Is it possible to change the effect type directly via standard midi cc control?
I’ve created an iOS midi controller using Surface Builder. I can control the Macro Controlers, Recirculator R1, R2 etc. Petal 1 min max levels, Tilt, Compressor, Pre/Post Levels and Program Changes. It’s all working great. Maybe I missed it in the manuals. I would like to be able to change the reverb type real time without going through the EM Software.
Parameters of the recirculator are indeed controlled by standard midi messages.
But to change the type of algorithm, you have to send a ‘matrix poke’ which is a combination of 2 midi messages :
All the informations regarding the creation of overlays is in the documentation by R.Kram, EM overlays developer’s guide. You can find it in the user manuals if you’re running v10.52
Clem
To be honest I’ve had difficulty understanding what a Poke is. As far as I understood it I thought it was something you could only use when using a programing language. I read what you described in the manual many times.
It took me a while to figure out how to Send a PP note with a set value. Using some code in iOS StreamByter I finally got it working. I thought it was failing and then discovered that it only works when I connect directly to the Micro. I spent hours thinking I was doing something wrong. Everything else I’ve done with standard midi works when directly connected to the Micro or thru the EM software.
This worked great, at least with a direct connection.
CH16 CC 56 20
CH16 POLY PRESSURE 62 4
CH16 CC 56 127
Thank you for your help. Any thoughts on why it’s not working when I go through the EM software.
Rich
Glad if it helped!
Those kind of messages, formula pokes, matrix pokes, macros, etc… have been implemented to let users control their EM powered devices directly without having to dive in the EaganMatrix. So it is not supposed to work through the Editor. As for me, I use Max to generate midi messages and it works fine. But I connect Max directly to my continuum and when the Haken Editor is opened, it might have some strange behaviours. But it’s not meant to be used like that so I guess there’s nothing to expect here. For your issue, it probably relies on how you programed it, or some other detail in your configuration. Maybe try with another tool to discriminate where it comes from?
Pokes are just a clever way to combine multiple standard midi messages to communicate way more parameters than midi used basically. For that, it uses starting midi messages that change the status of the following ones. But in the end, it’s only standard midi messages
Clem
This is very helpful, thanks for the clarification. Anytime I get a new midi device, I like to see how far I can push it in terms of simplifying some of the on the fly controls from my iPad. I’ve spent many years using iOS and mostly AUM to control software and hardware synths.
I feel like I have more than enough access for what I wanted to do in using some of the controls through a touch screen. With exception to the Effects type. The UI that I created works great but requires going through the EM software in order for the sliders to update realtime. I have two goals. One, easier adjustments while using EM software and playing my wind controller to fine tune my sounds before saving a user preset. Two, live control of the hardware since it’s a little black box with no knobs. I’m trying to simplify and minimize the amount of equipment needed to play with other musicians, my computer is not part of the set up. I use iPad for soft synths and midi control/routing etc.
I’m not sure who to ask for feature enhancement requests. Does saying it here have the same effect as sending an email to Haken Audio?
Adding standard midi access for the Effects Type would be quite helpful IMO. It feels counterintuitive to have access to all the adjustments of the Effect, but not the type. I now understand how to get it done with a poke, but it’s too complicated for non-programers/midi enthusiasts.
There isn’t enough “room” in standard MIDI to cover everything in the EaganMatrix. This really isn’t something that’s going to change. That said, Lippold has made the protocol much easier to use in 10.4x and later than in 10.09 when I started.
Changing the type of effect is a straightforward sequence of Midi commands.
ch16 cc56 20
ch16 PolyKeyPressure 62 (type-code)
ch16 cc56 127
Technically, the last one isn’t supposed to be necessary, but I think sending an end-stream is good form.
The type codes are
There’s quite a bit of other work that can be done between the beginning and ending of the “matrix poke” stream. All of the codes are listed in the HakenMidi.h file included in the firmware package.
I much prefer these data streams over SysEx, and hope that never changes.
I agree on SysEx, not a fan. I also agree on not having enough room to cover everything with standard midi. I’m not suggesting that all. It is just a wish item for me. Effects type would simplify things for use with simple midi controllers and midi control software. I don’t want deep access to the sound engine, too many moving parts.
I didn’t think I needed to send cc56 127 after reading about it the manual. But the stream was still responding to different PolyKeyPressure 62 values well after initially sending it. It was more of a test on my part, so I decided to include it. I’m a retired QA engineer and tend to play with things to see what happens.
Are you aware of a midi CC value that is not in use and hopefully stays that way, maybe CC124 for example? I like using an unused CC to control other things on the same midi channel.
Thanks again for your time and help.
There may be some unused standard midi cc, I can’t check right now but you should on the first appendixes of the overlay developers guide. They are listed. The Hakenmidi.h is also a very good documentation, but they are not listed in ascending ordrer so it’s not that convinient to find a cc in particular.
To share your wishlist, the best is to right it here or on the facebook haken user group. There are some people of Haken Audio reading.
Regarding the control of recirc. type with standard midi Cc, it sure has a technical reason that makes unlikely to be changed easily.
The Haken DSP is crafted with great precision, it’s not like a 2GHz, 1Tb computer where you can add or retrieve at will. I guess that’s the counterpart for being that accurate and responsive.
But I completely understand that from the user point of view, you could expect all recirc. related controllers to be the same type
If this were designed afresh, it could be more ideal. However, the Continuum has been in development for over 20 years, so there is complexity in something that has evolved.
Making a particular use case convenient for one person makes something equally important to someone else inconvenient.
I’d love to try this.