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 Kyma Forum
 Tips & Techniques
 midi controller question
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| Author | Topic: midi controller question |
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jpbm Member |
posted 16 May 2011 17:15
 
Hi there- Wondering if anyone can give me some insight on midi controllers. I currently own a studio fatar keyboard, and with pacamidi I am able to use it with Kyma. However, the resolution of the controller doesn't seem very precise. For example, if I use it with a filter, the slightest turn of a knob will change the filter frequency from 80hz to 120hz. When I check the incoming midi data with the program midi monitor, all of the data is coarse. Am I right in thinking that some midi controllers will send data the is fine not coarse? How would I know what the resolution of a controller is? And lastly, is a wacom tablet a better, more precise way to adjust parameters in Kyma? Any insight is greatly appreciated! IP: Logged |
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BenPhenix Member |
posted 16 May 2011 17:39
Midi is 7 bits, that is 128 steps of resolution. Pitch wheel data is often 14 bits. There are few rare devices that send 14 bits but that is nearly never supported well (see a topic last month about that). Some companies are playing around with higher resolution OSC devices but I don't know if anything like a Fatar that does OSC. Missing from post is the range setting for the filter. For example, if the range is 20k then with midi, you only get 128 steps and each step would be about 156 hz. If you use an open ended rangle, like !Cutoff in the frequency field, I think it is half sample rate / 128? If you are running at 96k that would be huge steps. You may have better luck using an exponential curve rather than linear for the filter cutoff since this provides a more natural sound anyhow. You would have a finer steps at the lower end of the spectrum with larger jumps coming at the high end. An expression like (!Cutoff **2) * 'range hz'. I tend to set min for low pass filters as well. Something like 60 hz. This further reduces the range. So an expression like: 60 + ((!Cutoff **2) * 16000) hz would be normal (well not really since it is missing modulation sources, what is a filter without modulation!). Lastly if you are going to be doing some sweeps, you'll want to add a bit of interpolation. Since that adds a bit of a slew lag to your sweeps, you may want to play with the rate. Start with something like smoothed: 10 ms at the end of the expression and work your way up or down based on your playing style. [This message has been edited by BenPhenix (edited 16 May 2011).] IP: Logged |
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ChristianSchloesser Member |
posted 17 May 2011 08:22
If you have a simple MIDI Keyboard without support for 14Bit CCs the way to go is to use the MIDI Pitchbend for the parameter you like to get a higher resolution. Anyway ... If your MIDI controller supports a "relative mode"(Like most modern controllers with endless encoders) you can use a "bridge solution" like MaxMSP, PureData, Processing, SuperCollider or even NI Reaktor to send "high resoluton" OSC (floats) to your Paca/rana. A problem with "relative mode" is that it is not so good for automation in a DAW then 14 Bit MIDI CCs. All the best p.s.: I know i should automate more within the Kyma Timeline ;-) IP: Logged |
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SSC Administrator |
posted 17 May 2011 09:55
A couple of simple things to try: 1. Hold down the shift key while you move the fader (this does fine-tuning) 2. Use !Cutoff smoothed (this does linear interpolation, effectively adding more bits) 3. Unlock the VCS, double-click !Cutoff, change its range by setting Min and Max in the VCS Editor IP: Logged |
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bar|none Member |
posted 17 May 2011 11:02
Monome ARC is a high res OSC device. Just saying. Eigenharp now can send 14 bit ccs for all its controls. Also sends polyphonic aftertouch. Manta can send polytouch and channel pressure. The new generation is coming. Really what sold me on Kyma was the Continuum videos of Edmund Eagan where he uses polyphonic KeyTimbre with his sounds. I have yet to achieve poly KeyTimbre with KYMA as I don't have a Continuum. I however have two controllers that support high res poly per key data, but have been frustrated to not be able to use it. Bit of a hijack, but it's relevant to a discussion of high res Kyma control. IP: Logged |
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SSC Administrator |
posted 17 May 2011 12:31
But John has a device that outputs only 7-bit MIDI and we are trying to help him achieve higher resolution in Kyma when using that controller. In his situation, I think the best solution is probably to reduce the range of the control (by editing the VCS or scaling and offsetting the expression as Ben suggested) and possibly also adding smoothed to the !Cutoff. IP: Logged |
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bar|none Member |
posted 17 May 2011 12:53
yeah sorry, I'll take my discussion to another thread. I agree that reducing range especially would help him. IP: Logged |
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ChristianSchloesser Member |
posted 17 May 2011 13:47
For me a good solution was the tip back then from SCC to use a combination of two controllers like coarse and fine like: (!coarse smoothed + (0.1*!fine)) maybe that helps... all the best IP: Logged |
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jpbm Member |
posted 17 May 2011 15:25
Thanks everyone for your input. Based on your comments, there's lots I can do to utilize my midi controller more effectively. Having the power to adjust the filter frequency range, or any other parameter for that matter, is exactly why I love Kyma so much. Thanks again! IP: Logged |
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pete Member |
posted 18 May 2011 15:04
If it is the Fatar I'm thinking of with the really short faders, I doubt that you could squash 128 steps and make any real use of them, so you'll probably find the midi values it generates are in big steps. Not sure on any of this but just a guess. IP: Logged |
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