Old 11-09-2011, 05:11 AM   #1
HOFX
Human being with feelings
 
HOFX's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Oslo, Norway
Posts: 381
Default Control Surface - Reaper DIY Kits

There's been a lot of talk on here about control surfaces, compatibility, lack of support from manufacturers etc etc....

So, I propose a solution: we define a hardware control surface, package them as DIY kits (or sell them assembled), and define our own Reaper Control Unit protocol. Perhaps a starter is here: http://lividinstruments.com/hardware_builder.php

It would need:
- motorised faders
- transport control buttons
- rotary encoders
- automapping for ReaPlugs

Just putting this idea out there, very interested to see how it progresses with input from the forum!
HOFX is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-09-2011, 06:37 AM   #2
rictus
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 226
Default

Those Livid units are INSANELY expensive. Better to make our own, I think.
rictus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-09-2011, 06:38 AM   #3
rictus
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 226
Default

highlyliquid.com/midi-controllers/midi-cpu/
rictus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-09-2011, 07:15 AM   #4
HOFX
Human being with feelings
 
HOFX's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Oslo, Norway
Posts: 381
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by rictus View Post
highlyliquid.com/midi-controllers/midi-cpu/
That's a start. But I'm thinking we will need more than 24 signals. Can these be chained?
HOFX is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-09-2011, 07:54 AM   #5
rictus
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 226
Default

I don't know.

Let's forget about specific hardware and first settle on a design. What is it most Reaper users want in a control surface? I'm not fortunate enough to own one, so I have little experiece, but I think what I'd like is:
- transport: play, record, stop, seek
- ~8 encoders for plugins
- 1 fader for channel level and/or writing automation
- channel selection: next, previous

For something like that, 16 inputs is enough. What about other users? I realise some will want 48 faders and pan pots, but I think it's better to design something small first, a la Faderport.
rictus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-09-2011, 07:58 AM   #6
HOFX
Human being with feelings
 
HOFX's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Oslo, Norway
Posts: 381
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by rictus View Post
I don't know.

Let's forget about specific hardware and first settle on a design. What is it most Reaper users want in a control surface? I'm not fortunate enough to own one, so I have little experiece, but I think what I'd like is:
- transport: play, record, stop, seek
- ~8 encoders for plugins
- 1 fader for channel level and/or writing automation
- channel selection: next, previous

For something like that, 16 inputs is enough. What about other users? I realise some will want 48 faders and pan pots, but I think it's better to design something small first, a la Faderport.
Fair point.

- For ReaEQ, you would need minimum 9 pots (LP Freq, HP Freq, 2 x (gain, freq, q)).
- 8 motorised faders, each with solo, mute, arm, record, pan pot
- LCD display for track name and track level?

Maybe we branch to mini and pro surface? Hardware and control protocol.
HOFX is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2011, 12:19 AM   #7
amsonx
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 96
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by rictus View Post
Those Livid units are INSANELY expensive. Better to make our own, I think.
http://www.ucapps.de/

i think that Midibox can be a good alternative but i don't see so simple..
amsonx is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2011, 08:27 PM   #8
audioguytodd
Human being with feelings
 
audioguytodd's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 1,057
Default

Ask NYM.

FWIW, you can use an Arduino as the brain if you want to do it through MIDI. http://arduino.cc/ (The new UNO may allow it to be seen as a UART over USB- don't know. I have an older one)

You can also use a Teensy http://www.pjrc.com/store/teensypp_pins.html It DOES show up as a UART over USB. i.e., Reaper SEES it as MIDI hardware

Just about any controls except motorized faders can be found for very cheap.
__________________
Comp Specs: WIN XPSP3, Q6600, ASUSP5K, 3 GB PC6400 RAM, Focusrite Saffire, AlphaTrack, lots of plugins and hardware.

Last edited by audioguytodd; 11-12-2011 at 08:34 PM.
audioguytodd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2011, 02:40 AM   #9
rictus
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 226
Default

I was thinking maybe the TI MSP430 series could be a good bet... The Launchpad development kit is less than $5 so would be super cost-effective.
rictus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2011, 08:19 AM   #10
JHughes
Banned
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Too close to Charlotte, NC
Posts: 3,554
Default

For faders the best are here: http://www.pennyandgiles.com/Audio-a...-pg-27,2,,.php

The other alternative is ALPS, but P&G are the best for audio work I think.
JHughes is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-14-2011, 07:48 AM   #11
Shiningkeys
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 319
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by HOFX View Post
There's been a lot of talk on here about control surfaces, compatibility, lack of support from manufacturers etc etc....

So, I propose a solution: we define a hardware control surface, package them as DIY kits (or sell them assembled), and define our own Reaper Control Unit protocol. Perhaps a starter is here: http://lividinstruments.com/hardware_builder.php

It would need:
- motorised faders
- transport control buttons
- rotary encoders
- automapping for ReaPlugs

Just putting this idea out there, very interested to see how it progresses with input from the forum!
i was thinking about it too, i thought this would be a good start point ( http://www.element14.com/community/g...S|e|7875181988 )
Shiningkeys is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-14-2011, 09:49 AM   #12
Thuneau
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 242
Default

I think that taking inspiration from something like SmartAV Tango would be the way to go. Provide a set of hardware buttons, faders and encoders and delegate the software part to a tablet that would live in/on the controller. An Android tablet usually has a USB port that will talk to keyboards and mice. So make the controller appear as a keyboard/mouse combo to a USB master. Make it open source so that people can add features and support for various plugins and software.
Thuneau is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-14-2011, 01:58 PM   #13
Klinke
Human being with feelings
 
Klinke's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Berlin / Germany
Posts: 832
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Thuneau View Post
I think that taking inspiration from something like SmartAV Tango would be the way to go. Provide a set of hardware buttons, faders and encoders and delegate the software part to a tablet that would live in/on the controller. An Android tablet usually has a USB port that will talk to keyboards and mice. So make the controller appear as a keyboard/mouse combo to a USB master. Make it open source so that people can add features and support for various plugins and software.
That is really a neat idea, but i don't think that they should appear as keyboard and mice for the tablet, even if this would work (i don't see how you transfer simultanious movements of x faders via keyboard and mose) that would be really a ugly hack. I think a better option would be to connect the hardware to a controller that converts them to MIDI messages and that the controller register itself to the tablet as a generic midi interface (i hope Android come with a driver for generic midi interfaces, i'm not sure about this).
Klinke is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 10:19 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.