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D16! Create MIDI Controllers for Live Use?

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 9:11 pm
by kempainen
Hey d16!

Have you thought about making controllers that have the exact same interface as your drum machines and 303? It would be PERFECT for live use, not having to setup a different midi controller which has a non-fitting layout.

If you outsource some MIDI controller company to develop midi controllers that exactly mimic the INTERFACE of your Nepheton, Drumazon and Phoscyon synths, I'd buy each and every one of them no matter the price! I wouldn't even care if they were flimsy and plasticky, as they'd still be the BEST interface out there to control these synths.


I'd also like to ask the users here:

Do you know of any controllers that closely fit the layout, or are easy to use with, the drum machines or 303 clone?

Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 12:37 am
by mitchk1989
I imagine making such a thing would be a HUGE copyright/trademark infringement on roland...

Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 6:47 am
by kempainen
mitchk1989 wrote:I imagine making such a thing would be a HUGE copyright/trademark infringement on roland...
Hey mitch!

Unless this has been changed recently, you can't patent the "look and feel" of something, only its function. That means that the only remaining "protection" on graphics is copyright, and if the graphics were exact copies (using the same graphics) then it'd be a copyright violation. But if they are merely lookalikes, then it's legally allowed.

What do you at d16 say?

Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 10:25 am
by Sebastian@d16
Hi,

The main issues with Roland concerned only how the plug-ins looked like, we had to reshape their GUIs on Roland's demand. But it won't be if we build controller for our plug-ins, it could be issue when they would look like Roland's machines - only then. It's a far reaching plan I must say, we have to make some few more steps in our development to start producing harware related stuff :).

If You would like to know which midi controller we recommend for our machines. I have no particular one on my mind. To have total control is not possible with tweaking knobs only. There're also buttons to rhythm programming and editing functions, it would be nice to have them also controllable.

We're making some major improvements in approach to builing a GUI now, giving to user possibility making his own skin easily and also to assing every action from GUI to almost every available midi code. For example it'll be possibile to assign step buttons to midi keyboard, to take control over rhythm programming.

When it'll be done, almost every controller on the market will fulfil Your demands. Personally I use Jazzmutants one, and when those changes will be done, I'm going to prepare a nice template for it as well as for Novation Remote.

Best regards,
Sebastian

Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 6:55 pm
by ostiknostis
Yeah, using a Lemur would give you all the functions of the plugs - heck you could even skin the lemur preset to look like the GUI's of the plugs :)

A shame that it's such an expensive piece of hardware :(

Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 9:58 am
by kosmasepsilon
ok, do some templates for mpk49 too..

Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 10:09 am
by kinkajou
kosmasepsilon wrote:ok, do some templates for mpk49 too..
would be nice if you could share them... i am also using an MPK49 and i am too lazy to do such stuff... 8) :wink:

Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 10:47 am
by Sebastian@d16
Hi,

We would love to make some templates to different controllers, but the day is to short :). If You have some templates to plug-in of ours You made and You're willing to share with other users, please send them to us, and we'd love to add them to "add-ons" section, so every user could download it.

Best regards,
Sebastian

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 10:47 pm
by Lotuz
Sebastian@d16 wrote:If You would like to know which midi controller we recommend for our machines. I have no particular one on my mind. To have total control is not possible with tweaking knobs only. There're also buttons to rhythm programming and editing functions, it would be nice to have them also controllable.

We're making some major improvements in approach to builing a GUI now, giving to user possibility making his own skin easily and also to assing every action from GUI to almost every available midi code. For example it'll be possibile to assign step buttons to midi keyboard, to take control over rhythm programming.
I'm getting the Classic Boxes Collection soon and I'm wondering if it's already possible to assign the step buttons to MIDI note numbers or key commands. It would be nice if I could use my Maschine controller or my X-keys keypad instead of my mouse to program the patterns.

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 10:15 am
by Sebastian@d16
Hi,

Not at this moment. We're going to make one useful feature to allows to assign ANY available on GUI control to ANY midi event, but it's planned for 2.x version of Nepheton, Drumazon and Phoscyon.

Best regards,
Sebastian

Full 100% support for this idea!

Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 5:19 pm
by savojr
And BTW. i asked same exact thing from competitors of D16 in their user forum about year ago.. =)

I use Bitstream 3X controller for both hardware and software at the moment but even if it is really good controller i would buy dedicated replica of Phoscyon.
In general controllers it needs to search all the time which knob was which.. :D
Especially when there is many presets in same controller its impossible to place same parameters to same knobs.

Of course this controller should be extremely good looking and high quality construction -if its made of cheap plastic it should be very cheap.