Assigning a midi CC to a fader

[tigerman]

Hi, i would like to assign a fader of my master keyboard to the mater aux fader in order to control volume of the entire project, so i do not have to use the mause all the times.

that "link" should be indipendent from the track i have selected in the edit window.

Is it possible? I'm coming from Logic so i'm still learning, i've browsed all pro-tools menu but i can't see anything related do midi cc, do i need a compatible control surface in order to do that ?
No way to have just the volume on a fader controlled by a midi cc?

thanks

[tonwurm]

nope - so far I know

[lifer]

This is a MAJOR flaw with Pro Tools.
You have to have a HUI compatable control surface or purchase one of the controllers from Digidesign.
I am dying to build a custom controller of my own since there is a huge gap between the functionality and cost of current surfaces.
Sadly unless Avid change their policy or you know a reverse engineer bod, you are stuck.
If you just want one fader i suggest you purchase either Frontier Designs Alphatrack or a Presonus Faderport and use their HUI mode.

[jeremyroberts]

This is a MAJOR flaw with Pro Tools.
You have to have a HUI compatable control surface or purchase one of the controllers from Digidesign.
I am dying to build a custom controller of my own since there is a huge gap between the functionality and cost of current surfaces.
Sadly unless Avid change their policy or you know a reverse engineer bod, you are stuck.
If you just want one fader i suggest you purchase either Frontier Designs Alphatrack or a Presonus Faderport and use their HUI mode.

It's not a major a flaw. The OP needs to RTFM. Read up on master faders, busses and auxes.

[John_Toolbox]

Assuming your controller is programable, all you need to do is program your controller to have the same parameters of a midi controller that is compatible with pro tools, such as the JL cooper CS10 or the mackie HUI. Then set up pro tools to have that peripheral connected. This will take a little research on your part, read the manual for your controller and then figure out how to make it emulate one that pro tools is compatible with. I have done this before, and I know I was able to find data for a CS-10 on the internet relatively easily.

[BaileyBass]

The faderport is only about 120 US.. and much smaller. I think that facilitates the OP's rather explicit request.:eek::D:eek::D:D:D
The JL cooper could leave a mark..just guessing.:D

[Matthew Steel]

ProTools does not support arbitrary MIDI control of parameters. It only supports its own (undocumented) control surface protocols, and two documented legacy control protocols. The documented protocols are for the JL-Cooper CS-10 and the Mackie HUI. This limitation is on purpose so that Digidesign can sell control surfaces. So perhaps it is not a "flaw" but certainly is a major LIMITATION in ProTools. But it is on purpose so Digidesign can sell control surfaces.

Do some searching and reading on the CS-10 protocol. It may do what you want. IIRC it uses a predefined mapping between CC numbers and faders. It does not support motorized faders so if a fader changes from ProTools then you will have to move the fader through the current point before ProTools will respond again. In your case your keyboard isn't likely to have motorized faders so this is probably the desired behavior.

The Mackie HUI has the limitation that there are periodic status checks. ProTools will periodically send a message to the HUI and expect the proper reply. If it does not get the proper response back then ProTools assumes the HUI has gone away and disables it. So to use the HUI protocol you need to be able to program your keyboard to spit back the response every time it receives the keepalive message from ProTools.

[tigas]

Does anyone have good experiences with the Behringer faderboard and its BabyHUI emulation? It's pretty cheap.

[John_Toolbox]

Does anyone have good experiences with the Behringer faderboard and its BabyHUI emulation? It's pretty cheap.

I would avoid Behringer gear like the plague. It's cheap for a reason. Your money would be much better spent buying something used from a more reputable brand.

Have you looked at the presonus faderport and frontier alphatrack? They each only have one fader, but it's motorized and they both have several other cool tricks up their sleeves. Really nice to have next to your keyboard. You should be able to pick one up used for around $100.

I think the newer versions of the JL cooper fadermaster have motorized faders, though I'm not sure what they go for these days. I have been very happy with every piece of JL cooper gear I've owned, very well built stuff.

[jeremyroberts]

I own and use a BabyHUI. It's everything that I need. Well, I need a D-Control, but the BabyHui is so integrated into my workflow and physical layout, I would not be a happy camper if I had to replace it.

If you can find a babyHUI in good condition, I'd buy it.

[lifer]

It's not a major a flaw. The OP needs to RTFM. Read up on master faders, busses and auxes.

Why is this not a major flaw? From a user standpoint compared to Logic (which OP states he is coming from) i would say it is.
Logic allows you to very easily assign any midi controller to do what you wish on screen. PT doesn't. Digi expect to fleece you for 10 - 70k just to have more than 8 faders... that's assuming the user wants a mixing desk style controller! It's good business sense for them yes, but a PITA for us.
What precisely will he gain from "RTFM" in this instance?
Dick :mad:

P.S. People are also either assuming English is his first language or being horribly patronising... wtf is wrong with you people.. all he did was ask a simple question..jeez

[loopzilla2]

Sorry - I just saw this thread.

Pro Tools will respond to a CC controller on Midi Channels 15 and 16. Use CC's 1-16 on each channel under the Peavey PC1600 control personality. This controller worked up until 8.01, and the fixed it again to work with 8.03 CS1.

CC 1-8 affect Fader level and CC 9-16 affect pan controls.

[Doug Ring]

I like my Alphatrack. Being motorized means the fader can track changes you've written, and the fader cap is touch sensitive so it drops into record when you grab it and allows you to overwrite changes. You can assign it to any channel fader including the master. Plus it has a horizontal touch strip you can use for scrub editing, which is really good for editing speech (strangely not quite so good for music...)

But if you're not bothered about writing automation you can get a MIDI keyboard with faders on it (I use the M-audio Axiom 61) to control stuff. I remember it being a bit of a struggle but it can be done.

[Alexlimbert]

This is extremely annoying. I don't want to spend hours learning what Command8, HUI, SurroundPanner, M-Audio Keyboard are and helplessly see if my MIDI controller is compatible with one. Of course most manuals aren't go to mention this. I just want to quickly MIDI learn something. Pro Tools is archaic. Why does it have to be so user unfriendly and consume everyone's time to do such simple tasks? I've taken multiple Pro Tools classes and nothing is mentioned about this. So frustrating.

[musicman691]

This is extremely annoying. I don't want to spend hours learning what Command8, HUI, SurroundPanner, M-Audio Keyboard are and helplessly see if my MIDI controller is compatible with one. Of course most manuals aren't go to mention this. I just want to quickly MIDI learn something. Pro Tools is archaic. Why does it have to be so user unfriendly and consume everyone's time to do such simple tasks? I've taken multiple Pro Tools classes and nothing is mentioned about this. So frustrating.
I don't understand you second sentence. Are you saying you want to use your unnamed MIDI controller to control one of those? What MIDI controller do you have and what exactly do you want it to do in PT? PT really doesn't work with MIDI controllers as such; IOW PT won't understand when your controller sends out a MIDI CC7 (volume) that you want to control a channel fader. That kind of MIDI control doesn't exist in PT - you can't teach a fader to do that.

[Alexlimbert]

I have two control surfaces, AKAI MPD218 and Samson Conspiracy. At this point, I'd be happy if I could just control a mute button.

[musicman691]

I have two control surfaces, AKAI MPD218 and Samson Conspiracy. At this point, I'd be happy if I could just control a mute button.
Won't work in PT because as I said PT doesn't communicate via MIDI for the most part. Have you tried to set up the two controllers inside PT preferences? You have to tell PT what controllers you have, etc. The basics should be in the manual.

[John_Toolbox]

Grab a copy of MIDI monitor (free) and figure out what CC messages your controller is spitting out. Then, you can either reprogram your controller to emulate HUI, or if that's not possible use a program like Bome's midi translator (costs $, but has a time limited demo) to remap the CC outputs.

[musicman691]

Grab a copy of MIDI monitor (free) and figure out what CC messages your controller is spitting out. Then, you can either reprogram your controller to emulate HUI, or if that's not possible use a program like Bome's midi translator (costs $, but has a time limited demo) to remap the CC outputs.
Thanks for the heads-up about Bomes as it looks like it can help me to get my Motif7 keyboard to actually do some work with PT other than to enter notes :cool:

[Alexlimbert]

Thank you for the explanation. Seems like a lot of work and more potential interfacing issues. Any chance Pro Tools could get more user friendly than less user friendly? I heard that older versions actually had MIDI learn.

[musicman691]

Thank you for the explanation. Seems like a lot of work and more potential interfacing issues. Any chance Pro Tools could get more user friendly than less user friendly? I heard that older versions actually had MIDI learn.
Remember that MIDI is not and never has been a priority for PT. So it looks like if you want to do what you want to do then you'll have to dig in and get dirty with some programming. Ain't that hard if you have the mind for it; just go about it logically and take your time.

[John_Toolbox]

Thanks for the heads-up about Bomes as it looks like it can help me to get my Motif7 keyboard to actually do some work with PT other than to enter notes :cool:

Another program you should check out is midipipe, it doesn't do exactly what bomes does, but it definitely comes in handy, and is also free like midi monitor.

[musicman691]

Another program you should check out is midipipe, it doesn't do exactly what bomes does, but it definitely comes in handy, and is also free like midi monitor.
If a tool does what it says on the tin AND what I need it to then paying for it is no problem.