• Registered: 2023-06-20
  • Posts: 4

Topic: Using MIDI controllers with RME Connector to control 12mics

I can find a few threads on controlling TotalMix FX with third party controllers but not the RME remote connector. I want to use a MIDI controller (Faderfox EC4) to control just the mic gains on the 12mics. Is this possible, has anyone done something similar?

I have UFX+ (Driver 13.09.23, Version 0.9827, revision 54
2 x RME 12mics (firmware 1.7.1)
Rme Connector V2.0 x64
I'm on 64bit win 10.

My setup has 2 x 12mics as remote stage boxes connected via ethernet + MADI optical. I found the ethernet connection better for control over the 12mics although this new connector version seems very quick too. I use the MADI optical to send audio. Essentially I can see two connections from my 12mics to my laptop in the RME connector.

I can see the FaderfoxEC4 as a Midi connection in the RME connector but I can't seem to pick up any midi commands from it to teach the Faderfox. I can see midi commands in BOMEsendSX picking up from the UFX+ MIDI port 3. I should add I am a total novice when it comes to MIDI.

I tried Tobias Erichsens RTPmidi to see if I could pick anything up from the web controller and forward it that way over the ethernet but I couldn't find the 12mics as devices on the network. I can find the IP addresses but I don't know how to find their port numbers.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. If it's possible to do this but complicated then that would be good to know and I will employ an expert to help.

thanks Phil

UFX+, 12mic, FF800!, Win10
  • Max
  • Max
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  • Registered: 2007-05-09
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Re: Using MIDI controllers with RME Connector to control 12mics

Hi Phil,

it is possible to control the 12Mics via MIDI, but RME Connector cannot be controlled via MIDI at this time.

The SysEx commands necessary to control the 12Mic are listed here.

You need a MADI connection TO the 12Mics, in which you embed those commands directly using the corresponding virtual MIDI port. You can set the corresponding MADI port and MIDI ID on the devices (for example 0 for the first one, 1 for the second one) under State > Remote > MIDI, so that they react to the incoming SysEx commands from the optical or coaxial MADI signal.

RME Connector has nothing to do with it - keep using it with ethernet to have an additional remote surface that shows you the changes that you're sending via MIDI.

However, you could use RME Connector to check the MIDI connection (be warned that it is not possible for two applications to send MIDI commands to the 12Mics at the same time, so you should switch the other one off), and to log the corresponding remote control parameters with a software like PocketMIDI (connect output of Connector to input of PocketMIDI, using a virtual MIDI port or an external MIDI connection). That makes it a bit easier to find out the parameters necessary to send from your FaderFox.

Max

  • Registered: 2023-06-20
  • Posts: 4

Re: Using MIDI controllers with RME Connector to control 12mics

Thanks Max for your swift reply, that was very useful and a relief to know it's possible.

I can only work on this in the evenings but I now have all the parameters I need to know from the 12mic.

Unfortunately the faderfox EC4 doesn't do SysEx as far as I can tell only CC, pitch bend, NRPN, program change and notes. I didn't realise this at first. From what I can tell I need a translator so I'm programming a Midi translator pro from Bome but haven't spent much time in it yet. Once I get somewhere I'll post an update

UFX+, 12mic, FF800!, Win10
  • Registered: 2023-06-20
  • Posts: 4

Re: Using MIDI controllers with RME Connector to control 12mics

An update on this in case anybody else is looking to control the gains on the 12mics remotely with a cc midi controller. I used Bome Midi Translator to successfully get from cc to SysEX (which RME 12mic needs) through a virtual midi port.

I think I now have a working system whereby I can control 2x 12mics over MIDI port3 with a faderfoxec4. I also have feedback from the 12mics so that I can see a representation of the gain value. I can also have RMEconnector open with functioning network and midi windows open. I only have this working for gain values so but it wouldn't be a great leap to add other parameters.

I say it wouldn't be a great leap but I very quickly got stuck and employed Steven Caldwell to do the programming for me! He is amongst other things support for Bome Midi translator. He is extremely skilled so if anyone has any midi programming problems you can reach him at
bome@sniz.biz

I don't fully understand how the RME connector uses the 12mic network control to communicate with the 12mic midi. Presumably the 12mic network communicates over IP to the 12mic units and the 12mics midi is constantly checking it's variables and sending out status dumps to the RME connector.

I ask because one little bug is that the way the translator ended up working is that I can't open RME connector with just the Network controllers open I have to also have the midi controller there too. Otherwise I get the error message that you can't have more than one midi application at the same time. I thought this was going to be the other way around!
As long as Bome translator is open I can also use the faderfox to control the 12mics without the RME connector open but it doesn't get a constant variables update so if I change gains from the web browser or 12mic it doesn't show on the faderfox unless I do a manual capture global variables in bome midi translator.

The other little bug is that the gain changes from faderfox to 12mics show instantly on the RME network controller but there is a noticeable delay coming through the RME connector midi controller. It's workable but noticeable.

The other tiny thing is that it doesn't look like it is possible to get the faderfoxec4 to display the correct values of 0-75db. The translator was scaled from 128 to 75 values but uses integer maths. If I set my faderfox to 000-075 value limits I can only get 44db gain out of the 12mics from the faderfox control. If I set the Faderfox to 127 max limit then I get the full 75db gain but the values it shows aren't the gain value. Faderfox does have a bar chart though to represent roughly how much gain you're using.

I also haven't done a full test with recording audio during a session yet but any updates I will post here.

UFX+, 12mic, FF800!, Win10
  • Max
  • Max
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Re: Using MIDI controllers with RME Connector to control 12mics

I don't fully understand how the RME connector uses the 12mic network control to communicate with the 12mic midi. Presumably the 12mic network communicates over IP to the 12mic units and the 12mics midi is constantly checking it's variables and sending out status dumps to the RME connector.

MIDI and network are fully independent and isolated control mechanisms, which in turn provide you two distinct representations of the 12Mic(-D) in the RME Connector: one is MIDI controlled, which communicates via Fireface UFX+ MIDI over MADI ports with the 12Mic(-D). The other is network controlled, which uses the same SSC API that the web remote interface uses. You can add the same device twice, as a MIDI-controlled device AND as a network-controlled device, and you will immediately see that the network-controlled device reveals more controls and has better level meters etc..