No Livid CNTRL:R? Codanova VMX v64!

Heyyy!
I'm giving an update on my gears / my research n all.
So, I'm searching for a Livid CNTRL:R since quite a long time, and only found one second hand on Ebay Germany for 600€ ( https://www.ebay.de/itm/296177974611 ) (link for people interested)
Though, I recently founded out about the Codanova VMX v64, from another company that closed. It's really similar to the Livid CNTRL:R, but I've find one second hand for ~120€ (its condition is quite bad (mainly the paint), but it works apparently). I'll gather more information about it, and if I buy it I'll write a review, pictures n all.

Picture of a CNTRL:R (you can see it below on the Ebay thingy)

Picture of a Codanova VMX v64: https://live.staticflickr.com/5053/5557920951_5c1bb59452_z.jpg

I just bought the VMX V64, it will get shipped home soon

I just bought the VMX V64, it will get shipped home soon

Bravo!

I know you'll give us the full review once it's setup.

We're all looking forward to the music you make with it.

Finally got it.
Only problem is that it have some problems.
Some sliders are a bit weird, but it should be easily fixable, and I broke 2 potentiometer while trying to open the thing in order to clean it (they were glued for some reasons). The Mini-USB thingy is kinda broken, because if I totally put the cable in it, well it doesn't work, but if it's half-way in, it works.
I'll try to fix it.
https://i.imgur.com/jQfKmfp.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/3wk442k.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/LwpeEaI.jpeg
It will maybe get me into VJing as well.

Congrats!

Sorry to hear about the broken pots, wonky sliders, and the USB port, but I am confident you can fix all those issues with off-the-shelf parts.

So, now that you finally have one: what do you think?

Is it everything you hoped for?

I hope that I'll be able to remake a firmware for the thing, because with using it with a VJ software, I now understand why the buttons lights works that way (it's default in one per line).
But I can reconfigure that with settings on the hardware.
There is an app in order to reconfigure it the way we want, but haven't managed to make it work yet.
But with their app, they provide the factory software for uploading firmwares to the thing.
I can even export firmwares from the thing, but it can be quite hard.
My goal is to be able to managed the lights on the buttons from Ableton, just like Launchpads, and it would be perfect, but I don't know if it's even doable.
Also, I forgot to mention the good points. It's not plastic, it's metal, so it's more durable, the sliders thingy are mostly in rubber (and not in plastic), so it feels super good, the same for the rotative encoders.

But it's crazy, it's probably the only image available of the VMX V64 box available on the internet.

I just fixed the most broken slider. I've soldered it, then use a rubber on its graphite tracks in order to clean it (and also used silicon lubricant in order to get the slider smoother). It's all good now. Some other tracks are also bugging, but they bug more rarely. Also have 3 potentiometer that are broken (I think that when I wanted to open it first, I had to remove all the rotative encoders' caps, and I think that I broke 3 like that (but there were some sort of glue or grease that was sticking the cap)). I just tried to fix one, but it's still as broken as the 2 others. I'll see where I can get these new.

https://imgur.com/a/VCaVzDy

nice work!

I just spent a few hours on it (something like 4 hours), and I fixed and lubricated all the faders, it feels super good now. Just have to fix the potentiometer now.

Edit: For people who will get on this page, searching info about this piece of machinery in 10 years or so just like me, the potentiometers are 10K ohm, D-Axis (the top is a standard for instruments), B103 (it's written below), 18MM (length of the axis).
(If you can't find an exact good one, you can also search for any rotative potentiometer of 10k ohms, small / similar size to the actual one, and with a big axle, you can saw the top down to ~18mm. Just keep in mind that it needs 3 pins, if you have the good dimensions you can actually take the base part from the original potentiometer that is broken. You might also need to solder longer pins)
Best websites for finding these are Chinese websites, such as Aliexpress (they can have quite a long shipping), or other websites that sells electronic components (like Conrad Electronics). They all comes from China anyway.
https://imgur.com/a/hJHjlM1

I just spent a few hours on it (something like 4 hours), and I fixed and lubricated all the faders, it feels super good now. Just have to fix the potentiometer now.

Nice!

It's all fixed!!!
https://imgur.com/a/EKrULl9
It's all 100% functional Just have to fix the foots, and the decals. I'm also gonna work on a driver, because some stuff are wrongly recognized (and most importantly, a remote surface for Ableton).

It's all fixed!!!
https://imgur.com/a/EKrULl9
It's all 100% functional Just have to fix the foots, and the decals. I'm also gonna work on a driver, because some stuff are wrongly recognized (and most importantly, a remote surface for Ableton).

Outstanding. I'm impressed :)

What's your experience with driver development?

Thanks, and my experience with driver development is None! :D
But for MIDI drivers I can kinda use anything, but I'll use C# because it's compiled, and it's quite a fast language (super fast compared to interpreted languages such as Python, JavaScript, ..., but still slower than C++ / C / ASM).
I've used C# for making mods for games, a whole lot of fun.

For The remote surface of Ableton, it's Python, my first programming language, and it's not that hard.

(Also, it's kinda what I would like to do as a living, so I should start now to already gain knowledge and experience.)

And I forgot to say it, but the USB port fixed itself. Probably had dust in it, and I might have removed it with messing around with this machinery, and unplugging and replugging the thing a lot.

But for MIDI drivers I can kinda use anything, but I'll use C# because it's compiled, and it's quite a fast language (super fast compared to interpreted languages such as Python, JavaScript, ..., but still slower than C++ / C / ASM).

Wouldn't this be a good opportunity to go full C++ and make a driver for real?

Hard to do a Mac version with .Net, no?

Yeah, I'm aware of that, and I had tried to do it in C++ at first, but I've not that much experience in C++, and I couldn't get just a basic thing with midi working in C++.
Apparently I miss some DLLs, but there are no ways to be found, and the documentation is quite poor about that.
C# is also way easier, but yeah, it was made by Microsoft. Would work on Linux, but no clues about Mac.
I really want to make it in C++, but it's a true challenge to just get a midi lib to work.

Yeah, I'm aware of that, and I had tried to do it in C++ at first, but I've not that much experience in C++, and I couldn't get just a basic thing with midi working in C++.
Apparently I miss some DLLs, but there are no ways to be found, and the documentation is quite poor about that.
C# is also way easier, but yeah, it was made by Microsoft. Would work on Linux, but no clues about Mac.
I really want to make it in C++, but it's a true challenge to just get a midi lib to work.

I worked for years at a .Net company, I get it... but the best Engineers I worked with never balked at taking on new languages, they used the language that best fit the project aims and time available. If you don't have time constraints, I bet a combination of a good online coding community and a good Chat AI could get you over the hump with C++.

Depending on the part of France you live in, you may also be able to befriend someone with domain expertise in MIDI driver development. You'd be surprised how generous the most brilliant professional Engineers can be if your project interests them.

I am saying this because you said you have professional aspirations in this regard. If you were just messing around, I wouldn't be such a prescriptive jerk about it.

Chat AI are really good with theory, but really crappy with practice. I had already checked, and there are no electronic music equipment makers around me.
Maybe I can look further, and even check for computer stuff in general, but yeah :/
I live in East France / close to Luxembourg & Germany. What about you?

Chat AI are really good with theory, but really crappy with practice.

Yeah, even with simple javascript, it can't quite keep enough lines of code in persistent memory to architect anything complex... you can put it to work writing small user stories/pieces of a solution with good results, but you have to control the architecture... I haven't tried, but I bet it's particularly bad at the memory management stuff in C++... but next month, who knows? It could barely do anything a year ago.

I live in East France / close to Luxembourg & Germany. What about you?

Oh that's tough... way too long of a train ride to Berlin, where all the action is. If you lived in Berlin, you'd be set. Do you speak any German?

I live near downtown Los Angeles. I did not grow up here, but I really like it here. It's always nice to live in a "music city" like Stockholm, Berlin, Austin, London, Los Angeles, Nashville, etc.

My German is kinda broken :(
But I would love to move to Sweden at some point, tons of tech stuff there (including music (such as Nord, Elektron, ...))

My German is kinda broken :(
But I would love to move to Sweden at some point, tons of tech stuff there (including music (such as Nord, Elektron, ...))

Yep, and Teenage Engineering, Reason Studios, Toontrack and a host of others. Spotify also employs a ton of Engineers, and they've done some hardware projects too. Lots of studios and producers in Stockholm as well. It's a great place to be creative. A colleague of mine moved from Los Angeles to Stockholm years ago to work for the Reason folks, he really liked it there. I visited him a few times, great place if you can handle the long stretches of darkness.