PANORAMA P&T MCU Control for Renoise (v0.61)

PANORAMA P&T MCU Control is a Renoise Lua tool for deep integration of Nektar Panorama T4/T6 controllers. It controls Renoise directly through the Renoise API and provides hardware feedback for display, LEDs, buttons, encoders and faders.

The tool is intended for users who want to use the Panorama controller as a dedicated Renoise control surface without relying on the Nektarine wrapper or Renoise MIDI Map (Ctrl+M) for the main control logic.

1. Core Concept

The tool separates the Panorama controller into clear control layers:

• Port 1 / Performance input: notes, pitch bend, modulation wheel and normal keyboard performance. This should stay enabled in Renoise.
• Port 2 / MCU control surface: faders, encoders, buttons, display and LED feedback. This is handled directly by the tool.
• Optional external routing / bridge ports: can be used for advanced setups, but are not required for basic use.

In MCU MIXER mode, the Panorama already sends the expected MCU control data, so you normally do not need to manually MIDI-map controls in Renoise.

In INTERNAL mode, you must map or learn your current Panorama preset inside the tool, because the controller sends the MIDI CC / relative CC / button data defined by that internal preset.

2. Hardware Setup: Nektar Panorama T4 / T6

For the standard setup, put the Panorama into MCU / MIXER operation:

1. Open the Panorama hardware/global settings.
2. Set the DAW/control protocol to MCU.
3. Verify which MIDI port is assigned to the Panorama MIXER / DAW control surface. This is usually Port 2.
4. Physically switch the controller to MIXER mode.

Important: verify the port assignment before entering the final Mixer workflow. Once the controller is in Mixer mode, the port naming can be less obvious in some systems.

P6 note: the Panorama P6 motorized fader is not considered fully supported in this version.

3. Renoise MIDI Preferences

Open Renoise → Edit → Preferences → MIDI.

Recommended configuration:

1. Panorama Port 1: enable as normal Renoise MIDI input for playing keys, pitch bend and modulation.
2. Panorama DAW / Mixer / Port 2: do not assign it in Renoise MIDI preferences for normal MIDI input/output mapping.
3. Let this tool open the control port directly.

Why: the tool needs exclusive access to the MCU/control port so it can send LED feedback, LCD display SysEx and button/fader/encoder feedback reliably.

4. Tool MIDI Setup

Open the tool GUI and configure the MIDI ports in the MIDI Setup section.

Typical setup:

• MIDI IN P2 CTRL: Panorama DAW / Mixer / Port 2.
• MIDI OUT P2 CTRL: the same Panorama DAW / Mixer / Port 2.

This port handles:

• faders
• encoders
• buttons
• transport/control buttons
• LED feedback
• Panorama LCD display feedback

5. MCU MIXER vs INTERNAL Mode

MCU MIXER mode

Use this mode when the Panorama is working as a classic MCU-style control surface.

• No Renoise Ctrl+M mapping is required for the main tool controls.
• Faders and encoders use the expected MCU behavior.
• LED/display feedback is handled by the tool.
• This is the recommended mode for the standard Panorama T4/T6 workflow.

INTERNAL mode

Use this mode when you want to control the tool from a custom Panorama internal preset.

• You must use MIDI Learn in the tool for the current preset.
• Encoders are learned as relative controls.
• Faders are learned as absolute Pitch Bend or absolute MIDI CC controls.
• Buttons are learned as momentary or toggle controls.

6. Buttons Page: B1–B8

The Buttons Page contains four operating modes:

• ARM
• MUTE
• SOLO
• USER

Buttons are shown as B1–B8. Each button follows the target track of the corresponding fader:

• B1 follows FAD1 track
• B2 follows FAD2 track
• …
• B8 follows FAD8 track

ARM mode

In ARM mode, B1–B8 send ARM ON / OFF commands to the HYDRA SANITY tool.

The target is resolved through the fader-track relationship:

B1 → FAD1 target track → HYDRA SANITY ARM command
B2 → FAD2 target track → HYDRA SANITY ARM command
...
B8 → FAD8 target track → HYDRA SANITY ARM command

This keeps the Buttons Page track-oriented and consistent with MUTE and SOLO.

MUTE mode

B1–B8 control mute/active state for the tracks currently assigned to FAD1–FAD8.

SOLO mode

B1–B8 control solo state for the tracks currently assigned to FAD1–FAD8.

USER mode

B1–B8 can be used for custom user parameter toggles.

7. Buttons MIDI Learn

Buttons Learn supports both common hardware behaviors.

MIDI CC / Note momentary mode

Typical behavior:

press   → value 100 / 127
release → value 0

The tool detects this as a momentary button. Runtime behavior:

value > 1 → button press
value 0   → release ignored

MIDI CC toggle mode

Typical behavior:

first click  → value 100 / 127
second click → value 0
third click  → value 100 / 127

The tool detects this as a toggle/latch button. Runtime behavior:

value 100 / 127 → valid button event
value 0         → valid button event

Automatic detection during Learn

When a B1–B8 slot is set to W learn mode:

• If the first value is 0, the tool immediately stores the button as toggle.
• If the first value is greater than 1, the tool waits briefly.
• If a matching 0 release arrives within the detection window, the tool stores the button as momentary.
• If no release arrives within the detection window, the tool stores the button as toggle.

After detection, the slot returns from W to L automatically.

LED synchronization tip

If a hardware toggle LED and the tool state are out of phase, click the small B1–B8 button in the GUI once to align the tool state with the hardware LED state. The practical target is:

LED OFF = Button OFF
LED ON  = Button ON

8. FADERs Page

Faders support two MIDI input types:

Mixer mode

In Mixer mode:

• FAD1–FAD8 follow the current track bank and control track volume.
• FAD9 controls the master or dedicated master-style fader target, depending on the current setup.

FADER mode

In FADER mode, each FAD slot can be assigned to a selected track, DSP/send device and automatable parameter.

Buttons Page B1–B8 inherit their target tracks from FAD1–FAD8, so the fader mapping also defines the track target for Buttons ARM / MUTE / SOLO operations.

9. ENCODERs Page

Encoders use relative MIDI CC control.

• MCU MIXER mode uses MCU relative encoder data.
• INTERNAL mode learns DEC_REL encoders by detecting both directions.
• During encoder MIDI Learn in INTERNAL mode, turn the encoder in both directions so the tool can complete the relative-mode detection.

Track DSP mode

In Track DSP mode, E1–E8 control selected DSP parameters on the currently selected Renoise track.

This mode is intended for large songs with many tracks, DSP devices and parameters. The tool stores an independent E1–E8 mapping for each track.

Example:

Track 01 → ENC1–ENC8 = 8 custom DSP parameters
Track 02 → ENC1–ENC8 = another 8 custom DSP parameters
Track 03 → ENC1–ENC8 = another 8 custom DSP parameters
...
Track 10 → ENC1–ENC8 = another 8 custom DSP parameters

When you switch the selected track in Renoise, the tool automatically restores the encoder mapping for that track. This means that in a 10-track song, each track can have its own 8-parameter encoder surface.

Instrument mode

In Instrument mode, E1–E8 control host automation parameters of the selected instrument.

Use the LOAD Automation button to load available host automation parameters into ENC1–ENC8. When you switch to another instrument in Renoise, the encoder assignments can be refreshed for the selected instrument.

Master 1–3 modes

Master 1, Master 2 and Master 3 are independent global encoder surfaces.

In these modes, E1–E8 can be assigned independently to any supported track, DSP/send device and automatable parameter. This gives you three reusable surfaces for the whole song.

10. W.A. and LCK — Write Automation to HYDRA SANITY

Each encoder has its own W.A. button.

When W.A. is enabled for an encoder, movement of that encoder is published to HYDRA SANITY as Panorama write data.

Workflow:

1. Assign an encoder to a track/DSP/parameter.
2. Enable W.A. for that encoder.
3. In HYDRA SANITY, the active encoder appears as a Panorama row / automation target.
4. You can write automation into the graph using HYDRA SANITY behavior.

HYDRA SANITY can then apply its own automation logic, including ARM, LATCH, STICKY and IRON-style behavior.

If you turn off REC ON in HYDRA SANITY by clicking it, the related encoder can disconnect from the HYDRA SANITY write path.

LCK — locked W.A. encoder link

Each encoder also has an LCK button below W.A..

• LCK ON automatically enables the related W.A. button.
• LCK OFF disables only the lock state and keeps W.A. active.
• When locked, MCU_COM sends the additional LCK|1 flag in the Panorama W.A. IPC event.
• HYDRA SANITY can then keep the related PANORAMA_E# row connected and let REC ON/OFF behave like a normal HYDRA row without disconnecting the Panorama source.
• When unlocked, MCU_COM sends LCK|0 and the previous W.A. disconnect behavior is available again.

Use LCK when you want a Panorama encoder to remain attached to a HYDRA automation row while still using HYDRA’s normal recording states.

11. SETUP CONTROLL TOOL

The main GUI contains a SETUP CONTROLL TOOL button next to HIDE MIDI LEARN. It opens a separate setup window for additional learnable control buttons.

The window contains three rows:

TRACK -    TRACK +    BROWSE    VIEW
< BANK     BANK >     < ZOOM     ZOOM >
↻          ◀◀         ▶▶         ■          ▶          ●

Each button is an independent framed object:

• clicking the button starts MIDI Learn for that specific control,
• the button label changes to PRESS B while waiting for input,
• the mapping row below the button shows the learned source as [ CC/NOTE | ch ],
• MIDI Learn stores the real port slot, message type, MIDI channel, number and detected button mode,
• Clear All MIDI Learn removes all SETUP CONTROLL TOOL mappings and HS states.

SETUP CONTROLL TOOL mappings are stored globally in preferences.xml, not inside the current song. This keeps the global controller layout available across projects.

The bottom transport-style buttons also include an HS switch. When HS is enabled, the button is routed to HYDRA SANITY through IPC instead of triggering the local MCU_COM action.

12. HYDRA SANITY Integration

The tool communicates with HYDRA SANITY through an internal Renoise song mailbox. This allows both tools to share Panorama encoder targets, write-automation values, ARM button commands and direct HS control-button events inside the current song.

The integration is used for:

• publishing the current ENC1–ENC8 target map
• sending W.A. encoder movement as normalized automation write data
• sending W.A. lock state as LCK|1 or LCK|0
• sending Buttons Page ARM ON / OFF commands
• sending SETUP CONTROLL TOOL HS button commands
• notifying HYDRA SANITY when a target changes
• allowing HYDRA SANITY to disconnect W.A. links when required

When an encoder target is active and W.A. is enabled, moving the encoder can automatically show the related automation graph in Renoise through the standard HYDRA SANITY graph-switching behavior.

The track used by Buttons ARM follows the current fader/track mapping. The track used by encoder automation follows the active encoder target.

Direct HS mappings

Current direct HS mappings:

In HS mode, MCU_COM does not execute the local button action. It sends the command to HYDRA SANITY so HYDRA can keep its own radio-button behavior and internal transport state logic.

13. Display, LED Feedback and DIAG

The tool sends feedback to the Panorama hardware:

• button LED states
• mode states
• selected control targets
• LCD text feedback
• W.A., LCK and automation-related status feedback

For reliable LED and LCD feedback, the MIDI output port must be the same Panorama control port used by the tool.

DIAG MIDI-IN view

The DIAG area can show detailed MIDI-IN activity:

• SYSEX IN shows the latest SysEx message when it appears.
• MIDI IN shows the latest decoded MIDI input event, including CC, Note, Pitch Bend and other channel messages.
• RAW IN shows the raw MIDI bytes in the same order as they arrived from the input port.

This is useful for checking the real MIDI channel, CC number, note number, value and button behavior during controller setup.

Write debounce

The Panorama W.A. automation write debounce has been reduced to 20 ms for faster response with newer firmware.

14. Practical First Setup Checklist

1. Put the Panorama into MCU / MIXER mode.
2. Leave the keyboard performance port enabled in Renoise.
3. Do not assign the Panorama DAW/Mixer control port in Renoise MIDI preferences.
4. Select the Panorama control port as MIDI IN P2 CTRL and MIDI OUT P2 CTRL inside the tool.
5. Start with MCU MIXER mode if you want the easiest setup.
6. Use INTERNAL mode only when you want to use a custom Panorama preset and MIDI Learn.
7. Configure ENC / FAD / BTN mappings as needed.
8. Enable W.A. on an encoder only when you want HYDRA SANITY automation-write integration.
9. Enable LCK below W.A. when you want the Panorama encoder to stay locked to its HYDRA SANITY Panorama row.
10. Use SETUP CONTROLL TOOL when you want to learn additional control buttons globally and optionally route selected buttons to HYDRA SANITY with HS.

15. v0.61 Changelog

Version 0.61 adds the current SETUP CONTROLL TOOL, expanded DIAG, HS routing and W.A. lock workflow.

• Updated the documented version baseline to v0.61.
• Added SETUP CONTROLL TOOL as a separate GUI window for learnable control buttons.
• Added per-button MIDI Learn with PRESS B state and compact [ CC/NOTE | ch ] mapping display.
• SETUP CONTROLL TOOL mappings are now stored in preferences.xml, not in the song.
• Added Clear All MIDI Learn for the SETUP CONTROLL TOOL mapping layer.
• Added HS routing for the bottom transport-style buttons, allowing selected buttons to send IPC commands directly to HYDRA SANITY.
• Added direct HS mappings for REC, PLAY, STOP and REPEAT.
• Added expanded DIAG MIDI-IN display: SYSEX IN, decoded MIDI IN and RAW IN.
• Reduced Panorama W.A. automation write debounce to 20 ms.
• Added LCK below each encoder W.A. button and extended Panorama IPC with LCK|1 / LCK|0.

Created for the Renoise community.
Zorgan Roman