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Lightbridge

MIDI Controllers

Lightbridge works with any MIDI controller — not just the APC40. Plug in your hardware, pick a preset for your device, and start performing in under a minute.

Quick start

  1. Plug in your controller. Lightbridge detects it automatically.
  2. Open the MIDI menu in the top bar — your device appears with a green dot.
  3. Open the Controller menu → + New Controller Panel.
  4. In the editor’s left drawer, find your device under its manufacturer (Akai, Novation, etc.) and click a preset. One click gives you a fully mapped panel with correct CCs, notes, and LED feedback.
  5. Save. Drag parameters onto knobs to bind them. You’re performing.

MIDI menu

The MIDI button in the top-right corner opens a flyout with all MIDI settings in one place:

  • Input device — pick your controller or let Auto choose. Virtual devices show a virtual badge.
  • Clock — toggle MIDI Clock In (slave to external tempo) or Clock Out (transmit to other gear), with device picker for the output port.
  • Settings — Pickup mode (soft takeover): faders must cross their current value before tracking, preventing jumps when hardware is at a different position.
  • Actions — Refresh device list, Send MIDI Panic (all notes off on all channels), Test MIDI output.

Your device choice persists across restarts.

Supported controllers

Lightbridge includes a device database with 21 controllers across all major manufacturers. When your hardware is detected, the app auto-sends SysEx initialization (for devices that need it) and offers device-specific presets with correct MIDI mappings and LED feedback.

ManufacturerControllers
AkaiAPC40 MkII, APC Mini, APC Mini MK2, MIDImix
NovationLaunchpad X, Mini MK3, Pro MK3, MK2, Launch Control XL
AbletonPush 1, Push 2, Push 3
ArturiaMiniLab 3, BeatStep, BeatStep Pro
DJ TechToolsMIDI Fighter Twister
KorgnanoKONTROL2
Allen & HeathXone:K2
Native InstrumentsMaschine MK3, Maschine Mikro MK3
FaderfoxEC4

Don’t see your controller? You can build a custom panel from scratch using the editor — see Custom panels below.

Custom panels

For any controller — listed above or not — you build a custom controller panel matching your hardware layout:

  1. Open Controller → + New Controller Panel.
  2. The editor opens with three columns: element palette + presets (left), grid canvas (center), property inspector (right).
  3. Drag knobs, pads, faders, or group labels from the palette onto the grid.
  4. Select an element to configure it in the inspector.

MIDI Learn

Select an element and click MIDI Learn in the inspector’s MIDI section. Then wiggle the physical knob or press the pad — the CC number and channel are captured automatically. A badge appears on the element (e.g., “CC 21” or “N 60”).

To map a whole controller fast, click Learn all in the editor toolbar: it arms the first control, then each physical control you wiggle is captured and the editor auto-advances to the next. Click Stop learning (or press Escape) to end early.

For offline setup without hardware, expand Manual entry and pick the message type — CC, Note, PC (Program Change), or 14-bit (high-resolution CC) — then type the number and channel directly.

Message types

Beyond plain 7-bit CC and notes, two extra types cover pro controllers:

  • Program Change (PC) — some pads and foot-switches emit PC messages instead of notes. A PC mapping binds the whole channel (not a specific program number), so use one PC mapping per channel, and it fires as a momentary trigger — great for action-button pads, which tap and auto-release since PC has no note-off. MIDI Learn captures a PC directly.
  • 14-bit CC — pro faders and knobs send a coarse MSB plus a fine LSB for 16384 steps instead of 128, so slow sweeps stay smooth. Per the MIDI standard the LSB rides on MSB + 32, so you only enter the MSB CC number — the pairing is automatic. MIDI Learn captures the plain MSB CC; switch its type to 14-bit in Manual entry to enable high-resolution mode.

Relative / endless encoders

Endless encoders (e.g. the MIDI Fighter Twister) send a turn-direction delta each tick rather than an absolute position — bound as a normal CC they’d jump to 0 or 1. Select a CC-mapped element and tick Relative (endless encoder) in the MIDI section, then pick the encoding your device uses:

  • 2’s complement — the most common (1–63 = right, 65–127 = left).
  • Signed bit — a sign bit plus magnitude.
  • Binary offset — centred at 64.

In relative mode each tick nudges the bound parameter from its current value (read-modify-write) and clamps to range, so the knob picks up wherever the parameter already is and never jumps. A ↻ badge marks a relative mapping. If turning the knob moves the wrong way or in jumps, try a different encoding — it’s device-specific.

Binding range

When a knob or fader is bound to a parameter, the inspector shows a Range with min/max fields. They map the control’s full sweep into a sub-range of the parameter (e.g., 0.2–0.8), so a knob can drive just part of a param. Set min greater than max to invert the control’s direction.

LED Feedback

Select an element and find the LED Feedback section in the inspector:

  • None — no LED output (default for unknown hardware)
  • Pad Color — sends pad color as note-on velocity. Pick the color map matching your device (APC40, Novation, Push, etc.) — it auto-fills when you’ve set a device name.
  • Knob Ring — sends ring LED position via CC. Enter the style and value CC numbers for your hardware.

Device name

Set the MIDI Device dropdown in the editor header to bind the profile to a specific controller. When that controller is plugged in, the profile activates and LED feedback routes correctly. Profiles with “Any” work with whatever is connected.

Presets

The left drawer organizes presets by manufacturer — expand Akai to see APC40 presets, Novation for Launchpads, etc. A search field at the top filters by name, device, or manufacturer.

Click a preset to apply it — all elements, MIDI mappings, and LED feedback are pre-configured. To save your own layout as a preset, click the + button.

Presets preserve everything: MIDI mappings, key bindings, LED feedback, and device name. Share presets by exporting the profile as JSON.

Binding parameters

With a panel visible:

  1. Find the parameter in the parameter panel.
  2. Drag the handle (the small ≡ icon) onto a knob or fader in your controller panel.
  3. Turn the physical knob — the parameter follows.

A label appears showing NodeLabel → ParamLabel. To unbind: right-click the slider → Unbind MIDI.

Binding action buttons

A pad triggers an action button. Bind one a few ways:

  • Drag an existing button onto a pad in the live controller panel.
  • In the Controller Manager, select a pad and use its Binding section:
    • Assign Target — pick a parameter; a button is created, bound to the pad, and opened in the Button Editor for fine-tuning. The fastest path.
    • New blank button… — create an empty button and configure it from scratch.
    • Bind existing button… — point the pad at a button you already made.

Press the physical pad to trigger the action. Pad LEDs mirror the button’s color on controllers that support it.

MIDI Clock

Receive (slave)

Toggle In in the MIDI menu’s Clock section. The status shows “waiting…” until clock pulses arrive, then locks to the incoming BPM with jitter readout. Mutually exclusive with Ableton Link.

Transmit (master)

Toggle Out and pick a destination device. Lightbridge sends 24 PPQN clock at whatever BPM is active. Press Resync to re-emit a Start message so slaved gear snaps to beat 0.

Bindable global controls

Two controls can be MIDI-bound directly:

  • Resync (BPM panel) — drag onto a pad, right-click → “Learn MIDI binding”, or select a pad in the Controller Manager and click Resync in its Binding section. Press to snap the beat clock.
  • BEAT SYNC (Action Buttons header) — same options, including the Beat Sync toggle on a selected pad in the Controller Manager. Toggles the global beat-pattern bypass.

Controller profiles

Every panel is stored as a controller profile. Profiles are show-level (carry across sets); bindings are per-set (same knob can drive different parameters in different sets).

Multiple panels can be active simultaneously — dock an APC40 knob panel next to a Launchpad pad panel.

Tips

  • Bindings are per-set. Same knob can drive Scale on Set A and Hue on Set B.
  • 21 controllers supported with device-specific LED protocols and SysEx initialization.
  • Search presets by typing your controller name in the editor’s left drawer.
  • MIDI wins every priority battle. MIDI CC overrides modulation, palette, and slider values.
  • Pickup mode prevents fader jumps — enable it in the MIDI menu under Settings.