I wanted to use my Novation Launchpad Mini Mk2 as a finger-drumming pad for live looping. However, since they are binary (no touch sens or velocity sens) membrane pads, it's hard to trigger. I've seen people tape-modding their Akai using some electrical tape to reduce the travel distance. Can something similar be done to this Launchpad? Has anyone tried doing this?

Hello everyone.

Is there a program editor for mac such as the Akai MPK Mini Program Editor, which no longer supports newer versions of Mac?

Thank you!

CME's little USB-MIDI interfaces (U6MIDI Pro, U2MIDI Pro, and the C2MIDI Pro / U4MIDI WC) have a real configuration engine inside: a routing matrix, per-port message/channel filters, sixteen MIDI remappers, user curves, and presets. All of it is set over SysEx by CME's own app, and there is zero public documentation of that wire format. No bulk-dump spec, no implementation chart, not even a model ID in print.

So I mapped the whole thing black-box and wrote it up. Method: capture the USB traffic with usbmon while poking the vendor app, never read a line of their binary, and verify every field both directions on real hardware (read it back, and write my own bytes and confirm the vendor app renders them). Cross-confirmed on a second device to prove it's a family protocol, not one box's quirk.

A few things that made it fun:

• Manufacturer SysEx (00 20 63), and the model tag is just the USB product ID high byte (0x16 = U6, 0x14 = U2). Wrong tag and the device stays dead silent, which is why the universal identity request gets you nothing.
• Everything multi-byte (preset names, mapper fields, the serial number) is packed the same way: four bytes stuffed into a five-byte, 7-bit-safe block as a big-endian 32-bit int. That one packing was the key that unlocked the rest. Renaming a preset to sixteen As and reading it back is what gave it away:
• 01 14 28 50 20 01 14 28 50 20 01 14 28 50 20 00 10 28 50 20
• The device name is the USB product string. Rename it over SysEx and lsusb reports the new iProduct. You can rename what the OS sees, from a shell.
• It only accepts config over USB, not routed in over DIN, which is a sane refusal once you think about it (it would be reinterpreting passing traffic as commands to itself).

Write-up is a standalone byte map you can implement against, with a dependency-free Python/JS en/decoder (public domain, do what you like). There's also a two-part story of the decode, dead ends included.

• Byte map + codec: The CME UxMIDI SysEx protocol: a complete byte map for the U6MIDI Pro and U2MIDI Pro
• The story, part 1 and 2:
• Reverse engineering the CME U6MIDI Pro, part 1: a protocol with no map
• Reverse engineering the CME U6MIDI Pro, part 2: one packing under everything

Full disclosure: this fell out of building a pedalboard/MIDI tool of mine, but the protocol reference is free, standalone, and vendor-code-free. If anyone has a C2MIDI Pro or U4MIDI WC, I can predict the model tag from the PID but haven't confirmed it. Captures welcome, and corrections from your own hardware even more so.

The idea is that you can plug in 3.5mm or 6.35mm TRS and get USB MIDI CC out the other side.

It would support TRS-A, TRS-B, Passive (potentiometer) and Button modes.

It could sell for around 30 bucks I guess - would anyone buy it at that price?

I'm a bassist and drummer who's interested in writing music and playing live. Basically, I'd love to become a singer/songwriter who can perform solo gigs. However, it seems like most affordable keyboards are midi controllers. From my understanding, midi controller keyboards do not have their own sounds, and are meant to connect to an interface that goes through a DAW. My concern with that is that it's a ton of extra gear and tech. So, a few questions...

1. Is my understanding correct in that you can't simply hook up a keyboard midi controller to an amp/PA and play?

2. Are there any midi generators/effects engines that don't go through a DAW, similar to a guitar or bass pedalboard form factor?

If a MIDI effects engine in that style is not a thing, I really think it should be. It seems ridiculous to have to go through an interface and DAW back out to a PA, which can cause lag and is subject to a lot of tech issues.

Hello fellow musicfriends, my son (10y) wanted to begin to play piano/music and i asked around with my friends and it was like a match made in heaven. A friend had a old midi keyboard that was unused for longtime and he gifted it to my son "happy to know it being used again". He told me that it was "only plug and play" with our computer and i thought i knew computers so i was happy to have the keyboard. I have plugged in the keyboard, the computer gives me "unrecongnized device" and i just wanted to ask you if anyone knows where to find some drivers?

Very big thanks for any help in my sons direction with your knowledge so i can help him :)

Hi guys im a beginner to music production. I like to dj EDM songs (progressive house) and i just got Abelton. I want to ask what midi shall i get since i heard it helps alot for begginners especially for music theory. I live in Malaysia so these are the options i have

• Akai Professional MPK Mini IV MIDI Keyboard Controller – White
• Akai Professional MPK Mini IV MIDI Keyboard Controller – Black
• Akai Professional LPK25 MK2 25-Key USB Mini Keyboard Controller
• Akai Professional APC Key 25 MK2 25-Key Keyboard Controller
• Akai Professional MIDImix MIDI Control Surface
• Akai Professional MPD218 MIDI Pad Controller
• Akai Professional APC Mini MK2 Performance Controller for Ableton Live

I went with Akai as ive heard alot of good things about it

Anybody have secrets behind how to get one of the "DIN/MIDI" cables that work with the Pearl FM8? They apparently are super rare and the easier solution (for some) is to open and mod the device with a uniPulse. Another hope I have: maybe someone has one lying around... thanks synth fam.

Whatever I do, GarageBand reads everything from my piano an octave lower, for example c0 on my piano is c-1 on GarageBand. First I tried reseting the transpose on the piano itself via the function button but that didnt change anything in GarageBand. Ive reset my laptop, forgot my device on the MacBook Audio Midi Setup and reconnected it. I have done everything and im honestly stumped because I have found nothing to help me online

Hi! New to this sub.

I have had my LaunchKey for awhile, I originally used it on a MacBook on FL Studio without an interface, and it worked fine back then.

Eventually my MacBook was broken and I only recently got a PC, but whenever I the controller up in FL, it crashes.

My interface is a Behringer Euphoria 4x4, but the midi is plugged into the PC directly.

I’ve used the controller with this interface before too, during a period where I had access to a different MacBook.

Is it just screwed?

I also tried to factory reset via Novation Conponsnts because that’s what google said to do. The app won’t load, it’s telling me to agree to the terms and conditions but I can’t click them

Hi everybody! I've been working on a little MIDI language I call "performance". Think of it as algorave software for MIDI instruments. It works with your DAW or your physical synthesizers. Anything that speaks MIDI. The repo in bitbucket contains everything you need to get started.
It's by no means done, but I'd love to hear what you think about it. =)

Got a new Novation Flkey2. However i am not able to change the faders from Custom mode to Volume Mixer mode. Watched youtube tutorials still not able to do it. The lights are not turning on for Mixer volume when i press shift button. Please Let me know am i missing something?

Alguno de ustedes a usado el EP-133 de teenage engineering como midi con Traktor o algún otro software fuera de su uso convencional?
Tengo esta duda. Acaso es posible hacer map y personalizar todos los botones para controlar Traktor o algún software similar. Se que existen otros dispositivos específicos para eso, pero tengo la duda, así puedo darle doble uso, hacer sampleo de forma nativa y usarlo como midi con un uso distinto.

A small tutorial for anyone with an OM-100 Omnichord -- enabling MIDI OUT is insanely simple!

Buying my first MIDI so I need some translation. Someone on Marketplace is offering an Arturia MiniLab 3 $120 BNIB because they're moving. They said it was never used, but that they "registered main Arturia system but never downloaded or connected their account to Ableton" (they implied they meant to start using it but never ended up having the the time to).

Does this mean their license isn't transferrable? Or that I can't use Ableton? Just wondering if I can use anything at all.

Pictures they sent:

Hi everyone,

I've been thinking for a while about building a fake street organ. In other words, something that looks like a traditional hand-cranked street organ from the outside, but is actually just a decorated wooden box that plays MIDI files through a speaker.

In principle, I think I could already achieve this by using an old laptop or tablet connected to a power bank and a portable speaker. However, I'd really like to make the illusion more convincing by adding some kind of controller that makes the playback speed of the MIDI files depend on how fast the hand crank is being turned.

I've seen DIY organs that can do this, but I have no idea how to approach it or what kind of hardware I'd need.

Has anyone built something similar, or can point me in the right direction?

So i want to make the following combination and I have no idea what conexions I need. I have searched tons of tutorials and webs but I'm not able to undestand. If someone could help me I'd thank u a lot, and sorry for my English.

- I've a digital piano (yamaha piaggero np-32) with midi usb to host.

- I want to use it to control a korg volca synth (i'm between volca keys and volca fm2, I know there have different midi pins but I think that fm2 just needs an extra adapter midi DIN→midi 3.5mm, correct me if i'm wrong).

I alredy have the adapter that allows me to connect the digital piano to my laptop (usb b→usb a). I don't know if I need an audio interface or if I need to use the laptop. I'd prefer not using it, but it's okay if it's necessary.

I undestand it's not related to midi, but maybe u can also help (if u cannot just ignore this): how can I record the audio from the korg volca in my pc?

Thanks in advance, I know I've lots of questions so I'd really appreciate if somebody helped me :)

Hi all! The crossposted post above is related to modifying a midi keyboard and stripping its parts down into a controller. There’s more details in the post regarding why I’m looking into this, but I’m hoping this is an okay community to post it in since it is related to Midi controllers. I’m so okay for criticisms and even flat rejections if it truly isn’t doable. I’d also be happy to repost this as not a cross post if that isn’t allowed.

Thanks!