Cue MIDI Notes/CC Quantized to Start of Bar

[spacialrob]

I saw this feature on a ClockStep in a video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGBGXLw7m0E and want to use it for pretty much the same purpose: for cueing hardware devices like the Helix. Having a cue function, maybe as an option for the mute button on the chassis, or better yet, for use with an external footswitch, would be useful for live performance situations on loopers or sequencers without native MIDI tempo-sync that can be triggered/respond to Note/CC messages and manually timed so as to begin recording/sequencing at the start of the bar. Could even get fancy and have a parameter for how many bars, or which beat of the bar it waits till before sending the quantized MIDI message.

[Simon]

I am not sure I fully get this, you want to send one MIDI Note message or one MIDI CC message on the start of the next bar when you press a button/pedal? (like the same way the "PLAY" button does with a MIDI Start message?)

Simon

[spacialrob]

Hi Simon!

Yes, exactly that.

It’d be best where each footswitch can be assigned its own respective CC or Note value, and send it out after being pressed, waiting till the start of the next bar, like how Play can. Again, it’s basically a working solution for triggering devices in time that don’t receive start/stop MIDI, but will take those kinds of messages instead. Can also imagine a secondary purpose though, where you might want to target a specific device, such as a sequencer, with a MIDI Note/CC value, and reserve the Play button for triggering any other connected instruments.

[Simon]

Ok thanks for the feedback I checked the video as well, very interesting feature indeed. Very niche, but I can understand how there could still be quite a few situations where this is helpful!

This is simple and quick to implement, my only worry is about cluttering the interface with too many features that very few people use. Maybe this will be added once the config by software is added (so that more options can be added there).

On the other hand, if this is precisely what the CLOCKstep does then I suggest you get one

Simon

PS: here is a thought, what about not adding anything in the interface, but doing this by sending special MIDI SysEx message to the MIDI Commands USB interface? The SysEx could contain for example:

• which port to send the MIDI message to (1, 2 or both)
• when to send it (next beat, next bar, next X beat, next X bar, or any of those options shifted by X MIDI ticks)
• the MIDI messages to send (with a size limit)

Would that work for you?

[spacialrob]

Simon,

It would be wonderful if you could implement this in a config-by-software feature in the future! The SysEx idea is a good thought and would probably work in some setups, but in some live situations it might mean more physical clutter with an added computer to program and send SysEx via USB. And I like the Midronome too much to get a CLOCKstep

If you are already adding a config-by-software to the interface and it's relatively simple to incorporate a cue, I would definitely like that option!

[Simon]

The SysEx idea is a good thought but it might mean more physical clutter with an added computer to program and send SysEx via USB

What if you could send it from another device over a usual DIN-MIDI cable?

If you are already adding a config-by-software to the interface and it's relatively simple to incorporate a cue, I would definitely like that option!

How would you imagine the config to be though? Just like the SysEx idea, you would still need to choose the message (potentially multiple), the "when to send", and the port on which to send it to. And I think this should only be a pedal option (so the pedals can Play, Mute, Tap Tempo, or "send custom MIDI" at sepcific time).

[spacialrob]

I can see doing a few presses of the knob from the interface (1st message, 2nd port, 3rd cue timing). Otherwise, if it begins at a software level anyway, maybe the message type, port, and cue time could all be programmed there first, and then loaded as a "cue" or "send custom MIDI" option on the interface for use with a footswitch. So if there are several features planned for the config, then a cue feature could be selected to occupy that function on the analog interface under the "config" option.