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Thread: Help with MIDI Translator for Cue Triggers in Quickshow

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
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    Default Help with MIDI Translator for Cue Triggers in Quickshow

    Hello _ I'm a certified MIDI noobtard and I'm trying to get my Korg Nanokontroller to trigger cues in Quickshow - Ive got it doing all the other basic commands but obviously I'm a bit stuck when trying to get the Korg to transpose keystrokes into midi commands/cue triggering on the controller.
    So I've downloaded a demo of Bomes and am not sure what to do once I've opened it.

    Thanks in advance


    Dan C

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Knoxville, TN, USA
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    Morning Dan -

    The Nanokontrol doesn't really lend itself to selecting cues in QuickShow (or Beyond, for that matter).
    Cues are selected using MIDI note messages, the same that type of MIDI messages you would get when using keys or pads on a similarly-equipped MIDI controller.
    So, while the Nanokontrol is probably great for controlling other aspects of QuickShow, it's not going to be very good for selecting cues -
    you're probably much better off adding another controller to use to select cues.

    While I have never personally used it, you could probably add something like the NanoPad, and use the pad controls to trigger the cues, while using the Nanokontrol to control other aspects of Quickshow.

    OR -
    You might think about getting a bigger programmable controller that has plenty of knobs, faders, and pads to control everything.
    If you have an iPad, there are also several options for turning an iPad into a custom MIDI controller.

    Randy
    RR

    Metrologic HeNe 3.3mw Modulated laser, 2 Radio Shack motors, and a broken mirror.
    1979.
    Sweet.....

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stuka View Post
    Morning Dan -

    The Nanokontrol doesn't really lend itself to selecting cues in QuickShow (or Beyond, for that matter).
    Cues are selected using MIDI note messages, the same that type of MIDI messages you would get when using keys or pads on a similarly-equipped MIDI controller.
    So, while the Nanokontrol is probably great for controlling other aspects of QuickShow, it's not going to be very good for selecting cues -
    you're probably much better off adding another controller to use to select cues.

    While I have never personally used it, you could probably add something like the NanoPad, and use the pad controls to trigger the cues, while using the Nanokontrol to control other aspects of Quickshow.

    OR -
    You might think about getting a bigger programmable controller that has plenty of knobs, faders, and pads to control everything.
    If you have an iPad, there are also several options for turning an iPad into a custom MIDI controller.

    Randy
    Hi Randy! '
    Thanks for the advice- greatly appreciate it - Im kinda a fair weather hobbyist (!) and just happened to have a NANOKONTROL lying around ; was just hoping to make it work with what I had here. I agree a better solution would be a more comprehensive controller but as that's not on the cards right now was hoping somebody may know of an easy way for the fairly crappy bits Ive got, to do what I need.

    I saw some people via various threads had some success with the Bomes midi/keystoke translator- anyone else got any ideas about a step by step guide for a MIDI idiot, (MIDIOT?)

    Thanks Kindly

    Dan

  4. #4
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    The Bome MIDI Translator basically takes commands or MIDI messages on the "input" side, and converts them to a new message on the "output" side.
    To use that, you're also probably going to need to a piece of software known as a MIDI loopback device, like loopBE, to help with the routing.

    So, the MIDI routing would be something like this:

    Controller MIDI out > Bome Translator MIDI IN | Bome Translator MIDI Out > LoopBE > QuickShow MIDI In

    If you're not familiar with MIDI, you probably want to try to link up with someone that has utilized all these various parts so you can get a clear understanding of how it works.
    Otherwise, you'll need to spend some time just getting familiar with all the various pieces, and understand what each piece is really doing before linking everything together.

    Food for thought concerning using the Nanokontrol (or any other fader/knob combo controller) to select cues -
    It's going to be very difficult to use knobs & faders to select cues, unless you you somehow program your controller so the the knobs or faders send only a very limited number of MIDI messages.
    By design, knobs and faders are sending MIDI "Continuous Controller" (CC) messages, which by default are sending variable messages with 128 different values.
    Even if you use additional software to translate the CC messages into MIDI note messages (which is what QuickSHow cues are designed to respond to), it's going to be very tedious and frustrating to select individual cues using a knob or fader.

    You could add a Nanopad (or just about any other inexpensive pad controller) alongside the Nanokontrol, and use the pads to select the cues.
    By default, most pad-type controls are sending MIDI note messages, which is what you need.
    Each tap on a pad sends a specific MIDI note message, which is exactly what is needed to trigger cues.

    You could probably make the Bome MIDI translator work for you, but you are going to be adding a lot of complexity to your setup, which is probably something you don't want when you're just starting out with MIDI.

    Probably the threads you read concerning success with the Bome MIDI translator had to do with using various versions of the Akai APC-series controllers.
    These controllers have a lot of pads that already send MIDI note messages (which is what is needed), but the APC controllers are "hard wired" to send MIDI messages that are custom-configured for Ableton LIVE software.
    The Bome translator allows users to take these "hard wired" MIDI note messages from the APC controller, and convert them to sequential MIDI note messages that would work with QuickShow.

    Also, FWIW -
    Since QuickShow cues use sequential MIDI note messages to trigger cues, you could actually use an inexpensive MIDI keyboard controller, and trigger cues with the keys.
    Chances are, that solution or just about any other pad controller (except the APC-series) could be used directly with QuickShow without requiring the use and complexity of the Bome MIDI translator in the mix.
    Last edited by Stuka; 03-10-2015 at 06:44.
    RR

    Metrologic HeNe 3.3mw Modulated laser, 2 Radio Shack motors, and a broken mirror.
    1979.
    Sweet.....

  5. #5
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    Jan 2015
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    Hey, something I actually know a bit about and I own a nanoKONTROL, though I don't own any Pangolin software. What Stuka said, but I have a suggestion if you wanna skip Bome and get into a little programming LoopBE1 is great for routing midi signals, so you could route the midi signal into a virtual device with a little programming that cleans up nanoKONTROL's midi signal into something more manageable; python would be the best in this case. I've done exactly this on an Arduino, taking the midi signal from nano, checking for changed values, and forwarding only the relevant midi changes while processing the signal to do other things. It might be a little daunting at first, but if you learn it you can integrate your lasers into music software or other lighting devices

    Basically MIDI works by specific memory addresses that hold values and you only need to code for the addresses you want to work with (instead of programming an entire interface to handle the MIDI). The rest is imagination; handle 2 button presses by deleting the 2 separate signals and pass a 3rd, only send a signal on value change, quantize your faders into 4-bit resolution, etc. Make it 10x easier by writing a simple script to only display addresses that are changing in real time and take a minute to write down the midi addresses of each button, or even even easier to just log them in Traktor, it'll be something like Ch.1.Note.C-0 (for buttons) or CC000 (for faders/knobs) and then just google those addresses.

    If you want to do this, you can message me any questions. MIDI is actually a very versatile protocol with libraries written in every language.

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