Making SoftStep 2 work with Eventide H9 using Advanced Editor and H9 Control

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    • #113938
      raymalone
      Participant

      After spending the day playing around with both devices I finally got it working for what I needed:

      1 – Active / Bypass toggle

      2- Tap Tempo

      3- Performance switch (Flex)

      4- 7 Different programs

      I’m putting 3 pics with helpful guidelines, they are far from perfect but worked for me.

      If someone can help me out in figuring the LED default states (pic#3) I’d be very happy!

      **  The most important setting is to tell the H9 in the Settings menu to Connect to Midi device and then chosse the SoftStep ( SSCOM Port 1) **

       

      I’m not sure if I did this post correctly so I apologize in advance if I did something wrong.

       

       

      Cheers!

       

      Ray Malone

      Montreal Canada

       

    • #145823

      This thread helped me to finally got my tap tempo to work. Thank you!

    • #148376
      cljfford
      Participant

      Thank you so much for posting this.

      I’m trying to connect a Soft Step 2 to two H9s. I’ve followed your model but without success, so far. I think a big problem is that I can’t do what you emphasize most: **  The most important setting is to tell the H9 in the Settings menu to Connect to Midi device and then choose the SoftStep ( SSCOM Port 1) ** Can someone please help me figure this out?

      When I go to Settings in the H9 Control app and select “Connect MIDI Device to Eventide Device” in the menu, I don’t see (SSCOM Port 1). I see None. And Clarette 4Pre MIDI. I don’t know how the Clarett, my Focusrite Audio Interface, is seen by H9 Control. I’ve got the H9 synced to the OS X version of the Control app through Bluetooth only.

      I have the SoftStep2 connected by USB to the KMI MIDI Expander and the MIDI Expander’s MIDI OUT is going to the H9’s MIDI IN. The MIDI Expander’s amber MIDI OUT light flashes when I stomp the Keys that were programmed as per your instructions but, for instance, H9 Control is not hearing the CC message to Tap when I stomp Key 5. I do have a second MIDI cable running from the 1st H9’s MIDI OUT port to the 2nd H9’s MIDI IN port, if that is relevent. Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, since I don’t even have the first H9 working but I ultimately want to be able to control the two with the SoftStep.

      I see there are some “MIDI Settings” in the Pedal tab next to Settings. Do I need to make adjustments to the settings elsewhere? I’ve tried a few blind experiments but didn’t notice any action.

      Thanks for reading.

      • #148394
        bohan
        Moderator
        Eventide Staff
        cljfford wrote:

        I have the SoftStep2 connected by USB to the KMI MIDI Expander and the MIDI Expander's MIDI OUT is going to the H9's MIDI IN. The MIDI Expander's amber MIDI OUT light flashes when I stomp the Keys that were programmed as per your instructions but, for instance, H9 Control is not hearing the CC message to Tap when I stomp Key 5. I do have a second MIDI cable running from the 1st H9's MIDI OUT port to the 2nd H9's MIDI IN port, if that is relevent. Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, since I don't even have the first H9 working but I ultimately want to be able to control the two with the SoftStep.

        I see there are some "MIDI Settings" in the Pedal tab next to Settings. Do I need to make adjustments to the settings elsewhere? I've tried a few blind experiments but didn't notice any action.

        Hi, since you have connected SoftStep2 to your H9 through a MIDI cable, you don't need to choose the MIDI device in H9 Control, because that's for something connected to your computer/mobile device rather than H9 itself.

        Yes, you do need to change some MIDI settings on H9 (or in H9 Control). First, you need to figure out what MIDI message your SoftStep2's Key 5 is sending. Let's say if it's CC 121, you need to go to Pedal Settings->MIDI Settings->Assign MIDI CC messages to pedal functions->Tap Tempo, and set it to MIDI CC 121.

      • #149266
        cljfford
        Participant

        bohan wrote:

        Hi, since you have connected SoftStep2 to your H9 through a MIDI cable, you don’t need to choose the MIDI device in H9 Control, because that’s for something connected to your computer/mobile device rather than H9 itself.

        Yes, you do need to change some MIDI settings on H9 (or in H9 Control). First, you need to figure out what MIDI message your SoftStep2’s Key 5 is sending. Let’s say if it’s CC 121, you need to go to Pedal Settings->MIDI Settings->Assign MIDI CC messages to pedal functions->Tap Tempo, and set it to MIDI CC 121.

         

        A long overdue thank you for sending me this extra help. I want to follow up and contribute what I learned setting up my SoftStep 2 and two H9s. Thanks to everyone on the boards for the help getting me going. Once I got it set up I guess I lost a few months just playing around. It’s been really fun and productive. I made a screenshot of the LED management technique I found on the Keith MacMillan website, in case the Original Poster never got around to figuring it out. Thanks again for blazing the trail! You helped me so much, even though it took me what seemed like forever to figure this out. But in the interest of people getting down to it and making their music, here’s how I’ve done it. 

         

        My build uses the Keith McMillan MIDI Expander with the SoftStep 2. One H9 [FLWR] is on MIDI Channel 1 and the other H9 is on Channel 2. They are connected by a MIDI cable so 1 can pass messages to 2.

         

        PRESETS FOR THE H9s

        Because SoftStep 2 has presets that can be scrolled through using the Navigation Key, I made a preset for each pedal controlling: H9 Preset incrementation/ decrementation, Input & Output Gain, performance key, expression pedal, an active toggle for that individual pedal and an active toggle for both H9s at once. I also made a dual use Tap Tempo Key that, if you press it down and hold for a few seconds, activates the tuner. They are mostly the same preset values for either pedal so I was able to just copy the preset and assign the Output Settings to Channel to 2 for the second H9’s Preset.

         

        PARAMETER CONTROLS

        I also made a SoftStep 2 Preset Called KNB1 for the H9’s 1 through 10 “Set Parameter” CC numbers in “Assign MIDI CC messages to pedal functions” section of MIDI Settings in H9 Control. There are ten of these MIDI Controls and ten Keys on the Softstep so that works out pretty cleanly, although in performance they can be annoying because sometimes stepping on the Keys moves the value back to zero when I adjust the parameter. But it works to twist the knobs with my feet to find a sound in practice. As above, I made a clone of this SoftStep Preset and then edited the values for Channel 2 for the second H9’s parameters.

         

        I based the KNB1 layout on the TIMELINE Algorithm, so the Text Hints, by the keys, follow the GUI layout for TIMELINE. I had to do some experimentation to figure out which MIDI CC# to assign to which Key so the physical layout of the SoftStep Keys would match the way the knobs are placed in H9 Control. There are six knobs in the H9 control on top so it’s offset by one, which means that the top right knob is controlled by the bottom left key, which isn’t ideal. Now that I think of it, I should try putting FEEDBACK B on Key 5 all the way to the bottom right and sliding the others over to the left so the left most Key matches the left most bottom Knob. That’s not how it will be in the screenshots though.

         

        In conclusion, I think I’m going to wind up making other presets that directly activate particular algorithms, as the OP did. But hopefully this post is useful to anyone lucky enough to have this particualr combo to play with.

      • #149311
        cljfford
        Participant
        Quote:

        PARAMETER CONTROLS

        I also made a SoftStep 2 Preset Called KNB1 for the H9’s 1 through 10 “Set Parameter” CC numbers in “Assign MIDI CC messages to pedal functions” section of MIDI Settings in H9 Control. There are ten of these MIDI Controls and ten Keys on the Softstep so that works out pretty cleanly, although in performance they can be annoying because sometimes stepping on the Keys moves the value back to zero when I adjust the parameter. But it works to twist the knobs with my feet to find a sound in practice. As above, I made a clone of this SoftStep Preset and then edited the values for Channel 2 for the second H9’s parameters.

         

        I based the KNB1 layout on the TIMELINE Algorithm, so the Text Hints, by the keys, follow the GUI layout for TIMELINE. I had to do some experimentation to figure out which MIDI CC# to assign to which Key so the physical layout of the SoftStep Keys would match the way the knobs are placed in H9 Control. There are six knobs in the H9 control on top so it’s offset by one, which means that the top right knob is controlled by the bottom left key, which isn’t ideal. Now that I think of it, I should try putting FEEDBACK B on Key 5 all the way to the bottom right and sliding the others over to the left so the left most Key matches the left most bottom Knob. That’s not how it will be in the screenshots though.

         

         

        One of the things I’m trying to improve with my setup is the response of the pressure sensitive SoftStep2 keys when used as a kind of Expression Pedal or H9 parameter knob turner. The SoftStep 2 will interface with an actual expression pedal but I don’t have room on my board for another one and I’d never have room for ten, which is kind of what the KNB1 Preset idea, above, is going for. As I wrote above, sometimes the knob’s values jump to zero and then increment again. But, to be more specific, other unwanted behaviors are that the knobs go instantly from lowest to highest value with no in-between or that they don’t go to the top of the range, even when I’ve got all my weight on the key.

        On the SoftStep2 Advanced Editor side, there are sensitivity, offset and gain parameters I can tweak and posts have been made on their forum describing similar issues with Ableton Live, for instance. So far, my tweaking hasn’t yielded much improvement- but I’ve only begun to experiment. It seems, from those Keith McMillan forums, that I might not be able to expect fine grain control but I’d like to better understand what I can do to make the controller interface with H9 better than my current results.

        My big ask here now is, if the SoftStep2 is outputting MIDI CC messages as linear values 0-127, how does that relate to what the H9 parameters 1-10 listen for? i.e. In H9 Control/ SpaceTime, the parameter MIX shows a value 0-100, MOD RATE shows 0.05 -12.50 Hz, DECAY & DELAY B’s values aren’t really linear as they activate different modes.

        Ideally, I’d like a sweep of the SoftStep key to bring the H9 parameter from 0-100 or through it’s non-linear progression of options, i.e ModFactor SHAPE. Do I need to; is there a way to program or account for the difference between 0-127 and whatever incrementation the H9 parameters have?

        Secondly, for H9 parameters that have their Expression Pedal Patch programmed, limited to a set range, how does that interface with the MIDI values 0-127? Is 0 the start of the range or would H9 ignore all pressure states that send a message less than the value of the patch’s floor and above its ceiling?

        surprise I can’t believe I have thought about this so much, especially since the H9 Control App is so easy to use. Except that it’s fun to play with stuff with my feet and the iPhone interface is split between two screens, so it’s a couple extra touches to see everything. 

      • #149313
        bohan
        Moderator
        Eventide Staff
        cljfford wrote:

        Quote:

        PARAMETER CONTROLS

        I also made a SoftStep 2 Preset Called KNB1 for the H9’s 1 through 10 “Set Parameter” CC numbers in “Assign MIDI CC messages to pedal functions” section of MIDI Settings in H9 Control. There are ten of these MIDI Controls and ten Keys on the Softstep so that works out pretty cleanly, although in performance they can be annoying because sometimes stepping on the Keys moves the value back to zero when I adjust the parameter. But it works to twist the knobs with my feet to find a sound in practice. As above, I made a clone of this SoftStep Preset and then edited the values for Channel 2 for the second H9's parameters.

         

        I based the KNB1 layout on the TIMELINE Algorithm, so the Text Hints, by the keys, follow the GUI layout for TIMELINE. I had to do some experimentation to figure out which MIDI CC# to assign to which Key so the physical layout of the SoftStep Keys would match the way the knobs are placed in H9 Control. There are six knobs in the H9 control on top so it’s offset by one, which means that the top right knob is controlled by the bottom left key, which isn’t ideal. Now that I think of it, I should try putting FEEDBACK B on Key 5 all the way to the bottom right and sliding the others over to the left so the left most Key matches the left most bottom Knob. That’s not how it will be in the screenshots though.

         

         

        One of the things I'm trying to improve with my setup is the response of the pressure sensitive SoftStep2 keys when used as a kind of Expression Pedal or H9 parameter knob turner. The SoftStep 2 will interface with an actual expression pedal but I don't have room on my board for another one and I'd never have room for ten, which is kind of what the KNB1 Preset idea, above, is going for. As I wrote above, sometimes the knob's values jump to zero and then increment again. But, to be more specific, other unwanted behaviors are that the knobs go instantly from lowest to highest value with no in-between or that they don't go to the top of the range, even when I've got all my weight on the key.

        On the SoftStep2 Advanced Editor side, there are sensitivity, offset and gain parameters I can tweak and posts have been made on their forum describing similar issues with Ableton Live, for instance. So far, my tweaking hasn't yielded much improvement- but I've only begun to experiment. It seems, from those Keith McMillan forums, that I might not be able to expect fine grain control but I'd like to better understand what I can do to make the controller interface with H9 better than my current results.

        My big ask here now is, if the SoftStep2 is outputting MIDI CC messages as linear values 0-127, how does that relate to what the H9 parameters 1-10 listen for? i.e. In H9 Control/ SpaceTime, the parameter MIX shows a value 0-100, MOD RATE shows 0.05 -12.50 Hz, DECAY & DELAY B's values aren't really linear as they activate different modes.

        Ideally, I'd like a sweep of the SoftStep key to bring the H9 parameter from 0-100 or through it's non-linear progression of options, i.e ModFactor SHAPE. Do I need to; is there a way to program or account for the difference between 0-127 and whatever incrementation the H9 parameters have?

        Secondly, for H9 parameters that have their Expression Pedal Patch programmed, limited to a set range, how does that interface with the MIDI values 0-127? Is 0 the start of the range or would H9 ignore all pressure states that send a message less than the value of the patch's floor and above its ceiling?

        surprise I can't believe I have thought about this so much, especially since the H9 Control App is so easy to use. Except that it's fun to play with stuff with my feet and the iPhone interface is split between two screens, so it's a couple extra touches to see everything. 

        Although some parameters have discrete values, you may just think it as continuous. The values step continuously but the knob moves linearly. Just play around the mapping values, control your MIDI device or expression pedal while looking at the H9 Control UI, you may figure it out easily.

        For MIDI controlling expression pedal, MIDI 0 is the starts of all mapped knobs, and 127 is the ends of all mappings. 

    • #151784
      Guybrush
      Participant

      Hello there,

      Just a simple question there concerning H9 and Softstep : is it possible to connect directly the Softstep into the USB port of H9 to control it? 

      It is what I guess from first post… but it’s a fantasy! Tell me !

      All the best,

      Joseph

      • #151788
        cljfford
        Participant
        Guybrush wrote:

        Hello there,

        Just a simple question there concerning H9 and Softstep : is it possible to connect directly the Softstep into the USB port of H9 to control it? 

        It is what I guess from first post… but it’s a fantasy! Tell me !

        All the best,

        Joseph

        I never tried that making the connection that way but don’t think it would work. That’s not how it’s done in the documention.

        The SoftStep 2 has two usb cable inputs. One to go to a computer, for programming, and another to go to the KM MIDI Expander to interface with musical gear, like the H9. See https://www.keithmcmillen.com/products/accessories/

        The MIDI Expander itself has two usb cable inputs. One USB cable input for designated power and another to connect to the SoftStep2.

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