Jump to midi controller parameter

[fireballgames]

Hey There,

I'm using ableton with a bcr2000 which has 32 rotary knobs.
Sometimes I don't remember which knob controls what
Is there any way to make ableton show me which parameter I'm tweaking when I'm moving a knob around?

Thanks
J

[turrican]

hi!

Usually Live reports if a controller is already mapped and asks if you want to reassign it.
If you press ctrl+m you see lefthand a table with the assigned controllers.

If you want to have it dynamically and because its a nice tool, you should install huskerVU,
wich display the value changes and the tracknames and the plugIns/Parameters so on..
Its working together with a MackieControl-script/remote controll in Live,You can give it a try:

http://www.xmlconsulting.co.nz/husker/huskervu.htm

[fireballgames]

Thanks turrican,
But that's not what I'm looking for.
The BCR2000 tells me the values
I'd like Live's GUI to jump to the controller I'm moving...
Is that possible?

[turrican]

oh, sorry, i believe not..

but wait, its not the best way but you could push the global record button and turn all knobs you're not sure about
After that you switch to the arrangement view and "ask" live to show you all the automated data..

[fireballgames]

This is for on-stage situations , So that's not an option
thanks anyway
J

[Ed J]

I too have this problem with the BCR, notably when using operator.

AFAIK it's impossible to get it to show you the correct page, however if you've manually assigned the knobs you should just assign them to the title bar of the instrument/effect/whatever you've assigned it too as well, and that'll shift the focus!

[zalo]

the only problem is i think you can only assign one controller to focus, so if you have more than one knob on the same plugin you cant have them all focus to it and also

multiple effects + multiple focus = crazy GUI jitter

my best advice, white bandage tape and sharpie, since the bcr shows knob position (right?) you wont have to look at the screen if you have it physically labeled

[Tone Deft]

+






that's what people use. on the BCR, not the computer screen.

[longjohns]

don't get that cheap run of the mill masking tape. get the white stuff that will come off next year

[fireballgames]

Thanks you guys, especially Tone Deft for the graphic demonstration
I was kinda hoping to leave the old school marker in the closet , but it seems technology isn't ready for me yet

Cheers

[ton]

I'd like Live's GUI to jump to the controller I'm moving...
Is that possible?

It should be possible, if a system or software knows the structure of your Live performance setup like how many tracks you are using, how many effects you are usings, which effects you are using. I suppose if you would limit yourself to a fixed structure it should be possible to create mappings from your BCR2000 controller surface (e.g. the 32 encoders/knobs) to those fixed places in your Live performance setup. If Live alone is not sufficient sometimes, you might have to use also AutoHotkey for this purpose which is available for Windows only.

I think what is missing in the market is a powerful, universal, configurable, flexible, simple, extendable "midi event set mapping/filtering/transformation tool" offering its own midi programming language which would support any imaginable ideas around midi event sets and their control. So you have to create such a tool yourself until it will be developed.

Just to give two examples of what I mean above, e.g.
- Bome's Midi Translator or
- Midi Rules ( http://cycokraut.wordpress.com/midi-rules ) which both have their own limitations.

Btw. the most powerful midi programming language is already available, its name is Keykit ( http://nosuch.com/keykit ).

To sum up, for a powerful system you need tools which can operate in the midi domain and tools which can operate in the application domain. For Windows my recommendation would be Keykit for the midi domain and AutoHotkey for the application domain. So using such a principle any midi hardware controller surface could be extended by programming a software tool/extension/interface which operates in both above mentioned domains.

BCR Performer would be just another example for the use of midi domain via Max/Msp. Midi controller softwares are far from being optimal imo. The available developer preferences seem to concentrate on other things, like developing in-house-standards, like e.g. AutoMap from Novation. So Novation kind of tries to force you to use their system of definitions how controllers should work.

[jibberish]

I think you can apply a midi control to the heading bar of an effect, and this will bring the effect up on the screen. So double map the parameter control and the effect header to the same knob. Adjusting the parameter should focus your screen on the effect.

I haven't tried it yet, but I was looking at the akaipro website last night and there was a video about the apc40 and the user was explaining this concept. He said it was universal and would work with any controller.

[zalo]

I think you can apply a midi control to the heading bar of an effect, and this will bring the effect up on the screen. So double map the parameter control and the effect header to the same knob. Adjusting the parameter should focus your screen on the effect.

I haven't tried it yet, but I was looking at the akaipro website last night and there was a video about the apc40 and the user was explaining this concept. He said it was universal and would work with any controller.

if you have two mapped knobs on the same effect you cant map both knobs to the heading bar

also if you are turning knobs on 2 separate effects then the jitter between the two would be unbearable

[jibberish]

yes, but if used selectively and with intent, then i think it generally solves the problem fireballgames posted. if you set it up to jump to the effect then you aren't going to be suprised when it happens. you don't have to do it for every effect.

also, i think some creative audio effect racking / macro assignments could get multiple knobs assigned to a single heading.

[fireballgames]

also, i think some creative audio effect racking / macro assignments could get multiple knobs assigned to a single heading.

A fiendish idea just popped into my head
You can take a utility effect which does nothing and pair it (group it) with an effect you need
then you can map more than one knob to the same "effect" by adding "dummy" effects and mapping to their bars
than just group them together and minimize them
the real question is what happens when I move more than one knob at a time