The first time you run the PatchController Example Session you will almost certainly get a MIDI configuration error message. This is because you are unlikely to have the same MIDI devices as the system used to create this demo. So the first thing you will do is configure your MIDI ports. You always have to do this the first time you load a session created on a different computer. See the Buttons'nFaders Example topic for details on MIDI port configuration.
Note that all of the MIDI out ports on the panels in this demo have been set to 1, which hopefully is a synth on most systems. If not, (the Tropez Plus has its effects unit on port 1) you will have to go through and change the MIDI out port on each panel in this session. There is no 'global' duplicate function, but when you just need to increment (or decrement) the setting on a drop-down list you can use the following shortcut:
Click on the selector box whose value you want to change (in this case, the port selector box). Immediately press the Up Arrow to increment, or the Down Arrow to decrement. It's pretty quick.
This session has 11 panels; only the Patchlists and the Play sequence panel are visible. The patchlists are really just short segments of the familiar GM program bank, all configured to effect the same channel and port. They don't have to, of course. It's just that the sequence included to demo this session is a one track solo (MIDI guitar). These patch segments were created by one of the hidden panels in this session, a Patch Group panel titled 'noises'. The other two hidden panels in this session are used to remotely select and send patches from the patchlist panels. One of these is the JoystickController panel.
The Joystick panel sets up your joystick's fire-buttons and axes as follows:
Fire-button A is a 'Patch Down' command, which remotely scrolls down the patches in a patchlist panel.
Fire-button B is a 'PnlPtr Down' command, which remotely scrolls down the controlled panels list in a Panl Pointer panel.
The joystick's Y-axis is a 'Patch Chg' command, which allows you to move in either direction through a patch list. Moving the stick forward causes you to scroll down the patches in the patchlist, moving back causes you to scroll up.
The X-axis is a 'PnlPtr Chg' command, which moves in either direction through the controlled panels list in a Panl Pointer panel. Both the X and Y axes are set to 'Center-defeat', so you just 'bump' the stick in one direction or another, to move forward or backward through a list.
The remaining hidden panel is the Panl Pointer Panel itself. This panel controls which patchlist the two patch controls on the joystick will point to. The other two joystick controls point back to the Panl Pointer panel, controlling it. The result is a Joystick patch controller that re-configures itself on the fly...
Let's familiarize ourselves with the feel of this controller...
Click on the pointing hand icon on the tool bar to make the Panl Pointer panel visible. Drag it off to right where it isn't obscuring anything vital. Now you can see which patchlist is currently active.
While keeping the stick absolutely still (it's pretty sensitive), press fire-button A. The patch indicator in the active patchlist panel should move downward every time you press it. Now press fire-button B once, and go back to A. The scrolling should switch to a different patchlist panel every time you press fire-button B. If the buttons don't seem to be working every time it is probably because you are moving the stick slightly while trying to press the buttons (because you're probably getting a little excited by now, and we haven't even turned on the sequence player yet!).
The stick control itself is harder to adjust to, but is more flexible when you get used to it. While keeping the stick 'still' horizontally (side to side), move it forward in a series of 'bumping' motions (bump it forward, let it return to center). You should be able to scroll down through a patch list almost as well as the fire-button did. The difference is that when you get to the end of the list it doesn't wrap around to the beginning. Pull straight back on the stick in a series of 'bumps'. You should now be scrolling up through the patchlist.
The horizontal stick motion is tricky, mainly because it is so sensitive. Bumping the stick to the right or left scrolls up or down through the Panl Pointer panel. In general, when you want to pick with precsion through a list with a joystick axis, you should use 4 or 5 items maximum in the list. There are 7 panels in the Panl Pointer's list, so this isn't really a good choice for the X-axis. The axes are more effective when you want to quickly move through several patches to get to one further along the list, however. Just hold the stick in a given direction. The associated list will auto-scroll in that direction--the farther you push the stick, the faster the list will scroll.
Ok, you can play the sequence now. Try the different joystick motions and buttons. You should also try the joystick with centering enabled. The feel is more intuitive, but when you let go of the stick you will always send the center patch from the center panel. To turn on centering, click the joystick icon on the tool bar to make the joystick panel visible, then click on the 2 'Center' checkboxes.
Oh yes, if you don't have a joystick the Panl Pointer panel isn't useful. You can still double-click on any patch name in any patchlist panel to send it. You can also use keyboard controls on patchlist panels. The arrow keys scroll and the space bar sends. You can use <Ctrl><Tab> and <Ctrl><Shift><Tab> move the keyboard focus between panels.
