Re: best interface/controller for mobius/Live

[Per Boysen <perboysen@gmail.com>]

On 7 aug 2006, at 07.16, mark sottilaro wrote:

> My FCB1010 is as programmed as I think I want it, but
> there are lots of times I'd like to be able to control
> aspects of Live via some knob/fader style device... my
> hopes and dreams would have it be able to display my
> perameters as I change them, but there's always my
> white electrical tape...
>
> What are people using for such things?  I feel like
> I'm mousing around far too much.  Has anyone tried
> NI's KORE?  I know it's for VSTi's but I'll be using
> them inside of Live too.


That's an important question you bring up here. For a while I was  
thinking about it a lot, trying to find out the best solution for  
visible display of my looping actions. But then it suddenly hit me  
that you can also take the opposite view, by only implementing those  
function/actions that are already existing your active musical mind -  
i.e. part of your improvisational imagination. According to this  
method you should keep on viewing the tech rig as an instrument;  
closely tied up with your body and instincts. And only induce new  
functions as you rehears them to slowly make them part of your unique  
flow. Personally I find that take more musically creative and I guess  
I will stay with it.

BAck when I was using Live I tended to address your question by not  
just binding the midi events directly to the graphical display of the  
functions. Instead I set up a MIDI clip containing the event (or a  
clip envelope) to be sent either directly, or though the IAC Bus  
(yes, that was on Mac) to control the actual function. Then I kept  
one scene for each controller clip and made the binding from my MIDI  
controller (mostly the FCB but also others) not to the actual MIDI  
clip but to the scene. Ok, "why all this?" you may ask. The point is  
that the scenes are launched by activating the slots on the master  
track and these slots can be explicitly named. This means whatever  
pedal or button I pressed the corresponding scene would come up on  
the display with my own label of the function.

Greetings from Sweden

Per Boysen
www.boysen.se (Swedish)
www.looproom.com (international)
http://tinyurl.com/fauvm (podcast)
http://www.myspace.com/looproom