Komplete Kontrol A25 - Linux support (unofficial, obviously)

hugo_nl · 2023-06-02T13:24:59+00:00

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To my fellow Linux users: I have been working on user-space utilities to make this keyboard more usable on Linux.

There are certainly some limitations: it won't be as integrated as it is on Windows or Mac, but it will enable you to use all the additional buttons, making it very customizable, sure to fit (more) nicely in your workflow.

If there is anyone interested in testing in this early stage, and you don't mind running bleedng edge tools, send me a message.

(I'm sorry if this message would in any way not comply with the guidelines. According to the code of conduct, it is not allowed to post links to products or services, so I cannot post a link to the Github repo here.)

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Comments

JesterMgee

Posting a link to your own github should be fine

hugo_nl

Alright. :)

For those that want to give it a whirl, you can check it out right here:

https://github.com/hugovangalen/komplementary-kontrol

(If anyone finds bugs, has any suggestions (or preset / mapping files for other software), please open a ticket over there. Thanks.)

hugo_nl

Interesting, I was not aware of that project (probably because that is still aimed at Windows and Mac and I was specifically searching for Linux solutions before I determined I had to roll my own).

There are certainly some overlaps but as far as I can tell the hardware is technically different and (possibly because of those differences) it seems to approach things in an entirely different manner.

hugo_nl

(It feels like I am replying to generative AI that tries to spam a product, but here goes anyway...)

I think you are misunderstanding what my solution does and how it works. I am not rewriting an USB MIDI implementation, that would be crazy. :-D

The MIDI keys are supported fine by ALSA MIDI framework: but that's only the 25 keys and the MIDI events that the 8 rotary dials send.

The main issue with the Komplete Kontrol A25 on Linux is that all the other buttons do absolutely nothing: these are sent as HIDDEV packets that any music production software has no support for. This is what users of this kit on Linux complain about on-line.

(Also, there is no Linux utility that can configure the aforementioned 8 rotary dials.)

My stuff basically works on top of MIDI ALSA.

One utility tool sits between the hardware and the ALSA and input layer of the operating system and translates the non-MIDI events to actual useful MIDI events (such as PLAY, RECORD and STOP being mapped to the relevant MIDI Transport Control messages that most Linux software does support. For some other buttons, depending on the software you use, gets mapped to relevant keypresses inside that actual software. (This is basically what Komplete Kontrol software does on Windows and Mac.)

As for the rotary dial configuration, I have written another utility that sends the relevant SysEx packets to the hardware to set-up those buttons to send the appropriate MIDI CC or PGM events that the software can then pick up.

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