Lightroom and The Behringer X-Touch Compacr

There are now quite a number of RAW software tools, increasing daily. Some are good, some are crappy; some are cheap or even free, some are pricey, some are (wake me up when it's finished increasing the exposure) mind-numbingly slooooooow! Hard to believe, but some of these RAW developing software packages are almost as bad as Windows.

But ultimately you get what you pay for - as a matter of routine I tend to free-trial them all and then inevitably and usually quickly and dismissively bring CleanMyMac into the picture to delete them. You can usually get a 30-day trial of such products. I've been a LightRoom fan for donkey's years. It's smooth, sleek and fast. Though, like probably three quarters of the world, I detest Adobe's subscription plan, where you merely rent the software for a monthly or annual fee. Oh well, some things are sent to try us. A clever piece of software called LRControl from (Peltmade) provides the interface between the hardware and LightRoom. So this article is all about LR with LRControl using (in my case) a Behringer X-Touch Compact. LRControl can use just about any MIDI console.

This is a Behringer X-Touch Compact:

And this is my X-Touch, all programmed, labelled, and ready to fly:

So, the shopping list:

→ A copy of Adobe Lightroom Classic - this doesn't work with LightRoom CC
→ A MIDI control surface, variously known as a mixing desk or MIDI controller. Usually used with digital audio software, but equally valid for the current purpose.
→ A copy of Peltmade LRControl, links etc above
→ Controller overlays, ie, the white plastic labellable things which you see in the picture of my X-Touch. No idea where or how to get them, and I don't really know what they're called - mine came with the device, purchased used from eBay.
→ Sticky labels to go on the overlays. Avery L4731REV are what I used and are the perfect size
→ Patience and a clear mind for when you're deciding which control does what

So if you're ready, let's get down to details

Just a few housekeeping notes:

This is all written from the points of view of Apple OSX and the Behringer X-Touch Compact and Peltmade LRControl and Adobe LightRoom Classic.

I cannot even begin to comment upon how much of this is relevant to that godawful comedy act called Windows. (Author faints briefly).