Does anybody know a decent controller which has a better resolution than standard midi (128 steps)? I dream of an OSC controller with a lot of sliders and knobs 
hey @qwertoo,
there are several options using the standard midi protocol to achieve higher resolution.
Since midi 1.0 there is a special instruction in the protocol called “Pitch Bend Change”. It uses two MIDI bytes combined as 14 bits, resulting in 16384 steps.
Some controllers use that same dual pairing of standard CC messages, LSB (least siginificant byte) and MSB (most significant byte) to send 14 bit messages, others can only send 14 bits using so-called NRPN messages.
some hardware controllers which support high-resolution encoders:
- Faderfox SC4 , Faderfox UC3, Faderfox UC4
̶-̶ ̶D̶J̶ ̶T̶e̶c̶h̶t̶o̶o̶l̶s̶ ̶M̶i̶d̶i̶ ̶F̶i̶g̶h̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶T̶w̶i̶s̶t̶e̶r̶ (EDIT: the Fighter Twister turns out not to output highres midi) - Behringer BCF2000 and Behringer BCR2000
- Asparion D400 - DAW Controller
- Moog Little Phatty and Moog Slim Phatty
Not 100% sure about TouchDesigner support for all of these, but I assume it works if a controller can send out dual CC pairs, as the Midi In CHOP’s parameter “controller format” can be set to 14bits,
see docs: https://docs.derivative.ca/index.php?title=MIDI_In_CHOP#Parameters_-_Control_Page
Also see this thread:
There are probably many others which can send 14-bit, search the internet for midi controller with “high-resolution encoders”
1 Like
Hey @nettoyeur,
thank you for the insights. I guess i will either go for a Faderfox UC4 because I like faders and the Behringer BCF2000 is quite bulky.
Or I will build my own OSC or midi controller with a teensy board.
Just for clarity, the UC4 (and UC3) do support sending 14-bit messages from their faders but do not actually support 14-bit A/D. I confirmed this with the manufacturer directly as I own both controllers. The fader A/D is 7-bit, unfortunately.
The encoders, however, do support both 14-bit messages and A/D, so they are able to achieve higher resolution.
1 Like
Also, to add to Idzard’s list of higher resolution controllers, have a look at the Icon Platform M+. Their faders can resolve at 10-bit, and they are motorized like the Asparion D400. I believe they communicate via Pitch Bend, as they support Mackie Control protocol (also like the D400).
If you pair it with the D2 OLED display you’d have a pretty nice setup with scribble strips for under $500.
2 Likes
+1 for the Icon 10-bit fader series. Have used this on a real project, it’s awesome to have such precise control.
I purchased a Midi Fighter Twister, which claims to have high resolution, but either I am failing to locate this function or it is marketing.
While there is a function to turn an encoder from “responsive” to “high resolution” this seems to affect only the tactile handling of the encoder, and not the values actually coming into Touchdesigner. It’s still 0-127 … it just goes slower as you turn the dial.
EDIT: it seems you are correct @Mallin , while investigating this a bit I just found this thread saying it’s not outputting 14 bits: Midi Fighter Twister - 14 bit CC's
Sorry - I’ll remove the fighter twister from my post above - it seems best to return it if you want real highres output…
̶@̶M̶a̶l̶l̶i̶n̶ ̶T̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶s̶o̶u̶n̶d̶s̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶M̶S̶B̶ ̶p̶a̶r̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶a̶t̶a̶ ̶-̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶i̶n̶d̶e̶e̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶0̶-̶1̶2̶7̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶n̶o̶r̶m̶a̶l̶.̶ ̶ ̶I̶s̶n̶’̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶C̶C̶ ̶m̶e̶s̶s̶a̶g̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶L̶S̶B̶ ̶(̶o̶r̶ ̶f̶i̶n̶e̶t̶u̶n̶e̶)̶ ̶p̶a̶r̶t̶?̶
I also had the same problem with Midi Fighter Twister - the resolution is too coarse for some control purposes. Also I was hoping with the endless encoders I could have presets and then just reset them every song and adjust relatively but the values seem locked to the LED’s so it was no better than absolute reference from a pot. At least in the out of box setup. If anyone has found a way around this I would love to hear about it. I like the design generally but it seems to have a tough learning curve. It looks and feels gorgeous though, if you can live with 0-127…
The Icon 10bit fader series has had refresh, and now has 12bit faders, though I’ve not personally tried any of the units in the 12bit series out yet. P1-X - Icon Pro Audio
Additionally, the highest resolution controller I have used is the discontinued Monome Arc 4, with approximately 1000 steps of resolution per revolution per knob. There are various projects floating around the internet to make clones of this, though I’ve not personally built any of them.
Also of note is the new Asparion D700 controller series. I haven’t tried these hands on, but I own the D400 and the build quality is (subjectively) much higher than the Icon models.