USB to 5-pin Midi

[Mars3110]

Hello,

I'm looking for a nice pad device to trigger some flashy playbacks as we all enjoy these effects. But sadly the best midi pads (like the Novation Launchpad) only work through USB and Titan consoles still don't support this…
So I searched for a converter MIDI USB to 5-pin MIDI and this kind of device exists ! Here is it : http://www.hobbytronics.co.uk/usb-midi-converter
But before buying it I want to have your thoughts on this and if it will works with a Titan console.
They say the device don't support the Novation Launchpad but the KORG nanoPAD2 and the Arturia Beatstep are supported. By the way, do you think the encoders (infinite I think) of the Arturia Beatstep can be triggered in Titan and behave like faders ?

Thanks for your help !

[clublights]

yes knobs can be used in titan

I dunno about THAT convertor but others have used Kenton and the Mode Machines one to do the same thing I thin the mode machines one is best as it can be used with a USB hub allowing you to connect more then one device

[danhoff]

I've been using this great little converter box - https://www.iconnectivity.com/products/midi/mio4 - to do exactly that, and it's worked exactly as advertised with Tiger Touch and Titan Mobile; I've even connected a USB hub to it and used both a LaunchPad and MPK Mini simultaneously. (with some interesting results, as the LaunchPad receives MIDI notes to set the color of its pads....)
Lots of configuration and routing options, too (haven't needed those yet).

The *key* is that the converter box acts as a 'USB Host', taking the place of the computer. It looks like the one you linked should do the same thing; the Mio4 does a lot more.

[Mars3110]

Guys, you're awesome. Thank you very much !
I'll have a look at all these options and see which one is best for my use.

[danhoff]

And, at least with the MPK Mini (http://www.akaipro.com/products/keyboard-controllers/mpk-mini-mkii), I can set the knobs to control the level of a playback (they send a MIDI CC command), which is super-useful for stuff like specials or chases, freeing up faders for other things!

[Mars3110]

It's exactly what I want to do. And do you think it will work with 360 degrees infinite knobs ? Like on this one.
I would prefer simple knobs (non-360) but this pad is the perfect one for my usage : compact with 16 pads and 6 knobs. And I don't find a similar one with non-360 knobs.
Not sure if this kind of thing sends the same command as non-360 one and how it will be interpreted by the console… do you know which midi CC message does the console understand ?

Thanks for your help !

[clublights]

Most of those knobs might twist 360 but they only go 0-100 in output . they do not loop back to 0 make sense ?


At least every one I have tried does I use a akai mpd-26 personally.

[danhoff]

Should work, the typical behavior for continuous knobs is that they'll go from 0-127 (min to max) and if you keep spinning it up while it's at max, nothing will happen, but if you start spinning it the other way, it'll start decreasing to zero, and once it's at zero, the same is true.
You should be able to use Akai's Editor software (from the same website you linked) to change which notes / CC's are sent from each pad or knob; the Avo software typically does a good job of 'learning' as well, just select what you want to trigger, then generate that note or message on the device.

[Mars3110]

That's perfect, thank you for your help !
Yeah I already use a lot the DMX trigger, it's so simple and seems to be exactly the same for midi.