Questions about MIDI control for organ

famous beagle

Well-known member
I've been really digging the freeware VSTs Combo F (Farfisa model) and Combo V (Vox model) organs from Martinic lately, and I'd like to get some more real-time control with a controller. Right now, I only have an M-Audio Axiom 25, which works great for a lot of stuff, but it doesn't have any sliders, which doesn't it make it ideal for organ control.

So I'm looking around at some other controller options that have sliders and all.

However, in the meantime, I decided to try using the Axiom to do what I could do. Though it doesn't have sliders, it does have 8 rotary knobs and 8 pressure pads, so I thought I would try assigning the rotary knobs to the drawbars (in the Model V, for instance), and some of the pressure pads to some of the switches (like for vibrato, etc.).

Though it does work, it's pretty sketchy. For example, the rotary knobs will control the drawbars if I turn them really fast up or down, but if I turn the knob slowly to try to just advance, say, one slot on the draw bar, it won't do it. It kind of gets stuck, and I have to turn it really fast up or down to get it moving again.

With the pressure pads for the switches, that's sketchy as well. I read the Axiom manual, and I've made sure the pads are set so that they trigger once for on and then again for off. If I assign a pad to a switch (like vibrato) on the Combo V, it works sometimes, but most of the time it'll turn the vibrato on when I push the pad and immediately turn it off when I release it. Sometimes it will just turn the vibrato on and leave it after I let go, but most of the time it doesn't.

Anyway, my question is, in your experience, is this likely an issue with the controller? Could it be the plug? (It is freeware.) Or ... what?

I'm just wondering what I should expect with regards to the smoothness of operation if I get another controller for this purpose.

Thanks
 
The knobs sounds to me like maybe they're trying to increment, or set a relative value rather than an absolute. The other kind of sounds like it's sending an event both when pressing and on release. You said you fixed that, though...

How exactly are you mapping these controllers to the VSTi parameters? Is it a function built into the plugs themselves, or a function of your DAW, or...??? I'm pretty sure it's going to be a combination of programming the Axiom and setting up your DAW/VSTi.
 
How exactly are you mapping these controllers to the VSTi parameters? Is it a function built into the plugs themselves, or a function of your DAW, or...??? I'm pretty sure it's going to be a combination of programming the Axiom and setting up your DAW/VSTi.

Well, to be honest, it's not really that consistent. I'm using Reaper.

On some plug VSTi's, I can just right click on a control in the plug and a window will come up with "MIDI learn" as a choice. I just click that and a little options box appears, instructing me to move the controller I want to assign to that parameter. I move a knob (or whatever), and click "OK," and it's usually good to go.

On others, though, right-clicking doesn't produce a menu. The only way I've been able to get it to work then is by clicking on a "Parameter" button, which I believe is part of the Reaper plug system. When I do that, there's an option called "Learn." Then I can click on a parameter with the mouse, move a controller, and it usually latches on.

Though I use MIDI a lot, it's mostly been basic stuff for a long time. Assigning MIDI CC messages and things like that are a bit new to me, so I'm trying to learn it. And then applying this stuff to plug-ins is newer to me still.
 
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