Velours Devices KARL - MIDI Controller With Fully Customizable Interface | SynthFest France 2024

At SynthFest France 2024, Bruno from Velours Devices showcased the prototype of its new super versatile MIDI controller KARL.
KARL is a fully customizable MIDI controller for hardware and software with 32 infinite push encoders and 64 push buttons mounted on an HD display. Via an editor, you can create your templates/configurations for the Velours Devices Karl.
More info about Velours Devices Karl: www.veloursdevices.com/
Article: synthanatomy.com/2024/04/velo...
INDEX:
0:00 Intro
0:45 What is Karl?
Thanks to the sponsors of the SynthFest France 2024 coverage:
Arturia: www.arturia.com/products/hard...
UVI: www.uvi.net/
►Plugin Boutique: bit.ly/Pluginsupport
►Loopmasters: bit.ly/loopsupport
►Thomann.de: bit.ly/Thomannsupport1
Business Inquiries: [e-mail]
Social Media
►Facebook: / synthanatomy
►Instagram: / synth_anatomy
►Twitter: / synthanatomy
* some of the links are affiliate links, which give me a little commission that helps me to finance my work. You don't pay more! Thanks for your support!

[@synthanatomy]

Annoyed by ads? Here the way to go: support Synth Anatomy on Patreon, and you get this and all other videos incl. all SynthFest France 2024 videos ad-free. Plus, extra content, and more. www.patreon.com/synthanatomy

[@KajKaj-ot4qe]

I don't see the ads?

[@synthanatomy]

@@KajKaj-ot4qe the first minute ;)

[@kaislate]

Finally! I have been asking for a perferated OLED with encoders sticking through for ever. This is the only way to make controllers going forward!

[@manbehindthemachines4238]

Best midi controller concept so far i know !!! Great job!

[@PanopticMotion]

I'll buy one. This is amazing!

[@mixalis1nl]

I don't see the value when compared to the MP Controller. The MP is more versatile, touch screen enabled, it has lots of applications and at less than half the advertised cost.

[@rcmusic35]

I missed this at SynthFest but this is really interesting.

[@synthanatomy]

then you missed a highlight :) next year then you will probably see the finish unit :)

[@rcmusic35]

@@synthanatomy if i saw this, great chance i would not look at your video ;-))) great coverage moreover 👍

[@patstro1]

For this product I was waiting for! I hope indeed that the final product has a matt finish :) :) Al scratches and fingerprints are visible......ok ok there is a big light shining on it. Good work!!

[@YEE941]

amazing

[@bjondersson]

Very neat! Wonder if the knobs are attached to the front panel, and then uses Hall effect sensors on the back of the display, similar to the Flux Keyboard.

[@cryptout]

very nice

[@XanderEwald]

Brillant idea! If executed well, this would make an excellent controller for DAWs and virtual synths.

[@newignis]

Interesting, but not easy. Important for advanced controllers, is to know if they will be able to send not just MIDI Cc but also RPN, NRPN, programmable SysEx, and provide lists of limited variables with a continuous range. Next, it will need to listen correctly to MIDI signals received from the synths it controls. This is sometimes quite difficult if the sending synth is sending continuous signals, but the parameter it controls is a limited list (a waveform for example), because the way the controller needs to listen is different from the way it sends. You also expect such controller to be configured so it knows what banks for program changes exist on the synth it controls. Last but not least, such controller must be sysex configurable, so that, when you change a program on the synth, the controller will be able to request all the bytes of the controlled synths, and set all of its controls according to the received values by parsing the received message. So there is still a bit of work ahead. An ultimate challenge for such a controller is a Roland XV5080 or Yamaha TG77 or similar.

[@AlchemicalAudio]

Exactly, if this could handle all formats of MIDI messages and sysex this thing would be a must, so something with tons of parameters that addresses things in weird ways, 5:48 like the Ensoniq MR rack or keyboard, will be the real test of a product like this. Other wise it is primarily for modern synths and software.

[@AmayaTucker-il9hf]

I am sorry but I can't see any value in this. What's the difference between this and the Mackie MCU-C4 rotary control surface from 25 years ago?

[@biocore01]

SO DO WORK ON YOUR IMAGINATION, and you will very quickly find additional possibilities.

[@alexandrosroussos]

Amazing but the screen should probably have a mat finish because it looks like a fingerprint magnet 🧲.

[@synthanatomy]

prototype status ;) it will probably be different in the final version :)

[@josephkissel6062]

Too bad no sliders or different sized knobs ... A giant grid of controls isn't that interesting to me. (Although I'd acknowledge you'd probably get less of them in the same-sized package. Still selector buttons for different LFOs, OSC, etc. isn't the worst.) Still, an interesting concept and I hope it takes off for them!

[@rumblechannel6343]

Take my money 💸

[@AlchemicalAudio]

Holy shit! I love this idea. Does it have stand alone capabilities or does it require a computer to run the software? A stand alone device with its own midi ports and Bluetooth midi would be amazing for a studio full of old hardware synths. Even if it was a break out box, or the capacity to connect directly through usb to a midi interface, would be amazing. It would need to deal well with sysex, including companies that had weird sysex implementations. Nice work!!

[@synthanatomy]

it's standalone :) You need the computer to make the templates and load them. The connections are not yet confirmed

[@AlchemicalAudio]

@@synthanatomy that is great!! I would love to have pages as well, and even use the top row of push buttons to toggle between pages and midi out channels. Such a great idea. Thank you for sharing!!

[@discodivo9045]

This is my white whale! my dream tool! really! I can't wait to purchase it. I have about 20 hardware synths and wondering, would it be possible to have the KARL somehow able to communicate with all of them and at a change of a button switch between the synths it sends the midi to? In my current setup the synths are connected via three 10IN/10OUT midi hubs, I'd prefer to avoid a thru box. Would appreciate a detailed answer. Thanks!

[@darrelljohnston562]

Looks great…. But no faders?? Whyyyyyy?

[@yurijogurtsov8710]

and no joysticks ;) jokes aside, a combo enc+faders would've been great. but maybe the all-encoder version is easier to start with for a new small company, and in future they will offer more models.

[@edmc2]

😎

[@synthanatomy]

😎

[@christdolphin69]

what the HECK is that synth on the opposite table!!??! EDIT: oh, its the SCHMIDT, huh?

[@discodivo9045]

It would be amazing if you could sell it already loaded with templates for some hardware synths or would gladly pay extra for templates. My template wishlist / synth collection: CRUMAR BIT99 DSI TETRA E-MU ESI32 E-MU ORBIT E-MU ULTRA PROTEUS ENSONIQ ESQ-M ENSONIQ SD-1 KORG 03R/W KORG M1R KORG WAVESTATION SR ORLA DSE 24 ROLAND D-550 ROLAND JX8P ROLAND JV-2080 ROLAND U-220 SEQUENCIAL PROPHET VS SEQUENCIAL CIRCUITS SIX-TRAK YAMAHA TG-33 YAMAHA TG-77 YAMAHA TG-500 It would also be amazing to control FX units that are lacking knobs, mine wishlist: LEXICON MPX-1 LEXICON PCM70 LEXICON PCM80 ROLAND GP-8

[@tresporros]

very expensive version of bcr32? for 10 x more money??...not trying to be negative, but bcr32 also has 4 track sequencer and cost 150 usd....and is 3x times smaller...

[@zadillo]

Cool, where can I buy the BCR32?

[@Wagoo]

But you can't tell what knob is doing what, without writing physical labels or such. Quickly knowing which knob does what is very valuable.. although how valuable that is to you is up to you. But in general I think MIDI controllers need to go this way.. clear dynamic labels for every control.. templates/automatic MIDI 2.x introspection of plugins to develop appropriate layouts.. and with the panel being a screen they can include visual cues/data too to make it _feel_ a bit more hardware-y MP MIDI controller was a bit similar, but that had knobs around the screen. So this is a step closer to uniting software and hardware. I do think a lot of this depends on how it reacts if you connect it to some random obscure plugin you have.. and how quickly it is to setup all nicely labelled etc. Hopefully there's a central database of company & user created templates that quickly become available with nice graphics and so on

[@dr.gregoryf.maassen2637]

Resembles to some point the MP Midi controller with its touchscreen and encoders. I will keep an eye on the development of this new controller.

[@futurelustmedia]

You can design a sound from init patch on DIVA with the bcr32

[@yurijogurtsov8710]

@@zadillo this. and even if we could, where's the screen there?

[@KPsTboy]

Basically an updated Behringer BCR, what I've been waiting for years while Behringer's too busy copying other hardware...

[@yurijogurtsov8710]

rather a Mackie c4 for the new century

[@frankschneider7190]

😂another great idea horrible presented

[@mildheadwound]

Trying not to yawn.