Melbourne Instruments announce Roto-Control

Published 4/2/25

Company bring motorised pot system to MIDI controller

Melbourne Instruments caused quite the stir at Superbooth 2023, with their debut instrument, Nina, drawing a significant crowd thanks in part to its use of a rather clever motorised pot system. The synth itself proved to be popular as well, and has since been followed by the Delia, a six-voice keyboard instrument that utilises the same brushless motor system.

The latest addition to the company’s line-up isn’t another synth, but rather a MIDI controller that allows their innovative system to take control of third-party hardware and software. Roto‑Control is a compact unit that combines eight touch-sensitive motorised pots with a row of high-res screens and function buttons, and offers a choice of three operation modes that allow for detailed control over plug-ins, DAWs and MIDI-capable instruments.

First up is Mix Mode, which has been designed as a plug-and-play control mode for Ableton Live’s audio mixing environment — the unit will automatically sync track names and colours with an active Live Set, with no need to save or edit labels. Switching to Plugin Mode then allows the Roto-Control to ‘learn’ and take full control of Ableton Live’s plug-ins, with parameters saved directly to the hardware rather than the host computer. Both modes include a full set of transport controls for Live.

The third offering, MIDI Mode then allows the unit to function as a dedicated MIDI controller that can be used with any compatible software or hardware instrument or device. It can be used as a standalone controller with no need for a computer, and is capable of storing up to 64 different setups, which can each consist of up to 64 controls (32 knobs and 32 button assignments).

When being used in MIDI Mode, the Roto-Control benefits from a Motion Recording function, which allows users to record and playback MIDI data in order to automate parameters on third-party instruments and devices. The function can be synchronised to an internal or external MIDI clock, and is capable of saving up to eight Setups which can each consist of up to eight parameters. It supports step-recording lengths of 16, 32, 48 or 64 steps, and offers a choice of forward, backward, random and ping-pong playback modes.