Midi Touch how to: Assign XYZ Controllers in your DAW

Posted on January 16, 2011 by iOSMidi.com (Pat)

Here’s a quick Midi Touch tip for those of you using XYZ Controllers with your DAW such as Ableton or Logic.

A few people have emailed me with problems assigning the different values coming out of a XYZ.  The problem is that the XYZ sends out the three values one after another, but in most DAW’s you can only assign on CC at a time.

Read on to find out how.

The trick is to assign each value individually using separate controls.  For example, if your wanted to create an XYZ that controlled a sample and a filter.  You might have the X attached to the cutoff, the Y attached to the Q value, and the Z would trigger a clip in Ableton.  Here’s how to do it:

  1. Create a slider that sends CC 1.
  2. In Ableton, assign that slider to the filter cutoff.
  3. Create a slider that sends CC 2.
  4. In Ableton, assign that slider to the filter Q value.
  5. Create a button that sends CC 3.
  6. In Ableton, assign that button to fire your clip.
  7. Create an XYZ Control that has CC 1 on the X, CC 2 on the Y, and CC 3 on the Z.
  8. Delete the sliders & button made in steps 1, 3 & 5.

And that’s it!

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