While it has been several weeks since the massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan, the problems are far from over. Nuclear disaster, piles of waste, destroyed landscapes, ruined industries, and chronic power shortages are part of daily life in a country that has taught us all a lot about modern life in the past decades.

As electronic artists, the ingenuity and artistry from Japan has touched us all, so we want to help out in a time of need.

We’re putting up some special edition block controllers for auction. Hand finished japanese bamboo wood sides, and red LEDs make these controllers one of a kind. We’re donating ALL proceeds (that means if the controller sells for $1000, we donate $1000) to the Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami relief effort by the Red Cross, so the more this gets out, the more we can raise in these auctions!

We are only making 2 of these limited editions, you can view the auctions here:

Auction #1
Auction #2

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news by Jay

Hi, this Hawk the intern here at Livid and I’m here to teach you how to use a Livid Code midi controller to manipulate the iElectribe app for your iPad!  You can download the code editor mapping preset here, or follow my tutorial and program it yourself.  Then you can try customizing it to your preferences and if you have a Livid Block too, you can plug into a multi-usb hub and program both to get maximum control. But let’s start with the Code first.

In this tutorial I am using a prototype code controller with a built in iPad dock, but this will work with any code.

Here is a step-by-step tutorial:

Plug your Code into the computer and then open the code editor. For reference you can go here for the complete midi mapping instructions.

It’s important to know that iElectribe uses channel 10 for all messages, so you’ll need to reassign all of the controls to channel 10 when you do your mapping. You can either follow the mapping instructions below, or just go here to download the preset for Code editor that does it for you.

Now to start mapping buttons and knobs, you can click on them with your mouse or touch the corresponding button/knob on the actual code.

I began by assigning the bottom row of buttons to correspond to the instruments of the drum machine.  From left to right: synth 1, synth 2, synth 3, synth 4, HH closed, HH open, cymbal, and clap/snare.   To do this, assign code buttons 38 – 45 to note values 36, 38, 40, 41, 42, 46, 49, and 39 (respectively from L to R).   Also, assign all the channels of these buttons to channel 10.

Make sure to press update each time you assign a button, and at this point hit “send” and “save to code.”  You can also hit the “store” button to save these settings to a preset in the code editor.

If you want to, you can unplug the code and plug it into the iPad via a powered usb hub (the iPad alone doesn’t power the code) and test it out.  Each time you press a button on the bottom row, it should activate the corresponding drum machine button.

Now let’s plug back in to the computer.  *Note that you might have to restart the code editor and pick back up from your saved preset.

Next, begin to assign each of the knobs or ‘encoders’ of the Code.  Each column of knobs will affect the drum machine instrument below it and the row will designate the type of change which will occur.  I have programmed mine to affect pitch, mod depth, mod speed, and decay.  (I might also suggest substituting decay for level but for this example, we’ll stick to decay).

The top row (Code knobs ENC1-ENC8) will be mapped to control the pitch of each instrument.  Make sure to set the ‘type’ to ctl and the channel to 10.  From the left to right, the values should be 15, 28, 42, 55, 68, 81, 94, and 107.  Hit “save”, “send to code” and “store” at this point if you have not.

The 2nd row (Code knobs ENC9-ENC16) will control mod depth.  Set all as ‘ctl’ on channel 10 and assign values 17, 30, 44, 57, 70, 83, 96, and 109 from L to R.

The 3rd row (Code knobs ENC17-ENC24) will control mod speed.  Set all as ‘ctl’ on channel 10 and assign values 18, 31, 45, 58, 71, 84, 97, and 110 from L to R.

The 4th row (Code knobs ENC25-ENC32) will control decay.  Set all as ‘ctl’ on channel 10 and assign values 20, 34, 47, 60, 73, 86, 99, and 112 from L to R.

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news by admin

A couple weeks ago, I participated in a terrific event called “DIY Instrument Tailgate Party” at Stanford University, hosted by Stanford Lively Arts and Thingamajigs, and Oakland-based arts group. All sorts of instruments were presented by a wide selection of Bay Area experimentalists. Musical devices were shown and played, using high tech Kinect camera vision, motor-driven robots, a giant tesla coil, a plate of steel, and even cardboard and plywood.

I made one of the smaller devices, using our Brain controller and Builder parts. Using 16 photoresistors pulled from a Jameco grabbag, I wired them into the Turn boards and made a simple Max patch to create the Photosynthesizer. Operated by light and shadow, it was a nice experiement in building an alternative controller, and a good example of a weekend project for the Brain.
Here’s some pictures and videos that explain how to get something like a photoresistor working with the Brain, as well as some photos of the event itself.

First, here’s a guide to hooking up a photoresistor to the brain, and getting MIDI output. While I specifically show a photoresistor in this movie, the basic premise of using a voltage divider (aka pulldown resistors) is true for any sort of 2-lead sensor, like a flex sensor, temperature sensor, or others.

Once I made sure it worked on the breadboard, I had to move it to the Turn board, and repeat 16 times. Of course, I wanted to make sure that I had everything right before I soldered it down. Here’s a tip on making sure you have your wires hooked up right to the Breakout board before you solder it down:

While building, I took some pictures of progress. One thing I did was to put the breakout boards underneath the 4×4 Turn board, which made it pretty easy to put together and reduced the footprint. It also gave the device some “legs” so it would sit stably on a table. Following those pictures are just a few pics from the event and a couple of movies. Enjoy!

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projects by Peter

While a lot of people have seen our short introduction of CellDNA and Max for Live video, not as many have chased the link to the comprehensive tutorial. I’m all for an educated population, so I’m posting this so you can see how easy it is to setup, and discover the world of possibility that these seemingly simple devices offer!

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uncategorized by Peter

Below is a repository of applications and scripts for our controllers. Thanks to the community and people supporting our instruments.

CNTRL:R Remote Script for Ableton Live
Maps the CNTRL:R to a variety of functions in Ableton Live, and provides access to controlling the Max for Live Modules
Download v 1.0 > CNTRL:R Remote Script
Installers: these install both the Remote Script and the Max For Live device(s).
Download > Mac
Download > Windows

CNTRL:R Drum Stepp:r Max for Live Module

A comprehensive step sequencer for Drum Racks in Ableton Live. Requires Max for Live. This is a full project with a sample Drum Rack made with instruments from Simpler.
Download v 0.93 > Drum Stepp:r

CNTRL:R Traktor Map
CNTRL:R Traktor Map for CNTRL:R by Robert Vela.
Mapping  |  TSI Download

OhmModes Remote Script for Ableton Live
OhmModes turns the Ohm RGB and Ohm64 into three virtual control surfaces for Ableton Live, geared towards Mixing, Playing, and DJing. Manual included in the zip file, or you can refer to the wiki.
Download v1.14 > Ohm64 & OhmRGB

Basic Remote Scripts for Ableton Live
Ohm64 and Block script created by Mike Chenetz from max4live.info. Code script created by Livid. Requires Ableton Live 8+
Download > Ohm64 | Block | Code

Installation notes:
MAC – Right click on the Live App icon and put the Ohm64 (or block or Code) folder in Contents/App-Resources/MIDI Remote Scripts
Windows > C:\Program Files\Ableton\Live \Resources\MIDI Remote Scripts
When you open live go to the preferences and select Ohm64 (block,Code) in the control surface preferences, and the input/output prefs.

Monomodular
An incredibly sophisticated remote script for Ableton Live and the Ohm64 and Block created by aumhaa. Also includes popular monome applications that run inside of Max for Live.
Download: Monomodular

Ableton Live DJ Remote Script
DJ specific Ableton Live remote script created for the Ohm64 created by Kevin at ofrecordings.com.
Product Info

Native Kontrol – Ohm64
nativeKONTROL omComponent Series is a collection of Presets for Livid Instruments Ohm64 that transform the Ohm into an advanced control surface for Ableton Live
Product Info

Native Kontrol – Block
nativeKONTROL blockLive is a Preset for Livid Instruments Block that turns the controller into a powerful control surface for Ableton Live 8.
Product Info

AUTONOHM
Novation style automap for Ableton Live, created by Demian. AUTONOHM adds 32 midi pages for the grid, with a simple intuitive menu and other features.
Download

Code Control
Max for Live device for the Code controller created by Veedjee.
Product Info

Reason 4 Remote Files
These installers provide the necessary files so the block and Ohm64 is automatically mapped to devices in Propellerhead’s Reason. You can designate the block or Ohm64 as the master keyboard as well as navigate the software. Every device has a unique mapping, and is detailed in the PDF manual.
Mac | Windows
Device mappings PDF

Reason 5 Remote Files
These are the block and Ohm64 Remote Script files for Propellerhead’s Reason 5 and Record 1.5 Although they should be part of the Reason/Record installation, this download also provides full documentation for the mappings.
Download here

REX Jockey
Created by Peff, REX Jockey contains remote maps for Reason5 and a demo session for the Ohm64.
Product Info 

Ohm64 Native Instruments Traktor Mapping
These installers provide the necessary files so the Ohm64 is automatically mapped to Native Instruments Traktor DJ Software.
Download > Traktor Map Files
Video Overview

OhmRGB Native Instruments Traktor Mapping
Multicolor Traktor mapping created by Robert Vela.
Download > Traktor Map Files | Mapping Guide
Video Overview

MLRV
Standalone software (requires Max Runtime) MLRV natively supports the Ohm64 and Block. Works natively, no additional applications are needed. Select the device in setup.
Download > MLRV2

Aurex Sequencers
Ableton LiveSequencers created by DJ Aurex for Ohm, Block and Code
Download

Monome Bridge v013
Monome bridge allows you to run monome applications.
Download > Mac | Windows
Download > Max/MSP source

Ohm64Sound FMsynth v06
A simple FM synth application. An excellent Max example and standalone noisemaker.
Download > Mac | Windows
Download > Max/MSP source
Video overview

Duplex for Renoise 2.6
Duplex is a flexible system for using external controllers in Renoise and supports the OHM64 controller. It’s based on Renoise’s built-in scripting, so anyone can extend and modify the implementation.
Download > Duplex

LividSampler v3 beta
A simple and extremely easy to use sampling application lets you easily assign and edit sounds for each button in the 64 button grid of the Ohm or block controllers. The standalone will automatically detect the Ohm64, block, or Code controller – no hardware setup or MIDI learn necessary. Plug in takes notes 0-63 to play each sound.
Download > Mac | Windows
Download > LividSampler Source
More > about

LividStep – Max For Live Device and Standalone
Livid Step provides up to eight tracks of traditional step sequencing, with expanded control over time, step assignments, instrument control, and even improvisation.
Download > Max for Live Devices | Standalone for Mac | Standalone for Windows

Cycling 74 Max Patches
This patch and associated files make it very easy to integrate a Livid controller into Max/MSP. Cycling 74′s Max5 required to use these.
Download > Livid And Max | Livid And Max – Generic | Max Synth | Code Setup | Basic Step Sequencer

Madrix Map
Madrix LED lighting control software that supports the Ohm64. Works natively, no additional applications are needed.
Download > controller map

Arkaos Grand VJ
Arkaos’ GrandVJ natively supports the Ohm64 and Block. Works natively, no additional applications are needed. Select the Map on startup.
Download > GrandVJ demo

Luminair
Ipad and Iphone lighting software that supports the Ohm64.
Download > product info

Ohm2Resolume
This is a MAX project to make Livid’s controller talk to VJ-app Resolume Avenue and vice versa. Create by Tschoepler
More > product info

If you see anything missing or that needs to be added, contact us here.

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controller apps by Jay