This is just a heads up for anyone that finds themselves in my situation (up until a month or so ago, that is).

I was in the market for an external XY controller. Something to take advantage of the myriad synths out there that utilise such programming but for Orcherstral Tools in particular. Simple, right? Not asking for much.

Anyway, after much fluffing around and receiving incorrect information and being pointed towards expensive options that "may or may not work" I found the Akai MPK mini. $100 new. Looks fabulous. Has a brilliantly simple Mac interface and the XY controller, though small, is perfect for my need. Plus you'll get a 2 octave travel keyboard and a bunch of pads and controllers thrown in gratis. Sits above my main controller keyboard and is as cute as a button.

Brilliant!

 

Last edited: Feb 26, 2022

when you ask for "XY controller" that is not what I would think of either. You may have not specified it being a pad; but those are the responses I would expect. like the Apple Magic Trackpad.

 

for me the best solution i found, was taking an old smartphone, installing an app like touchOSC, touchDAW or Lemur and connecting over wifi. Super simple, super cheap,super versatile!

https://hexler.net/touchosc
https://xmmc.de/touchdaw/
https://liine.net/en/products/lemur/

 

Last edited: Feb 26, 2022

Logic Remote is free also. aside from the specific plugin:

 

Well, I was a little more descriptive with the retailers I was dealing with. What I really wanted was a non-return joystick.

 

Also interesting:
https://audioswiftapp.com/xy-pads-for-sound-design-with-a-trackpad/

 

Yeah. I purchased that. Unfortunately it was all too finicky and unintuitive for me.

 

I made a custom XY controller with TouchOSC MK1 to use with an old android phone, it works well, but at times it locks one of the axis for no apparent reason, I couldn't find a solution nor how to unlock it (double tap, etc.), maybe the new version solved that issue, but I had not time to test it.

 

I use the vector stick on a Wavestation, but I guess that's out of the question for most people. Yamaha SY-series got this as well, and the upcoming Behringer VS too.

But what I use most is TouchOSC, which fantastic for a lot of controllers, so basically I use my phone for a quick remote controller for record/play thing and a tablet for more involved control.

 

..well, I feel you. Searching for such a "joystick"/controller for ages myself. Mainly bc I'm used to Roland's ol' pitch/mod controller and I find using the wheels limiting. I was thinking of stacking a thing like this on top of my 88 keys kb.

Can you control like X=pitch, Y=modulation with this? Does it return in central position via spring?

I was also looking at Korg MicroKey 25 USB MIDI keyboard. Do you know anything about that one?

..since I'd be using it to perform, anything "touch" is out of the question

 

If you are interested in something you see on this list, let me know by sending me a PM.
Maybe i can tell you more!

 

It does, which is not ideal. But as Im not using it live I can always redraw Ins and Outs easily within the DAW.

You raise an interesting point though. Are those joysticks actually spring operated? If so, surely it wouldn't be difficult to simply remove the springs and have it in permanent free-flow mode.

Hmmm.

 

Korg nanoPAD 2 black ( USB-MIDI Kontroller) with X-Y-Pad - 56 €

X-Y touchpad for generating music phrases via touch scale function and gate arpeggiator.

The X-Y pad is primarily used to control several synthesizer parameters simultaneously. However, the newly integrated touch scale function now also makes it possible to intuitively play in musical phrases with the touch pad - just like you know it from the KAOSSILATOR. This works very simply: just select one of 16 different scales, define the key and the note range, and you're guaranteed a harmonic performance to match your song.

The gate arpeggiator, borrowed from the KAOSSILATOR Pro, transmits note values in a tempo-related manner. Tempos can be set manually via "Tap Tempo" or synchronized to the song tempo. In combination with the Touch Scale function, the Gate Arpeggiator allows tempo-synchronized phrases and rhythms to be played in by simply swiping the touchpad or playing the trigger pads.

 

I still keep my old Novation X-station, which features a touchpad sending two MIDI CCs# (X&Y axis) - Novation Remote EX-Demo seems to include the same touchpad. https://bimotordj.com/es/remote49?g...imB3lGPFI9zmkM3dT8bW_-odKb2ToSZRoCBG0QAvD_BwE

 

It says so on the tin ..and once I saw a video of someone taking apart an old (IIRC) Doepfer stick module to remove the spring.

For my use - pitch/mod, i would obviously want it to return to 'zero' position, hence keep the spring. For other X/Y control purposes you would want the stick to stay in certain position. Check 'MIDI joystick spring' or similar on YT

 

Last edited: Feb 26, 2022

Great link - thanks!

 

Wow! I have been thinking about buying this for ages! I think you just sold it to me - thanks for the tips!