Stick edge quantization (corner buttons)

Stick edge quantization takes the analog stick and slices its outer ring into discrete zones — typically north, east, south, west — and fires a separate Note On for each. You suddenly have four extra pads under your thumb, on top of whatever the centred axes are doing. It's the controller-music equivalent of finding a free extra octave on the keyboard.

This binding is what unlocks one-handed drum kits. With four face buttons, two shoulder buttons, two D-pad directions, AND four stick corners, you've got twelve hit points on one hand. Enough for a full drum rack with cymbals, plus filter sweeps on the other stick.

What you need

A calibrated stick. The edge detection threshold defaults to 85% of full deflection, so a saggy or drifting stick will mis-fire. Run calibration if you haven't.

Open the editor and enable corner mode

Click the stick on the Mapping tab, then in the panel toggle Edge quantization on. The view changes from "two axes" to "axes + four zones". You can keep the axes mapped to CCs while also using the corners — they're independent.

Pick the zones

Default is 4 zones (N/E/S/W). You can switch to 8 zones (adds NE/SE/SW/NW) for finger-twister mappings, but four is usually plenty. Each zone gets its own Note or CC binding.

{
  "sticks": {
    "right": {
      "x": { "type": "cc", "cc": 10, "channel": 1 },
      "y": { "type": "cc", "cc": 11, "channel": 1, "invert": true },
      "edges": {
        "enabled": true,
        "zones": 4,
        "threshold": 0.85,
        "hysteresis": 0.15,
        "N": { "type": "note", "note": 36, "channel": 10, "velocity": 110 },
        "E": { "type": "note", "note": 38, "channel": 10, "velocity": 110 },
        "S": { "type": "note", "note": 42, "channel": 10, "velocity": 110 },
        "W": { "type": "note", "note": 46, "channel": 10, "velocity": 110 }
      }
    }
  }
}

Channel 10 is the General MIDI drum channel. Note 36 = kick, 38 = snare, 42 = closed hat, 46 = open hat — a full four-piece kit on one stick.

Zone angle reference

For the default 4-zone layout, each zone covers a 90° arc centred on its cardinal direction. The 8-zone layout halves them. Angles are measured clockwise from N (up = 0°):

Zone	Arc (4-zone)	Arc (8-zone)	GM drum suggestion
N	315°–45°	337.5°–22.5°	36 — Kick
NE	—	22.5°–67.5°	49 — Crash 1
E	45°–135°	67.5°–112.5°	38 — Snare
SE	—	112.5°–157.5°	51 — Ride
S	135°–225°	157.5°–202.5°	42 — Closed hat
SW	—	202.5°–247.5°	50 — High tom
W	225°–315°	247.5°–292.5°	46 — Open hat
NW	—	292.5°–337.5°	43 — Floor tom

Hysteresis and retrigger

If you want a flam-roll feel (re-trigger as long as you're past the threshold), set retrigger: true with a retrigger period (ms). 80 ms gives a 7.5 Hz roll — useful for hi-hats.

{
  "sticks": {
    "right": {
      "edges": {
        "enabled": true,
        "zones": 4,
        "threshold": 0.85,
        "retrigger": true,
        "retriggerMs": 80,
        "N": { "type": "note", "note": 42, "channel": 10, "velocity": 90 }
      }
    }
  }
}

Common scenarios

Patches that show what corners are actually for:

• Finger drumming kit: Right stick 4-zone → kick/snare/hat/open-hat (channel 10). Left stick CCs → filter on the master bus. Face buttons → percussion (clap, cowbell, shaker).
• Chord stabs: 8-zone right stick, each zone fires a chord pad (note 60, 64, 67 sent together with type: "chord"). Eight diatonic chords on one thumb.
• Looper transport: N = record, E = play, S = stop, W = undo (all CC 80–83 on a Mobius/Ableton looper). Punch loop sections without leaving the controller.
• Scene jump: Each zone fires type: "preset-by-name" to swap mappings on the fly — verse, chorus, bridge, outro on the four cardinal directions.
• Hi-hat roll mode: N = closed hat (no retrigger), E = open hat, S = closed hat with retrigger 80 ms (the roll), W = pedal hat. One stick = a real drummer's hat work.

What's next

Combine corners with touchpad XY for a full one-handed drum/synth combo. Save the patch via save and load presets. To read up on what hysteresis actually is, see deadzones & hysteresis.