Behringer UB-Xa Editor

UB-Xa Edit V2 - Released


Update - new version is here UB-Xa V5

Behringer have just released a firmware update V2.0 (000.003.117). This includes new features which changes some of the Sysex Data. Latest version is 1.63and has a couple of important bug fixes that were affecting Local Control menu. This release has an updated Atrophy Page and code so Presets will recall stored Atrophy settings. 

Right here is V2 for Mac only - tested on Catalina:


The stand alone editor should work on newer M1 macs but the plugins are not compatible.




PC version has been created using Windows 7 Home running as a Virtual Machine on a Mac.

Patch Editor

Matrix Editor
New Atrophy Page

Windows Version



Setup:
The App is not signed so Mac Gatekeeper will probably throw up a dialog that this is from an unknown developer. Just load Security and Privacy from System Preferences and select Open Anyway. You only have to this on first run.


From the MIDI menu set you MIDI IO.  You may need to reload the app so the MIDI devices are refreshed:


MIDI IN = UB-Xa
MIDI OUT = UB-Xa
CONTROLLER = NONE




The editor uses NRPN messages so you need enable these in the UB-Xa menus. The editor will automatically update these settings on load once you have the MIDI I/O setup.

From USB//MIDI menu select Local CTRL and scroll to USB NPRNTx and enable
You can also enable Program Change RX/TX here too
From the USB/MIDI menu select USB CTRL and enable TX/RX NRPN.


PC V2 


OLD VERSIONS FOR FIRMWARE V1


UPDATE V2.1xx - Old version for original firmware

I've updated the editor with some Sysex routines You can load Banks into the editor and recall each patch for editing. You still have to press Write on the synth to save your Patch. Full editing of Atrophy including Sysex dump from the synth. Please note this version is Mac only.

This will be the last update for a while. It has been an interesting project and the UB-Xa is a powerful synth. I think Behringer just need to develop a Vintage Knob like Sequential did. The Atrophy is very complex and doesn't hit the sweet spot that a simple Vintage Knob does.






V2.196 Updated 16th July 2024

Mac OSX Standalone  

UB-Xa Sysex Editor  

Mac OSX Plugins

UB-Xa Sysex Editor AU component  

UB-Xa Sysex Editor VST  Copy to VST folder inside Plugins folder


Update History V2.xxx

New Application Icon!

Fixed OSC2 Transpose control to step in semitones

Sysex dumps to the editor - select Globals/Sysex/ Bank A B C or D

Atrophy editor complete with SysEx Data received from the synth

Fixed a few controls

Tidied up the panel

Added more Arpeggiator controls

I have used a font called Adelon which is similar to the UB-Xa font. If you don't have the font it will be replaced with Sans Serif. 




AU Component


VST


Setup:

The App is not signed so Mac Gatekeeper will probably throw up a dialog that this is from an unknown developer. Just load Security and Privacy from System Preferences and select Open Anyway. You only have to this on first run.



From the MIDI menu set you MIDI IO.  You may need to reload the app so the MIDI devices are refreshed:


MIDI IN = UB-Xa
MIDI OUT = UB-Xa

CONTROLLER = NONE


The editor uses NRPN messages so you need enable these in the UB-Xa menus

From USB//MIDI menu select Local CTRL and scroll to USB NPRNTx and enable
You can also enable Program Change RX/TX here too
From the USB/MIDI menu select USB CTRL and enable TX/RX NRPN.

PC Downloads - Version 1


PC Vst3 Plugin   - Doesn't work for me in Reaper on a Windows 7 VM but YMMV

PC version was compiled on a virtual machine running Windows 7 Home. Not tested as I don't have PC.

Update History

V1.50 
Atrophy Lock On/Off corrected - On is now locked!
Atrophy Lock Info added
GNARLY and BRIGHT menu fixed 
Corrected  some Atrophy factory values


Good to know

Pan
You have to unlock Atrophy to adjust Panning but be aware that this is saved in the current Atrophy. So it would be possible to store 8 different pan settings in the Atrophy profiles.



Preset Volume
Shift + Volume will adjust the Preset volume for a patch. Remember to save the patch!







 







Comments

MFB Tunes said…
Hi, downloaded your editor. It looks and work very good. thanks. Any chance to make a vst version for MAC? The Sysex documentation is now available on behringer.com https://mediadl.musictribe.com/media/PLM/data/docs/0722-AAF/Sysex%20Guide_BE_0722-AAF_UB-Xa_UB-Xa%20D.pdf
Hi - sorry for the slow reply I missed your comment. Anyway thanks for telling me about the SYSEX. I have updated all the Mac versions so you can load Banks A-D into the editor. I also created a VST version which seems to work in Reaper and Cubase AI 10.
Dharmaone said…
Thanks Charlie, looks fantastic! Any ETA on editor compatible with 2.0 firmware? Many thanks
Hi - Currently waiting for Behringer to release the correct SYSEX Data for V2.0 firmware (0.3.117). I have updated the editor to work with V2 and it's 80% functional but when you load a patch some of the on screen controls are not updated correctly - mainly the Mod Matrix. The Atrophy page is working though so that's something. I will wait until next week and see if there's an update. If not I'll make the 'beta' available.
Dharmaone said…
Thanks Charlie!! Look forward to it. Is it not this? https://mediadl.musictribe.com/media/PLM/data/docs/0722-AAF/Sysex%20Guide_BE_0722-AAF_UB-Xa_UB-Xa%20D_Rev.1.1.pdf
Yes that’s the latest version but the Sysex Data for page 2 of the Patch Data is all wrong. I am checking each parameter trying to work out the correct data. They might release an update soon but it could be months. Working on the Mod Matrix today…..
Looney Tunes said…
Hi!! This CTRLR UBXa editor looks pretty helpful. I'm not sure if I have a configuration problem - I've setup the I/O and the USB Tx/Rx (NRPN)s as you have described. I've been able to load all my banks (A-D), and am able to switch patches on my HW from the patch list. The problem is, that I don't see any of the controls on the editor update for the patch. They seem to transmit OK to the hardware, they just don't seem to reflect the value set in the patch when I initially select the patch.

Also, you have 2 controls labeled 'OSC1 Freq' ( ;) )

Thanks
Looney Tunes said…
Hmmm - I toggled the NRPN TX editor switoch off, and then back on. Now patch changes seem to update editor controls. Strange!

Also, one of your mod matrix sources is mispelled ('EnvoudnessSustain').

Thanks again.
Hi - thanks for the feedback. Maybe the NRPN TX is defaulting to OFF on load. Will check and tidy. CHeers
Yes there was an issue with the Local Control buttons - the editor will now set NPRNTx to [X] on load. I've just uploaded the app V1.15 to Dropbox. Check it out.
PeZiK said…
Hi Charlie, the editor looks great! I was disappointed to see that version 2 is Mac-only. Is there any chance you'll export it for PC as a VST3 plugin?
Hi well I can create PC versions but I'm not sure they will run. I only have Windows 7 Home running on a Mac as a virtual machine. I will convert V2 to VST and PC standalone and upload later - they might work for you. Cheers
I have created a stand alone version for PC. I have not been able to create a working VST plug in - will have another go tomorrow
PeZiK said…
Hi Charlie, thank you! I tried the standalone PC version 2, and it works, but I couldn't find the download for the VST. If you need any help from a PC user, I'd be happy to assist :)
PeZiK said…
Sorry - I didn't see your comment before I posted - thank you!
French Chris said…
Hii ! First of all congratulations for the work, the editor is really well done and practical, but I have two small problems. I'm on Windows 7 and each time I have to do a dump so that my banks appear in the editor, and on the other hand when I click on a sound, the synth program remains the same... Thanks ! Chris
Hi Chris thanks for the feedback. If nothing happens when you click on a sound check the NRPN and PROGRAM RX TX settings on the UB-Xa - Prog change and NPRN must be enabled. Press SHIFT [USB/MIDI] {USB Ctrl] NN TX [X] and NRPN RX [X]. And Local Ctrl[ProgChange RX] [X] [ProgChange TX] [X]. I will have a look at the banks issue but each time you load the editor you should manually dump all the banks to the editor just to refresh the bank. I might be able to automate that function on load. Cheers
French Chris said…
Thank you for your quick response! I'll look on the synth and relaunch the program, I'll post an answer today.
French Chris said…
Sorry, all the functions are checked, but if the synth follows the PC modifications, I still cannot change the programs from the PC, nor the names of the programs. I also looked in the tools menu, without success...
Just updated the Mac versions. You can request Banks from the UB-Xa now. So no need to menu dive into Sysex Dump pages on the UB-Xa - good times!
Looney Tunes said…
Hi again, some more feedback - on your very useful editor:

I understand that you may not have the UI real-estate to put text boxes showing values for each control. However, on the Mod Matrix page, all of your rotary controls have pop-ups that show a given rotary control value when it is being changed. At a minimum, it would be great if you could make the main page consistent, and have pop-ups with rotary control values as well.

Thanks again,
Kevin L
Hi Kevin, showing the value would be useful. However, It's not just visual clutter or space but the way Behringer have implemented MIDI values. Most companies scale the MIDI values from 0 -16383 to 0-127 or 255 but on the UB-Xa that is done in Firmware. As you will have noticed the Mod Matrix actually needs scaling to 0-255. I've scaled the Atrophy settings but they were very weird. This is the scaling for 2 pole floor - Math.pow(2, (x-69)/12)*440. I think the best way is to have one parameter value field displayed next the the patch name. BTW I have 'scaled' most of the values when using the mouse. I'll have a look at it later. Thanks for the feedback. Charlie
Hi Kevin - thanks for that suggestion! There is now a Parameter Value box that shows the correctly scaled value when you move a rotary control. I also realised the OSC1/2 Frequency controls had not been updated for the new Quantize features - so I put a couple of value boxes on there so you can see the +/- Oct and semitone values. I have hidden the individual Matrix amount control values as they were showing 0 - 16383. Double clicking a control will set default values. Your comments/suggestions are much appreciated. Cheers
Standalone version is up - will do the plugins later.
Looney Tunes said…
Hi again,

Thanks for your responses, and fast turnaround. I really appreciate that.

With all due admiration and respect, the 'recent parameter' window doesn't work for me very well. These are a few of the usability reasons:
1.) the locus of control is away from this parameter view, which is a bit hard to keep my eyes in the right place. 2.) I have to move a rotary control to see the value (and unfortunately on my system, the rotary controls jump pretty radically when I touch them). 3.) my adel minded attention span gets lost if I am working between a few controls, and I tend to lose context of which control the parameter value in the window applies to.

I know that fixing this is more work to update alot of controls (I have programmed a few Ctrlr editors before, so I understand and appreciate how much work this takes). But I think it would be more beneficial to have parameter value readouts (even if they only temporarily show in tooltips, like the ones in the mod matrix page) as part of the rotary control.

BTW - yeah, that mapping for the 2-pole scaler is pretty sick.

Best,
Kevin L
Yes as soon as I started using it I thought the same. Anyway the popups are back and I've adjusted the mouse value scrolling. Fixed a few other things and I've upped a new version. Cheers
Re on screen values ... as there is plenty of space on the Matrix Mod page I will give each amount it's dedicated value box with -128 to 128 scaling.
Looney Tunes said…
Very Cool! This makes a big difference for me for usability. Thank you for this update.
Looney Tunes said…
One other question: do you plan on making access to some of the "Shift" parameters (I think you may have some, I'm not sure). There are a few of these I have figured out and set on some of my patches (for example: Pedal Release, Mod attack/decays, etc).
Most of the Shift parameters are already on the main screen - the one's you refer to are already in the Modulation section. I might change their names so they match the synth panel. Cheers
Latest update now shows LFO tempo sync values when Tempo Lock is on. Range from 4 Bars to 1/32T. I have also found a bug in OSC2 PWM LFO Amount. This has no effect but is controlled by OSC1 Amount,
Looney Tunes said…
Hi again, I'm sorry, I must be having a slow day, but I can't seem to find the shift parameters for Pedal Release or Mod attack/decays on the Main Page/Mod Section. How are those controls labeled? Sorry if it is obvious, I'm just not seeing it.

Also - minor UI thing: I think it would be less confusing to have the OSC1 PWM/OSC2PWM/Volume Depth Rotaries to the right of the associated switch controls (i.e. having two Depth Rotary controls next to each other is a bit visually confusing).

Thanks again,
Kevin
The mods are in the Modulation section. Mod 1 has 2 controls labelled FM Delay and Attack. In the original firmware only FM mod could be delayed. Mod2 controls are next to them. I have updated the labels to make it clearer.
French Chris said…
Hello, is the latest PC version viable? Nothing appears when I open it... Thanks for the work done!
https://aka-v-c-f.blogspot.com/2024/10/ub-xa-editor-v3.html

Well I have just tried it and it DL and working. I have just released V3 so try that
French Chris said…
Grreat ! I can't rename the patches, but it's a detail. Many thanks !
French Chris said…
I tried with midi channels 1 and everything works, this program is very well done and allows you to enter the menus much more easily!
Great thanks for the update .