releasing (free) Ctrlr editor/librarian panels for various DSI/Sequential synths

I’m releasing program editor / librarian “panels” that I’ve written for the Ctrlr application - available on GitHub for free under the GNU Public License:

https://github.com/synthmutt/CtrlrPanelSequential

Ctrlr is an open-source application which runs on macOS, Windows and Linux, as a standalone app and as a VST plug-in (and AU, for macOS). It’s free, so no limitations on installs if you have more than one computer.

https://github.com/RomanKubiak/ctrlr

Ctrlr displays controls such as knobs and buttons, handles MIDI messages and devices, and saving/loading of files; Ctrlr loads separately-written custom XML files (“panels”) which define components (knobs, buttons, etc.) used for a given synth, connecting those to MIDI messages such as CC and NRPN. A panel file defines all the components for a synth and their layout on the screen. Panels can include custom programming using the Lua language, to implement features such as receiving and sending synth programs/presets via MIDI System Exclusive (SysEx) messages, and loading SysEx from files. Ctrlr’s “panel mode” lets you create and modify panels.

Years ago I bought a Tetra, for which DSI provided a free standalone program editor / librarian which worked with macOS Mojave (the current OS at that time). Fast-forward several years: I no longer have that Tetra, I have other Sequential synths, but they don’t come with free editor / librarian software - I wanted to have that, and for it to work on a much newer macOS version; and use as a plug-in would be a bonus.

For the synths I own (or have access to), I didn’t see existing Ctrlr panels which did all that I wanted - I like to see as many program parameters at once as possible, without flipping through a bunch of separate tabs. Some panels didn’t respond to incoming NRPN, or didn’t support SysEx at all, or wouldn’t load SysEx files and show program parameters unless currently connected to the synth. I also wanted an easy way to see program names in a bank, and to send a bank of programs to the synth while choosing a different destination bank than what was stored in the original bank file. So, I decided to try creating my own panels - for fun :)  And after (what turned out to be) a whole lot of fun / effort, that’s pretty much done.

The MIDI implementation is rather similar from one Sequential synth to another; but some synth manuals describe all the NRPN and also the layout of parameters in the SysEx program, while others lack the SysEx layout, and sometimes there’s differences in range or NRPN for the most current synth firmware vs what’s in the manual. It does take time working with the actual hardware synth to check each parameter’s NRPN and SysEx location.

So far I’ve released a panel for the Take 5. Next: Prophet-6 and OB-6.


btw - I don’t own the TEO-5, but I’d love to do an in-person comparison between it and the Take 5. Most of the program parameters are the same or similar between them, so it might seem like creating a TEO-5 panel from the Take 5 panel would be simple - however I did a quick check, and the SysEx layout differs a lot (and also is not documented in the manual), so it would require changing that layout and checking each parameter on the TEO-5.

In the past, ctrlr.org had precompiled Ctrlr binaries / installers available for download, a large section of panel files contributed by many different authors, and an active forum; but I see that URL now redirects to GitHub, and that page doesn't mention an easy way to get those binaries, nor does it have all the panels and forum discussions (sigh).

To use Ctrlr:
1) download and install it
2) download and open a panel file

Ctrlr-5.3.198.dmg for macOS, and Ctrlr-5.3.201.exe for Windows, can still be found here:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/ctrlr-utilities/files/Ctrlr/

Install for macOS: open Ctrlr-5.3.198.dmg, then drag Ctrlr.app to the /Applications folder
to use the VST version, drag Ctrlr.vst into /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST
to use the AU version, drag Ctrlr.component into /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components


A lot of panel files have been collected at:  https://github.com/unityconstruct/CtrlrPanels


There's additional documentation for Ctrlr at:  https://github.com/damiensellier/CtrlrX/wiki

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Panels I've released so far: Take 5, Prophet-6, OB-6, Toraiz AS-1, and I did end up creating a TEO-5 panel which reads its SysEx files, though it probably needs some fine tuning as I haven't gotten my hands on a TEO-5 yet.

Released a panel for the Pro 3, which adds a feature to search through banks of programs by name and also by up to 4 program parameters - for example, to find all programs which use a given wavetable.

(Search feature also added to all the other panels.)