Bigger MIDI controller? Chime in here!

rjmmusic

rjmmusic

Administrator
Staff member
Okay, so about 5 million people have now asked us to do a bigger MIDI controller. So, if we were to do such a thing, what features would it have to have? The feature set is not defined yet, but there are a few things that I'm pretty sure it will have:

- 12 IA buttons
- 5 or 6 preset buttons
- Expander capability
- More than a few expression/switch inputs
- PC/Mac editor

Aside from that, it's all up in the air, so let me know if you have any suggestions!
 
hi ron,

6 presets would be nice. but this shouldn´t be a problem, as you suggested 12 IA, so will lead you to 6 presets to get a symmetric look of the controller.
PC editor would be perfect, i hate it to enter the patchnames via the buttons on the controller.
4 expression pedal inputs would be killer. i work with two at the moment and sometimes i want at least one extra pedal.
if it´s possible a display for the songsnames (within the setlist mode) and an additional display for the patchname (like they are stored in the bank mode)
a global preset would be nice as well (like the canadian made controller has)

what more to say, you know all the big controllers out there. something like the big blue one from denmark or the new black one from poland would be nice.

what i´m missing at all the other big controllers is an expander which only has additional preset buttons. you can get a 3 preset + 6 IA expander or a 9 IA expander but not a 9 extra preset expander.

and the best of it all, you make this awesome controller for a price that beats all the others! :)
 
I have no need for so many IAs. The way you can currently switch between IAs and Presets on the Mastermind is very cool. 6 preset buttons (which can be switched to IA via the 2nd function switch), 6 permanent IA buttons, bank up/down and a dedicated tap tempo (or just an assignable IA without an LED!) would be my choice. Or even two rows of switchable IA / preset buttons - this would be my ideal. So a MasterMind with an extra row and column of switches. Definitely a 2nd expression pedal input would be useful (not that I use the one at present!)

I came to the Mastermind from the Rocktron All Access. What I liked about that was the ability to have it in 5 preset / 10 IA, 15 IA, or 15 preset mode. Of course what I really wanted was 10 presets and 5 IAs! As a singer as well as guitarist, I'd rather have more presets so I can easily switch between sounds - I don't want to have to mess around switching banks etc. If I can have 10 or 12 presets immediately accessible, then have an IA button and a tap tempo, that's all I really need. Obviously the ability to switch banks is useful too! And if it was less than 90mm wider than the current Mastermind, so I wouldn't have to buy a new pedalboard, that'd be good :)
 
I want a display like the gordius little giant. I could never undestand how people keep track of 120,000 different presets without song naming and setlist capability. If you play with a bunch of different people, it becomes impossible to keep track of this stuff with random banks and numbers.....
 
Good question! Some time next year is all I can say for now... I've got a lot of work ahead of me...
 
It's very early in the process, but I can say that there will be:

- At least 12 IA buttons
- 5 or 6 preset buttons
- USB for PC/Mac connection, including an editor for PC and Mac
- DIN and XLR MIDI jacks
- Expander (unsure of size)

As with all of our products, the focus will be on ease of use, but there will be a lot of configurability if you want it. I want to make this controller much easier to use than the others that exist (including the Mastermind).
 
I would prefer 6 Presets. Perhaps you can make two Expanders, like at the Skrydstrup SC1, because if someone needs more Presets he can have acces to, let's say nine presets, and then there will be 6 more IA switches and the second Expander just has IA switches, 9 or so. That would be great :D
I also would like to have a Display which shows the Presets and Songs. It would be great if you can make 100 songs and order them in 10 setlists or so.
 
There will definitely be a display that can show titles and numbers, and you will be able to have setlists. :cool:
 
Hey Ron,

If you want to get the drop on everybody else, go one step beyond PC/MAC Editor and do a I-phone/I-pad or Android editor app. Wouldn't it be nice to tweak your setup from your cell? :ugeek: :lol:
 
MartinCliffe said:
What a great idea! If I could program my whole rig from my HTC Desire that'd just kick major butt :)
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'd be dangerous if I actually knew how to implement any of this stuff... :lol:
 
Very good idea, but you're probably not going to want or need to configure this controller from a phone. When you see, you'll understand!

Maybe from an iPad, though... :ugeek:
 
Yes, there is a possibility. It certainly won't be done, but I'm hoping to have something interesting to show...
 
No, definitely not - too much work to do! About all I can say is that it won't be soon after the show!

The intent of showing an early prototype is to get some feedback from users. We're doing something that goes quite a bit beyond the other controllers on the market and I want to make sure that people think we're on the right track.
 
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