Adjust volume of specific channels via MIDI knob

Hi everyone,

for our live performance, we are sending Hauptwerk into Reaper using VST Link on a Windows PC.

I would like to be able to control my headphones monitor mix volume by using a knob on the MIDI Console. Ideally, I'd like to do this:

• Send a full mixdown on Channels 1&2, with constant volume, to be sent to speakers
• Send the same mixdown on Channels 3&4, with MIDI-adjustable volume, to be sent to headphones

The problem is, I can't seem to find a function that would allow me to use a MIDI control to change the volume of a specific output channel. The Hauptwerk mixer does not seem to offer MIDI functionality. And the main Volume control always affects all output channels (whereas I would like it to affect only channels 3&4).

Can this be achieved in any way?

Alternative solutions I have considered and rejected:
→ I could adjust the volume within Reaper, but Hauptwerk is already listening to my MIDI console. To my knowledge, only one application can listen to a MIDI port at a given time.
→ Third party applications could forward the MIDI to two applications at once, but I'm concerned about extra latency.

[mdyde]

Hello Lukas,

There's no way natively within Hauptwerk currently that you can control the level of Hauptwerk's mixer controls (or any other audio level controls, apart from the overall volume) from MIDI, I'm afraid, although potentially adding that kind of functionality is logged as an enhancement request.

[One possible, although rather unintuitive and fiddly work-around might be to create a very short and silent Hauptwerk impulse response file set, assign it to one of your channel pairs on the mixer, then use Hauptwerk's master reverb wetness slider from MIDI to control the wet/dry ratio. The slider would affect the wetness of all active reverbs, but since you would only have a reverb on one of the channel pairs it would only affect that channel pair, and since the impulse response would be silent it would effectively act as a volume control for that channel pair.]

→ I could adjust the volume within Reaper, but Hauptwerk is already listening to my MIDI console. To my knowledge, only one application can listen to a MIDI port at a given time.

Perhaps you could use a MIDI knob connected to a different MIDI port, with that MIDI port being used/enabled solely in Reaper (not in Hauptwerk).

→ Third party applications could forward the MIDI to two applications at once, but I'm concerned about extra latency.

That might not be an issue provided that the forwarding happened within software (not via a physical MIDI cable, which would add latency).

Thank you very much for the comprehensive advice!

[mdyde]

Thanks, Lukas. You're very welcome.