X Y Control

tashley

Hi,

There are quite a few instruments now that are greatly enhanced by the use of XY control but it seems there is no simple way of achieving this. Simply using the XY Pad in the instrument's instance (in the Kontakt plugin popup window) works in real time mode, but not when you record.

There seem to be almost no hardware XY controllers on the market, and so Touch OSC seems the best bet but it looks complex to setup if you're not a midi expert.

I have seen one video by Thorsten Myer that to me was completely opaque (no dialogue and really quick set of complex interface adjustments with no explanation) and I have also seen the Sonora Instruments video, much better but it's about Cubase.

Has anyone made Touch OSC work on an iPad, controlling recording on Logic running on a Mac, with Kontakt instruments like Thrill and Mysteria? I'd like to know if it works before buying the Mac and iPad apps and if anyone has any good instructions about how to make it all hang together I'd be eternally grateful!

Thanks in advance for any help...

tashley

OK I have worked out how to do this for free, and very effectively, using Logic Remote on the iPad.

It’s sounds a bit complicated but I will try to document it because its actually pretty quick and easy. It involves using Logic’s Smart Controller window.

Your create a new track in Logic and select Kontakt as the source then open the Kontakt plugin pop up and select, say, Thrill (or any instrument that uses an XY pad) and choose whichever sound you like. Fiddle with the virtual XY pad so you can see what it does. Then ensure that the sound is playable from your keyboard.

Now, close the Kontakt Popup. Select the track in Logic and go to View>Smart Controls.

In the Smart Controls Panel that will now open at the bottom of the screen the first dropdown says ‘Automatic Smart Controls. Select that dropdown and choose Modern Synth 2 instead.

TO the right a virtual XY pad (elongated but very useable) will appear. Select the X axis (horizontal line) with your mouse then in the Parameter Mapping dropdown to the left, go to 1 Kontakt and as you hover a huge list of numbers will appear with hashtags. However over it and scroll right to the bottom and select X Mix. Then go back to the virtual trackpad and click with your mouse with on the Y Axis (vertical line) and then under the parameter mapping dropdown go to 1 Kontakt>scroll down to Y Intensity and select it.

For both the X and Y you will then need in turn to select the Open button at the foot of the parameter mapping pane and choose the upward sloping graph shapes. Don’t worry about the percentage numbers, just ensure that it goes from 0 to 127 on both.

Now open Logic Remote and you should see this:

If you don’t then you need to select the tiny arrow top left and ensure that you have Smart Controls and Keyboard selected.

Now you can press record in Logic, set a region to record in loop record mode and play a few notes on your MIDI keyboard with one hand whilst moving your finger on the XY pad on the iPad screen and it will record the notes you play AND the XY changes you make. You can check this by playing it back and listening, and watching the XY pad on the iPad screen as you do so.

It takes five minutes, costs nothing (if you already have the gear!), doesn’t use any more usb ports or cables and it works…