Author Topic: MIdi, LSP, and honest feedback  (Read 3524 times)

Offline GrumpkaXmas

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MIdi, LSP, and honest feedback
« on: July 29, 2014, »
Hey everyone.  Haven't posted much as of late.   However, I've been hard at work on my Lynx Express builds.   I'm ready to start sequencing (I think).   I've been trying to get some answers about LSP.   This seems to be the most active place to ask this question of the LSP users here on DIYA.

1) Does anyone use a midi device to record/sequence via live input into the grid?  (IE:  assign midi note to channel, play midi note while in record mode, and play it back successfully). 
2) FOllow up, if so, does it drop notes?  How well does this feature work? 
3) Can you also create a 'chase' or other macro/sequence that could be triggered/placed by a midi note press?  (IE: I want to trigger a leaping arch channel 1-8 chase by pressing just the 'C' note at appropriate points in the song)
4) I have plans on using many BOBCAT servo boards.   May I program a knob/slide to control LSP?  I'd like to record live servo movement via a midi knob, and have LSP play back that data in the sequence for 3 axis skull heads, animated props, and whatever crazy stuff I dream up.   

I'm thinking about purchasing LSP, but so many posts about crashes, stumbles, errors, and some even saying the whole midi/OSC/input recording system is a bust.   I'm really just looking for some feedback from real users who have experience and are on 2.8.    Without that confidence, I don't think I'll feel good about setting my show up with LSP.   

Hoping to hear from some folks here on DIYA.   This show will be almost all Lynx Express controllers.  Either using a E1.31 Bridge or a DMX dongle that has been testes at length for long periods.   (Entec Pro comp).  Windows 7 32bit or 64 bit,  Doesn't matter to me, I'll go with what you guys tell me. 

Thanks in advance for any insight you are willing to share.  I like what I see with LSP, but I only tested the demo.  Midi doesn't work on the 2.8 demo.   Plus, I have no real way to get a true feel for LSP in reality.  Things act much different when talking to E1.31 and/or a dongle.  Oh, I plan on only 160 DMX channels this year.  All traditional strings, Lynx Express.  Next year, I want to do at least 500-600 channels.  I'll still be DMX and most likely all Lynx Express.  I'm assuming this is cake walk for LSP to handle....
« Last Edit: July 29, 2014, by GrumpkaXmas »
Steve from NJ, AKA Grumpka Xmas
I don't get on the forums as much as I'd like but you can find me on Facebook. 
2014-First Year in the hobby.  15+ Lynx Express controllers

Offline MrChristmas2000

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Re: MIdi, LSP, and honest feedback
« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2014, »
No, actually the facebook LSP users group is even more active than here.

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You are certainly welcome to join in the conversations there.

MrChristmas2k

Offline arw01

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Re: MIdi, LSP, and honest feedback
« Reply #2 on: July 30, 2014, »
I see a post on LSP forums where a developer offered to craft you special license key to expire sometime in the future so you can test it out yourself.

One has to remember that you will always find more negative on anything on the internet than positive.  When it works people just don't post about it as much.

Love my LSP, worth every penny.  And as someone else pointed out, the % of expenditure in software for this hobby, is a tiny percentage of what we put into everything else, but it's the most critical piece, without it, the show does not go on!

ALan

Offline taybrynn

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Re: MIdi, LSP, and honest feedback
« Reply #3 on: July 30, 2014, »
LSP started its lifespan being developed by one person and while very very advanced and feature rich, it had some bugs, some critical bugs with things like the show player.  I have heard rumors testing may have been "lax" in the early years ... but regardless,  In the last 1-2 years under David, he really stabilized it, got it tested by a larger group and addressed many of the bugs and shortcomings that were widely reported.  After being sold to Minleon, the stabilizing process has continued and LSP seems to have matured a lot.  I still don't know if any software offers what it does or with the range of supported hardware and protocols.  It depends on your needs, but LSP has a lot to offer, but the learning curve is fairly steep at first.  Compared to LOR (which I was more used to) is could do a lot more ... and blew away LOR on the RGB side of things.    If your needs are more simple, xlights/nutcracker may be all you need.  It almost sounds like you want to do a live show of some kind ... and if thats the case, LSP may be the best fit I know of, not sure its a perfect fit, but it did have Wii controls which is more akin to a live show ... but most I knew didn't use it or found it mostly a gimmick feature.
Scott - Castle Rock, Colorado   [ 2 homes, 100% RGB in 2016; since 2008; over 32k channels of E1.31 ]
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Offline GrumpkaXmas

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Re: MIdi, LSP, and honest feedback
« Reply #4 on: July 30, 2014, »
Thanks Guys.   I agree about the negative aspect of the internet.  I few folks had expressed that I'd be disappointed with the midi input side of LSP.  That is the reason I would buy it (the midi ability that is).  It would save me a lot of time coming up with my own combination of software to do what I want.  What I want is to play my midi keyboard to the audio track, record the midi keyboard as light channel trigger/ sequence trigger, and play it all back for my show.  It's the alternative to a mouse click grid based system.  I want the creative freedom to play my light show.   I had success with this idea years ago on a straight midi-to light controller and a simple midi sequencing program.   The fact that LSP states this is a feature and one they actually point out as a headline feature, makes me want to spend the $249.00 right now.   The 'negative' feedback about this exact feature being non-functional/not accurate or buggy keeps me from pushing the BUY button. :(

I must say though, I personally really like the interface of LSP based on the demo.   I didn't see anything about a special offer to unlock the software for a limited time, but I'll check back in over on the LSP forum.   That would be great.  Heck, even if a person or two on the forums told me YES, I use midi and it works great, That would be good enough for me.... Just haven't seen anything on the subject matter in that was a positive result....

Thanks again guys.   Hopefully, I'll LSP will be my software package.
Steve from NJ, AKA Grumpka Xmas
I don't get on the forums as much as I'd like but you can find me on Facebook. 
2014-First Year in the hobby.  15+ Lynx Express controllers

Offline arw01

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Re: MIdi, LSP, and honest feedback
« Reply #5 on: July 30, 2014, »
my daughter that has a keyboard that probably has midi out, but figuring out the cables, how to make things listen, seemed daunting to play.

See if they will extended your option for the sale while you test it, since it will be hard to really test it in 1 day and decide to buy or not buy  ;P

Offline taybrynn

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Re: MIdi, LSP, and honest feedback
« Reply #6 on: July 30, 2014, »
Wow, thats a really interesting idea/plan you have there.  I would never do it, but I also don't have the skill to even try.  I know LOR always had the ability to use MIDI files for sequencing, which would mean you would just need a way to record them and then import the .midi file into the software to establish your initial sequence.  I'm not sure what the LSP feature is exactly, but I did read that "You can use Korg's nano device drive to input into LSP but that's about it for MIDI" ... and that only the Korg was supported.  So like many things in LSP, its kind of a gimmick unless that fits your needs exactly.  Personally, you could import into LOR (possibly the free version), save it as an .lms sequence file ... then import into xlights/nutcracker and do that all for free, possibly.

Also, LSP does not output to MIDI devices, just allows the Korg to serve as an input device ... and even then, not sure who has used it.  I would not buy it just to find out, unless someone can tell you for sure in advance.

« Last Edit: July 30, 2014, by taybrynn »
Scott - Castle Rock, Colorado   [ 2 homes, 100% RGB in 2016; since 2008; over 32k channels of E1.31 ]
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Offline MrChristmas2000

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Re: MIdi, LSP, and honest feedback
« Reply #7 on: July 30, 2014, »
Now confirmed by Ryan.

Just as I thought had been covered in the QCC meetings is that the MIDI and Wii functionality has been taken out of the scheduler.


Offline taybrynn

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Re: MIdi, LSP, and honest feedback
« Reply #8 on: July 30, 2014, »
Another option might be to use audacity and possibly come up with some timings from that (it probably takes MIDI input) ... and then throw it into xlights/nutcracker. 
Scott - Castle Rock, Colorado   [ 2 homes, 100% RGB in 2016; since 2008; over 32k channels of E1.31 ]
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Offline GrumpkaXmas

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Re: MIdi, LSP, and honest feedback
« Reply #9 on: July 30, 2014, »
Well, sad to hear that they removed midi.   They really need to remove that from the feature list asap.   It's boasted about in a couple places.  I was attracted to LSP based on the features being listed on the home page and feature sheet.   That should be updated I guess.

So you don't think I'm crazy,  here is the proof of concept video.  Whether LSP is going to do this or not, there is definately a movement toward DMX controlled from DAW and Midi software.   DMXIS is a VST plugin which give Ableton Live, FL Studio and many other packages the ability to control DMX lighting right from those packages.

I'm going the free/cheap route, so I may share with the lighting enthusiasts who enjoy midi and want to record shows live for playback.
I mention details in the video.  I don't want to get off topic here though...  So, we can talk about that in a new thread if there is interest and it is appropriate conversation for DIYA.

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This is an LSP thread, so out of respect for LSP and those who enjoy it,  I'll say that I'm very impressed with the interface as a whole.  If I were to end up going the route of point/click show creation, I'd pick LSP hands down.   I liked it right from the demo, even without midi.  It's much more feature rich and I think professional than other options I've seen.   So, I want to leave that on a high note.  I personally have nothing against LSP, beyond this confusion about MIDI/OSC in put options....

THanks again guys.  I'll continue to follow LSP on Facebook and maybe I can shed some light  <fp.  on why midi is a great thing to keep in LSP.   I won't give up! ;)
« Last Edit: July 30, 2014, by GrumpkaXmas »
Steve from NJ, AKA Grumpka Xmas
I don't get on the forums as much as I'd like but you can find me on Facebook. 
2014-First Year in the hobby.  15+ Lynx Express controllers

Offline arw01

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Re: MIdi, LSP, and honest feedback
« Reply #10 on: July 30, 2014, »
They removed midi from the scheduler, not the sequencer.  The scheduler just plays a show, were you planning to have midi output during the show too or just when you created the lighting effects in the sequencer?

Offline GrumpkaXmas

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Re: MIdi, LSP, and honest feedback
« Reply #11 on: July 30, 2014, »
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They removed midi from the scheduler, not the sequencer.  The scheduler just plays a show, were you planning to have midi output during the show too or just when you created the lighting effects in the sequencer?

I had no expectations beyond the ability to create the sequences using midi instead of the traditional drop/drag mouse click method we all currently are use to.   I wanted to use a midi controller to input the events.  Once the events are recorded to a layer/sequence/track,  midi is not relative at all.

I'd think the scheduler wouldn't have a thing to do with midi, as that part of the process was long done.   It's simply the ability to tap out sequences live to the music, instead of 'programming' your show.   For me, this means I can get a pretty good show done in a very short time.  I'm not into pixels just yet, so most effects that I want to trigger are simply chases through groups of channels.   IE:  Leaping Arch,  Chases channels 1-16. Create the pattern.   Assign pattern to trigger when the C note is press.   Key press...pattern plays.... Key press....pattern plays... so on...    all recorded... Go back, press play on the sequencer, those events are now part of the sequence and midi has nothing more to do with it. 

Hope that explination comes across well   :-[
Steve from NJ, AKA Grumpka Xmas
I don't get on the forums as much as I'd like but you can find me on Facebook. 
2014-First Year in the hobby.  15+ Lynx Express controllers