PM1D + Ipad

For some time now i've been bouncing around in my head the idea of trying to figure out how to control the Yamaha PM1D with my ipad.  Now i know there's the PM1d Manager software and that you can control the console via a laptop and vnc but my experience is that you end up spending more time waiting for your computer or console to reboot because of a crash.  I wanted to be able to control a few faders (DCA's) just so i could walk the room and make a few mix adjustments or mute the band if they were done rehearsing while i was up in the balcony.

The way that made sense to me was thru a midi control app like Midi Designer.  You can custom make your own interface with faders, buttons, etc and assign them to whatever you like.  I googled pm1d and ipad and found the Yamaha Faders and XY app.  This is primarily for controlling yamaha synths but for some reason they have a PM1D skin.  It provides 8 faders and an xy pad.

To connect your ipad to the PM1D you need a host computer.  For the computer settings i followed the directions on the Midi Designer website.  After that was completed the host computer appears in the Wireless MIDI Port window in the Yamaha app.

Now the Yamaha app has a midi learn feature.  The idea is that you select the channel assign window in the app, turn on midi learn, then move the fader on the PM1d that you want assigned and the app will learn.  While the app did receive midi data it seemed to be for a different function then volume level so i had to go in and manually setup of the Control Change numbers in both the app and on the PM1D.  Here's a couple screen shots of the PM1D MIDI CTRL CHANGE screen.

My next step is to setup a control surface in Midi Designer.  You can setup a lot more faders, buttons, etc with that app then with the yamaha app.