Help- using an arduino to make a midi controller

so I just wrote and used a program that went through every single midi signal in the CC list... none of them triggered the touch pad, im really confused now...

midiCC(0-255,0-16,fixed constant)

thats the combination i went through.

I know you're probably super frustrated, but just some troubleshooting:

Did you put the KP2 into MIDI control mode?

Gareth said something about mapping out the midiCC to a certain coordinate on the X-Y touch screen, although it seems that the program you made showed that it isn't the pad's fault.

I'm out of ideas for the moment. I'm rooting for you! Because I'd like to make one myself :slight_smile:

Maybe try it with a DigiTech Whammy as well?

How's the LED control and the Hold switch going?

i havent tested it on the whammy, but im assuming it will work, i may do that now and post the results.

the back light LED is actually alright to work with, the hold button im not sure about either.

the only midi message the kaoss pad has received so far is the effects change...and thats the easiest one to send as its only like 1 value.

argh i wish i knew what i was doing wrong.

anyway im gonna go try the digitech whammy.

Was the KP2 in MIDI receiving mode?

Also, I think the Whammy is mapped differently, which is why Gareth's kit involves pressing the encoder to switch control between a Kaoss and a Whammy. One channel won't control the device it's not intended to.

But getting it with the whammy will be progress!

yeah um...it works lol... its just the kaoss pad that is a maHUSIVE beatch

Whammy works? Nice!

and midi receiving mode? how is that achieved? i didnt even know that existed

All right one sec. Let me pull out the old Kaoss Pad manual

Ok there's a few things and I'm not sure which to note, so I'll just quote it directly.

MIDI Edit Mode

Hold down the Tap/BPM key and press the Rec/Stop key. After approximately one second, you will enter MIDI Edit mode, and the MIDI channel will be displayed blinking in the Program/BPM display.

Setting the MIDI Channel

In MIDI Edit mode, the Program/BPM display will show the MIDI channel. At this time you can use the Program/BPM knob to change the MIDI channel.

MIDI message transmission/reception settings

Transmission and reception of each type of MIDI message can be turned on/off by pressing one of the keys listed below. Transmission and reception are enabled when the corresponding LED is lit. Transmission and reception are disabled when the LED is dark.

Changing the control number
By holding down one of the Program Memory 3-8 keys and turning the Program/BPM knob, you can change the control number setting. Although it is possible to select a control number that is already in use, it is not possible to simultaneously turn on transmission and reception for MIDI messages of the same control number.

Press and hold the Rec/Stop key for one second or longer, and the MIDI settings you modified will be stored

It will leave MIDI Edit mode if the touch pad is touched or the KP2 is idle for 10 seconds (without any operation)

Here's the KP2 Manual. Pages 8 and 9

yep ive read this, sadly its useless. ive done all this, it made me become even more sure that im right about the midi signals im sending. there is no midi receiver mode that i can see, it just receives and sends all the time. man this sucks... i wonder if its my kaoss pad?

oh and btw what did gaz say about the mapping? tell me all you know.

Sure it doesn't work? From what I gathered looks like Program Memory 4, 5, and 6 need to be lit so that the KP receives X, Y, and pad on/off commands, but I could be wrong.

All I know is Gaz has 2 kits, one for a small screen and one for a regular screen. Each had to be mapped differently to send out the same range of MIDI values.

Just to check, the whammy did work? To Program Changes and everything?

i only tested the whammy pedal itself, as i dont have the encoder wired up at the mo

and yeah they do need to be lit up.

that mapping thing I think is just to get a nicer feel for the pad, it would still work, but just in case ill take out the kaoss pads touch screen and use that to see what it does.

What I do know is that MIDI Edit Mode must be entered to make those be lit. What I'm not sure is if that is necessary for reception; I've never dabbled with the Kaoss's MIDI interaction.

My guess is that something most be done differently, because judging from Gaz's kit the Whammy control is different from the Kaoss control.

What exactly IS Midi CC anyways?

same problem

I'm going off of limited information, but anyway:

What CC messages does your pad currently send? Obviously the Whammy responds to it which is good.

The Kaoss Pad responds to 1– 31, 64–95. That's from the MIDI Implementation chart

This is from "Messages that can be received"

X Axis - Effect control 1 (CC#12) *1, *2
Y Axis - Effect control 2 (CC#13) *1, *2
Touch Pad On/Off -Effect depth 2 (CC#92) *1, *2

*1: The MIDI messages transmitted and received can be changed in a range of CC#1–CC#31, CC#64–CC#95, and PITCH BEND. ( ) is the factory setting.
*2: Ena/Dis and CC# settings are the same for both transmission and reception.

Some good links you may or may not have encountered

Bunch of stuff

http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~gurwitz/core5/nav2tool.html

To help convert the numbers in the write-up above

Oh here we go. Took this straight from Gaz's eBay sale info for the kit

Controller MIDI Output

MIDI Channels:

The MIDI data for the Kaoss pad is sent on channel 1; while the data for the Digitech whammy pedal is sent on channel 2. Note that a receiver set to pick up MIDI data on channel 1 will ignore data sent to it on channel 2 and vice versa. Therefore the Kaoss pad will not respond to MIDI messages intended for the Digitech whammy because it should only be set to listen on channel 1. This means that both devices can be connected to the controller at the same time using a MIDI thru device.
The MIDI channel is changed by pressing the program dial shaft down. On start-up the controller sends on channel 1 (Kaoss pad) and switches to channel 2 (whammy) when the encoder is pressed. A second press switches the channel back to 1.

MIDI Data:

The controller is set to send MIDI data for the Kaoss pad default control settings. The Digitech whammy pedal will have to be set to channel 2 (see manual), but all other control settings should also be set to default for this device. See below. You can control any MIDI device that is configured to respond to these messages.

The controller sends the following MIDI data:

Channel 1 (default for Kaoss pad)

Pad On/Off CC92 0 and 127
Pad X Axis CC12 0-127
Pad Y Axis CC13 0-127
Program Program C 0-127

Channel 2 (default for Digitech Whammy)

Pad On/Off CC0 0 and 127
Pad X Axis CC11 0-127
Pad Y Axis CC10 0-127 (Not used by whammy pedal)
Program Program C 0-127

Control:

Kaoss Pad – Channel 1.
The touch screen read by the controller sends MIDI CC to control the Kaoss pad similar to the on board screen, allowing remote real time effect control.
The momentary push switch allows bypass of the “pad off” command, thus emulating the hold function
The program dial sends program change commands. On start-up the program is set to 1. Turning the encoder shaft clockwise will increment the program, and anticlockwise will decrement the program. The program change will not allow increment above 128 or decrement below 1 (The Kaoss pad 2 only responds to program change commands between 0 and 99, so it is possible to overshoot the program control. If the program dial is no longer effecting program change, the turn it anti-clockwise until the program decrements).
Pressing the shaft of the program dial down will change the MIDI output to channel 2 and the Kaoss pad will no longer respond to the inputs.

Digitech Whammy – Channel 2.
The X axis of the touch screen will control the treadle position. The left extreme of the X axis corresponds to a toe up position, and the right extreme to a toe down position. The whammy does not respond to Y axis data, but has been included for use with other devices.
The momentary push switch allows bypass of the “effect off” command, thus emulating a hold function
The program dial sends program change commands. On start-up the program is set to 1. Turning the encoder shaft clockwise will increment the program, and anticlockwise will decrement the program. The program change will not allow increment above 128 or decrement below 1. However, the whammy pedal only responds to program change commands between 1 and 33, so it is possible to overshoot the program control. If the program dial is no longer effecting program change, the turn it anti-clockwise until the program decrements
Pressing the shaft of the program dial down will change the MIDI output to channel 1 and the whammy pedal will no longer respond to the inputs.

thanks for the link, so yeah I try and use my kaoss pad to controll my digitech whammy, and I cant. im really starting to think ive missed something blatantly obvious or summin but i just cant find it.

Just to clarify, your KP2 can't control the whammy but your X-Y Pad can?

My two guesses are:

-again, the reception mode. I think that plays a huge role.
-your x-y is set to control a whammy, and a separate channel will need to be programmed so that the correct KP2 numbers can be sent from your X-Y

to control the whammy I just changed the code a bit, I knew exactly what code I needed, but what im curiuous about is that touch pad on off function, does that mean i need to have the touch pad on in order for it to receive signals? its worth a shot...but ill try it tomorrow as im getting tired.