In this video, I explore Melbourne Instruments’ ROTO CONTROL and what motorized knobs bring to MIDI control. I go through its Ableton Live mixer and plugin modes, hardware MIDI control, learning parameters and motion recording.
Timeline
0:00 Intro
1:45 Overview
2:50 Modes
4:25 Build
4:45 I/O
6:00 MIX mode
7:25 Automation
7:55 PLUGIN mode
8:20 Live learn
10:10 ROTO Setup
10:40 VSTs
12:00 Racks
12:50 Issues
13:05 Automation
13:40 MIDI mode
14:45 MIDI learn
16:50 Motion rec
18:45 Software
19:20 Pros & cons
23:30 Outro
Links and notes from the video description
A close look at the first-ever MIDI Controller with motorized knobs by Melbourne Instruments!
Get the ideas, tips and insights from this video and all my others in my ever-expanding book of electronic music ideas, tips and tricks here:
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Check ROTO Control prices here (affiliate links help the channel regardless of what you buy):
► Perfect Circuit – https://link.perfectcircuit.com/t/v1/S0BERUlFSUBFR0NKR0VATEpITA?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.perfectcircuit.com%2Fmelbourne-instruments-roto-control.html%3FqueryID%3De959e96a8991de81eccc75ff084e1f51%26objectID%3D74467%26indexName%3Dmagento2_live245_default_products
► Thomann: https://www.thomann.de/intl/melbourne_instruments_roto_control.htm?offid=1&affid=369
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ISSUES/BUGS to track if fixed…:
1. Automap, at the very least in instrument racks is a must I think, but since Ableton Live devices have so many parameters, it would be great to be able to pre-populate with automap and then customize
2. Drum rack parameters aren’t remembered across different drums.
3. If a parameter changes its name, you lose control of it (e.g., Meld, Echo)
4. Need to rename racks otherwise, ROTO control doesn’t identify the rack properly – though apparently that's a feature not a bug 🙂
5. Clock sent out isn’t tracked properly by external devices in the first bar.
6. I didn’t test this with every Live device so there may be other issues!
7. Learning 14bit CCs doesn't work; doesn't support 14bit CCs with custom MSB/LSB pairs
Submit review and video ideas here (sorry I don’t offer 1×1 sessions/setup/purchasing advice):
► Ziv (at) loopopmusic.com
NOTE: Occasionally I’ll try out affiliate marketing and include affiliate links. This means that I may earn a commission when you click on or make purchases via affiliate links. The content of this clip is entirely my opinion, and was not paid for or dictated in any way by the company creating the gear. Without addressing the particulars of products shown here as they might be under NDA, gear shown on this channel may be either sent by the manufacturer, on loan for review or bought at a discount.