SoftStep and Strymon Timeline

[kajitokenka]

I'm a new SoftStep user (and primarily a guitar player) interested in two applications for the controller: looping in Ableton Live and controlling my Strymon Timeline delay pedal. After about a week, I've had some success programming it to work with Live, but I can't get it to do anything with the Timeline. There are lots of ways I'd like to manipulate the Timeline using SS, but here's something concrete I've been struggling with. If I could just get this to work I'd be pretty happy.

The CC# for scrolling through Tap Division (quarter, dotted eighth, eighth, triplet, sixteenth) in the Timeline is 21, and the velocity range is 0-4 (0 for quarter, 1 for dotted eighth, etc). With an Akai LPD-8, it's a cinch to set one of the knobs to send CC21 with a range of 0-4, which lets me scroll through the division settings. I should mention that I have the Timeline connected by a MIDI cable to an Mbox2 running into my iMac. In Ableton I create a MIDI track set to receive MIDI from the LPD-8 and send MIDI to the Timeline through Port 1 of the Mbox. Piece of cake.

Now when I try the same thing with the SS, nothing's happening on the Timeline. I set Key 6 to "Foot On" with "Counter Inc" for the Table. I set the Key Counter range from 0 to 4, and I set the destination to CC 21. In the SS Editor, it looks like this results in a setting where I'm scrolling through velocities of 0 to 4 for CC 21, which should produce the same effect in the Timeline as I get with the LPD-8, but no dice. Literally nothing happens on the Timeline. I tried mapping Key 6 to other random settings in Live and confirmed that it's sending CC21, but for some reason the message doesn't seem to be reaching the Timeline in a way it recognizes.

From what I've described, can anyone spot an obvious mistake I'm making? Or alternatively, is there another way to do what I'm trying to do? If I can get the SS to work with the Timeline in Hosted mode via the computer, I'm seriously considering getting the MIDI expander, but I don't want to spend the extra cash until I can verify that it's possible. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[kajitokenka]

Good news -- it's working now! I'm not sure what changed. Same settings in SoftStep Editor, same routing in Ableton, but today it worked. Maybe the order in which everything is connected and turned on makes a difference? Anyway, I'm encouraged.

I like switching back and forth between quarter-note and dotted-eighth delay settings on the fly, but the only way to change this in Timeline is to hop through a few menus. Now with SoftStep I have a dedicated button for that purpose. Since I realized I really only use quarter and dotted eighth, I changed the Key Counter range to 0-1, and voila.

I don't know if there are any other Timeline users out there, but I'll keep posting just in case. A Softstep configured to adjust Timeline parameters like repeats, mix, filter, grit etc could be pretty amazing.

[kajitokenka]

More good news. I was able to set up the SoftStep to control global parameters in the Timeline (tap div, mix, repeats, delay type, grit) as well as looper functions. Maybe I'm just being superstitious, but it seems that plugging in the SoftStep and opening the Editor before opening Live might be making a difference.

At any rate, the combination of SoftStep and Timeline is pretty exciting.

[dirk]

Well if it helps, I always plug my SS in first and wait the usual few minutes for it to come to life, then my daw after that. I don't think superstition has anything to do with it.
Dirk

[Kaspar]

For me, SoftStep is recognised by my DAW only if I press a button on the SS before opening the DAW.
So that the display shows the bank or key name.
If the display just blinks "Soft", "Step", it is not recognised.

EDIT: I use stand alone mode.

[dm483]

@ kajitokenka

'nother SS noob here...

I've been trying to get SS control of my Timeline's Looper functions without much success. I've got a KMI expander, and so have avoided routing MIDI through my DAW, and have been trying both Hosted and Standalone modes but get pretty much the same results regardless.

What I'd like to do is set the SS buttons 1 thru 9 to control the following params of the Timeline:
1 = Rec/Overdub
2 = Play
3 = Stop
4 = Undo (to initial loop)
5 = Redo
6 = Reverse loop (toggle)
7 = Half/Normal/Double speed (toggle)
8 = Pre/Post (toggle)
9 = Looper level (0-17)

I've tried numerous different Sources, Tables and Destinations in the Modulation Lines to create either CC or Note data to send to the Timeline but nothing seems to work reliably. I can get some results but, for instance, the Reverse will only switch on, not off, and usually needs a couple of presses of the SS button to activate even though Sensor View and the onboard LEDs of the SS indicate a detected press.

Could you share your scenes for the Timeline controls, or list the params you've had success in using?

[dirk]

Can't help you with the Strymon specifically, but it's totally doable with all the things you're looking to do in a software looper called Mobius. So it should be quite easy with hardware too.
Good luck,
Dirk

[dm483]

Yeah... I've had some results communicating with the Timeline but, like I said, nothing reliable. I figured it must be how my Mod Lines were configured in my SS Scene as the Timeline has little in the way of configurable MIDI options.

Those Looper functions of the Timeline can be triggered using either CC or Note On signals, and I tried both. According to Strymon's literature, with CCs any value will trigger the function save the Level function which accepts values from 0 to 17. Notes have to be velocity greater than 0. All this seems pretty simple but I can't get the functions to switch reliably.

I haven't had time to try and control the Timeline from another controller, which may shed some light on my problem, but I really need a foot controller as I use the Timeline with a guitar and a pad controller or key controller doesn't really suit that workflow.

I'm encouraged to know that kajitokenka has got it working though. At least I know for sure it can be done, just not how to do it

[dirk]

Perhaps worth trying a y latch CC maybe? I've had success with that before on some things like midi bypass, anything other than 127 and it stays, hit full pressure and it changes state quite efficiently.
Good luck,
Dirk

[dm483]

Thanks Dirk, the Y Latch does seem to work better than anything I'd attempted so far. I'll keep fildin' away until I get it sorted, I'm sure.