Cycling 74 » Topic: midi controllers

midi controllers

laotze — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:28:09 +0000

Hi,
I’m thinking about adding another midi controller to my setup, but just wanted to make sure… My MacBook, and a program such as Max, would be able to recognize two different midi controllers at once, wouldn’t it? I will use the Evolution UC-33 for knobs and faders and the M Audio O2 for its knobs and keyboard.

Re: midi controllers

Jonathan Hallstrom — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 13:14:05 +0000

If you’re connecting your controllers through a midi interface you can
have as many controllers as there are inputs on your interface. (You can
check your your interface ports using Max’s “Midi Setup” menu item.)
If both of your controllers are USB controllers, they will each appear
as an interface in the AudioMidi setup application and will be available
as input/output ports in Max. A note of caution: Some manufacturer’s
USB controllers and/or interfaces won’t work properly (or at all)
through a USB hub and have to be hooked directly to one of your
computer’s USB ports (I know from frustrating experience that most of
MOTU’s interfaces are this way!)

Jay Bodley wrote:
> Hi,
> I’m thinking about adding another midi controller to my setup, but just wanted to make sure… My MacBook, and a program such as Max, would be able to recognize two different midi controllers at once, wouldn’t it? I will use the Evolution UC-33 for knobs and faders and the M Audio O2 for its knobs and keyboard.
>
>

–
Jon Hallstrom
Dept. of Music, Colby College
5674 Mayflower Hill
Waterville, ME 04901
207-859-5674

Re: midi controllers

DonK — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 01:25:48 +0000

If you want more sliders, knobs and buttons, I highly recommend the CM Labs Motormix. I just picked one up, and between it and darwin gosse’s motormix object, it is awesome. Automation works both ways too, to and from max.

I think they’re a little harder to find lately, but i got rid of my behringer surface after i got the motormix.

BTW, I never got my behringer bcf2000 working with my Motu828MK2, but the motormix works great for it, protools, performer, and definately Max and Radial.

If you’re into soldering and hooking up your own pots, miditron looks like a nice customizable DIT interface waiting to happen.
Doepfer has some DIY nice controller stuff here:

http://www.doepfer.de/home_e.htm

Re: midi controllers

Adam Murray — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 03:46:24 +0000

I have used an m-audio oxygen 8 and evolution UC-33 together with Max and my MacBook Pro many times. Often with 1 or 2 other pieces of hardware hooked up too.

More recently I got a BCF2000 and since then I hardly ever user the UC-33 anymore. Being able to send messages from max to move sliders on the hardware is very useful for patches that store and recall presets…

Anyway, the point is multiple controllers works with Max no problem. Except maybe for the issue with MIDI hubs Jonathan mentioned (which has nothing to do with Max). The Oxygen 8 and the UC-33 work fine through my USB hub so I don’t think you’ll have any problems.

Re: midi controllers

DonK — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 04:35:20 +0000

Quote: Adam Murray wrote on Wed, 04 June 2008 20:46
—————————————————-
> Anyway, the point is multiple controllers works with Max no problem. Except maybe for the issue with MIDI hubs Jonathan mentioned (which has nothing to do with Max). The Oxygen 8 and the UC-33 work fine through my USB hub so I don’t think you’ll have any problems.
>

If you have problems with the USB, you can always connect the BCF through midi too. I was a big fan of the BCF until I got the motormix. But then again, I could have at least twice as many BCFs for what I paid for the 1 motormix.

Speaking of controllers, anyone in LA want a free semi working M-Audio keystation-88? It all works, but some of the keys are jimmy rigged inside (thus it’s free or trade for something cool and small, that may be semi working, that’s collecting dust at your studio). :)