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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
APC40 & Max for Live tutorial
New Max for Live video tutorial covering how to do custom mapping & remapping of the the APC40. This tutorial gives you basics for opening the possibilites of using an APC40 and Max for Live. Get creative and make some new patches or devices for Max for Live or create a completely custom APC40 mapping.
Zander
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.
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.
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
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.
Excerpt of Novation Launchpad programmers reference
Along with the first shipment of launchpads going out, Novation released the programmers reference, a document that shows exactly how the Launchpad works with midi.
12 pages of a programmers dream as the PDF really explains the detailed inner workings of the Launchpad. Not only that but they have gone out of their way to put it in easy to understand terms. The release of this document is sure to set developers a light with ideas of creating open source apps and software. You can download the PDF from their site. Some interesting notes are that the Launchpad uses a slightly slower USB connection to transfer data.
I must admit I get the feeling Novation are learning from Akai’s mistakes as Akai didn’t release any midi documentation or give away any hints as to how the APC40 handles midi. Akai didn’t even release a driver, you don’t need one but the APC40 and windows users are having a few niggling problems that a dedicated driver would fix, the launchpad has it’s own driver 
Akai holding back has not stopped open source apps such as the monomulatorbeing released but it does slow development down. So this is a call for Akai to release the midi information. That said they will only tell you to wait for Max for live to come out and then buy it to completely manipulate the APC40. These are luxuries not everyone can afford.
With this release I’m expecting to see some open source apps and software popping up very soon. Probably some max/msp patches too. Seems like Novation are trying to align themselves with the open source community and maybe trying to make the launchpad a poor mans monome. For now it’s too early to tell but the future is looking bright for the launchpad and the button matrix controller as a whole.
Zander
Akai LPK25 review
New review up on the site and I’m following on after the Akai LPD8 review by reviewing the Akai LPK25.
The Akai LPK25 is a nano midi keyboard with 25 velocity sensitive keys and a built arpeggiator. It’s also the main contender to Korg’s nanoKey which was, quite frankly, rubbish.
Click here to read the review.
Akai LPD8 review
I’ve just put up a review of Akai’s LPD8 nano midi controller. Certainly some competition for Korg’s nanopad but you lose some pads and gain some knobs. Interesting how these two will face up to each other. Same price by the way, well korg lowered their price to match the LPD8′d. Let the battke begin.
