MORTRIX MIDI foot controller

[Quatschmacher]

12 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

Who can remember Chunk's Synth pedal - what a complete failure of an onboard editing UI!  

Never used one but I read through the manual and that was enough to put me off ever getting one. Sounds like utter tedium. A shame it didn’t have MIDI - Midium could’ve given it a new lease of life with a dedicated Device Surface. 

Edited September 26, 2022 by Quatschmacher

[itu]

I have DigiTech's MIDI expression pedal MC2. Not very common, or small, but functional. Maybe it was released so early the users were few. DOD had also a MIDI pdal, but it was more like bank up/down -type of pedal. Reflex would have been smaller than MC2, but they just do not exist. If I would need a MIDI pedal for my synth, then maybe the MIDIUM would be an option. Maybe. Waiting for the price indication.

[Kev]

What is the controller capable of, that other controllers aren't?  Couldn't find anything when I skim read, other than the idea of it being as "cheap" as £450 was unrealistic? What is the ballpark figure we're looking at?  I presume there must be one if suggestions are dismissed?

 

Edit* Swear when I first looked at the website there was nothing really on there, bit more clued up on what it can do now.  Is it fair to say the USP is the interface and ease, as opposed to it actually bringing previously unheard of functionality to the table?

 

Edited September 26, 2022 by Kev

[prowla]

8 hours ago, Kev said:

What is the controller capable of, that other controllers aren't?  Couldn't find anything when I skim read, other than the idea of it being as "cheap" as £450 was unrealistic? What is the ballpark figure we're looking at?  I presume there must be one if suggestions are dismissed?

 

Edit* Swear when I first looked at the website there was nothing really on there, bit more clued up on what it can do now.  Is it fair to say the USP is the interface and ease, as opposed to it actually bringing previously unheard of functionality to the table?

 

My impression is that it is indeed the user interface & ease of use (though I'd still want to use a PC to configure it rather than learn another UI); specs-wise I don't know the limit on the numbers of items which can be controlled, whether memory is upgradable, and so-on.

My inclination is to view it as a natural progression in the evolution of MIDI switch controllers.

That's not a negative thing, BTW; continuous improvement is a good thing.

[Quatschmacher]

8 hours ago, Kev said:

What is the controller capable of, that other controllers aren't?  Couldn't find anything when I skim read, other than the idea of it being as "cheap" as £450 was unrealistic? What is the ballpark figure we're looking at?  I presume there must be one if suggestions are dismissed?

 

Edit* Swear when I first looked at the website there was nothing really on there, bit more clued up on what it can do now.  Is it fair to say the USP is the interface and ease, as opposed to it actually bringing previously unheard of functionality to the table?

 

I’d suggest reading up on what the popular controllers do and you’ll see how this differs.

 

In brief what this brings is this:

big touch screen with everything visible and easily to manipulate;

 

easy programming, both via the UI and via preconfigured device profiles;

dedicated screens which have an entire device’s controls preconfigured and laid out;

 

full DAHDSR envelopes with 1ms-60s stage times and fully adjustable stage curves from log to lin to exp;

 

64-step polyphonic sequencers to sequence notes and virtually unlimited parameters;

 

expression control that has not been done elsewhere (more on that later) but as teaser, what other controllers do you know of that remember where each preset’s expression level was at when it was disengaged allowing you to not have any nasty value jumps when you reengage it? This has absolute, pass-thru and relative expression modes.

 

As for price, of course there’s a ballpark-figure, but I’m not permitted to disclose it. Pricing will be announced when it has been finalised. 

 

 

[Quatschmacher]

1 minute ago, prowla said:

specs-wise I don't know the limit on the numbers of items which can be controlled

It’s currently MIDI 1.0 so as with everything else, limited to 16 channels. 
 

The number of messages you can send is pretty much unlimited - you’ll run out of ideas before this runs out of processing capacity. 

[prowla]

Just now, Quatschmacher said:

It’s currently MIDI 1.0 so as with everything else, limited to 16 channels. 
 

The number of messages you can send is pretty much unlimited - you’ll run out of ideas before this runs out of processing capacity. 

Thanks - I meant the number of messages which can be assigned to a button press.

4 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

I’d suggest reading up on what the popular controllers do and you’ll see how this differs.

 

In brief what this brings is this:

big touch screen with everything visible and easily to manipulate;

 

easy programming, both via the UI and via preconfigured device profiles;

dedicated screens which have an entire device’s controls preconfigured and laid out;

 

full DAHDSR envelopes with 1ms-60s stage times and fully adjustable stage curves from log to lin to exp;

 

64-step polyphonic sequencers to sequence notes and virtually unlimited parameters;

 

expression control that has not been done elsewhere (more on that later) but as teaser, what other controllers do you know of that remember where each preset’s expression level was at when it was disengaged allowing you to not have any nasty value jumps when you reengage it? This has absolute, pass-thru and relative expression modes.

 

As for price, of course there’s a ballpark-figure, but I’m not permitted to disclose it. Pricing will be announced when it has been finalised.

 

Oh, so it is a sequencer - hmmm, there's a thing.

So you could use it to trigger sounds (or lights) without needing a keyboard.

(Years ago I had a pedal with a siren button which we used at the appropriate point on Jailbreak - still got that pedal!)

[Quatschmacher]

33 minutes ago, prowla said:

Thanks - I meant the number of messages which can be assigned to a button press.

Oh, so it is a sequencer - hmmm, there's a thing.

So you could use it to trigger sounds (or lights) without needing a keyboard.

(Years ago I had a pedal with a siren button which we used at the appropriate point on Jailbreak - still got that pedal!)

Yes, virtually no limit to how many messages of all different kinds to any number of channels you can assign to a single button press (and you could assign a bunch of envelopes and a sequencer to that same button at the same time).

 

Contrast that with the 16-message limit on many controllers. 
 

Yes, any number of messages can be sent out from the steps of a sequencer too so you can control whatever you like.  

Edited September 27, 2022 by Quatschmacher

[EBS_freak]

I feel your marketing material isn’t really selling the features of this product well given the questions being asked here.

[prowla]

4 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

I feel your marketing material isn’t really selling the features of this product well given the questions being asked here.

This is the pre-release phase, so I guess the responses are being collated and reviewed.

[Quatschmacher]

32 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

I feel your marketing material isn’t really selling the features of this product well given the questions being asked here.

 

27 minutes ago, prowla said:

This is the pre-release phase, so I guess the responses are being collated and reviewed.

It’s the initial phase of getting material up. As I said, videos and other stuff that go into more detail will come in due course. This will be delivered to people’s inboxes when it’s available if they sign up. There’s a tonne of stuff to do that we’re having to fit in around our day jobs.

[BigRedX]

1 hour ago, Quatschmacher said:

It’s currently MIDI 1.0 so as with everything else, limited to 16 channels. 
 

The number of messages you can send is pretty much unlimited - you’ll run out of ideas before this runs out of processing capacity. 

 

So the three MIDI outs all supply the same 16 channels rather than being 3 separate MIDI buses like a multi-bus MIDI interface?

 

Unless you can assign a particular MIDI channel to a particular MIDI output, I would have thought that there is a greater danger of running out of MIDI bandwidth first. Can you set the resolution of the CC data that the LFOs generate? A sine wave LFO could fairly quickly flood the MIDI data stream with CC messages, and that's before we consider pumping MTC/clock data etc.

[Quatschmacher]

16 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

So the three MIDI outs all supply the same 16 channels rather than being 3 separate MIDI buses like a multi-bus MIDI interface?

 

Unless you can assign a particular MIDI channel to a particular MIDI output, I would have thought that there is a greater danger of running out of MIDI bandwidth first. Can you set the resolution of the CC data that the LFOs generate? A sine wave LFO could fairly quickly flood the MIDI data stream with CC messages, and that's before we consider pumping MTC/clock data etc.

For detailed hardware-based questions, submit them via the FB/Instagram route - not my field of expertise, I’m afraid and I wouldn’t want to fuel speculation or spread misinformation.

Edited September 27, 2022 by Quatschmacher

[BigRedX]

1 hour ago, Quatschmacher said:

For detailed hardware-based questions, submit them via the FB/Instagram route - not my field of expertise, I’m afraid and I wouldn’t want to fuel speculation or spread misinformation.

 

Unfortunately I don't do Facebook anymore, so we'll have leave it there.

[prowla]

3 hours ago, BigRedX said:

 

So the three MIDI outs all supply the same 16 channels rather than being 3 separate MIDI buses like a multi-bus MIDI interface?

 

Unless you can assign a particular MIDI channel to a particular MIDI output, I would have thought that there is a greater danger of running out of MIDI bandwidth first. Can you set the resolution of the CC data that the LFOs generate? A sine wave LFO could fairly quickly flood the MIDI data stream with CC messages, and that's before we consider pumping MTC/clock data etc.

That is a good point about the usefulness of isolated MIDI outputs.

[Quatschmacher]

4 minutes ago, prowla said:

That is a good point about the usefulness of isolated MIDI outputs.

Do other controllers such as Morningstar do this across their TRS, DIN and USB MIDI ports? I have no idea.

[prowla]

5 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

Do other controllers such as Morningstar do this across their TRS, DIN and USB MIDI ports? I have no idea.

I suspect not, but this is the next-gen controller! 🙂

[Quatschmacher]

Website now has videos embedded showing some of the UI. Take a look. 

[EBS_freak]

Not that I'm nagging - I did take a look... but it did take me a while to figure out those images are infact videos!

 

Interface looks great. Nice and responsive too by the looks of things. Clean. Nice. Good work.

[Quatschmacher]

9 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

Not that I'm nagging - I did take a look... but it did take me a while to figure out those images are infact videos!

 

Interface looks great. Nice and responsive too by the looks of things. Clean. Nice. Good work.

I think it’s the “play” button that gives it away. 😆

 

Thanks. We’re quite pleased with it. 

[EBS_freak]

Just now, Quatschmacher said:

I think it’s the “play” button that gives it away. 😆

 

Thanks. We’re quite pleased with it. 

You mean the "I" button?

 

[Quatschmacher]

5 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

You mean the "I" button?

 

Oh, what are you viewing on, please? That needs fixing. I’m guessing Windows as I just checked and it is indeed appearing incorrectly. Thanks for pointing that out. 

Edited September 28, 2022 by Quatschmacher

[EBS_freak]

Mac, running Chrome.

 

Just checked on Safari (dont use it but thought I'd check for you anyway) and that appears OK.

[Quatschmacher]

5 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

Mac, running Chrome.

 

Just checked on Safari (dont use it but thought I'd check for you anyway) and that appears OK.

Reported so hopefully will be fixed soon. 

[Quatschmacher]

8 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

Mac, running Chrome.

 

Just checked on Safari (dont use it but thought I'd check for you anyway) and that appears OK.

Fixed on Windows now. Please could you check Mac/Chrome and let me know if it’s sorted.