External Controller Input Mapping, to emulate primary buttons

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For some users the size of the Mini, might just be… well… too mini :laughing:. Think - big hands.

For those users the original Tracker Hardware Layout may have been ideal, or even a third party controller. This proposal asks for a way to map an external controller to the Mini’s primary input button functionality.

What is the problem?

Large hands make extended Mini sessions uncomfortable. Some people may also would rather map the OG Tracker to the Minis functionality.

What do you want to achieve?

Giving users the ability to emulate button presses via an external controller so that users then can figure out an input system with better ergonomics for people with gorilla hands.

Ideally a way to map the trackers primary buttons to an external controller.

Are there any workarounds?

Nothing other than “get an OG Tracker.”
But I love my Mini and don’t want to replace it.

Any references to other products?

No, but I’ll use this space to say I understand that user requests can be simultaneously reasonable (from the user’s perspective) and impossible. If that’s the case, no worries.

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I agree: I think there’s still room for MIDI CC mappings on the controls. However, the difficulty is in determining the right CC values to send that are compatible with a wide range of devices. I don’t think very many of them can send custom CC values. I own and recommend Intech Studio Grid modules for this reason: the values they send are programmable, but I’m pressed to name another MIDI controller that can do the same. What’s the use in implementing the exposed MIDI CCs for the controls if there’s hardly any hardware that can make use of it? The feature would be too niche to bother maintaining and would be kind of a development timesink.

However, like I said, I agree that it would be a great feature. So I’m putting in my two cents about implementation to kill time on a Saturday. So why not count the number of controls to expose?

When in regular operation, that is to say outside of synthesizer mode, the Mini appears to have MIDI In CCs 0-40 as well as 83-127 free (1.0.0 manual section 11.7). I don’t think this pool of values is limited by the MIDI CC Out values, nor the syntheiszer mode CC In values, but I may be mistaken. Another assumption I have is that button combinations are in fact their own CC values: I think this is how it works on other devices. So one way to go about this is a mapping for all possible control combinations. I count something like:

8 screen row
8 Shift + screen row
4 note, instrument, fx1, fx2
6 Play, Rec, Insert, Menu, Delete, Copy
5 Shift+Play, Shift+Rec, Shift + Insert, Shift + Delete, Shift + Copy
4 function
4 Shift + function
4 plus/minus
4 Shift + plus/minus
4 D-pad
4 Shift + D-pad
1 enter
4 func1 + Note, func1 + Instr, func1 + FX1, func1 + FX2
6 func1 + any two Note/Instr/FX1/FX2

That’s a total of 66 possible inputs as of Mini firmware v1.0.0. There’s 96 unused CC in values, so 30 are left over for any other firmware updates.

Caveat: my math may be wrong, and in typing this I realized all the Mini’s controls could alternatively be exposed over a different MIDI channel altogether (unless there is a hardware limitation in reading two different MIDI channels that I just don’t know about).

TL;DR this might work, and I’d love it, but I don’t know of any hardware that would be ready to support our use case anyway, so I wouldn’t bet on it being implemented.

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Fantastic response, and thanks for the thorough writeup!

I didn’t realize there were so many untapped channels, my concern was that the physical inputs might send signals entirely unrelated to MIDI (like keystrokes or something which are interpreted by code), and thus wouldn’t be open for emulation via MIDI.

It really sucks but I think I’m going to have to return my Mini and get an OG one. I hate to lose all the horsepower and features, but I just don’t think I can get the Mini’s design to work for my hand size.

(That’s not meant to be any kind of slight to the design, I represent a very extreme edge case)

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Hey @e.m.hibbs, welcome to the community :partying_face:

I’ve taken the liberty to shorten your request and make it more concise according to our guidelines.

Has there been any other consesus among you folks @here ?

If so, please add any new information to initial post of the wish, so that it always reflects the latest info that y’all came up with and agreed on. :heart:

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Bumping everyone @here, any updates on this? Has there been a general consesus or is this abandoned? :blush:

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:information_source: Closing this topic in the next 4 days, unless further feeback is provided.

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This topic was automatically closed after 4 days. New replies are no longer allowed.