What midi controller has this?

G

GarishGuac

New member
I want to buy a midi controller and i really only have a few needs. I want to be able to control the transport stuff, have a few faders and be able to select tracks, select vsts and patches within vsts, and control quantize and tempo. Can someone suggest a midi controller that does all this, the cheaper the better. I honestly dont even need the keys so if there is just an interface that can do this even better because i have a motif es8.
 
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The Frontier AlphaTrack is supposedly very nice:

alphatrack.jpg


Presonus has the FaderPort, but it seems it doesn't have any "extra" programmable buttons, so it's just a transport device:

presonusfaderport.jpg


There's a bunch of others as well - the new-ish Euphonix MC Transport comes to mind (not cheap), as well as more extensive control surfaces (Mackie's MCU Pro, for example; Behringer's BCx series; WaveIdea's BitStream 3X). Anyway - most of the functionality you're asking for is more dependent on the DAW software you're using, not the controller itself - pretty much everything could be mapped to any MIDI controller, if wanted, though it's probably not very intuitive to select tracks with your keyboard, for example.
 
Those are all cool but i assume they lack the ability to choose vsts and select patches on those vsts which is one of my biggest concerns.
 
Yea actually i found out about the axiom pro which inspired me to write this post because so far its the only midi keyboard/controller i know that can select vsts and patches within vsts. I just didn't want to shell out all that cash for a midi controller when that is my main concern.
 
As said before, just because the Axiom Pro has the HyperControl and Novation has AutoMap, it's not like you can't do these things with other controllers - you just have to assign your controls manually. You can do these things with any MIDI controller.
 
krushing said:
As said before, just because the Axiom Pro has the HyperControl and Novation has AutoMap, it's not like you can't do these things with other controllers - you just have to assign your controls manually. You can do these things with any MIDI controller.
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Krushing is absolutely right! The only thing that makes the Axiom Pro so good in my opinion is that it automatically maps everything for you right away and does it perfectly! Auto Map (up to version 3, which I have used) is not near as good or easy to use and work with as the Axiom Pro.

Initially, I was not onboard with the Axiom Pro, I have the Novation Remote Zero SL and although I think its OK, its not what it is made out to be, IMO. I waited for Auto Map 3.0 because they (Novation) said that would be the ish, it made it better, but not even close to the Axiom Pro, again IMO. I have never been a big M-Audio fan either, in fact, if it were not for an Industry person I know sending the Axiom Pro for me to test for an article she was writing, I probably would never have tried it! What a mistake that would have been! I love the Axiom Pro!

Back to Krushing's point though, you can make your own setup/template for just about every controller out there, especially if you are using a program like Ableton Live, but for me this was just an unexpected blessing that came my way and although it makes me a tad lazy I guess, it gives me more time for making music and I love that!

ONE
 
I understand u can map various functions on any midi keyboard but can an ordinary keyboard be mapped so that it can select vsts and select patches within vsts? Would it require me setting up an individual command for each vst cuz that would really not be worth my time.
 
The Program Change & Program Number cc's are standard, so yes, you can change the presets (programs) on a VST. I'm not sure what "selecting a VST" would mean in this context, though...
 
Any basic Midi Controller can do what you are asking, however, a controller like the Axiom Pro just makes everything easier and done and setup for you. For some this is a good thing and for others its not! You decide?

ONE
 
So selecting a vst to put onto a track is standard (thats what i mean by selecting a vst)? I have like 30 vsts and it is the main thing that slows my creativity when i have to move away from the keyboard and go to the mouse to choose my vsts and then the patches.
 
GarishGuac said:
So selecting a vst to put onto a track is standard (thats what i mean by selecting a vst)? I have like 30 vsts and it is the main thing that slows my creativity when i have to move away from the keyboard and go to the mouse to choose my vsts and then the patches.
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Actually, that's not standard at all. I doubt any controller does that - the procedure of inserting a plugin (and possibly creating tracks for it) varies vastly between different DAWs that it's not very easy to do. Selecting programs/banks/patches is possible with any MIDI-capable instrument, but that kind of integration would have to be DAW-specific and go pretty deep in it.
 
Yea i figured that wasn't standard I know the new axiom pro can do that tho. I basically just wanted to know if anything else could cuz 600 bucks is a lot to shell out for a midi keyboard.
 
GarishGuac said:
Yea i figured that wasn't standard I know the new axiom pro can do that tho.
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Are you sure about the Axiom thing? I know they've built in the option to send regular ASCII keystrokes, with which it could be possible to do, but again, this can be done with any keyboard as well - by using a simple utility program that converts MIDI messages into keystrokes.
 
go with the axiom 25 pro its cheaper. Or go with the novation ReMOTE sl compact it has automap version 3 now and it is in the price range of the axiom 25 non pro.
 
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I was thinking about buying remote sl compact... It looks nice... What's the feel of the pads & the keys?

Thnx
 
If you are looking to cheap and keyless, check out the nanoKontrol. It is fairly basic, making mapping easier, and has a wealth of buttons assignable to your VSTs. I use this in addition to and Axiom 25 and it takes care of the "mousework" I would be doing. For $60 bucks, you can't really go wrong.
 
Edouan said:
I was thinking about buying remote sl compact... It looks nice... What's the feel of the pads & the keys?

Thnx
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Umm i cant say go down to your local music store and check one out. I came into more cash and i wanted a hardware synth. So i bought a microkorg i love the feel of it. It was either the microkorg, axiom 25, or the sl compact but i didnt end up choosing it.
 
krushing said:
As said before, just because the Axiom Pro has the HyperControl and Novation has AutoMap, it's not like you can't do these things with other controllers - you just have to assign your controls manually. You can do these things with any MIDI controller.
Click to expand...
thanks, ive been wondering this.
 
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