Quad Cortex MIDI control for Reaper

Automate your Neural DSP Quad Cortex directly from the Reaper timeline.

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✨ Key Features

• Zero-Touch Setup: Automatically creates and configures a dedicated MIDI track (Armed, Monitoring ON, Record Disabled).
• Automatic Hardware Routing: Assigns your MIDI interface ID directly to the track routing.
• Intelligent Regions:
  • Presets: Switch banks and presets using #BankLetter (e.g., #1A).
  • Scenes: Switch scenes (A to H) using !SA to !SH.
  • Inheritance: Place Scene regions inside larger Preset regions for precise control.
• Live/Studio Automation:
  • Play: Forces Gig View ON and turns Tuner OFF.
  • Stop/Pause: Automatically activates the Tuner for silent breaks.
• Smart Error Handling: Detects if your MIDI hardware is unplugged and guides you through the fix.

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⚠️ Choosing your version

Stable Version

• Status: Recommended for Live/Studio
• Source: Search Quad Cortex MIDI control in ReaPack (Standard repos)

Development Version

• Status: Experimental / New features
• Source: Add this GitHub URL to your ReaPack repositories

Installation

Stable Version (Easiest)

No extra steps required if you have ReaPack installed:

1. Open Extensions > ReaPack > Browse packages.
2. Search for Quad Cortex MIDI control.
3. Right-click and Install.

Development Version

Through Reapack and GitHub

To test the latest features before they hit the stable release:

1. Copy this URL: https://github.com/6wheels/reaper-quad-cortex-midi-control/raw/main/index.xml
2. In Reaper: Extensions > ReaPack > Import a repository.
3. Paste the URL and click OK.
4. Install the package as usual.

Manually with Github

1. Download the Quad Cortex MIDI control folder from this repository.
2. Place it in your Reaper Scripts directory.
3. Load Quad_Cortex_MIDI_Control.lua in the Actions List.

🛠 Configuration (Setup Wizard)

On the first run, a Setup Wizard will appear. You can relaunch it at any time by running the Quad_Cortex_MIDI_control_setup script from your Action List.

• MIDI Channel: The MIDI channel your Quad Cortex is listening to (default: 1).
• Hardware MIDI Out ID: The ID of your MIDI interface. A list of all available devices and their IDs is automatically displayed in the Reaper Console when the wizard opens.
• Dedicated Track Name: The name of the track the script will create and manage (default: Quad Cortex MIDI Control).
• Preset Prefix: The character used to identify Preset changes in Region names (default: #).
  • Example: #1A, #12C
• Scene Prefix: The characters used to identify Scene changes in Region names (default: !S).
  • Example: !SA to !SH (matches footswitches A-H).
• Tuner on Stop? (y/n): If enabled, the QC Tuner activates when you stop playback.
• GigView on Play? (y/n): If enabled, the QC forces Gig View ON when you hit play.
• Log Level (0-2):
  • 0: Silent.
  • 1: [INFO] Shows changes and transport status (Recommended).
  • 2: [DEBUG] Shows full configuration and file operations.

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🚀 Usage Instructions

1. Naming your Regions

Create regions in the timeline and name them using your prefixes:

• To change a Preset: Name a region #1A (Bank 1, Preset A).
• To change a Scene: Name a region !SA (Scene A).
• Combined:
  • Name the region with both preset and scene change, ex: #1A !SA
  • Place a small !SB region inside a larger #4D region to switch to Scene B while staying in Preset 4D.
  • Anything after preset and scene will be ignored, but it can be used to name the region as usual, ex: #1A !SA Chorus

2. Tempo Sync (BPM)

To sync your QC's delays and time-based effects to Reaper's tempo:

1. Go to Preferences > MIDI Devices.
2. Double-click your MIDI Output.
3. Check "Send clock to this device".
4. The script's dedicated track will automatically relay this clock to your hardware.

Note: If regions overlap, the shortest Region takes priority for Scene changes (ideal for nested scenes within a preset).

💡 Pro Tip: Visual Organization (REAPER 7+)

REAPER 7 allows you to display multiple Region Lanes. This is highly recommended for this script to keep your timeline clean:

1. Right-click the Region/Marker area at the top of the timeline.
2. Select Lanes > Display multiple lanes.
3. You can now drag your Scene regions (!S) to a different lane than your Preset regions (#).

This makes it much easier to see which Scene is active within a larger Preset region at a glance.

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🔍 Troubleshooting

• Hardware Error: If your MIDI interface is unplugged, the script will stop and show an error message. Check the Console to see currently available IDs and update your setup.
• MIDI Device missing from Console list: If your device does not appear in the console during setup:
  1. Ensure the device is properly connected and recognized by your Operating System before launching REAPER.
  2. Check Preferences > MIDI Devices and ensure the output is not "Disabled".
• Slow Scene/Preset Changes (USB MIDI): If you are using the Quad Cortex via USB MIDI and switching feels sluggish:
  1. Go to Preferences > MIDI Devices.
  2. Right-click your QC Output and select Configure output....
  3. Check the box "Open device in low latency/low precision mode". This often resolves timing issues with the QC's internal MIDI buffer.
• Tempo / BPM Sync Issues:
  1. In REAPER: Ensure "Send clock to this device" is checked in your MIDI Output settings.
  2. On the Quad Cortex: Go to Settings > MIDI and ensure MIDI Clock is set to ON or Receive.
  3. Ensure the dedicated control track is not muted.
• Erratic Behavior (Multiple Tracks): The script identifies the control track by its name. If your project contains multiple tracks with the same name, the script may target the wrong one. Always ensure only one dedicated control track exists.
• No MIDI reaching the QC: Ensure the dedicated track is Armed and Monitoring is set to ON.
• Logging: Set Log Level to 2 to see exactly what MIDI messages are being sent and which track is being used in real-time.

License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. You are free to share and modify this code, but you cannot monetize it, and any derivative work must remain Open Source under the same license.