Reason 3.0 Remote protocol / MIDIbox driver

[Captain_Hastings]

Propellerhead Reason 3.0 now has native support for a series of control surfaces / midi controllers. What is needed is a "Remote driver" for the controller that specifies the mapping / sysex messages for displaying device labels on the controller / transport buttons / etc.

Bitstream is now the first to release it's own Remote installer... so... it seems it is time for MIDIbox Remote support!

A Remote file for a midi controller - only receiving midi from the controller - is easy to make, it only maps incoming midi to controls and requires to setup the MIDIbox manually according to the Reason midi spec / CC chart.

A full controller - Reason communication (midi in and feedback / CC update midi out to the controller), including sysex config is another matter though, for which i suspect a Develoment Kit from Propellerhead is required.

The challenge in making such a Remote "driver" would be making something that takes the flexibility and vast feature-set of the MBHP in consideration...

Any fellow Reason 3.0 users with ideas regarding this matter?

:)

[johnh]

I found this on their website:

There are two types of codecs:

    * "Special" codecs written exclusively for a control surface. These are required

if the surface uses two-way communication (other than for identity request and

setup). All surfaces with motorized faders, dynamic displays or meters must use

special codecs. Special codecs are dlls under Windows and "loadable bundles"

under Mac OSX. As of this writing, Propellerhead Software writes the codecs.

  * The Universal MIDI Codec. This is used for surfaces that use standard MIDI

communication with no special features. For a surface to use the Universal MIDI

Codec it needs a Definition File - a tab-separated text file listing the controls

on the surface and identifying them against MIDI messages. Definition Files can

be written by anyone.

So it sounds like we need to get them to write a 'Special' codec for midibox...    :-[

[Rowan]

I believe that Reason 3 have added support for KORG's "Native Mode". This procol is similar to the LC protocol, but MUCH more flexible! The protocol is very well documented at:

http://www.korg.com/service/downloadinfo.asp?DID=742

I own a KORG microKontrol which uses has support for "Native Mode" and it works like a DREAM with the korg legacy collection, when you start the legacy collection a picture of the microKontrol comes up, you just click on the control you want to use, a drop-down list of paraments comes up and you chose the parameter you want assign to the control and thats that. The LCD's on the microKontrol automatically displays the name and value of the parameter you have chosen.

It looks like Logic 7.1 is adding support for KORG's Native mode which I can't wait for

I must say this is the BEST midi control protocol I've had the experence of using to date. Im going to install Reason 3 at some stage this weekend so i'll let you know how well it works with Reason.

Rowan

[Captain_Hastings]

Hi Rowan,

Did you manage to check out Reason with the Korg microKontrol yet?

I guess support for this protocol would be a good option (a MIOS app) to have a midibox that integrates well with Reason.

Now... maybe Propellerhead themselves (?) will create a Remote "driver" for MidiBox64(E) that configs the controller just as Serge's editor does (eg. "Lock SubTractor to Controller" and it sends a sysex config). I understood that they will keep adding support for different midicontrollers over time and that Thorsten's platform is "within scope"... who knows!

[Rowan]

Hi,

I'm happy to report that the Korg microKontrol works great with with Reason 3. Reason detected the controller on  startup, all you do is select a device to control (eg synth, mixer etc...), Reason will then assign the most important parameters to the controller, and thats that.

I think a MB emulation of the "Korg native mode " could hold alot of potential (once more software supports it).

Regards

Rowan

[Rowan]

Hi,

Just an update on Korg "Native Mode".

I just installed Logic 7.1 which features a new driver for korg native mode. I spent last night testing it out and it works fine. Works very like the LC mode. I find it better suited to the editting of instruments than the LC, but this is really down to the design of the microKontrol.

One feature that korg's "native mode" offers that the LC protcol doesn't is support for multicoloured LCD screens. Apple have used this hand little feature to indicate what automation mode the channel is in:

Green--Read or off

Yellow--Touch or latch

Red--Write or MIDI

I think emulation of the microKontrol, thru "native mode" could offer a great low cost alternative to the MBLC, as the hardware requirments are much less:

8 x faders

9 x encoders

23 x buttons

72 x charaters of LCD (the microKontrol uses 9 x 8 charater tri colours LCD's)

Thru the use of "shift" functions almost every thing you can do on a LC can be done with much less hardware...........................Poor man's MBLC anyone?

Regards

Rowan

[TK.]

I think it makes sense to program a Korg protocol emulation in C, just to evaluate SDCC in combination with the MIOS wrapper, and to give everybody the possibility to extend the program  without the need for assembler knowledge.

Just give me some days - first I want to migrate the Motormix emulation since I'm able to test this protocol with different host applications, once this is working I can modify it for other protocols.

Best Regards, Thorsten.

[Rowan]

That's great TK,

I would offer to beta test it for you, but i'm moving to the UK in a few weeks and I can't take my MBLC with me (Not to mention most of my studio, just my powerbook, microKontol, and firebox). No doubt once I get setup there I'll most likely build another one...............these projects are VERY addictive!

Im more than happy to offer any advice on how the microkontrol works with logic and reason (I hardly ever use reason, just for a bit of fun if I can't be bothered to boot logic).

Regards

Rowan

[Captain_Hastings]

Update: Propellerhead Software will release a Remote SDK this summer