Hey all - early post from a new Elektronaut here - Thanks for this great resource!
I got my Digitakt about a month ago and am [mostly] past the learning curve and on to having a lot of fun with it.
I’ve just been using samples up until this point but I plan to use my DT as the brain of my setup, controlling my Prophet Rev 2 and a Moog Minitaur.
My questions:
Just diving into DT MIDI controlling my Rev 2 and having some trouble. I’ve been through the manuals and searched a lot and am still scratching my head a bit - are there any good walkthroughs online for this setup anyone could link me to? I’d like to sequence notes and be able to mute different MIDI channels on the DT but control all of the modulation perimeters on the Rev 2.
As it is now, the notes I program into the DT for the Rev 2 sound a lot different so there’s clearly some disconnect with how the DT is controlling the sound. A C3 played on the Rev 2 is way lower when a C3 is played through the DT(according to the midi trig page). I’m also unable to live record into the DT.
Am I able to have the DT record automation of my perimeter changes made on the Rev 2 knobs?
Anyone with experience between the DT and Rev 2 willing to walk me through setup or suspect what I’m missing?
Sorry if the post isn’t super clear. Thanks for any help.
I have a similar setup running (DT, Rev2, MiniBrute+some modular all daisy chained) an works quite well. I will try to explain my config in the next days but am quite busy atm.
There is no one standard for nomenclature, but there is for the Midi note number underneath it, so an actual Midi Note 50 e.g. should sound the same if both play that note. How it is translated to the piano notation is not what matters. You can find a two octave difference between product X and product y. Elektron are not one of the outliers, I’d be surprised if DSI were tbh, but rather than quote a C# establish midi number using a midi monitor and see if there’s scope for unexpected transposing … essentially referencing C numbers is arbitrary
Not easily. The DT can record specific MIDI CC messages into its sequencer, but the message numbers cannot be customized. Instead, you can program the MIDI CC messages to be sent in the MIDI tracks on the DT and then live record twists of the DT’s DATA ENTRY knobs in its MIDI sequencer tracks.
Thanks @avantronica. I understand that idea normally amongst keyed instruments - it seems I mistakenly thought in this case the Rev2 and Digitakt would be “talking” to one another thus the notes would line up. Guess it doesn’t work that way.
@PeterHanes That makes sense. I’ll have to make due with mapping the 8 DT knobs that’ll be most useful to automate to the DT. Thanks.
My biggest concern right now is not being able to live record keys played on the Rev2 into the DT.
You didn’t write anything about what you have tried so far, or what problems you encountered, so here is simply what’s required to be set up.
As an example, to record onto and play back from the DT’s MIDI Track A:
Connections:
Connect a working MIDI cable from the Rev2’s MIDI Out port to the DT’s MIDI In port.
Connect a working MIDI cable from the DT’s MIDI Out port to the Rev2’s MIDI In port.
In the Rev2’s Global settings:
set the MIDI Channel number to a particular value, for example 15;
set MIDI Out Select to “MIDI”;
set Local Control to “Off”.
In the Digitakt’s SETTINGS > MIDI CONFIG > PORT CONFIG menu:
set OUT PORT FUNC to “MIDI”;
set INPUT FROM to “MIDI”;
set OUTPUT TO to “MIDI”
activate RECEIVE NOTES.
Now select MIDI Track A on the DT. In the SRC page, set the MIDI channel for outgoing MIDI messages to the MIDI channel number of your Rev2 (for example, 15) by pressing and holding [FUNC] and pressing knob A (“CHAN”) then set the channel number.
Live record your playing from the Rev2 on the DT as described in 10.2.3 of the DT’s manual.
@LosingLight the advice above from @PeterHanes for MIDI hookups is right. When it’s working, you will indeed be able to live-play notes in on the Rev-2 and record them as MIDI triggers on one of the DT Midi channels. But it’s also true that the automation of knobs needs to be done on the DT. But don’t forget that if you’re doing this for live performance, live-tweaking your Rev-2 knobs adds some performance value and also opportunity for expression. If you’re just looking to automate for recording, then obviously disregard.
Last, another thing to keep in mind about “recording” is that you can live-record the Rev-2 part in as a sample and assign it to one of the audio tracks 1–8.
Another idea would be to combine these approaches. Record the notes in as a MIDI sequence, then have the DT play the Rev-2 back while you physically twist the rev-2 knobs, and output the Rev-2 audio into the sampling input of the DT. Music + parameter automation captured.
Hope this helps. Good luck! I bet your rig sounds great.
Hey all! - back again. Thanks again for all your help. I’m up and running and think I have things sorted with a much better handle on MIDI implementation.
I’m using the Digitakt as the “brain” for the Rev 2 and Minitar. I’ve mostly been using the Minitaur with it and playing the Rev 2 live outside of the MIDI path. I had a few hiccups trying all three in the MIDI chain. A couple of more specfic questions…
when I set the DT to Send Clock it takes over the LFO rate of the Minitaur and the only way it changes is via changing the BPM. I don’t suppose theres a way I’m missing to keep it in rhythm to the DT BPM but still be able to alter the rate of the Minitair LFO? For instance, on the Rev 2 if I set an LFO to clock sync I can adjust the LFO rate based on steps rather than just a value.
When I try running both synths from the DT the setup is:
-DT MIDI OUT to Rev 2 MIDI IN
-DT MIDI IN to Rev 2 MIDI OUT
-Rev 2 MIDI THRU to Minitaur MIDI IN (or should I be going from the DT THRU to Minitaur MIDI IN?)
I kept running into trouble where the REV 2 seemed to suddenly be controlling itself and the Minitaur, despite them being set up on separate channels. There was also a couple of times where I’d be running a nice sequence on the Minitaur and for no rhyme or reason I’d lose audio and have to set all the MIDI stuff back up again from scratch to get it working. Does it sound like I’m missing something or is this the MIDI quirks I’ve read about the Minitaur?
I’ve been experimenting a lot during quarantine so started a separate IG account as a sort of jam journal. Recorded this today, should give an idea of the setup too:
The Minitaur allows you to switch off MIDI sync if you want to. It also allows the LFO to be in sync with MIDI clock but running at a different rate. These features are likely to be available by MIDI editing the Minitaur rather than from the front panel. See Modulation (MOD), MIDI Accessible Control in the Minitaur’s manual.
These are the correct connections for most applications.
You should make sure that you set Local Control to “Off” on the Rev2.
You also need to report to us the channel assignments on all units:
check which MIDI channel numbers you have set on the Minitaur and the Rev2;
check which MIDI channel numbers you have set on the DT’s MIDI tracks;
check which MIDI channel numbers you have set for audio tracks 1 to 8 in the DT’s SETTINGS > MIDI CONFIG > CHANNELS menu.
Thanks for the help @PeterHanes. Much appreciated. When you say “MIDI editing the Minitaur” are you referring to making those changes via the Minitaur Editor software or by programming knobs on the DT to make these changes?
Back with a lot of settings…and couple of issues.
The DT channel settings: Track A - MIDI Track 1 (same as Rev2) Track B MIDI Track 5 (same as Minitaur) MIDI channels set to off for tracks 1-8 & C-H FX control CH: off Auto Channel: off Program chg in channel: auto Program chg out channel: auto
DT MIDI sync settings: Clock receive: off Clock send: on Transport receive: on Transport send: off (I understand this transport separation is new with the latest update, so couldn’t find help in the manual) Program Channel receive: on Program Channel send: off
DT Port Config settings: Out port: MIDI Thru: MIDI Input from: MIDI Output to: MIDI Output Channel: Track Channel Param Output: CC Encoder Dest: INT + EXT Trig Key DST: INT + EXT Mute Dest: INT + EXT Receive notes: yes Receive CC/NRPN: Yes
Rev 2 settings: MIDI channel: 1(same as DT track A) MIDI clock mode: Slave Thru MIDI clock port: MIDI MIDI Param Send: CC MIDI Param Rcv: CC MIDI control: On MIDI Prog Enable: On MIDI Prog Send: On MIDI Sysex cable: MIDI MIDI Out: MIDI MIDI Arp & Seq: off Multi Mode: off Local Control: off
Questions:
With Local control off on the Rev 2, and this may sound obvious to many, not being able to control any settings at all on the synth doesn’t seem right. Keys transmit sound of course through the MIDI path, but none of the sound design knobs do anything at all and I can’t choose programs from the synth. I know I can map CCs of some controls to the 8 knobs on DT, and that works when I do, but surely there’s a way to be able to still control the sound of synth from its own front panel and not be limited to those 8 knobs? I’m assume I’m just routing the MIDI data incorrectly somewhere.
When live recording notes using the REV2 keyboard into the DT, is there a way to make the note length in the sequence be the length that I hold a given key down rather than adjusting the key length in the TRIG menu afterward?
When live recording the Rev2 into the DT the pitch and sound match what I play. On the Minitaur, however…when I live record in(using chromatic keys on the DT) the pitch several octaves higher when it plays back the sequence than when I play it live. It does hold the notes for as long as I hold them on the chromatic keyboard. What am I missing?
It could be either. The point is that the Minitaur appears to have the features that you were asking about but they are not accessible from its front panel.
Elektron updates its manuals whenever new features are added. You can download an updated manual from the support page for the DT on Elektron’s website.
Local Control Off prevents MIDI feedback in your system. Because the Rev2 uses the same MIDI channel number for MIDI input and output and because the DT uses fixed MIDI CC messages to control the MIDI CC messages recorded from MIDI Input on its MIDI tracks, you have to compromise by either:
controlling the Rev2’s sound parameters from the DT’s knobs, or
not using the Rev2 as the transmitting keyboard and the sound source at the same time.
There may be trick to use the Rev2’s MultiMode and keep Local Control On but this would give reduced polyphony. Perhaps some Rev2 owners can advise.
The DT’s manual says that you can do this in LIVE RECORDING mode (within the limits of the Dt’s capabilities as a step sequencer, of course).
I don’t know about this. Maybe a kindly DT owner can post here to advise you.
Using my DT with a Prophet Rev 2. I know I can map the 8 CCs on the DT to control 8 parameters via the DT’s knobs. If I do that, all works well and I can live record automation of those knobs/functions, indicated by the yellow trigs.
Now, when I’m live recording and I make changes on my Rev2’s panel, it shows the yellow trigs indicating it’s recognizing those changes(this happens when no CCs are mapped in the DT too). However, the changes are not actually recorded - the yellow trigs stay there but the automation doesnt play back.
It’s hearing my changes from the Rev2 panel - how do I get the DT to record automation done via that panel?
I’ll experiment and report back.