Reply To: Programming PithFactor to work as a pitch bend

[brock]

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if I use pitch A for pitch bend down and Pitch B for pitch bend up then I would also need to set up those same controllers to instantly change the pitch mix respectively to 100% for pitch A or Pitch B.

Yes.  You could use a CC message to snap the Pitch Mix from fully counterclockwise to fully clockwise [System settings -> MIDI -> RCV CTL -> KB1].   A value of 0 would be full left / Pitch A, and a value of 127 is equivalent to full right / Pitch B.

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Alternatively I could use Pitch A only mixed at 100% and then experiment with MIDI values that will result in the appropriate bend.

Of course.  I only meant to show that it's possible to use two pitch shifters.  In many cases, you'd only use one or the other.  Sometimes duplicating the same settings in both Pitch A & Pitch B leads to some nice doubling effects; especially when one shifter is delayed by a few milliseconds from the other.

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OR could I set the max value at +2 1/2 steps and min value at -2 1/2 steps and then set up one foot controller from MIDI value 64-0 and one for 64-127?

You could.  With a versatile controller like the SoftStep, I'd take it a bit further.  I'd set up an entire 'scene' of ten switches, and program each switch to produce a commonly used interval in the PitchFactor.  One for a whole step up, one for a whole step down, one each for the octaves, fifths, etc.  I do that here with my FCB-1010.  Of the 100 presets, I have a few banks of 10 that control individual PitchFactor presets.  Each switch toggles static CC values, and each of those values corresponds to an interval in Pitch A / Pitch B.

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Which would be better or are they essentially the same?

That's hard to say.  It would depend on the application, the instrument, and the desired results.  Your particular "instrument … that does not have pitch bend capabilities" could be a MIDI piano, or it could be a clarinet.  A MIDI piano wouldn't sound "natural" no matter what approach you took, but there might be ways to make the clarinet more believeable.  In some cases, you might actually want  unnatural results – glitchy, lo-fi, and regenerated beyond recognition.

The fast & easy way would to use all those factory PitchFlex presets, vary the pitchbend interval by changing presets / program changes, and have one SoftStep switch do all of your bends (at maximum range).  It works, but it squanders much of the depth in the SoftStep and PF.

The "road less travelled" (programming the SoftStep and the PitchFactor presets to meet your needs) takes a bit more work, but it's more satisfying and rewarding in the long run.  Combining program change and MIDI CC remote control is even more versatile.  If you need some help with those CC values per-algorithm in the PitchFactor, I have unorganized notes scattered about here on many of the modes & effect parameters.