Relackout

MIDI mapping and LED feedback

Connect a MIDI controller to Relackout, map pads and faders to scenes, cues, master and blackout by learning, and turn on LED feedback.

Almost any USB MIDI controller works with Relackout: pads, faders or knobs. This guide takes you from enabling your controller to mapping it to scenes, cues, the master and blackout by learning, trying it live, turning on LED feedback, and two shortcuts — a momentary (hold-to-light) binding and binding straight from the Designer.

What your controller sends

A pad sends a note when you press it; a fader or knob sends a continuous value called CC. Relackout listens for both and binds each one to a scene, a cue stack, the master or blackout. LED feedback goes the other way: once it’s on, the app tells your controller which scenes and cues are active, so its LEDs and rings always show the truth.

Enable your controller

  1. Open Settings from the home screen.

    General Settings screen open; the screen title is highlighted.

  2. Click MIDI Settings.

    Control Surface (MIDI & OSC) screen open; the controller row under Devices is highlighted, its switch still off.

  3. Click the switch next to your controller’s row under Devices.

    Devices list; the switch is on and the piano icon is green.

Check incoming messages: Live Monitor

  1. Scroll down to Live Monitor; press a pad or move a fader or knob on your controller.

    Live Monitor box showing a line such as CH1 Note On 36 v100.

If nothing shows up here, check the cable and the switch above before moving on.

Map a target by learning

  1. Scroll to Targets; under Scenes, click Bind MIDI next to “Blue Night”.

    Blue Night row blinking 'Waiting for MIDI…' with a Cancel button.

  2. Press the pad you want for this scene on your controller.

    Blue Night row showing a 'Note 36 @CH1' badge and a Clear button.

That’s it: one press on the pad now turns Blue Night on, the next press turns it off. If you hit the wrong key, remove it with Clear and learn it again.

Map more targets: cues, master and blackout

  1. Under Cues, click Bind MIDI next to “Dance Chase” the same way, then press a second pad.

    Dance Chase row showing a 'Note 37 @CH1' badge.

  2. Under Global, click Bind MIDI next to Master, then move your controller’s fader.

    Master row showing a 'CC 7 @CH1' badge.

  3. Under Global, click Bind MIDI next to Blackout, then press a fourth pad.

    Global group's Blackout row showing a 'Note 39 @CH1' badge.

  4. Type a note number into Search, for example 36.

    Targets list filtered by '36'; only Blue Night remains under Scenes.

Try it in Live Control

  1. Click Back, return to the home screen, then click LIVE CONTROL.

    Live Control screen open with the Main Panel layout; the panel is highlighted and no button is active yet.

  2. Press the pad bound to Blue Night.

    Blue Night button on the panel shows as active.

  3. Press the pad bound to blackout.

    Blackout button in the top bar shows as active (solid red).

The fader you bound to master works the same way: moving it does exactly what dragging the on-screen MASTER fader does.

Turn on MIDI feedback

  1. Click Back, go to Settings → MIDI Settings, then scroll to MIDI Feedback (Output).

    MIDI Feedback (Output) section; a note says these settings apply only to the Demo Venue workspace.

  2. Click the Feedback enabled switch.

    Feedback enabled switch is on; Output port still reads Auto (same as input device), and the line below reads 'No output port found — is the device connected and the input enabled?'

  1. Click Back, re-open MIDI Settings, and scroll to MIDI Feedback (Output) again.

    MIDI Feedback section with the status line reading Connected: Relackout Demo Pad.

This setting belongs to the workspace, so each venue can keep its own controller setup — unlike the device switch above, it’s remembered between launches. From here on, your controller’s LEDs and rings follow the app: whether you start a scene from a pad or from the screen, turn blackout on from the pad or the top bar, or move the master from the fader or the on-screen MASTER, your controller always shows the truth. There’s nothing else to set up.

Momentary binding: light only while held

Learning always binds a pad as a toggle: one press turns it on, the next turns it off. If you’d rather have it light up only while you hold it down, use a manual binding instead.

  1. Scroll to Targets, then click Manual add.

    Manual binding form open, with Protocol, MIDI type, CH, Data1, Action, Target and Mode fields.

  2. Leave “MIDI” selected, pick CH1 from the channel list, and type 40 into Data1.

    Form fields filled: type Note, channel CH1, Data1 40.

  3. Pick Scene from Action, “Warm White” from Target, and Momentary from Mode.

    Form fields: Action Scene, Target Warm White, Mode Momentary.

  4. Click Save.

    Warm White row under Scenes with a highlighted 'Note 40 @CH1' badge.

  5. Click Back, open LIVE CONTROL, then hold the fifth pad down for about two seconds.

    Warm White button active on the panel while the pad is held down.

Let go, and the scene — and your controller’s LED — goes dark the instant you do. It’s perfect for short hits, like a strobe on the beat.

Bind right from the Designer

  1. Click Back, open the Designer from the home screen, then click “Main Panel” in the Layouts list on the left. The list collapses and the layout’s name appears in the box at the top.

    Designer open with the Main Panel layout: the layout-name box at the top is highlighted and the Layouts list has collapsed; four scene buttons, two cue buttons and MASTER on the canvas.

  2. Click the “Intro Loop” button on the canvas.

    Intro Loop button selected; the Properties panel shows a MIDI control field with a Bind MIDI button.

  3. Click Bind MIDI, then press a sixth pad.

    MIDI control field showing a 'Note 41 @CH1' badge.

The button and the pad now do the same job — no need to visit the Targets list for this one.

What’s next

Enable your controller, map your targets by learning, and turn on feedback, so your pads always tell the truth. Next up: Control Relackout with OSC, the same idea over the network instead of a cable.

Updated: October 8, 2026

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