Custom control for external MIDI gear

Hi!
 
I was posting in the software forum but could not get any feedback so far ... Looking for a customizable tool/VST just to control external MIDI gear via CCs, nothing terribly advanced, just something that would allow me to assign a label and a MIDI CC to a knob and get about 10 of them on one page ... in terms of the looks and simplicity something similar to what FX chains can do to audio tracks and plugins, I'd like to be able to do likewise with externals Synth/FX that are hooked up via MIDI.
 
I have instrument definitions for everything (INS files) and can control all MIDI parameters via automation lanes, but that would be the second step. First step would to dial in the base settings via something that has all parameters there as knobs with labels. Studioware used to do sometihng like this, but that's gone ... searching the web I haven't yet found anything that could do it ...
 
Any ideas?

Hey, Alexey, thanks for chiming in. Now I know I'm not alone in this (MIDI) world ;-)  Any idea you got I'm happy to help following up and taking further!
 
I really do wonder why there is no simple, generic, customizable VST/GUI for that out there??  I have tools like that for the Roland INTEGRA (it's even a free one) and the Waldorf Blofeld (paid), but either of them is awfully complicated because literally every single option of the hardware is represented, spread over numerous pages ... and these must take ages to program and test ...
 
If I could have flexible number of knobs (~10 of them), simply assignable as in the FX chains, I could control my external FX like native VST plugs ... ideally, if it would read the instrument definition to get parameters and CC numbers, I'd be a very happy camper
 
 
 

tenfoot
Have you seen this Rob?
 
http://www.bluecataudio.com/Products/Product_RemoteControl/
 

No, I hadn't seen that before, but on the first glance it looks like just the thing I was looking for. Thanks a lot. I will check it out later today and report back.
 
Another thing I stumbled across is http://ctrlr.org/
Control any MIDI enabled hardware: synthesizers, drum machines, samplers, effects. Create custom User Interfaces. Host them as VST or AU plugins in your favorite DAWs.
 
Unfortunately got other things to take care of right now ...

I have just demoed BlueCat. Nice thing! The functionality is not endless, but everything implemented is done with care and configuring is strait forward. The only contra is the price (equal to what I have payed of VS20 on eBay). If controlling  CCs (directly/by input CCs/automation) is the only target (for me it is not) and for serious use cases (I am hobby single player) that is a good choice.
 
I was looking at CtrLr under different angle before and completely overseen such application for it. So thank you, it is most probably what I will use (or modify... till I implement exactly what I want myself... )

It's been a few years since I used Bluecat Remote but it certainly did everything I needed it to without too much time researching.

Hi Rob,
Recently I have been making some Studioware panels for some of my old hardware units. I use my old Sonar 2.2 install, which I think was the last version to have the editor.
Studioware panels when combined with a touch screen work quite well for what you are describing.
If you want to list out the CCs you are after, and the labels, I could knock one up for you.
Studioware is surprisingly deep.
It may have been abandoned last century, but much of it still seems functional.
Its the only way I have found to quickly make touch panels for hardware that uses some of the more obscure midi commands.
For instance my Plugiator uses Midi Poly Aftertouch commands to control a lot of deeper parameters. These are a nightmare to enter in just about every software I have looked at. Quite straight forward in studioware.
 
Cheers
Fz1