Cool - I was waiting for that third part of the series.
Still haven't had a chance to work on the 01V96 issue(s) I have, as I'm still in the process of programming the BRC-2K encoders n knobs n buttons to work the way I want them to - (No immediate/existing preset available for Freestyler, but when I get it worked out I'll post it here).
So I'd still like to get some control from 01V96 for a few simple things, if nothing else, for a stripped-down setup where I wouldn't need to hook up all the extra MIDI gear.
@ Kendell: it's not to do with the MIDI range - I think what you are referencing is the MIDI "standard" where CC (continuous controllers) have a default number of CCs from 1-90, then there are some "dedicated types" (modulation, portamento, vibrato, pitch-bend, etc.) and then a run of "undefined" controllers up to 127. Most MIDI keyboards/synths will follow this standard to varying degrees, which is why Freestyler lets you adapt to what the controller can handle. The settings in the .ini file are to match the number of CCs that a given device can send out. With the BRC software you can change parameters to use all 127 CC "channels" as either defaults or customized types.
The issue I'm having is that the 01V96 (in the current mode or MIDI port that I'm capturing) uses 2 MIDI channels to give a higher resolution fader/controller - instead of sending (7-bit) 0-127 it sends (14-bit) 0-16000-ish by combining the 2 channels similar<?> to the way DMX fixtures can use 1 address (8 bits) for 0-255 or 2 addresses (16 bits) for 0-65535. (Used for coarse and fine pan/tilt controls, for example).
The problem is that instead of counting in a smooth 14-ish bit range, it uses one channel to count up 1, the next channel counts up to 127 before the first channel steps up another increment. The result is that the fader goes to 1, 2, 3, 4 ... on the first channel, and Freestyler sees and locks to that, but in between each of those numbers, the second channel goes from 0-127, which Freestyler also sees and locks to until 127 is reached and the first channel steps again, making faders jump up and down very rapidly. I don't think there is a way of having Freestyler read the 2-channel MIDI data, so I have to set the 01V96 to a lower res (single channel) mode if I want to control Freestyler with it.
However, I don't want to lose hi-res control over my audio, so I have to experiment a bit with some of the 01V MIDI settings to determine that when I set the General MIDI option to low res, that it is only the MIDI data being sent externally that gets the lo-res treatment, and not the internal controls.
The 01V96 user defined keys can also be set to do a lot of MIDI control, so I'd like to set a bank or two of those to double what some of the main functions I am currently doing on the BRC or qwerty keys, so they are there at all gigs whether I hook up the BRC or not, (and I can pretend I have that third arm I keep meaning to invent).
The other thing I'm trying to do is use un-used input faders as MIDI out controls for independent operation of some features, yet tie other functions to channels I do have audio on (delays, effects, etc. that get moved or muted) affect some of the lighting channels as I fade in/out the effects. In this way I'd almost never have to leave the audio console yet still have full(?) control of the lights.
Once I get this part working right, the next step would be (if needed) to add MIDI-OX / MIDI-Yoke / other MIDI translators (Multiplay?) to help automate some of the automation that Freestyler does. Or set up 01V96 scenes that recall different controls / settings for different songs. Baby steps. Baby steps...
It also occurred to me a while back that if I used DMX-IN and started using the cheapo 192 channel DMX controller I have as backup, I could have some good direct control (16 banks of 12 faders) as well as using the programmable scenes on it to perform a lot of pre-programmed / triggered scenes/sequences. MIDI combined with this would give a huge amount of control, albeit probably with a subsequent huge amount of setup and programming (and re-programming).
The MIDIgating (HA!) factor in all this: TIME! (I pretty much have the gear and the goal and something resembling a plan).
/Jimmie