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Tutorials on using Livid instruments new builder DIY midi controller products. The tutorials show you how to start connecting boards together and to the main brain board.

Midi controllers beginners, builder, DIY, guide, instruments, Livid, Midi controllers, modular, videos

Livid instruments DIY modular builder boards

At the start of March Livid instruments, creator of the livid block and ohm 64 controllers, released their new line of modular DIY build your own midi controller kits. The idea is to allow the user to create thier own custom midi controller using high quality parts and without the need to press your own PCB boards or have a high technical skill. The boards were designed to be user friendly and easy to build.

Livid instruments builder brain board

Brain board

The builder series of boards revolves around a central “brain” board with separate fader, knob, buttons, breakout and talkback LED boards.

On paper the brain loops quite flexible and open extensive expansion. The spec of the main brain board is as follows…

• USB Powered
• Class-compliant no drivers needed
• MIDI in and out jacks
• 16 direct wire digital button contacts (support up to 64 contacts with a diode matrix, and 179 with a diode matrix and support chips)
• 64 direct wire analog inputs
• 14 direct wire LED’s (support for 48 LED’s with a matrix)
• Programmable MIDI settings with a software editor via USB
• Dimensions 3.5″ x 4.5″
• OEM and quantity discounts available

Push board

Livid Push board

These push boards are for touch buttons similar to the ones on the OHM64, livid block, apc40 or launchpad. They also double up as an LED board, standalone or with buttons.

4×4 button board small

Dimensions: 3.25″(w) X 3.25″(w)

$12

4×4 button board medium

Dimensions: 4″(w) X 4″(w)

$12

Turn board

Turn board

The turn board is for pentometers or knobs for most people. They support .1″ pin spacing thru hole pentometers meaning they will work with most 9mm pentometers. Availible in 4×4 or single pot boards.
4×4 turn board

Dimensions: 4″(w) X 4″(h)

$12

Slide board

Slide board

The slide boards are for adding faders. They support most 60 mm faders and are availible in 1×4 boards. Livids own high quality faders will work with these boards.

1×4 slide board

Dimensions: 4″(w) X 4″(h)

$12

Breakout board

Breakout board

The breakout board is for connecting all the individual boards together and to the main brain board. Livid has included the abilty to add screw terminals so you can quickly remove and add connections.

Break out board

Dimensions: 6.5″(w) X 3.5″(h)

$12

Wiki, video tutorials and support

Livid have supplied quite a lot of support for the boards, so people who are new to the DIY thing can learn as they go along. Theres video tutorials, a wiki and schemetics.

Check it all out here at livids site

Midi controllers, hardware build your own, builder, buttons, DIY, faders, Livid, midi, Midi controllers, modular, pentometers, USB

Livid Block NE front

Livid block NE top

Livid creators of the Block & Ohm64 controllers have teamed up with Nova musik to create a cool new block paint job. The new block has an all black enclosure with black anodized aluminum faceplate and green LED’s.

The block NE is limited edition, costs $399 (USD) and is availible from Nova musik.

Heres a video showing what the LED’s look like.

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Akai APC20

Big news from the Akai camp for winter NAMM in the form of the APC20, the APC40’s little brother. The APC20 is a stripped down version of the APC40, losing all the knobs, buttons, transport controls and crossfader. This obviously reduces the size by about a third but also reduces the price with a retail of $299 and an expected street price of $199, a lot cheaper than the APC40.

The APC20 has kept much of the flexabilty of the APC40 with most of the functions performed by the knobs being intergrated into the APC20 in the form of selectable user modes. Transport controls as well as device control have been kept but you have to switch between them using the shift button. The faders then act as a multi function controller aswell as normal mixer faders. There is also a new note mode where the button matrix doubles as a note trigger mode for playing instruments or triggering devices etc.

For most APC40 owners this is a bit of a waste of time for Akai as you lose the knobs which is one of the best things about the APC40 over the Novation launchpad. The APC20 could just end up as a launchpad with faders but is not quite as flexable and more expensive. The APC20 can be used in conjunction with an APC40 to create an extended button grid.

Videos

Midi controllers Akai APC20, Akai APC40, hardware, matrix controller, Midi controllers, Winter NAMM

Automap 3.4

Novation have updated Automap to v3.4. The update brings doesn’t bring any new features but instead improves compatability with plugins and hosts. Logic, Pro-tools and Reason have all been remapped and should work fully straight out of the box now. Novation have also updated all the on board mappings meaning better compatability with lots of new plugins & DAWS.

The other part of the update brings firmware updates for a lot of Novations midi controllers in cluding the remote SL, zero SL, compact SL, SL MKII and Nocturn keyboards.

Download Automap 3.4

Midi controllers, Software 3.4, Automap software, compact SL, Logic, Nocturn 25, Nocturn 49, Nocturn keyboard, Novation, protools, Reason, remote SL, SL MKII, zero SL

APC40 CC# & midi mappings

Well this is big news as far as all APC40 users are concerned. Apparently this happened a while back at the start of November, around about the same time novation released their programmers guide for Launchpad. I didn’t even hear a peak from anyone about the document so it must of been swept up in the launchpad fever.

Anyway this should mean that more apps are developed for the APC40. This document is not for the light hearted weighing in at 20 pages of code and goes in depth into exactly how the APC40 handles data.  As you can see from the image above Akai have provided the CC#’s for each button, knob & slider too.

Download APC40 communications protocol rev 1

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Another video from Joey paranoia showing the APC40 as a step sequencer and massive looper. These videos show that the APC40 is more flexible than you think, so get creative!

Midi controllers, Software, Video Ableton live, Akai APC40, looper, massive, Software, step sequencer, Video

Cool video from Joey paranoia showing the APC40 working as a step sequencer drum machine in Ableton Live. You can buy the template for $10 but I think you’d benefit more if you worked out how it worked and made your own. This shows that the APC40 is more than a clip launcher for Ableton Live.

Midi controllers, Software, Video Ableton live, Akai APC40, drum machine, Midi controllers, midi mapping, Music, step sequencer

Here’s a good video from Joey Paranoia demonstrating the APC40, Launchpad & Ableton Live working together as a big step sequencer/Ableton Live controller. He explains exactly how these work together and shows them in action. The main reason for posting this up is that it shows how customisable the launchpad and APC40 are. 

This should give you some inspiration to create your own set up and stand out of the crowd.

Go forth and create!

Midi controllers, Video Ableton live, Akai APC40, Launchpad, live performance, Video