CC64 -MIDI guru needed

[Bernd_K]

Hi everybody!

First of all I would like to thank the developers of LMMS for this really great tool! It's just amazing what you are providing here.

Since I'm new here, a bit about my background.

I am musically illiterate. Can't read or write notes, just know that the g is on the second line and count from there, if under pressure And I never took any instrument lessons.


I used to play in bands when I was young. Mostly my own stuff, style anything between Colosseum, Yes, a bit of Jimi Hendrix sometimes. Mainly guitar, sometimes keyboards, drums, bass.
Then came job, house, family, etc. and there was not much time left for music. I sold my amps, but kept my guitars and my Piano. And I kept composing music in my head.
Later I bought my Yamaha CVP 59a, which I am still using to play and record my music.

Now I'm retired and I have a bit more time (from time to time ). So I thought I try and get my music out of my head and into the speakers.
A couple of weeks ago I started to seriously look into LMMS. I first did 2 quick and simple projects and was absolutely impressed.
So I thought I could start a somewhat more complex project, and after a lot of reading and searching the web I added things like TSC screamer, L12X solid state, Valhalla Supermassive,..., to the effects (all free tools and easily integrated into LMMS) and started playing. After about a week (part time) I came up with



I never believed it was possible to achieve something like that so easily. With a very limited gear on the instrument side. Just my old CVP, my old Strat over Behringer stuff, and an (old) acoustic guitar with a pickup.
So lots of thanks again, folks.

But.

About 80% of my music needs a piano. And - maybe because I am not the greatest piano player - I need the "sustain pedal" of the piano to make it sound properly. Without this pedal, the piano sounds like sort a set of melotoms.

If I'm not mistaken, Midi keeps and transfers the action of the sustain pedal in Control Change number 64 (CC 64).
It seems, that LMMS is not using CC64. When I record a voice an my CVP, read the midi into LMMS and play it there, all pedal information seems to be lost.
If I do the same in other DAWs, the piano - using the same soundfont as in LMMS - plays with the correct pedal action.

So my questions are:
1. Could you please look into it and let me know if I am correct concerning LMMS and CC64.
2. Can I somehow "display" CC values in LMMS? Like with piano roll or automation track? Just to see if the CC64 values are there and what they look like.
3. If the CC64 values are there, is there any trick in LMMS to simulate the sustain pedal with these values?
4. Or could you (please!) implement CC64 in LMMS?

Cheers
Bernd

[musikbear]

Hi everybody!

Hi, Welcome to the Forum Bernd_K!
Here are all important links:
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If you like to introduce yourself, to the community, go here:
http://lmms.io/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4480

So my questions are:
1. Could you please look into it and let me know if I am correct concerning LMMS and CC64.
2. Can I somehow "display" CC values in LMMS? Like with piano roll or automation track? Just to see if the CC64 values are there and what they look like.
3. If the CC64 values are there, is there any trick in LMMS to simulate the sustain pedal with these values?
4. Or could you (please!) implement CC64 in LMMS?

Cheers
Bernd

Aua.. MIDI CC is kind of a missing-in-action in LMMS.
Adding to this is that i have no MIDI-HW so i have not any real experience with this thing.
I will add a heads-up, and hope someone chimes in..
LMMS is really only able to receive MIDI-note inputs, and then using one of the soft-synths to express that signal. There are a way(s) to bind a LMMS controller to a HW item, like a pitch-wheel, but it is not generally valid in all HW.
The gist of it is:
The basic principle in connecting anything to a keyboard feature is:
Find the knob you want the Mod Wheel to control (filter freq could be a RL example)
Right click on the knob and a list will pop up.
In the list select "Connect to controller", a "Connection Settings" box will pop up.
Make sure MIDI controller and Auto Detect are lit up, then just move the Mod Wheel on your keyboard!
Often it will show as ch1, controller 2
Click OK and the mod wheel should now control the knob you selected.
you can set up any other knob/slider control on a MIDI keyboard controller the same way. It just sets it up as a different controller (CC) number.
Try if it works -great!

[Bernd_K]

Hi Musicbear.

Thanks for your reply.

MIDI CC is kind of a missing-in-action in LMMS.

Uh...that's really a pity.
I don't know about other controls, but the CC64 is quite a basic function for a DAW. Not having it is (at least for piano) similar to, say, ignoring the velocity data.

Is it that much of a problem to add the CC64 function to the software?
Don't know the range of values for CC64, but suppose that it is 0 for pedal up and >0 otherwise (pedal down, ignoring intermediate pedal positions), then you just have to let all notes play on (regardless of their actual lengths) when/while CC64 is >0 and kill all notes (but the actually pressed ones) when CC64 goes to 0. Do nothing while CC64 is 0.
That would be it, right? And it would open LMMS for a wide range of new applications.

----

The basic principle in connecting anything to a keyboard feature is:
Find the knob you want the Mod Wheel to control (filter freq could be a RL example)
Right click on the knob and a list will pop up.
In the list select "Connect to controller", a "Connection Settings" box will pop up.
Make sure MIDI controller and Auto Detect are lit up, then just move the Mod Wheel on your keyboard!
Often it will show as ch1, controller 2
Click OK and the mod wheel should now control the knob you selected.
you can set up any other knob/slider control on a MIDI keyboard controller the same way. It just sets it up as a different controller (CC) number.


Here you lost me. What would that buy me concerning visualization and/or application of CC64 data?

----

Is there a way to visualize CC data of a midi track im LMMS?

Cheers
Bernd