Remote Control Guitar Rig

A few months ago, I downloaded Sofa Control (available from Gravity Apps), a nice little app that allows me to use my Apple remote with any application. It works by mapping the buttons on the remote to the hot keys applications recognize. I haven’t really used this app very much, but a few days ago I decided to try connecting Sofa Control to Guitar Rig 3 (available from Native Instruments).

After some trial and error, I managed to finally get it working really well. Now I can use my remote live to change presets, change tempo, turn effects on/off, and mute the tuner. This is really useful. I’ve found that I can place the remote in my pocket and still activate through my clothing, so I no longer have to reach down to my MacBook or stomp those loud foot switches on the Rig Kontrol (also available from Native Instruments).

1. Foot Controller Setup

Guitar Rig works with several different foot controllers and is fully customizable. You may have your foot controller set up differently, but for the sake of this blog, I’ll show you how I have my Rig Kontrol 2 set up.

• RK Pedal: Usually volume, expression, or blend pedal (Sound)
• RK KickDown: Effect parameter 3 (Sound)
• RK Switch 1: Effect parameter 1 (Sound)
• RK Switch 2: Effect parameter 2 (Sound)
• RK Switch 3: Metronome Tap (Global)
• RK Switch 4: Not Assigned (RK3 only)
• RK Switch 5: Prev Sound (Global)
• RK Switch 6: Next Sound (Global)
• RK Switch 7: Tuner Silent Mode (Global)
• RK Switch 8: Not Assigned (RK3 only)

2. Guitar Rig Hot Keys

Sofa Control needs hot keys to function with Guitar Rig, so first I had to assign hot keys to my Guitar Rig setup.

To assign a hot key, go to ‘Controller’ under ‘Options.’ Find the switch you want to co-assign a hot key to and click the Learn button. Press the key you want to make the hot key. Repeat this process for any additional hot keys. Hot keys don’t necessarily need to be connected to foot switches. Additional assignments can be made that are not linked to switches and are hot keys only.

This is how I assigned my hot keys:

• RK Switch 1: , (comma)
• RK Switch 2: . (period/fullstop)
• RK Switch 3: t
• RK Switch 5: [ (left square bracket)
• RK Switch 6: ] (right square bracket)
• RK Switch 7: m

3. The Sofa Control Script

I’m no programmer, but I was able to figure this out. I kept things simple by only mapping the pressed buttons. I may add functions to the held buttons in the future, but for now, this works great.

This gives my Apple remote the following functions:

• Menu: Tuner Silent Mode Toggle
• Play: Metronome Tap Tempo
• Plus: Previous Sound
• Minus: Next Sound
• Left: Effect 1 Toggle
• Right: Effect 2 Toggle

Note: Feel free to take this script and modify it as you need.

Open Sofa Control. Under ‘File,’ select ‘New Script.’ A new window will pop up. Select all the code and delete it. Copy the code below and paste it into that window.

(*
Description: Guitar Rig 3 Script for Sofa Control
Author: Scott Troyer
URL: http://www.scotttroyer.com

Mapping:
* Menu: Tuner Silent Mode Toggle (RF Switch 7 - Global - m )
* Play/Pause: Metronome Tap (RK Switch 3 - Global - t )
* Plus: Prev Sound (RK Switch 5 - Global - , )
* Minus: Next Sound (RK Switch 6 - Global - . )
* Left: Effect 1 Toggle (RK Switch 1 - Sound - [ )
* Right: Effect 2 Toggle (RK Switch 2 - Sound - ] )
*)

on rcActivate()
 ignoring application responses
 tell the application "Guitar Rig 3" to activate
 end ignoring
end rcActivate

on rcPlay()
 simulate keystroke "t"
end rcPlay

on rcMenu()
 simulate keystroke "m"
end rcMenu

on rcPlus()
 simulate keystroke "["
end rcPlus

on rcMinus()
 simulate keystroke "]"
end rcMinus

on rcLeft()
 simulate keystroke ","
end rcLeft

on rcRight()
 simulate keystroke "."
end rcRight

Once you’ve pasted that code in, click ‘Verify.’ The code should reformat the text size and color.

Make sure both of these options are checked. Now select ‘Guitar Rig 3’ from the pop-up menu. The application icon will automatically be added to the box on the right and Guitar Rig 3 will be added to the Sofa Control menu.

Save the file and close the window. You are now ready to use Sofa Control with Guitar Rig 3.

Let me know if this post was useful to you! Merry music making!