ROLI Lightpad Block code for running as a high-res multi XY surface.
Introduction
Installation
Heads up!
Control Changes
Operation
Setup
Parameters
Integration
Bitwig
Ableton
This LittleFoot script will turn a ROLI Lightpad Block into a high-res multi XY surface. Multi as in five times... for five fingers... at the same time!
For every finger (touch) it shows a pulsing (on the beat if available) gem in a bright colour. The position of these gems are translated into MIDI Control Changes which can be mapped to anything in modern DAW's (Digital Audio Workstations) such as Ableton Live. A setup page on the device itself facilitates the easy creation of these kinds of mappings.
I created this script because I really enjoy the plugins by U-he (Hive & Zebra2 in particular). These plugins have very nice XY controls which I map through Ableton Live (with Absolute 14-bit precision). These plugins also have CC 2 (breath) and CC 11 (expression) mapped as extra controllers, so the first gem (orange) uses these.
To see the gems operate bi-directionally, make sure the mapped control values are sent back to the device. In case of Ableton Live, ensure the Remote option is selected with your Output: Lightpad Block MIDI setup. If you like to see the gems pulsing on the beat, make sure Sync is selected as well.
To install this script save (only) the Axyz Gems.littlefoot script (here) in the default ROLI Blocks Littlefoot location of your platform (On MacOS this is ~/Documents/ROLI/LittleFoot). Now whenever you start the ROLI Dashboard, you will see the Axyz Gems app next to the default apps. Select it, and start tweaking... Enjoy! 😊
It has come to my attention that some users download the Axyz Gems.littlefoot by right clicking the file (above) and selecting download as an option. Saving that way will in fact download the container HTML file, and so it is impossible for ROLI Dashboard to upload the script to the Lightpad BLOCK. You will typically be warned by an alert saying something like "Line 7, Column1: Found "<" when expecting a global variable or function". Please use the instructions above, or if you prefer, download the full release including these instructions by clicking here and then click Source code (zip).
The (default) arrangement of gems is as follows:
| Gem | Colour | Indicator | CC X | CC Y | CC Z |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | orange | none | 2 | 11 | 14 |
| 2 | red | Top Left | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 3 | green | Top Right | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 4 | blue | Bottom Left | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 5 | pink | Bottom Right | 29 | 30 | 31 |
Use one to five fingers at once to place & move the gems on the pad. The first touch will correspond to the Primary Gem (default is 1: orange). Increasing the pressure will scale the gems outward (positive Z Scale) or inward (negative Z Scale).
Pressing the Side Button briefly will advance (and possibly wrap around) the Primary Gem, shown by the Indicator (see table above).
Pressing the Side Button a bit longer will open the Setup Page from which you can easily map your DAW's controls. Here selecting a dimension (X, Y or Z) and tapping one of the gems will only send out the corresponding MIDI CC's (which prevents confusing the receiver). Press the Side Button again to leave this page, and return to normal operation.
The small side buttons give access to some toggle states; pressing one will toggle it and exit the Setup Page.
- orange: Beat toggle
- yellow: Reset Gems (center)
- cyan: Multitouch toggle
- blue: Record Off
- green: Record On (4)
The Active Gems determine which gems are accessible. So 'All Gems' will work with the full 5 gems, and 'Only Gem 3' will work only with Gem 3. The last option 'Only Gems 2-5' is handy if you want only the last 4 gems to access 4 XY pads in your software.
The Primary Gem determines which gem is selected by the first touch (finger), the next gem is accessible by the second touch, etc. This can be changed mid-flight by hitting the dot in its respective corner.
The option Z Scale allows pressure to influence (amplify) the actual position of the gem. The Z Threshold determines the amount of pressure needed before the scaling kicks in.
The High resolution option will (when selected) send out two CC's per dimension per gem, as such increasing the resolution. This is done according to the MIDI specification by sending out an extra CC (called LSB) for every value (called MSB). Most modern DAW's understand this mode (double CC's) as 14-bit CC's.
The MIDI Channel determines the MIDI channel used for sending the CC's.
The Recorder offers a Per Beat option, which will hold and play back all the values per beat. (This option might expand in the future) A large beat counter will show up, and advance. For this option to work, a MIDI clock signal should be sent to the Lightpad Block, as it needs to know the beat.
To enjoy the full joy of Axyz Gems, including high-resolution, there are dedicated Controller Surface scripts for Bitwig and Ableton.
For Bitwig Control copy the Bitwig/AxyzGems.control.js (get it here) to your Documents/Bitwig Studio/Controller Scripts folder. Start Bitwig, go to Bitwig Settings -> Controllers, add the controller by clicking Add and selecting Bonboa -> Axyz Gems Controller (by Joris Röling), set the MIDI in and out to Lightpad BLOCK or Lightpad Block (Bluetooth) and you're good to go. The 8 macro knobs of the selected page of the selected device will be mapped to Gem 2 - 5. The control will be hi-res, AKA 14-bit.
Note: Axyz Gems does not show up in a track's MIDI input (Note Inputs) list, and that is normal. It is not a keyboard, the gems send Control Changes, not notes. The controller runs in the background and always follows the currently selected device, mapping the gems to that device's 8 remote-control (macro) knobs. You don't route it on a track; just select the device you want the gems to drive.
For Ableton copy the entire Ableton/Axyz_Gems folder to your MIDI Remote Scripts folder (on Mac this will be ~/Music/Ableton/User Library/Remote Scripts). Start Ableton, go to Preferences -> Link MIDI, select Axyz Gems in an empty Control Surface slot, select Lightpad BLOCK or Lightpad Block (Bluetooth) in Input and Output and you're good to go. The 8 macro knobs of a selected grouped device will be mapped to Gems 2 - 5. (Sadly this will be low-res, AKA 7-bit, only)