MPK49++: Improved Akai MPK49 control scripts
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 12:02 am
Hi all! I love my MPK49 but felt that it could be better integrated with live. So I created a custom control script.
Basically, I want the mixer part of the controller to act a bit more like the mixer in the APC series of controllers, with the ability to focus on a specific area of the live set and move that focus (a.k.a. Red Box). It's still a work in progress but would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on how to improve it or maybe even change it. And of course I hope it's useful for you too.
What's implemented so far:
* There is a 1x8 focus ring (again, the Red Box) which tells you which part of the live set you are controlling. The FFWD and RWD buttons move the focus ring left or right. There is also support for Launchsync(Tested in LE with Launchpad Mini and Touchable but should work with other controllers and the Launchsync pro as well - edit: I've been contacted by the people from Isotonik to tell me that it might not work on Launchsync pro as it uses a different engine. I'll purchase it at some point and try to hack support for it
) so you can sync the focus ring with your Launchpad, Touchable, or whatever controllers are supported by Launchsync.
* The other transport controls (STOP, PLAY, and REC) work as originally intented.
* In all of the control banks (A, B, and C) the slider encoders control the volume of the corresponding track in Live, For example if the focus is on tracks 2-9, the first slider will control the volume of track 2.
* The rest of the Controls are (R is rotary encoder, B is button):
Bank A:
R: Send A
B: Track Arm
Bank B:
R: Send B
B: Track select
Bank C:
R: Pan
B: Mute
This layout was a bit arbitrary, it was the first think that popped into my head. Maybe it can be improved?
Also the pads control 4 pages of pads when a drum rack is selected (4 pad banks for 4 pages)
Like I said, it's a work in progress and things that don't work or could be improved include:
* The button states are not synced from live to the controller. For example if you arm a track by any other mean, this will not be reflected in the controller's button. Or if you move the focus ring, the states don't move with the focus.
* Enable the focus ring only when the controller is connected. Right now, even if the controller is unplugged, the focus ring will be shown.
* Maybe use the FFWD and RWD to move the track selection and the ring focus movement would be entirely dictated by Launchsync.
* Change the mappings. Maybe leave control bank C for the user to map manually to Live.
* Change the REC button behaviour to instead of enable global recording, jump to the next available clip slot in the selected track and start recording there.
* A bit far fetched, but maybe send MIDI sync signals to the MPK49 so even when the controller is set to external MIDI clock and Live is stopped, you'd still be able to use the tempo based functions of the controller (i.e. arpeggiator, note repeat)
The scripts can be downloaded from:
https://github.com/CesarPantoja/MPK49pp
Feel free to modify the scripts as you wish! An also if you think you can tackle some of the issues above or improve the code in any way, to contribute to the GitHub repo (I'm still learning!). This script should also work on Akai's other MPKXX controllers, i.e. MPK25, MPK61, and MPK88.
If you are reading this, I assume you know how to install the scripts. If not, ask for help here and I'd be more than glad to help. The only special instruction is that the preset in the controller must be a special one, which I've also included in the scripts folder for your convenience. You can use Live's Dump functionality in the MIDI settings screen or I've included the preset in Sysex (so you use your Sysex program of choice) and in SQS format, which is the one used by Akai's editor.
That's it for now! Thanks for you attention! Don't hesitate to ask any question or if you want to know a bit more in-depth on how the script works.
Oh I also have a Kenton Killamix Mini for which I want to create a custom script to control devices inside tracks, again Synced with my Launchpad Mini through Launchsync.
Cheers!
- Cesar
P.S. Thanks to Hanz Petrov (Of the _Framework blog) because I learned so much from his posts, the creators of the scripts from Akai and Launchsync, because I copied some of their ideas (and a few lines of code here and there - I hope I don't get into trouble), all the internet posters that helped me solve some questions and off course Ableton and Akai for creating great products.
Basically, I want the mixer part of the controller to act a bit more like the mixer in the APC series of controllers, with the ability to focus on a specific area of the live set and move that focus (a.k.a. Red Box). It's still a work in progress but would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on how to improve it or maybe even change it. And of course I hope it's useful for you too.
What's implemented so far:
* There is a 1x8 focus ring (again, the Red Box) which tells you which part of the live set you are controlling. The FFWD and RWD buttons move the focus ring left or right. There is also support for Launchsync(Tested in LE with Launchpad Mini and Touchable but should work with other controllers and the Launchsync pro as well - edit: I've been contacted by the people from Isotonik to tell me that it might not work on Launchsync pro as it uses a different engine. I'll purchase it at some point and try to hack support for it
) so you can sync the focus ring with your Launchpad, Touchable, or whatever controllers are supported by Launchsync.* The other transport controls (STOP, PLAY, and REC) work as originally intented.
* In all of the control banks (A, B, and C) the slider encoders control the volume of the corresponding track in Live, For example if the focus is on tracks 2-9, the first slider will control the volume of track 2.
* The rest of the Controls are (R is rotary encoder, B is button):
Bank A:
R: Send A
B: Track Arm
Bank B:
R: Send B
B: Track select
Bank C:
R: Pan
B: Mute
This layout was a bit arbitrary, it was the first think that popped into my head. Maybe it can be improved?
Also the pads control 4 pages of pads when a drum rack is selected (4 pad banks for 4 pages)
Like I said, it's a work in progress and things that don't work or could be improved include:
* The button states are not synced from live to the controller. For example if you arm a track by any other mean, this will not be reflected in the controller's button. Or if you move the focus ring, the states don't move with the focus.
* Enable the focus ring only when the controller is connected. Right now, even if the controller is unplugged, the focus ring will be shown.
* Maybe use the FFWD and RWD to move the track selection and the ring focus movement would be entirely dictated by Launchsync.
* Change the mappings. Maybe leave control bank C for the user to map manually to Live.
* Change the REC button behaviour to instead of enable global recording, jump to the next available clip slot in the selected track and start recording there.
* A bit far fetched, but maybe send MIDI sync signals to the MPK49 so even when the controller is set to external MIDI clock and Live is stopped, you'd still be able to use the tempo based functions of the controller (i.e. arpeggiator, note repeat)
The scripts can be downloaded from:
https://github.com/CesarPantoja/MPK49pp
Feel free to modify the scripts as you wish! An also if you think you can tackle some of the issues above or improve the code in any way, to contribute to the GitHub repo (I'm still learning!). This script should also work on Akai's other MPKXX controllers, i.e. MPK25, MPK61, and MPK88.
If you are reading this, I assume you know how to install the scripts. If not, ask for help here and I'd be more than glad to help. The only special instruction is that the preset in the controller must be a special one, which I've also included in the scripts folder for your convenience. You can use Live's Dump functionality in the MIDI settings screen or I've included the preset in Sysex (so you use your Sysex program of choice) and in SQS format, which is the one used by Akai's editor.
That's it for now! Thanks for you attention! Don't hesitate to ask any question or if you want to know a bit more in-depth on how the script works.
Oh I also have a Kenton Killamix Mini for which I want to create a custom script to control devices inside tracks, again Synced with my Launchpad Mini through Launchsync.
Cheers!
- Cesar
P.S. Thanks to Hanz Petrov (Of the _Framework blog) because I learned so much from his posts, the creators of the scripts from Akai and Launchsync, because I copied some of their ideas (and a few lines of code here and there - I hope I don't get into trouble
), all the internet posters that helped me solve some questions and off course Ableton and Akai for creating great products.
