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What MIDI CC numbers can I use in Logic


amusong

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I am fooling around with Touch OSC and wondering if I can make it work with my projects. At present it is rather difficult to learn as this version is new and their documentation is quite opaque (putting it kindly). However, I assume I will eventually figure it out.

 

Looking ahead, I realise that if really want to use the power of this Controller it is going to want a lot of CC numbers. Looking at, for example, the list of CC numbers that I can address in the automation of the piano roll (using the little flip down menu) it seems that a lot of the CC numbers are already assigned elsewhere. Breath, modulation, etc etc. There are also a bunch of numbers for LSB type things, and General.

 

I have no idea if I can use these numbers freely or if I have to be very careful to avoid ones that are already assigned.

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Supplementary question.........how does something like a Mackie Control communicate with Logic? It has something like a hundred knobs buttons and faders, and can be joined up with further multiple extenders. How many CC does that need? Or am I missing something? The depths of my ignorance about Midi knows no bounds....but I am working on it.

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I have no idea if I can use these numbers freely or if I have to be very careful to avoid ones that are already assigned.

You are free to use whatever MIDI CC numbers, and instruments (and their patches) are free to determine how they interpret each one, even if there are some standards (that instruments are free to follow or not). So it all depends what you're doing or what you want to do but for example if you want to route a controller to a filter cutoff, I wouldn't choose CC#11 which is highly likely to change your instrument's expression.

 

Supplementary question.........

For the sake of keeping the forum organized, I would rather have you start a new topic for each new question/topic you want to discuss, so that topics can be easily identifiable by title. That's what makes the forum easy to browse for visitors, for search engine robots to index, or even for visitors who use our own search field to search for a specific topic. It also makes it easier to read a thread that focuses on one single topic.

 

Do not hesitate to start as many new topics as you may have new questions (like that supplementary one for example).

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Thanks David - so I am free to use any midi controller I want (noted about some of the very common ones like CC1 of course).

 

Also note your suggestion about the supplementary, and will comply. I was actually thinking it was part of the same question, relating to the number of CC controllers there were available and how they were used. The point being......there were not many "un-assigned" CC numbers so how could a Mackie Control assign things. You have cleared that up in the answer above though.

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Thanks David - so I am free to use any midi controller I want (noted about some of the very common ones like CC1 of course).

Yes exactly. And nothing is set in stone, for example some instruments may use Expression for something else, or use modulation (CC#1) for expression, or not use it at all, leaving you free to use it for something else etc. Still, unless you absolutely need to use the standard numbers for something else, I find it's generally best to leave them alone and use the ones that are not used by standard functions (such as 20 through 30 for example).

 

Also note your suggestion about the supplementary, and will comply. I was actually thinking it was part of the same question, relating to the number of CC controllers there were available and how they were used. The point being......there were not many "un-assigned" CC numbers so how could a Mackie Control assign things. You have cleared that up in the answer above though.

I hear you, sometimes it's not easy to identify if two topics are closely related or only losely related (and then belong in different threads). I also believe that if you start a new topic asking "how are controls assigned in Mackie's MCU protocol?" or something like that, you are increasing your chances of getting it viewed and answered, rather than burying your question at the end of another topic. It's not a hard and fast rule, so use your best judgement! ;)

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The MCU uses CCs and note messages in the main.

 

Don’t forget that there are lots of options - you could have 128 buttons all using one CC, say 40, button one with a value of 0, button 2 with a value of 1 etc.

 

Then you have a dedicated port so you can multiply all the potential CC and note messages at your disposal by 16 MIDI channels…

 

There’s plenty of space for 100 buttons or so, don’t worry…

Edited by des99
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Thanks to both of you. I am just taking a peek into the rabbit hole that is MIDI and thinking I'd like to know a little more about it. I do like my MIDI instruments and find that whenever I try to dive a little deeper into the topic it becomes a general quagmire for me. I will keep on plugging away at it, and would one day like to understand the MIDI environment, but whenever I do to there it completely flummoxes me. So much to learn in Logic and so little time! Problem solved for now though.
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Oh bother! Now I am going to have to go and find out what a quadrack converter is. Will this journey never end?

 

After watching that video ValliS (strangely beautiful music by the way) I am fully expecting to find a programmable CNC router and a 3D printer in the toolbox as well .....when I get deep enough!

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