Foot switch for macbook pro , USB ?

[Tom Brighton]

I want to start using DP for live performances and I want to be able to stop/start sequences VIA a foot controller , come to think of it , it would by great for punch ins/outs , anybody doing this , if so , How are you doing this ,
Thanks , Tom

[HCMarkus]

MOTU interfaces like my 828mkII have a footswitch jack. Mine is set for punch in and out. Very handy when recording solo.

[newrigel]

How are you going to use it... running VI's, MIDI or just audio? Would suck to have a hang or a crash during a gig. I know people doing it but there is someone always looking over the box and there are backup systems in case of a crash so this could be a shaky endeavor unless your just flying off audio... I wouldn't trust a DAW to trigger VI's unless it was a Receptor or something like that... good luck!

[azusa749a]

This one is pretty nice:
http://www.logidy.com/

[daniel.sneed]

I wouldn't trust a DAW to trigger VI's unless it was a Receptor or something like that... good luck!

I've been doing this on stage many times. My original 828 has a foot-switch socket. Any 828 release does have it, but Traveler and Ultralight don't.

I must admit you'll have to be extremely cautious about your setup. Crossing fingers may be not enough !

First of all don't push your system hard. Keep CPU and memory usage as low as possible. Hide any unneeded window. Close any unneeded app. Activity Monitor floating window is your friend to get informed about the session health : I sometimes reboot, cause of a weird and unexpected high CPU usage.

When you'll get an effective set, don't change anything to your system, nor to your project, before the end of the tour !
Even take care about keeping an exact constant powering, pluging, displaying and setting sequence. Changing a single little thing may lead to an unwanted result.
Make use of a defrag utility and Diskwarrior before beginning of the tour.
Test in real world conditions as many times as you can afford, prior tour beginning.

But whatsoever, you'll have to keep in mind a total wreck may happen though.
You'll have to build some *escape scenarios*, in case it's all gone south.

For exemple, I've got a bootable FW clone drive with everything that's on my system drive, and everything needed for the show.
But it takes me around 10 minutes to be ready to run on my Mac. It can also boot with another Mac, but then it's around 1 hour to be up and running !
Don't forget original, or clone, install CDs may be required for authorization, like with DP.

Just to avoid a *money-back*, or *show-canceled* situation, a basic CD, or even mp3 player, with everything you intend to play during show, is a must have for any extreme case.

I've been doing such things for six years now, and am still on business !

[newrigel]

I wouldn't trust a DAW to trigger VI's unless it was a Receptor or something like that... good luck!

I've been doing this on stage many times. My original 828 has a foot-switch socket. Any 828 release does have it, but Traveler and Ultralight don't.

I must admit you'll have to be extremely cautious about your setup. Crossing fingers may be not enough !

First of all don't push your system hard. Keep CPU and memory usage as low as possible. Hide any unneeded window Close any unneeded app. Activity Monitor floating window is your friend to get informed about the session health : I sometimes reboot, cause of a weird and unexpected CPU usage.

When you'll get an effective set, don't change anything to your system, nor to your project, before the end of the tour !
Even take care about keeping an exact constant powering, pluging, displaying and setting sequence. Changing a single little thing may lead to an unwanted result.
Make use of a defrag utility and Diskwarrior before beginning of the tour.
Test in real world conditions as many times as you can afford, prior tour beginning.

But whatsoever, you'll have to keep in mind a total wreck may happen though.
You'll have to build some *escape scenarios*, in case it's all gone south.

For exemple, I've got a bootable FW clone drive with everything that's on my system drive, and everything needed for the show.
But it takes me around 10 minutes to be ready to run on my Mac. It can also boot with another Mac, but then it's around 1 hour to be up and running !
Don't forget original, or clone, install CDs may be required for authorization, like with DP.

Just to avoid a *money-back*, or *show-canceled* situation, a basic CD, or even mp3 player, with everything you intend to play during show, is a must have for any extreme case.

I've been doing such things for six years now, and am still on business !

A friend does this and he uses concurrent BU systems... I just have a rack w 5 K2500's triggered by a KB player and keep the box @ home he he... no matter what you do a computer can crash but until it happens you don't know the harm it can cause in a really critical situation... rack mount samplers are dead cheap these days and for live the fidelity is overkill. The only way my rack of K2500's are going down is by the power going out he he.

[Tom Brighton]

Thank you for all your replies , I just want to run 4 to 8 bar MIDI sequences using Kontact Player for drums and an occasional Bass part . I have a macbook pro 2.53 gig , 4 gigs ram and a glyph 250 gig for Kontact and Battery Player using fire wire 800 . My audio interface is a NI audio control 1 . I want to be able to start and stop the sequence and have the sequence start from the beginning after it has been stopped . That is the only way I can think of having some control and not being a slave to the Click .
I have a roland handsonic for backup , why don't I just use the Handsonic you might say , I really like Kontact ,or Battery for their realism . Foot switch on the 828 sounds perfect , but I would like to find a solution with what I have ,
Thanks , Tom