Max For Live H9 Remote plugin released – supports automation of H9 using CC

[studiodc]

I’ve released a Max for Live (M4L) plugin which uses a combination of SysEx and MIDI to remotely control and automate many parameters of your H9 within a Live set.

It’s a work in progress, but version 1 is out now on the MaxForLive site: http://www.maxforlive.com/library/device/4667/h9-remote

The plugin is open source and free to the community under standard creative commons license.

Now that I’ve got confirmation that 14-bit MIDI CCs are supported I will add this as an upcoming feature to the CC messages sent by the knobs too (thanks Nick!).

Huge thanks to Eventide for their documentation of the SysEx and MIDI support for these pedals. I’ll be making a few requests for clarification in order to hopefully provide even more seamless integration with these amazing hardware devices soon, but already there’s quite a lot you can now do with them within a Live set.

As I state in the description on M4L:

The H9 Remote is a Max For Live (M4L) Audio Effect plugin which can control an attached Eventide H9 stompbox in real time, supporting Ableton Live’s automation and MIDI mapping and enabling saving the pedal preset state in a Live set or Live preset for future recall, even if the pedal has been completely reprogrammed in the meantime.

 

Note: This plugin processes no audio directly. It only controls an attached H9.

 

Basic features include:

 

* Fully supports all 5 modules (TimeFactor, ModFactor, PitchFactor, Space, and H9) and all 49 algorithms currently implemented in the H9 Max (but can’t enable presets you haven’t paid for if you’re using a standard or core pedal).

* Does not need the device to contain the required preset – can set any algorithm and module directly using working memory as long as the device has the preset authorized.

* Operates entirely independently of the device’s preset list – Does not overwrite any presets on the device.

* Supports Ableton M4L presets for rapid restoring of favourites without needing to store them on the pedal directly.

* Saves the device configuration in the preset – no accidentally configuring the wrong H9 if you have multiple in a chain!

* Receives and transmits knob, expression, and hotswitch changes from the pedal, for track automation recording, live performance, etc.

* Supports Push and Live MIDI mapping to extend the controls for your H9 into the physical realm.

* Remembers which H9 each instance of the plugin was connected to, and restores the saved configuration from your Live file on open – ensuring your project re-opens with the right effects on the right pedal automatically.

* Allows you to send expression to the H9 even if you don’t have an expression pedal connected.

[studiodc]

Just a note to say that version 1.1.2 is released supporting 14-bit MIDI CC and allowing multiple instances of the plugin to share the same H9 stompbox (for multi-tracking your guitar or synth with different effect settings per track!). 

[peterfrequency]

Great work, and great news! Very happy H9 + Ableton user here.

Just wondering, do the midi CCs need to be set to the default mappings? I have set my second H9 to use a different bunch of CC numbers so that I can hook them up with an external controller using midi through/merge.

Looking forward to checking this out as soon as I can!

[studiodc]

peterfrequency wrote:

Great work, and great news! Very happy H9 + Ableton user here. Just wondering, do the midi CCs need to be set to the default mappings? I have set my second H9 to use a different bunch of CC numbers so that I can hook them up with an external controller using midi through/merge. Looking forward to checking this out as soon as I can!

Thanks for the interest!

As long as the CCs are in sequence order (e.g. 77,78,79…86) they don’t need to be set to the default mappings, but the software attempts to send 14-bit MIDI values (which means the CC number plus the CC number + 32 are both used for a single control). But if the CCs are scattered all around (77, 23, 32, 64…), then unfortunately I haven’t made the configuration complex enough to handle that situation. I hope to parameterize this in a future version, along with the option to turn on and off the 14-bit values. In the meantime, just run an older version of the patch (1.1.1 I think should do) for standard 7-bit CCs, but all versions require the starting CC for knob 1 to be sequentially following for knobs 2-10, respectively.

If your external controllers are flexible enough, I would suggest trying to use the default configuration for CC but changing the MIDI channel on each device. Each instance of the plugin in your Live set will track it’s own channel. I also have two H9s, set up the same way but a channel apart. It’s very easy to keep track of them this way!

[peterfrequency]

Thanks for the quick reply. Good tip about just using different channels. In any case I think it should be fine because they are still sequential – from memory I just shifted the CC numbers 20 or 30 higher so as to avoid overlap.

Push support is very appreciated too. Thanks again!

[treyschibli]

Loving this plugin so far & I am using it to run AUX vocal effects for a live performance. As a result, I would love to be able to have multiple channels or instances that can switch back & fourth for different effects for different songs. I know you said the 1.1.2 update enables this, I am just having a hard time figuring it out. Any nod in the right direction would be super helpful!!

[studiodc]

treyschibli wrote:

Loving this plugin so far & I am using it to run AUX vocal effects for a live performance. As a result, I would love to be able to have multiple channels or instances that can switch back & fourth for different effects for different songs. I know you said the 1.1.2 update enables this, I am just having a hard time figuring it out. Any nod in the right direction would be super helpful!!

Cool, glad to know somebody else is finding it useful! 

Yep, just automate the plugin ON and OFF parameter. When the plugin goes ON it should dump it’s active configuration to the H9. Its been a while since I’ve worked with that code, though, and I can’t remember if I made it so that would automatically turn OFF the other instances attached to the same H9 or not, so check that and if not, you may want to carefully ensure that only one instance is active at a time, otherwise the CC sent by the other plugin would modify the other instance’s configurations if the H9 echos them back – which you definitely don’t want! 

Another thing you can do is use automation to just change the parameters you want between songs, most of the configurable settings are automatable, although some of them (the ones on the extended panel and the selector for the effect type/algorithm) will send sysex to the pedal which interrupts the audio momentarily and causes some glitching as the new effect “sets up” on the pedal itself – this can’t be avoided I’m afraid, it’s how the pedal is built. So definitely test test test before going live! I definitely haven’t stress-tested this plugin for live work and don’t have the resources to do that, so I’m hopeful it works well for you but it’s really built to make studio sessions more recallable and easier to manage rather than designed to automate a live show! 

If you have any issues with the plugin, please note them on the github page (https://github.com/malacalypse/h9-remote), which I monitor more actively than this forum. I don’t have a lot of time to devote to it these days but I’ll give it as much love as I can! 

Cheers

[treyschibli]

studiodc wrote:

treyschibli wrote:

Loving this plugin so far & I am using it to run AUX vocal effects for a live performance. As a result, I would love to be able to have multiple channels or instances that can switch back & fourth for different effects for different songs. I know you said the 1.1.2 update enables this, I am just having a hard time figuring it out. Any nod in the right direction would be super helpful!!

Cool, glad to know somebody else is finding it useful! 

Yep, just automate the plugin ON and OFF parameter. When the plugin goes ON it should dump it’s active configuration to the H9. Its been a while since I’ve worked with that code, though, and I can’t remember if I made it so that would automatically turn OFF the other instances attached to the same H9 or not, so check that and if not, you may want to carefully ensure that only one instance is active at a time, otherwise the CC sent by the other plugin would modify the other instance’s configurations if the H9 echos them back – which you definitely don’t want! 

Another thing you can do is use automation to just change the parameters you want between songs, most of the configurable settings are automatable, although some of them (the ones on the extended panel and the selector for the effect type/algorithm) will send sysex to the pedal which interrupts the audio momentarily and causes some glitching as the new effect “sets up” on the pedal itself – this can’t be avoided I’m afraid, it’s how the pedal is built. So definitely test test test before going live! I definitely haven’t stress-tested this plugin for live work and don’t have the resources to do that, so I’m hopeful it works well for you but it’s really built to make studio sessions more recallable and easier to manage rather than designed to automate a live show! 

If you have any issues with the plugin, please note them on the github page (https://github.com/malacalypse/h9-remote), which I monitor more actively than this forum. I don’t have a lot of time to devote to it these days but I’ll give it as much love as I can! 

Cheers

 

One more response here before I move to gitub! Very thankful for the fast reply. 

I have tried to Automate the “On” & “Off” button, however the information doesnt sync along the arrangement timeline until the “sync down” button is toggled. I do not know if or how you can automate the “Sync Down” button in Ableton 10, but I am trying to build an “arranged” FX map through automating distant instances of the H9 remote plugin throughout an ableton live set so no one needs to control it once you press play. Any suggestions? Thank you so much!

[treyschibli]

studiodc wrote:

treyschibli wrote:

Loving this plugin so far & I am using it to run AUX vocal effects for a live performance. As a result, I would love to be able to have multiple channels or instances that can switch back & fourth for different effects for different songs. I know you said the 1.1.2 update enables this, I am just having a hard time figuring it out. Any nod in the right direction would be super helpful!!

Cool, glad to know somebody else is finding it useful! 

Yep, just automate the plugin ON and OFF parameter. When the plugin goes ON it should dump it’s active configuration to the H9. Its been a while since I’ve worked with that code, though, and I can’t remember if I made it so that would automatically turn OFF the other instances attached to the same H9 or not, so check that and if not, you may want to carefully ensure that only one instance is active at a time, otherwise the CC sent by the other plugin would modify the other instance’s configurations if the H9 echos them back – which you definitely don’t want! 

Another thing you can do is use automation to just change the parameters you want between songs, most of the configurable settings are automatable, although some of them (the ones on the extended panel and the selector for the effect type/algorithm) will send sysex to the pedal which interrupts the audio momentarily and causes some glitching as the new effect “sets up” on the pedal itself – this can’t be avoided I’m afraid, it’s how the pedal is built. So definitely test test test before going live! I definitely haven’t stress-tested this plugin for live work and don’t have the resources to do that, so I’m hopeful it works well for you but it’s really built to make studio sessions more recallable and easier to manage rather than designed to automate a live show! 

If you have any issues with the plugin, please note them on the github page (https://github.com/malacalypse/h9-remote), which I monitor more actively than this forum. I don’t have a lot of time to devote to it these days but I’ll give it as much love as I can! 

Cheers

 

Ignore my last post, I believe I have figured it out! Fingers crossed & will let you know how this works as a live rig. 

[davebrubaker]

Really interesting. I just started using Ableton and I’m looking forward to checking out your plugin. Thanks!

[studiodc]

Quick update: Version 1.1.3 now supports HotSawz and Harmadillo algorithms. 

[jlmiralles]

Hi there!
I created a tutorial on how to control the H9 with a external midi controller (Arturia Beatstep) with the help of Ableton Live, H9_remote (a max4live device by Daniel Collins) and Control Surface Studio (for creating a custom remote script).
With the tutorial we’ll SEE always the 10 knob values of the current preset in the pedal, and SEND RELATIVE midi info in order to have smoothy changes in that values. Also we will have the ability to fast change to the desired presets with only pressing pads, and automatically send again relative midi info to the new values. Here is the link:

Eventide h9 advanced control with arturia beatstep

[goinz]

Any Ideas? On my Setup it doesn’t work. I can control with the H9 the H9 Remote 1.13 but not vice versa. I checked all settings several times and no success. If I klick the Rescan Button it jumps away from H9 Pedal to my first midi device and not to “connected”.

 

[studiodc]

Version 1.1.4 is out. It supports the new Tricerachorus algorithm (thank you, Eventide!) as well as fixes a bug when sharing the same H9 across multiple instances of the plugin in the same Live set. Now they share the H9 correctly and don’t accidently copy the last preset the device sent. As usual, please direct specific questions and discussion to the github page linked above, not to this forum. 

[Simba808]

Hi 

Thanx for the great work ! 

Simple question – but I wasnt able to find a solution so far. 

I want to change from one preset to another.

While playing the same song. 

This change should be automated. So every time I open up this  Ableton Live Session with this Song, the Presets are called up. Also they change from one preset to the next while playing the song. 

I’ve tested Activating / Deactivating several H9 remotes with several presets.  Does not work. 

Thank you for the advise. 

[studiodc]

Version 1.1.5 is now out, which fixes a small bug with the performance switch and vintage algorithms.

Quick reminder: this thread is not a tech support thread for this M4L module. If you find a bug, please report it via the “issues” feature on the github page linked above. 

[vyanezf]

Wow! thank you so much for this

 

[nubirth]

Great work it seems! Hi, bit of a newbie question here but with Push 2 and the H9 remote are you able to apply effects per channel live from Push, and is there some manual/tutorial to learn more about that?

So in a live setting if I wanted to apply multiple effects from H9 to separate tracks at once, what would be the configuration for the audio signal so I can get my head round limitations and outboard gear needed. Would the processed signal only need one in and out for multiple tracks? – 20 years away from producing, rusty!

[nubirth]

Thanks, makes sense.

[mistercharlie]

This stopped working in Live 11 running on Apple Silicon. There’s a warning that says it “contains externals that are not compatible with Apple silicon.”

 

You can run Live in Rosetta as a workaround, but is there any change of an update to fix this?

 

c

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[Funkstar De Luxe]

Like other’s have said.0 I love this look of this, but I can’t get it to work on my M2 Mac 🙁

[bohan]

studiodc wrote:

Quick update: Version 1.1.3 now supports HotSawz and Harmadillo algorithms. 

Awesome

[joecozzi]

nubirth wrote:

…with Push 2 and the H9 remote are you able to apply effects per channel live from Push, and is there some manual/tutorial to learn more about that?

H9 Control is simply a software controller for H9, not a plug-in. There is no audio flowing through it. Since you’re new to H9, I recommend the H9 Tutorials on Eventide’s YouTube channel.

Quote:

So in a live setting if I wanted to apply multiple effects from H9 to separate tracks at once, what would be the configuration for the audio signal so I can get my head round limitations and outboard gear needed. Would the processed signal only need one in and out for multiple tracks? – 20 years away from producing, rusty!

To start, the H9 can only process a stereo signal with one algorithm at a time. Secondly, unless you’re routing audio out of your DAW and into the H9, and then back into you DAW on an audio interface, there’s no way to do it via software. You may be interested in the H9 Plug-in bundle, if you want multiple Eventide effects simultaneously available in Ableton. They are fully mappable and controllable with your Push 2.

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