• Date
    alex_x_audio
  • Date
  • Replies 4 replies
  • Subscribers 110 subscribers
  • Views 426 views
  • Users 0 members are here

Ableton / Max4Live Devices to control ETC-EOS Lightdesks via OSC / Audio & MIDI

Hi there! I work as an audio engineer in theater, and I wanted to be able to control lights and lighting cues along with audio. I was really unhappy with the existing options, so I decided to build my own Max for Live devices.

If you are running a show with Ableton / M4L & ETC EOS, these devices might be just as useful for you.

Here is an overview of how they work. All of the devices share these core features:

  • IP Box: Enter the IP address of your ETC EOS lighting console here (Default: 127.0.0.1 / localhost).
  • OSC Port: Enter the network port you are using (Default: 8000).
  • Network Switch: Turn the network connection on or off. I recommend turning it off while writing automation to avoid creating chaos on the lighting desk.
  • "READY" LED: After loading the plugin into Ableton, it takes 2 seconds for the network connection to initialize. This intentional delay prevents an initial "network bump" from accidentally sending a CUE 0 / Blackout command to the EOS console.

Audio 2 CUE:

Write automations directly on your audio track to fire light cues.

Audio 2 Channels:

This device uses incoming audio volume to dynamically control the number of active lighting channels at 100% intensity.
It works perfectly with pre-recorded playbacks or live audio (simply route your microphone or audio group to the Ableton track and set the Monitor to "In").

  • Modes ("In-Order" vs. "rAnDOom"): Choose "In-Order" to create a classic LED audio VU-meter effect, or select "Random" to unleash absolute chaos.
  • Channel Range: Easily define your Start Channel and End Channel. The device will automatically scale and affect all channels within this range.
  • Sensitivity Slider: Adjusts how the device analyzes the incoming audio curve, allowing you to fine-tune the responsiveness from soft whispers to heavy transients.

Audio 2 Intensity:

Incoming audio volume increases and decreases the brightness of the selected light channels.
It works perfectly with pre-recorded playbacks or live audio (simply route your microphone or audio group to the Ableton track and set the Monitor to "In").

MIDI 2 CUE:

Trigger lighting cues effortlessly using MIDI data. You can play MIDI notes live via any external MIDI controller or launch MIDI clips directly from Ableton to automate your show.

  • Customizable Cues: Easily map MIDI notes to specific cue numbers on your lighting desk.
  • Flexible Triggering: Perfect for manual live performance or fully automated, time-accurate playback.

(I’m planning a 5th device, which will be able to control the intensity of lighting subgroups depending on the audio input.)

I created a YouTube playlist to show how these devices work. You'll find the links to the devices in the video descriptions.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLncQeZQtdqQu_dX0nMN55j7fzwRsq9xh9&si=5A28vQo-zFrW5JBx

All you need to get this stuff to work is a computer with Ableton Live and Max4Live, an ETC EOS lighting desk, and a network cable. Some lights might also be useful (don't ask me about light, I'm sound! Wink).

I really hope this is useful for you and that you have a lot of fun using it!

Alex

I used AI to create this devices.

Parents

  • Hey Alex, relly nice work you did there. I was just starting to look for max with EOS when I found your work. That's a great starting point!

  • in reply to taste

    Hey taste, glad to here that! 
    I made some updates on all devices and will upload them in the next few days. The port number was limited from 1000–9999, but I fixed it to 1–65535. I also made some visual fixes. If you're interested in the newer versions, leave me your email address and I'll send them to you.

  • in reply to alex_x_audio

    Hey Alex, thanks for your effort. I had the possibility to take a look into this.

    I tried the audio to intensity plugin. It works, but I still see room for improvement. One major concern I have is, that you are hardcoding into the command line, which means that the operator is not able to type anything while the effect is running. 

    I'd suggest you rewrite the plugin to work independently from Command Line.
    Try this string: 

    eos/chan/1 10(f)
    it will set chan 1 to 10% and you can still type.

    If you want to bring it further:

    instead of hardcoding the channels, you can define a sub X and transform your message to:

    /eos/sub/X 0..1( float value between 0 and 1 as argument)

    and in eos you progam:

    Chan 1 @ Full #

    Chan1 Intensity record sub 1

    Now you can program as many channels as you want into that sub.

    That's just an idea, or like how I am going to continue working on this plugin thing. If you want we can join forces by creating a github repo. So we can colaborate on that. What do you think?

Reply
  • in reply to alex_x_audio

    Hey Alex, thanks for your effort. I had the possibility to take a look into this.

    I tried the audio to intensity plugin. It works, but I still see room for improvement. One major concern I have is, that you are hardcoding into the command line, which means that the operator is not able to type anything while the effect is running. 

    I'd suggest you rewrite the plugin to work independently from Command Line.
    Try this string: 

    eos/chan/1 10(f)
    it will set chan 1 to 10% and you can still type.

    If you want to bring it further:

    instead of hardcoding the channels, you can define a sub X and transform your message to:

    /eos/sub/X 0..1( float value between 0 and 1 as argument)

    and in eos you progam:

    Chan 1 @ Full #

    Chan1 Intensity record sub 1

    Now you can program as many channels as you want into that sub.

    That's just an idea, or like how I am going to continue working on this plugin thing. If you want we can join forces by creating a github repo. So we can colaborate on that. What do you think?

Children
No Data
Related

www.etcconnect.com