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  • MIDI NRPN and Sysex



    Hello,


    Great solution of yours!


    TouchOSC (for iPad) + OSCulator is potentially a large commercial hit to:

    - sound designers

    - producers

    - DJs

    - etc...


    But...


    MIDI has been around for many years, and implemented in hundreds of hardware / software synths, FX devices, etc... that implemented other MIDI protocols than CC; like NRPN, Sysex, etc... to offer real-time control of their parameters.


    Ex:

    - Roland mid-80s to ... uses Sysex

    - Waldorf still uses Sysex

    - DSI uses NPRN and Sysex (and limited CC)

    - Arturia uses NRPN (and limited CC)

    - Oberheim used Sysex

    - Yamaha mid-80s to ... uses Sysex

    - etc...

    That's already more than 100 machines ! Each machine was sold on average 2,000 units (min couple of hundreds like Waldorf Wave - Max 200,000 like Yamaha DX7)


    Those machines are still used by thousands of pro-musicians (and non-pro musicians), everyday...


    Those people are looking for a modern, workflow efficient and simple install (not time-consuming, not tech-y)) solution that would control all those legacy machines.


    I have been trying to bring such solution (with a certain success) to musicians on a dedicated control surface (Mackie Control C4), but the machine is discontinued, and the template editor is using Roseta... (Rumored soon to be not supported by Apple), you can check my work here:

    http://www.mackiecontrolc4truelayoutsdesign.com/


    The average musician is willing to pay $300 / $500 dollars for a control surface; but it should control all their legacy synth. that seems to be the price range of iPad / TouchOSC / OSCulator.


    So my question is simple.


    Is OSCulator going to support NPRN and Sysex?


    Note that Sysex implementation is quite different from one vendor to another, like Sysex string length, parameter byte position in the string, parameter byte can be split in 2 bytes (MSB, LSB) and range from 0-127 or 0-255 (ex: Octave, Kenton), etc...


    Note that NPRN can also be implemented differently from one vendor to anther (Sequential Circuit Inc, is different from DSI), etc...


    I should say the feature set of Mackie C4 Commander software (free download on Mackie website) is rich enough to support all those; so if OSCulator would map OSC messages to MIDI messages with the feature set of C4 Commander; OSCulator should be safe.


    Let me know if you needs more specifics on NRPN and Sysex for those vendors.


    What I'm considering if you have not guessed yet is porting my work to TouchOSC / OSCulator !


    Regards


    Michael




  • #2


    Hi Michael,


    This is a very interesting work that you have made with these layouts for the Mackie Control C4.


    A couple of days ago, we just had another person on this forum asking for the support of NRPN and SysEx messages.

    It would be very interesting indeed to support those extensions to the MIDI protocol, and I am looking forward to do this in a future version of the software. As always, and because this is a pretty hefty project, I can not promise anything in the near future.


    Maybe we could discuss off-line on how you would like to use OSCulator for your layout porting project? That way we could outline exactly what features are needed and how to implement them. My address is camille at osculator dot net.


    Cheers!

    Cam

    Comment


    • #3


      hello


      i was buying a synth about 2 weeks and i received an ipad.


      as i know the touchOSC an the OSCulator i used on my iPhone i made a nice template for the iPad and its really great!

      i love your software!!!


      now, i was asking me; if also nrpn is supported?

      so, i found this thread!


      as i can understand, nrpn is not supported at this moment? :-/


      i really hope you can do something for that! that would really be fantastic!!!


      let me know.


      thx in advance!!!

      regards

      Comment


      • #4


        This is correct, I'll add support for SysEx messages in the future. I can't promise when but this is ASAP on my todo list.


        Cheers,

        Cam

        Comment


        • #5


          thanks!!!!

          Comment


          • #6
            Any update as to when OSCulator will support NRPNs and Sysex?
            I just installed a new Kiwi Technics midi kit in my Roland JX-3P and some of the mod routings (AT, Velocity, etc) can only be set via NRPNs.
            Thanks.

            Comment


            • #7
              Hey Pulse,

              Sorry, but all I can say is "when it is ready".
              I have rewritten the engine of OSCulator from scratch, but the GUI still needs to be made and that's a big chunk of work. I have a JX-3P, and I am intrigued by this mod. Do you have a link so I can have a look?

              Thank you for your patience,
              Cam

              Comment


              • #8


                Most of the parameters respond to CCs but things like bender, dynamics and aftertouch routings require NRPNs. I made TouchOSC/OSCulator templates for it and will make them available to whoever wants them once I tweak a couple of things.

                Comment


                • #9
                  I'd like to jump into this thread also. I am a lighting designer using TouchOSC and OSCulator to send Midi Notes to lighting consoles for control. I too am running into the problem in that I'd like to also use MIDI Sysex messages for certain things like receiving feedback from the console and triggering EXACT pieces of information. Most of the higher end consoles that I use will take MIDI notes IN and MIDI show control/sysex IN, but send MIDI show control/sysex messages out only. There are also certain things that only a Sysex message can do (Go List 1 Cue 2 for example).

                  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Thank you for this feedback, this is very useful.
                    The idea of MIDI SysEx on input is really interesting and challenging.

                    Could you please give me a few examples of what could be received, or a link to a reference manual?

                    Also, do you know if there is another software that accepts MIDI SysEx?
                    I would be interested to have a look for comparison.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      NRPN's - documentation example

                      I'm just developing a template for the DSI Tetra Synthesizer. Now i'm stucked as the Tetra does only have CC implementation for some of it's parameters. All of the sequencer parameters and a lot of others can only be accessed by NRPN's.

                      To get more details about this please have a detailed look at the excellent MIDI section of the Tetra documentation: http://www.davesmithinstruments.com/...nual_v.1.3.pdf

                      For implementing Sysex and NRPN functionality you should just implement the option to assign a free MIDI string to a controller in the editor (this is how a lot of other controller software works). This will free you from the hassle of implementing thousands of options or LOV's.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Tetra and NRPN

                        This feature would be amazing. I would love to send NRPN's with oscillator and save myself $300 to pay for Max4Live.

                        Originally posted by Mr. Roboto View Post
                        I'm just developing a template for the DSI Tetra Synthesizer. Now i'm stucked as the Tetra does only have CC implementation for some of it's parameters. All of the sequencer parameters and a lot of others can only be accessed by NRPN's.

                        To get more details about this please have a detailed look at the excellent MIDI section of the Tetra documentation: http://www.davesmithinstruments.com/...nual_v.1.3.pdf

                        For implementing Sysex and NRPN functionality you should just implement the option to assign a free MIDI string to a controller in the editor (this is how a lot of other controller software works). This will free you from the hassle of implementing thousands of options or LOV's.

                        Comment

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