Soft synth midi controllers

[James_S]

What do people use to control soft synths? What I would really like is something similar to a Softube Console 1, but dedicated to synths.

I know there is never going to be a 1-1 mapping for all controls as every synth is different, but I’ve realised that I’m far more of a preset junkie than I’d like to be, and the stumbling block is not having enough real time control.

I’d happily use a cheap synth if it had enough controls and sent CCs - any recommendations?

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[proggermusic]

If you use the Arturia V Collection (which I frequently do), the Keylab MkII series is quite good. I think the controls all feel great, and the key bed is fun to play (I have the 61 key version, with an 88-key Yamaha digital piano as my main controller). The pitch and mod wheels also feel very solid, something I appreciate.

 

[outland]

I think one needs to ask about what type of plug-in/music one is working with. If it's MPE at all, depending on one's keyboard chops, I'd look at the Rise 2 or Embodme (very configurable.) Many of the DAWs have controllers that are suited to each particular app, so one should check them out on a per-DAW basis. Some people need a keyboard with a specific touch, so one should put a premium on finding a KB that fits that need. For wind emulations, it's hard to beat a wind controller (like the EVI's, WX5, or Roland wind controllers.)

 

[Pier]

What DAW are you using?

There are many automapping solutions these days.

 

[vitocorleone123]

I use a mouse. Maybe not a popular choice, but I’m really fast with it and I don’t have to map a thing. Ever. It just works.

I have hundreds of knobs I could map with all my MIDI compatible gear and… I tried a bit and never bothered again.

Oh, I have an expression pedal I sometimes map, though.

Want a lot of knobs and a killer mono synth? SE-02.

 

[James_S]

If you use the Arturia V Collection (which I frequently do), the Keylab MkII series is quite good. I think the controls all feel great, and the key bed is fun to play (I have the 61 key version, with an 88-key Yamaha digital piano as my main controller). The pitch and mod wheels also feel very solid, something I appreciate.

Thanks - that is one avenue I have tried, and while I agree the keylab works well with Arturia synths, the lack of names on the pots / sliders isn't immediately intuitive, especially if you don't use them day in, day out (which I don't). I also have an NI Kontrol, which is better for naming, but there aren't enough controllers, and it still doesn't feel as intuitive as the Console 1 type solution does for EQ etc.

 

[James_S]

I think one needs to ask about what type of plug-in/music one is working with. If it's MPE at all, depending on one's keyboard chops, I'd look at the Rise 2 or Embodme (very configurable.) Many of the DAWs have controllers that are suited to each particular app, so one should check them out on a per-DAW basis. Some people need a keyboard with a specific touch, so one should put a premium on finding a KB that fits that need. For wind emulations, it's hard to beat a wind controller (like the EVI's, WX5, or Roland wind controllers.)

No MPE for me, although I do have one of the small Roli keyboards should I feel inclined to do stuff like that.

 

[James_S]

What DAW are you using?

There are many automapping solutions these days.

Mostly Logic, but also Studio One. The automapping is the other part of the issue - it would be really nice to have a global setting, but alternately, once I've mapped a synth, it stays mapped across all projects.

I feel like I'm asking for a lot, but in my head it seems simple!

 

[James_S]

I use a mouse. Maybe not a popular choice, but I’m really fast with it and I don’t have to map a thing. Ever. It just works.

I have hundreds of knobs I could map with all my MIDI compatible gear and… I tried a bit and never bothered again.

Oh, I have an expression pedal I sometimes map, though.

Want a lot of knobs and a killer mono synth? SE-02.

The SE 02 had crossed my mind. It seems to be a great synth, and even though I have the Behringer D covering similar ground, the possibility of using it to control other things as well makes it a lot more versatile.

Is this something you have / use in this way?

I've had a Roland FC300 doing pedal duty for years (live and in studio) - mostly for controlling my Nord Electro in Hammond mode, as having the volume on a pedal, and then being able to change the rotor speed with the toe switch, is brilliant!

 

[James_S]

I've been on the quest of a universal hardware surface for all my soft synths for years. The attraction of hardware control for me was/is the ability to train muscle memory.

However, I've come to the conclusion, that there's no hope in hell to have a consistent hardware interface for a very wide variety of synths from different manufacturers and with widely different functionality. A wall of 500 knobs and buttons wouldn't be enough for Omnisphere alone.

And since most soft synths these days have entire FX racks built-in, that really deserves mapping, too. All of that gets out of hand in a real hurry. I got to 32 controls in no time for just the most important parameters of a relatively simple MSoundFactory sampler synth with a few FX (chorus, delay, reverb) I built.

To get there you'd have to make or buy into somebody else's own mental model overlaying all of those synths, mapping the myriads of controls of each synth to a simplified common subset of your liking and then map the hardware of your choice to that. Volume ADSR, HPF and LPF and resonance are the easy one's but after that it gets messy very quickly - even more so, since many soft synths have multiple layers.

Also: wavetable synths benefit from different controls than subtractive or FM or granular etc. Even samplers vary widely. And I already mentioned the FX problem.

Every once in a while I've started to work on creating a giant map of this nature, but then I get distracted by playing and/or recording with all of those wonderful soft synths and fx. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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p.s. As an exercice for the reader: Just try to pick 32 paramaters you'd map in common for the top 5 soft synths in your rotation. If you think it's easy, post it here.

I get your point - there are some many variants of synths that I know I can't cover them all. Even something like the aforementioned SE02 doesn't even cover the ADSR options, but it does have 3 oscillators, which something like a Jupiter 8 or Prophet 5 controller wouldn't have. The layers possibility just makes things far worse.

Even so, if I knew I could control the same options on Omnisphere, and it also worked on an OBX clone, then I feel it would make things easier overall, and I could spend more time working with sounds, rather than always trying to find a preset as a starting point, from a huge list (even trying to rate all the sounds in Omnisphere is a huge task!).

 

[Pier]

Mostly Logic, but also Studio One. The automapping is the other part of the issue - it would be really nice to have a global setting, but alternately, once I've mapped a synth, it stays mapped across all projects.

I feel like I'm asking for a lot, but in my head it seems simple!

I don't think Logic has a solution for this (but I have no idea).

Studio One has some track macros that can be automapped to a controller and each macro can control a number of parameters in the track itself or plugins. The issue is I think these are per track and not per plugin. There's also a per plugin solution which will automap to the currently active plugin window. Here's a video I found about the Presonus Atom controller but you should be able to use any midi controller In think.



Cubase has Quick Controls:



Bitwig and Ableton Live have macros which can be either per device, or per device rack. I wrote this tutorial on how to set it up with Live some years ago.

How to get automap in Ableton Live with any controller

In response to a petition from @SteveK I'm creating this mini tutorial on how to get automaping of controls in Live. The idea is that you have a controller with knobs/faders (ideally 8) and those will get automapped to a selection of parameters from the currently selected device...

vi-control.net

On Bitwig:

 

[dreamliner]

Behringer Deepmind 12 as a keyboard controller - great for Omnisphere, otherwise faders don't work as CCs, so not the best solution as a controller, but I use it often also as a HW synth, and it's quite compact and fits good on my table
Korg Nanokontrol Studio - for CCs - buttons on the left and jogwheel to control Logic functionality, faders to control plugin parameters, and buttons on the top to change midi channels as an alternative to keyswitches

 

[Noise Enthusiast]

I know a lot of people use the Roland System 1 as a controller for synths that are not part of that group. Don't see many for sale these days tho.

 

[vitocorleone123]

The SE 02 had crossed my mind. It seems to be a great synth, and even though I have the Behringer D covering similar ground, the possibility of using it to control other things as well makes it a lot more versatile.

Is this something you have / use in this way?

I've had a Roland FC300 doing pedal duty for years (live and in studio) - mostly for controlling my Nord Electro in Hammond mode, as having the volume on a pedal, and then being able to change the rotor speed with the toe switch, is brilliant!

Have I? Yes.
Do I? No.

Mapping stuff is boring and I'd rather do other things instead. The only think I map sometimes is my expression pedal.

The SE-02 was also pretty good with Omnisphere if that's a thing you use.

The SE-02 is much more advanced and modern sounding than the Behringer Model D. To me, it's far superior in every way, including sonically. Caveat: I've never been a fan of Moog - I prefer Moog-inspired to the real thing. Namely, I think Studio Electronics kicks Moog's arse in terms of sound. But that's me. However, if you like the "classic" tone of the Model D, you can only get close with some effort on the SE-02 by turning the osc volume way way down and also the system output down and not using a bunch of features on it, since it's Studio Electronics modeling it on a Model D with Roland parts and resonance and with inspiration from Oberheim (eg Xmod).

It's also quite compact, which may make it a great desktop MIDI controller and synth. But it seems to annoy some people who love giant hardware synths with giant knobs.

I easily nominate the SE-02 as the best analog monosynth under $1,000. The next one up that can maybe outdo it in sound is maybe the Leipzig.

 

[conan]

NINA has actual motorized knobs.

https://www.melbourneinstruments.com/

 

[James_S]

Some really interesting ideas coming out from this. I also remembered about the soundforce controllers which look really cool, but are obviously very specific (also interesting to note there is a new controller coming out for the G-force OB-X).

The SE02 does still look like a good option though. Cheaper than the System-1 but a better sounding synth.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and information so far!

 

[Shredoverdrive]

Some really interesting ideas coming out from this. I also remembered about the soundforce controllers which look really cool, but are obviously very specific (also interesting to note there is a new controller coming out for the G-force OB-X).

The SE02 does still look like a good option though. Cheaper than the System-1 but a better sounding synth.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and information so far!

Oh my, those are amazing. That price, tho.

 

[gsilbers]

I’m eyeing the new Ik multimedia uno pro x synth for this. I’d have an analog synth that has a plugin controller/editor and also many of the parameters and knobs match the uhe synths for midi.

 

[James_S]

I’m eyeing the new Ik multimedia uno pro x synth for this. I’d have an analog synth that has a plugin controller/editor and also many of the parameters and knobs match the uhe synths for midi.

That’s an interesting one. A slightly unconventional layout and I’m not sure how well it would work as a midi controller - for instance, the ADSR controls are shared between filter and amp, with a switch to change them. If that translates to different sets of CCs, then that is great. I’ve just checked, and it does say it transmits different CCs for the respective ADSR controls.

 

[gsilbers]

That’s an interesting one. A slightly unconventional layout and I’m not sure how well it would work as a midi controller - for instance, the ADSR controls are shared between filter and amp, with a switch to change them. If that translates to different sets of CCs, then that is great. I’ve just checked, and it does say it transmits different CCs for the respective ADSR controls.

Yes, there is a cc midi list pdf somewhere in the Ik site.
U-he can accept any midi to any parameters so I might connect it differently but most likely I will keep it the same and just get used to the layered adsr.

It’s sort of a compromise of size and function. It’s also a hardware analog synth and loads as a plugin for easy recall.

But I really won’t know until I use it.
I also have the Roland se 02 and bassstation2 and the sound is good but neither gel well with me. The editors are meh, the Roland’s knobs are too small and the bs2 is sort of bulky so to use them as a controller has been lackluster.

The uno pro x just has the issue of having onboard fx and sequencer being promoted so every demo sounds like a 90s tecno Groove box track (tr505/tr909).
I’ll have to order it and check it out myself and do my own patches. Also connect it to uhe synths and see how good it is for both sound design (change knobs and getting happy accidents) and also performance (playing a part and moving knobs slowly or fast without menu diving finding the cc etc).