Hi there, I read about some SM users having page turners and external controllers. Does anybody have any recommendations and or tips? Thank you for your help.
Hi,
What do you want to accomplish with the external controller? I bought a USB footswitch. It has three switches. I programmed the middle one to be the space bar which will start (and stop) Strum Machine playing. I like so I can have my instrument ready to play when I start so the foot switch is handy. I also programmed the other switches, one to start my DAW recording and the other to reposition the DAW (space bar stops the DAW just like strum machine).
It all works fine, but to be honest I only use it to start Strum Machine about half the time since I’m usually fiddling with something with the mouse and keyboard then I just hit the space bar to start it.
Roland
Hi Roland, thank you for the reply. Like you say, I would mostly use the controller to start stop SM when practicing (I use an iPad) and to change page on Tabledit. I have been using my PC, but since I am not as nimble as I use to be, I keep stopping and restarting rather often and letting go of the banjo and the picks becomes a pain in the neck. I got curious about it after seeing a lot of classical musicians using the device. Although it is definitely a first world problem, I guess it would help with concentration. Are you happy with yours? What brand are you using? Once again, thank you for your help.
I use this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08M9TXWV2/
There are less expensive ones. I’m happy with the one I have. It works fine connected to my Windows PC. No experience using it with any other hardware/software combinations.
Roland
For use with an iPad, you’d probably want a Bluetooth foot pedal. Anything should work as long as you can change what keystrokes are being emulated. Anecdotally I’ve heard from several customers using either PageFlip or AirTurn products with Strum Machine, but I have no personal experience with either brand. Let us know how it goes!
Hi all, I bought a two switch Airturn AirTurn BT500S-2 Controller Bluetooth Pedal Page Turner DAW MIDI App. As I mentioned my goals before, it is perfect for starting/stopping SM. It’s easy to pair and program. It has six programmable modes, it can really do a lot, one just needs to learn the “language”. Easy actions, like start/stop, are programmed by matching keyboard strokes (spacebar, enter etc.). Some more involved actions require using keyboard shortcuts. I will work on understanding how to control SM by foot and report. BTW, there are obviously a number of products out there that can do the job for a little less money, but Airturn products seem to be quite popular. I’m happy with it.