Hardware scene switcher for use with DAW-plugins (Octatrack-like)

[rald]

Hey all, for the first time!

I am currently thinking about building a "hardware scene switcher" to work with VST or AU Plugins (I use Logic). What do I mean by that? If anyone knows the Octatrack made by Elektron: what that can do is what I want to replicate. Another name for it might be something like morphing parameters between snapshots.

How it works on the Octatrack:

• You can play that sampler/sequencer/... machine and tweak all kinds of parameters. And then you can go into another scene, and go on tweaking parameters. Now the cool thing is, that the Octatrack has a crossfader built onto it, which allows you to smoothly blend between the current scene and the one you left. This allows for some very nice live performance capabilities.

What I think about doing:

• Build a little box, that I can use to do this when working with a DAW. It would only have about 4 buttons and a crossfader on it.
• I hope it could access parameters from a VST or AU (i am using Logic, so AU is more interesting for me), and thus be able to save all of them as a "snapshot" into one scene, when I press a button on my little box.
• After I saved at least 2 scenes, I could use the crossfader to blend between the scenes. My little box would interpolate a value in between the 2 scenes for each parameter of my plugin and send it to the plugin in my DAW.

Currently I think, that I have to use some Mackie Control Protocol (HUI, MCU or Logic Control), to be able to directly access the parameters in my Plugin.

• I did spend quite some time on research and it seems to me, that this is the only way to be able to get the current value of a plugin-parameter out of Logic.
• Please correct me, if it can be done without making Logic think it communicates with some Mackie control protocol.

For Ableton, something this already exists as a software plugin (J74 TrackMorph). But afaik not for Logic. And I really would like it to be all contained in a little box with buttons and a crossfader.

So my questions in summary:

• Did I communicate what I want to build understandably?
• Could I use MIDIbox as a platform for this? More precisely: does the Mackie control surface emulation allow this?
  
   

Edit: Found out, that both full support for the Logic/Mackie Control Protocol and the "Morph"-function to smoothly blend between two snapshots are listed as "planned features" at the MIDIbox NG page at ucapps.de. Sorry – should have seem that before posting. But maybe this post will be something people with the same idea can find easier via a search engine.

Remaining question is, if there is a way to do that with a standard MIDI-Controller and maybe the Logic Scripter Plugin – but I think that question is better to ask at a different forum.

Cheers

Edited September 5, 2021 by rald
Found that what I requested is indeed a planned feature of MIDIbox NG