Very Basic Trigger Application. Is BM3 for me??
I need something that will play a sample when I step on a switch in a live setting. Is BM3 the right tool for the job?
I'm not interested in creating loops, layers, effects, songs, etc... I want to trigger things like a hand clap, or finger snap from a midi foot controller sending CC's or PC's.
Comments
Yes you should be fine, I have never used a CC to trigger a pad, but focus actions should cover that.
A bit overkill for your use case, but yes. CCs trigger pads just fine.
Excellent!
Taking it a step further... what if I wanted the sample to play when I strike something like a Roland BT-01 or a Pintech Nimrod? What hardware would I need to do that?
A drum brain, if it outputs MIDI you will need some way to get MIDI in to the iPad (MIDI interface or audio interface with integrated MIDI) No idea if the USB drum brains are class compliant.
I use the Alesis DM5 for trigger inputs at the moment, but it is a bit dated if you plan on adding anything like the new modern E Cymbals from Roland etc.
If using a Mac, you can send midi to ipad easily now by enabling the ipad as audio/midi interface in the Mac’s Audio/Midi device list....granted you are using the latest OS on both Mac and iPad.
That wont help, neither of those devices are MIDI.
Yeah, you'd need a MIDI brain of some sort and a MIDI to iOS interface. The Roland TM-2 might be an option for something portable.
Thinking outside the box you might consider an experiment with secret base design's Voxkit app, which converts audio signal to MIDI data.
As I dig into this I'm amazed at how many little midi controllers exist (Korg NanoPad 2, Akai LPD8), yet I can't seem to find equivalent controller that has pads meant to be hit with a drum stick. Sure, there are multi-pad products out there (Alesis SamplePad, Roland SPD-SX), but I'm not looking for something full featured like that.
Sensel Morph, bit expensive but has what you want.
Or do you want single pad ?
I think Roland do a single MIDI pad and Korg do the Wavedrum.
Or the Keth McMillan Bebop pad
BopPad! There we go! That's the kind of thing I'm looking for!... As long as it will work with BM3.
Yeah its basically a ton of triggers on one pad, should work fine with anything that recieves MIDI.
I own the BopPad and use it regularly in my live setup. Works perfectly with BM3.
Nice @lukesleepwalker, would you be able to share your BopPad BM3 focus action template? I think the community would love it!
Cheers,
Mathieu.
I would be interested in a quick review of it in use with B3 if you get chance, would be great to give it its own compatibility thread.
I'm not sure my focus action template would be helpful since I've customized the BopPad config so much. And generally I would suggest to anyone who buys a BopPad to get to know the editor software first because it really opens up the power and flexibility of the BP. The one tip that I can give with BM3 specifically is to map the notes for the four quadrants to pads in BM3 first. I found it easiest to use the editor software to turn off all CCs (including pitch bend which is on by default) and simply assign notes to pads focus actions first. Then I turned off the notes and turned on each CC on the BP to assign each separate CC to a macro focus action. It's a bit inefficient but I found it much easier to methodically harness the power of the BopPad piece by piece. I'm still so amazed with how expressive this surface is--I play with my hands and it is just a joy to play. Truly feels like an instrument rather than just a controller.
If I get a chance I'll make a focus action starter template that works with the BP default factory settings.
Just picked up a BopPad... stupid question: How do I connect it to an iPad? Do I need THIS Lightning to USB adapter or THIS Camera Connection Kit?
< bump >
The boppad is class-compliant.. so all you need to do is figure how to plug the usb cable into the lightning socket on your ipad.
Tip - these are the sorts of questions Google is really good at answering
For example, this was taken from the eMusican review:
The first one has terrible ratings but the second one looks a little more promising. I’d recommend looking for reviews that talk about connecting midi devices. Personally, I’ve only purchased the Apple USB lightning adapters and they work great.
This is what I use now so I can charge my iPad while connecting devices via usb https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F7KJDIM