Audio and MIDI

Audio input

PitchControl needs to hear the music. Any input works: a line feed from the mixer into an audio interface, or a microphone.

To set up the audio input:

1. Press 5 for the Inputs page.
2. Choose the Device. Each device is listed with its number of inputs. System default uses your computer's default input. On Windows, a device can appear once for each audio system, ASIO included.
3. Enter the Input channels, separated by commas and counted from 1: 1, 2 for the first two inputs, 3 for the third alone. The channels you list are mixed together.
4. Set the Gain if needed. The bar next to it shows the input level.
5. Click Save. The panel header shows running once the input works.

Plugged in a device after starting PitchControl? Click Rescan devices to update the list.

If the saved device isn't connected, PitchControl uses the system default instead, and the list shows the saved device as not found.

Band meter and trigger

The meter shows the 32 frequency bands, from 35 Hz to 10 kHz. Each band adapts to its own level, so quiet hi-hats and loud bass both register. Bands that are peaking right now are highlighted.

The dotted line shows how strongly each band counts towards the strobo trigger:

Frequency	Weight
Up to 100 Hz	100 %
300 Hz	about 59 %
1 kHz	about 41 %
5 kHz and above	0 %

The trigger value (TRIG on the General page) is the weighted share of the bands that are peaking. When it gets high enough, the strobo fires; the Strobo fader sets how high is high enough. This is why the kicks and the bass drive the strobo, while hi-hats barely touch it.

Tip: You can shift the weighting in the settings file with trigger_full_hz (100 % up to this frequency) and trigger_zero_hz (0 % from this frequency). See Configuration files.

MIDI controller

To connect a controller:

1. Plug it in. On the Inputs page, under MIDI controller, choose the Controller mapping.
2. Leave MIDI port on from controller file: PitchControl then finds the controller by the port name stored in the mapping. If it doesn't, pick the port yourself.
3. Click Save. The panel header shows the port name once it's connected.

Launch Control XL mk3

The Novation Launch Control XL mk3 is mapped out of the box. The mapping expects it on MIDI channel 13.

The same knobs and faders control whichever page is active, General or Dimmers. Their order matches the screen.

Control	On the General page	On the Dimmers page
Knob row 3	Strobo Decay, Idle Attack, Shader Speed, Shader Param, Hue A, Sat. A, Hue B, Sat. B	Dimmers 1–8
Faders	Audio react., Strobo, Strobo br., Idle br., Strobo br. A, Idle br. A, Strobo br. B, Idle br. B	Dimmers 9–16
First knob of row 1	Page knob: turn it up for Dimmers, down for General

The controller and the screen stay in step. Opening the General or Dimmers page switches the controller to that page, and turning the page knob switches the screen between the two pages.

Good to know:

• Knobs and faders are absolute. A value jumps to the control's position as soon as you move it.
• Hue and saturation knobs apply once the knob has rested for 0.4 seconds, so the lights don't sweep through the colour wheel.
• Dimmers that no fixture uses ignore the controller.
• The buttons aren't mapped. Use the screen or the keyboard for the functions, mask presets and scenes, or map them yourself (see Custom mappings).

MIDI monitor

The MIDI monitor on the Inputs page lists the last messages received, newest first, with a count and the channel the mapping listens on. Each line tells you which macro the message moved, or why it was ignored:

• not a CC message: PitchControl only uses control change (CC) messages.
• channel …, mapping expects …: the controller sends on another MIDI channel than the mapping expects.
• CC … not mapped on page …: nothing is mapped to that control on the active page.
• … is unassigned (no fixture uses it), ignored: a dimmer that no fixture uses.
• page knob: the message switched pages.

If the monitor stays empty when you move a control, PitchControl isn't receiving anything: check the cable and the MIDI port.

Custom mappings

A mapping is a JSON file in the controllers folder of your data folder (see Configuration files). Each mapping links a CC number to a macro. To use another controller, create a file for it, for example my-controller.json:

{
  "name": "My controller",
  "port_match": "My Controller",
  "channel": 1,
  "mappings": [
    { "cc": 40, "macro": "Manual Strobo", "mode": "momentary" },
    { "cc": 41, "macro": "Auto Color Change", "mode": "toggle" },
    { "cc": 42, "macro": "Scene 1 Load" }
  ],
  "pages": {
    "general": [
      { "cc": 1, "macro": "Strobo Decay" },
      { "cc": 2, "macro": "Idle Attack" }
    ],
    "dimmers": [
      { "cc": 1, "macro": "Dimmer 01" },
      { "cc": 2, "macro": "Dimmer 02" }
    ]
  },
  "page_knob": 20
}

Key	Meaning
name	A name for the controller
port_match	Part of the controller's MIDI port name, used to find it
channel	The MIDI channel it sends on (1–16)
mappings	Mappings that work on every page
pages	Mappings for the general and dimmers pages. On its page, a page mapping wins over a mapping for every page
page_knob	Optional: the CC of a knob that switches pages (up = next page, down = previous)

Each mapping has a cc (0–127), a macro and a mode:

• absolute (the default): the control's position sets the value. Use it for knobs and faders.
• toggle: each press switches the macro on or off.
• momentary: the macro is on while you hold the button.

Macro names you can map:

• Faders: Strobo Decay, Idle Attack, Shader Speed, Shader Param, Hue A, Saturation A, Hue B, Saturation B, Audio Reactivity, Strobo, Strobo Brightness, Idle Brightness, Strobo Bright. A, Idle Bright. A, Strobo Bright. B, Idle Bright. B
• Hold buttons: Manual Strobo, Fog Machine
• On/off functions: Invert Discoball, Vertical Symmetry, Auto Color Change, Swap Colors
• Mask presets: Preset A, Preset B, Preset C, Preset D
• Dimmers: Dimmer 01 to Dimmer 16
• Scenes: Scene 1 Load to Scene 8 Load, Scene 1 Save to Scene 8 Save

Save the file, then choose it under Controller mapping on the Inputs page (click Rescan devices if it isn't listed yet) and click Save. If you edit a mapping that's already in use, restart PitchControl to load your changes.

A mapping to a macro name that doesn't exist is reported in the log (see Configuration files).