Lighting midi controller options

zachzaba

Member
I'm to the point where I finally have my light set up switched over to a DMX/USB interface but now wanted to explore a few hardware controllers. Currently I have a MIDI interface and a small Oxygen keyboard that I use for audio but wanted a little more fader options. From what I've seen around these seem to be the most flexible and/or very affordable. Has anyone used any of the following, especially in a lighting scenario. I imagine (or hope) it's fairly straight forward for any of these to be implemented within a software like Freestyler.

Novation Launch Pad- Besides the obviously large amount of pads (that I may be able to use for specific light parameters such as different colors, gobos, strobes) I'm guessing that the play buttons on the side could be used for chases or specific washes.

Akai apc20- This appears to be the best of all worlds

NanoKONTROL2- This seems like a self explanatory model (faders, knobs etc)

NanoPAD2- This unit has two rows of 8 pads. I suppose it's possible to "press and hold" for a fader-like


I have gone thru some of the forums from the past but just wanted to throw a few current models that I have seen around. Thanks!
 
I have the nanokontrol, but haven't tried it with lighting yet. You might want to check out the behringer bcf2000 to go the motorized route.
 
Which software/hardware solution are you using?

Not all softwares allow control by any hardware. Chamsys for example only accepts their own hardware(wings).
 
Our Chief Engineer wrote a white paper on "MIDI Control of Stage Lighting" that you may find helpful.

Since we also offer an API, we provide "sample apps" to use with our software that let you use either MIDI Notes or MIDI Controller Changes to control the 24 DMX submasters used to control your lighting rig. There is also an integrated interface (our "Live Panel")designed more for live performances (e.g. a live band as opposed to a theatrical production) used to create chases or "sequences" of cues which can be controlled via MIDI (24 'pages' each containing 48 'sequences'). We've also recently released apps for use with your iOS or Android to control Live Panel using your mobile device.

I've also been looking at the Novation Launch Pad and the Akai apc20 (I also think this is the best of worlds) to bundle with our DMX controller and I've already tried writing a simple Visual Basic app that let me use the NanoKontroller to control my submasters so I know that it can be used.

Since there is also a DMX input control you can still use a conventional DMX lighting console for control even while you're using your MIDI input so you can have the best of both worlds
 

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