Alesis HD24 Control from QLab

[James Garrett]

Hello,

I have just recently gotten into MIDI show control automation. I am hoping to use QLab to control my Alesis HD24. No luck yet. I have read online that the HD24 uses MMC messages to control the transports. Do I need a sequencer to sync the computer to the HD24's MTC? Any help appreciated.

Thank you,

James

[Rich Walsh]

I think you’re mixing up 3 different and distinct things:

1. MIDI Show Control – a subset of SysEx for which QLab has specific helper cues
2. MIDI Machine Control – a different subset of SysEx for which QLab does not have helper cues, so you’ll have to write the commands in hex in a SysEx cue
3. MIDI Timecode – a realtime system common message (for quarter frame messages; plus another subset of SysEx for full frame messages), which QLab can both generate and use for triggers

It should be fairly straight forward to get the HD24 to chase MTC from QLab, or have QLab fire cues based on MTC from the HD24 (although QLab does not _chase_ timecode).

It should be mildly fiddly but not impossible to make “play” (etc) commands in QLab to send MMC (via SysEx) to the HD24.

It should be very easy to ditch the HD24 and use QLab for playback.

Rich

[John Huntington]

"It should be very easy to ditch the HD24 and use QLab for playback."

:-)

Also, it's very difficult to get hard drives for the HD24 any more.  We had two and they worked great for many years but we just e-wasted both of them.

Tascam and Joeco both make similar recorder/players.  I like this approach for simple multi-channel linear playback, since there is no consumer OS to be updated (or hijacked by game-playing operators), etc etc.  Of course if you're running anything like a cue, QLab is a far superior solution.

John