midi note/cc to 'button' (function) --> pad mode assign 'set

just wondering...

i am trying to rig up a 'macro' using the midi note to button (or maybe function is
more accurate as the options there are not all buttons... right?) screen in the
midi/sync page.

basically i went to send a message to the p.stats page to f4/f5 to go up or down
a set.

any ideas/thoughts?

i don't use the sequencer live and the pattern mode is handy for avoiding this. but
having to go into p.stats every time to change the set is slowing me down a bit...

thanks dudes

My first thought for macros is to use the pad pattern function, but it sounds like you'll be changing the pattern sets during the macro. Do you want to control the macro from the MPC or do you have an external controller?

Of course, you could add the macro to an unused pad in each of your pattern sets, but that sounds like more trouble than it's worth.

This is a perfect case for Arduino.

hey, ive been meaning to do a video on this for ages - I say that in practically every post at the minute too You can do this and loads more with pad patterns. The trick is to use the pad pattren track parameter. Set up a track for macros (say track 15 sends from MIDI 16A) now on your pad pattern set your pad to send from track 15 - this will send your macro from MIDI channel 16 in this example. this will work on whatever track your playing on - so if the track does not send MIDI out - the particular pad that sends the macro will send MIDI because it's triggering your macro track.

my macro goes like this:

note:113 mode button
note:6 f6 button
note:5 f5 button
note:20 Bank A button
note:112 main button

I set durations to 1. Convert this to a pad pattern- you know the rest. Just make sure to assign tr to the relevant macro track.

the bank is optional - I set up pad pattern macros on bank D, so I set up most macros to return me to bank A which is usually my core playing bank. Also, I like to be back in the main screen, but for this one if you hit the pad again it wouldnt behave as expected as the mode key behaves different in the p.stats window. So you need this in the macro.

With my midi note set up this increments the pad set by hitting a pad - changing note 5 to note 4 in that list will move the pad set down so you can use that to toggle between two pad sets by hitting a pad.

You can also do some simple macros with simult pad , but they can be hit and miss - the main key in this macro inteferes with the main+pad shortcut function for instance, so you keep going into the wrong screen. So for this macro you need to use pad pattern.

phew..

hey thanks for the replies...

@consuming - i think i will have to apply the macro to an unused pad for each set, just as you said... no worries.

@mikolo - this is actually amazing! a couple of your videos seeded the idea that this
was possible (particularly the one about 'cycle' mode before it was implemented) and
i have been trying to figure it out sense, so thanks for the tip.

but i can't quite get it to work...

the macro gets through the first three stages, 'mode' 'f6' 'f5' but then doesn't return
to pad bank a and doesn't return to the main screen...

any thoughts?
thanks again for the tips. i'm still new to 2xl so just working things out.

Is it because the set is changing mid-macro? Maybe the pattern stops when the set changes.

Try setting Bank A earlier in the macro and then you'll only have to press Main manually.

my guess is yeah - when the set changes the pad ends... although
i think changing sets 'manually' while a pattern is running doesn't
cause it to cut out... have to check this one.

will stick the bank a command a bit earlier and see how it goes.

the macro i posted definitely worked for me. I think I had all the notes on the same step ( 01.01.00) but in the order i described. If that doesn't work I'll look at the full set up.

If you take the normal sequencer as a an example, notes on are still executed after stopping. e.g. if you have a 'stop' macro at 1.1.95 after the stop message is received some notes on 1.2.00 will still get sent - for my live stuff this is actually a brilliant little anomaly because you can do some cool set up changes with pre-recorded stop messages, mutes and other things)

Damn, mikolo, that is awesome info! Thanks!!

yeah you're right mikolo it totally works. i was inserting notes in grid edit
so i couldn't put them on the same step. but doing it in step edit worked
just fine.

thanks again for that! such a handy tip. possibilities are endless with this.

by the way... just for others: midi out to midi in and soft thru off.

stop me if i'm wrong with that...

yeah that's right.If you'rE using multi-timbral mode you can also use 'soft thru:as track' - just make sure the track you send on is not the same number as the MIDI channel it is transmitting on (e.g. don't send MIDI channel 15 from track 15).

I always do macros in MIDI track step edit as most of my buttons are assigned so they don't conflict with 36-99 note range of the MPC. More elaborate macros may cover a few adjacent steps. I always put duplicate cursor movements on the same step value.

I've tried doing them in a DAW and then importing MIDI files but with less success - in those cases it looks like duplicate notes eliminate others (e.g. so you'll only have one cursor up message per step).