I also wanted to create a flexible remote that would let me choose on witch PC to work (desk or NUC) and to choose between two user (my wife and I) behaving a little differently according to the user selected.
It's not perfect but for our needs it's invaluable, above all when we track vocals as it allows us to stay in front of the mic instead of having to go to use the keyboard or the mouse.
On my main page (and little differently, on mi wife's), for each track of interest and for the return tracks, I have these buttons:
- listen/mute with visual feedback of the track state, event if I change the state directly in Ableton
- arm/unarm with visual feedback of the track state, event if I change the state directly in Ableton
- set volume to 0dB/-6dB
- up/down 1 dB
Then:
- a display showing the cursor time in h.mm:ss
- a big red signal that when I hit rec it lights on and shows "recording"
As for the Loop functionalities I've been able to programme these buttons:
- shorten / "longen" loop lengh a bit
- half / double loop length keeping the starting point
- move loop little left or little right
- move loop left or right
- move loop starting point to cursor
- move loop to start (I setup a bookmark called "start" in my template)
- a numeric display that shows the loop start in mm:ss
- a numeric display the shows the loop end in mm:ss
For the transport and various other commands i have buttons (synced, when it makes sense) to:
- a button to activate/unactivate the looping with synced feedback (see above)
- play from loop start
- play from last stop
- play from cursor
- play
- stop
- rec
- move playhead a little left/right
- switch view between session and arrangement
- undo
- redo
- save
On another page of TouchOSC Mk I, the app I'm using on the tablets, I have:
- a slider to let me set the loop length
- a slider to move the loop
- a slider to set the grain of the effect of the sliders (coarse/fine)
- a button to set the loop length to the length of the full song (in the template I also setup an "end" bookmark)
Here's a few screens.
Thanks.
f.