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”