omar
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Post by omar on Aug 7, 2013 6:53:10 GMT
I'm trying to wrap my brain around the Stream Byter. I'm not a programmer so forgive my lack of understanding, but can midibridge issue a sysex command to my launchpad S. Many people are using the launchpad as a midi controller now ( playing
musical notes ).
Unfortunately the default midi notes coming out from launchpad is in the
X-Y Layout format ( which is more suitable for cc mapping ). After checking out the programmers guide for the launchpad S, I discovered that you can send a sysex command to switch modes.
"Change the button layout Host ยป Launchpad: Channel 1: controller 0 set to 1 or 2. B0h, 00h, 01-02h (176, 0, 1-2). Launchpad has two mapping modes that determine the MIDI note that corresponds to each button. Layout 1 is the X-Y layout. This is best for writing software that uses Launchpad S as a free grid, as it is easy to navigate around the grid in any direction simply by adding or subtracting. Layout 2 is the drum rack layout. This is ideal for situations where Launchpad must launch samples or deal with musical MIDI. Six continuous octaves are available in this mode, and they are laid out in a regular pattern. "
My question is can Midibridge send this B0h, 00h, 01-02h (176, 0, 1-2) to force launchpad into layout 2 ?
Right now I'm using note remapping to convert all the notes right, and it works but it's probably using up CPU power. Would be great if I could get the notes right straight out of my controller.
Thanks again
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nic
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Post by nic on Aug 7, 2013 9:02:49 GMT
Hi Omar,
A couple of things first (in reverse order to your questions)
1. Compared to the synths that are running on your iPad the note mapping CPU load is minuscule. Each one of those synths is probably assembling 88,200 bytes each and every second. One MIDI note/command is just 2 or 3 bytes so you are probably doing a note remap every few seconds on average while playing. Note remapping is done inside MidiBridge via indexed lookup which means the conversion uses a negligible amount of CPU. What I am saying is that if your remapping is working don't sweat it - leave it working - there is (comparatively speaking) no CPU load associated with the remapping method.
2. However, of course you may want to switch modes on the novation for other purposes. The switch message you describe above is actually not sysex but a normal controller message. MidiBridge can be setup to send this message when it receives any incoming message or a scene change. But... how about setting things up so you can switch between these modes using the novation itself?
This would be a job for the Stream Byter, for sure and I can post some rules here on how to do this. This could be a simple mapping of the 'user 1' and 'user 2' buttons to the two modes, but maybe you use these buttons in the apps you are controlling in which case we could use the new Stream Byter hold feature where it could be setup so you just hold down a button to switch modes.
In short, yes MidiBridge will be able to send that controller message to your launchpad to switch modes. If you would like me to figure out the Stream Byter magic for this, please let me know what buttons on the launchpad you would like mapped - either straight or held and I'll see what I can do.
Regards, Nic.
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omar
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Post by omar on Aug 7, 2013 15:41:39 GMT
Hi Nic, first of all thank you so much for possibly the best customer service I've maybe experienced with a product. I currently have no use for the User 1 and 2 buttons on the top of the launchpad, so let's try to make User 1 the drum rack layout ( what I need to play midi notes ) and User 2 the x-y Layout. This actually would match the normal function of the launchpad when running with ableton live. However if it's easier to do it the other way ( hold User 1 to toggle ) I will take whatever you can pull off. So many people have started using the launchpad as a keyboard, it's essentially a 64 key keyboard in 12"x12"x0.5"space. Amazing. Novation unfortunately isn't taking advantage of this for the new Launchpad S. If you can make this work, I imagine it will open up a lot of musician to play the launchpad with any soft synth or even external hardware ( Tetra4 ) in my case. That enough should be a selling point for any IPAD owner to buy MidiBridge  Cheers |
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nic
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Post by nic on Aug 7, 2013 16:19:28 GMT
OK, try this out:
1. Connect Launchpad in (on left) to Launchpad out (on right) in MidiBridge (green line between them).
2. Press beaker on Launchpad in (on left), press arrow on Stream Byter and enter the following:
B0 6D 7F = B0 00 01
B0 6E 7F = B0 00 02
Press 'Install Rules', done and done.
User 1 switches to layout 1 and user 2 switches to layout 2 now. I verified this transition works.
Note, this will send all events the launchpad sends back to the launchpad, but I'm hoping that the MIDI events it sends and the MIDI events it will act on are a disjoint set! If they are not and the launchpad lights start to go bananas, then we'll have to look into careful filtering.
Let me know how you get on.
Regards, Nic.
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nic
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Post by nic on Aug 7, 2013 16:51:03 GMT
Quick followup to the looping back issue. It seems the launchpad will respond to its own messages by simply flashing the corresponding button that you are pressing, so I think it is safe.
Regards, Nic.
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omar
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Post by omar on Aug 7, 2013 17:23:08 GMT
Yes the lighting up of the launchpad is not an issue and actually preferable. I've done it intentionally in the past just for show. It lets the audience know I'm actually playing notes I'll post a reply as soon I get home after work and let you know how it all went. Thanks |
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omar
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Post by omar on Aug 7, 2013 20:54:39 GMT
Success ! The User 1 & 2 buttons work perfectly on the fly. This is great and much more robust solution than remapping 64 notes.
Heading to the Apps store now to give an awesome product and customer service review
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nic
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Post by nic on Aug 8, 2013 8:01:29 GMT
Hi Omar,
Good to hear it is working for you and thank you so much for your review on the app store - reviews are greatly appreciated.
Regards, Nic.
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