MIDI control for the Red Panda Tensor — tape speed, reverse, time stretch, pitch shift, randomization, loop transport and 31 presets over USB MIDI.
Nitelite gives the Tensor a full browser-based control surface: turn every knob, flip every switch, describe the tone you want to the AI Tone Terminal, and save the results — all sent to the pedal live over MIDI (default channel 1). Works free in Chrome, Edge, Opera, or Brave — no install required.
Knobs
Control
MIDI CC
Description
SPEED
CC 20
Tape speed effect, -100% to +100%. Smoothly changes the playback speed, from forward (clockwise) to reverse (counter clockwise). BIPOLAR: 0 = reverse 100%, 64 = stopped, 127 = forward 100%. In the middle the sound is stopped. Reverse playback plays short segments of audio backwards, simulating studio tricks where a tape is flipped over.
TIME
CC 21
Time stretch / compression, 1:4 to 4:1. BIPOLAR: 0 = 1:4 stretch (25% speed), 64 = 1:1 normal playback, 127 = 4:1 compression (400%). To the left, playback is stretched without pitch shifting; to the right, playback is compressed without pitch shifting. Time compression only works during loop playback. Stretching or compressing more than 2x introduces glitches. The right LED turns magenta when time stretching is active and cyan when time compression is active.
PITCH
CC 22
Pitch shifting, -2 to +2 octaves. BIPOLAR: 0 = -2 octaves, 64 = unison (no pitch shift), 127 = +2 octaves. The PITCH knob is quantized to intervals. In live play mode pitch shifting happens in realtime; in hold modes the loop playback speed is changed to maintain the best fidelity. PITCH and TIME can be combined to adjust the pitch and loop length independently.
BLEND
CC 23
Wet/dry blend. 0 = 100% dry, 127 = 100% wet. In the Kill Dry and Analog + FX Level bypass modes the BLEND knob acts as an output level control for the wet signal.
RAND
CC 24
Randomization. Rotating clockwise changes the amount and type of randomization. Lower settings add occasional stutters, in the middle it randomly repeats short segments, and at maximum it shuffles short slices of sound. Speed and pitch are randomized based on the knob settings — for example, if PITCH is at 12:00 (unison), no pitch randomization will happen.
LOOP DECAY
CC 25
Attenuates the previously recorded sound while overdubbing so old sounds gradually fade away. 0 = 0 dB (no decay), stepping in 0.25 dB increments to 126 = -31.5 dB, 127 = off (previous sound completely muted, which splices/punches in new audio instead of overdubbing). The fade out only happens while overdubbing (red LED), not while the loop is playing. Stored in presets.
GLIDE
CC 31
Pitch glide rate — sets the glide time per octave. 0 = minimum, 127 = maximum. Stored in presets.
Switches
Switch
MIDI CC
Positions
HOLD
CC 28
NXT / REC / OVR
DIR
CC 29
REV / ALT / FWD
Footswitches
HOLD — bypass on CC 80
ON — bypass on CC 88, hold on CC 90
Special MIDI Functions
Expression — CC 4
Drift — CC 90. Receive only. On = the tape speed effect continues at the set speed without splicing back to the current time (equivalent to holding down the ON footswitch); off = snap back to the current time. If playback falls too far behind it will stop (tape stop effect). The Tensor keeps recording in real time.
HOLD Footswitch Latching — CC 85. Sets the HOLD footswitch to momentary (off, 0-63) or latching (on, 64-127). Momentary is useful for short loops/stutters and off-beat loops; latching behaves like a traditional looper or tap tempo.
ON Footswitch Latching — CC 86. Sets the ON (effect) footswitch to momentary (off, 0-63) or latching (on, 64-127). In momentary mode drift is always active, which is useful for instant rewind effects and reverse solos.
Toggle Forward / SPEED Knob — CC 65. Off (0-63) = forward playback; on (64-127) = the SPEED knob setting. For example, if SPEED is at minimum this toggles between forward and reverse. (Remote mode 3, button D.)
Toggle Full Speed / TIME & PITCH Knobs — CC 66. Off (0-63) = full speed; on (64-127) = the TIME and PITCH knob settings. For example, if PITCH is at -1 octave this toggles between full speed and half speed. (Remote mode 3, button D.)
Toggle SPEED Knob — CC 76. Off (0-63) = neutral; on (64-127) = the SPEED knob setting. (Remote mode 4, button A.)
Toggle TIME Knob — CC 77. Off (0-63) = neutral; on (64-127) = the TIME knob setting. (Remote mode 4, button B.)
Toggle PITCH Knob — CC 78. Off (0-63) = neutral; on (64-127) = the PITCH knob setting. (Remote mode 4, button C.)
Toggle RAND Knob — CC 79. Off (0-63) = randomization off; on (64-127) = the RAND knob setting. (Remote mode 4, button D.)
MIDI Transpose — CC 30. Overrides the PITCH knob (CC 22) to set pitch to a specific semitone. 40 = -2 octaves, 52 = -1 octave, 64 = unison, 76 = +1 octave, 88 = +2 octaves; each step is one semitone. Use this to sequence pitch changes. NOT saved to presets.
Loop: Record — CC 112. Starts recording a loop. Momentary trigger — sends CC 112 value 127.
Loop: Overdub — CC 113. Starts overdubbing onto the current loop. Combine with Loop Decay to make previous passes fade out. Momentary trigger — sends CC 113 value 127.
Loop: Play / Retrigger — CC 114. Plays the loop, or retriggers it from the start if it is already playing. Momentary trigger — sends CC 114 value 127.
Loop: One Shot Play / Retrigger — CC 115. Plays the loop once, or retriggers the one-shot from the start. Momentary trigger — sends CC 115 value 127.
Loop: Stop — CC 116. Stops loop playback. When playback is stopped no wet sound is heard, so with BLEND at 100% wet nothing will be heard. Momentary trigger — sends CC 116 value 127.
Loop: Clear and Return to Live — CC 117. Clears the loop and returns the Tensor to live play. Momentary trigger — sends CC 117 value 127.
Play Once — CC 62. Plays the loop once (remote mode 3, button C). Momentary trigger — sends CC 62 value 127.
Hardware Presets
The Tensor has 31 hardware preset slots. Nitelite can save your current settings to a slot and recall slots via MIDI program change.