Digitakt controlling OTO Bam via MIDI

hey all. was wondering if anyone has had any luck controlling the oto machines bam with midi from the digitakt? i’ve got the digitakt sending program changes to the bam to change presets, but nothing appears to be working. is there something i’m missing?

troubleshooting i’ve done so far:

  • made sure digitakt and bam are on same midi channel
  • made sure both midi filters are turned off on bam
  • tried using trigless trigs AND note trigs to send the program change from digitakt
  • reset bam to factory settings
  • tried connecting machines via midi cable in a variety of orders (having one machine on then turning the other on, turning both on at the same time, unplugging midi cable and plugging it back in, etc)

i’ve scoured this forum, the oto machines forum and the digitakt facebook groups without acquiring any helpful info. i e-mailed oto machines support but haven’t received a response yet. the bam sounds SO good but this hurdle has been frustrating to say the least. how nice it would be to send program changes so that the preset will switch itself as patterns change on the digitakt.

thanks for your help and my apologies if i’ve missed a thread where this question has already been answered.

Hi, it might sound obvious but did you enable Program Change Send on the Digitakt? It’s in Setting > MIDI Config > Sync, and it’s disabled by default when you create a new project.

You can also tweak the Program Change Out Channel in MIDI Config > Channels to see if it helps!

i did! i forgot to mention that in my first post. thanks though! that would be a very easy thing to over look.

Hi - did you ever get this to work… ?
Curious if these two work well together.
Thanks.

Hi,

here is a firmware update for the program change issue BAM_rev_1.4b.syx (105.0 KB)

Denis from Oto Machines made it for this purpose.

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Anybody tried this new firmware out?

How are folk getting on with midi+OTO?

i actually got this to work without updating the firmware. i legitimately do not know exactly what settings i landed on to make it work, but it’s working consistently now. i can check later today when i get home from work what settings i have on the digitakt and bam. i can tell you that i consistently hook up the midi cable to both units while they’re powered off. then power on the bam, wait just a sec and then power up the digitakt. i’m not sure if that sequence makes a difference, but i’ve heard that it can, so that’s how i’ve gotten it to work. will post midi settings later.

i’ve just been using it to send program change messages to change saved presets on the bam, but for that purpose it works great. i haven’t attempted to try to control the reverb parameters with midi sent from the digitakt.

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Thanks, considering a Bam and want to control it from the DT so very helpful

I have this problem too. I have DN sending PC to BIM and BAM. BIM responds exactly as I’d expect, it changes presets, the exact same settings (different channel, natch) for BAM, and no preset changes.

EDIT: fwiw, I have the 1.4.1 firmware installed

I think they’re all on that Revision since it’s been out since April 2018.

I’ll try later on today to see if I have the same « issue ».

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Thanks. If it doesn’t, I guess it is a bug. I failed to get registered on the OTO forum. It isn’t a disaster, cos I can kind of make the “preset” in MIDI CC in the DN midi pages, but I’d prefer to be able to use the BAM’s presets.

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Same issue here, BIM responds to PGM Change but not the BAM.

Edit : I just send an email to Support.

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Thanks for confirming! I will do the same (not to harry them, but because I have the same issue.)

Sorry, like, what channel are you using for BAM? I was using channel 5, I looked at mt midi monitor and saw that it wasn’t sending PC. Channel 6 (BIM) was. I switched my BAM to channel 7 and now it works. I have to figure out what it is in my setup that is weird here, but so far, afaict, it isn’t BAM at fault. If I use another channel it works.

EDIT:scratch that. It seems DN is only sending the PC message sometimes. Like when I move the knob. No other time AFAICT, not when it enters the pattern. So confused.

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I tried different Channels (15 and 16) on both units with the same cable. I tried with DN and DT. My MIDI Filters were set approprietaly. Weird.

It is weird. I’ll just keeping digging, will try with OT instead. My suspicion is DN is at fault here, for me.

EDIT: think I’m just running into this Sending MIDI Bank/Program Change on pattern change / start (NOT P-lock) - #6 by johnl

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It is my next step.

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Now it works. I didn’t change anything.

Found this thread while looking for a solution to the same problem: DT sending PC midi to BOUM and BIM just fine. But no luck on the BAM.

Denis sent me 1.5 firmware and it hasn’t yet fixed the issue.

I’ve checked to make sure the MIDI filters for Program Change are set to active for the BAM. I’m sending the MIDI to each device from 3 tracks on a Digitakt, so the MIDI is configured identically to the BIM and BOUM, except on a different channel (3). I’ve also tried channels 1 and 4, but it doesn’t help.

After sending PC midi values to the BAM it seems to mess with the UI. Pressing the preset button doesn’t cause the two lights to begin flashing, indicating the current preset value. Instead, the preset button lights to an active position, but no LEDs are lit. I can then enter the 2 preset values and the device changes presets, although the LEDs don’t flash - they stay solidly lit in their preset positions. If I activate the preset button again, the LEDs flash as expected. But as soon as I attempt to send MIDI information, this issue resets itself again.

Funny that the issue seems to have resolved mysteriously for multiple people. Hopefully mine will too? I’ve powered on the devices in both orders, still no luck. Not sure what else to try.

Update: Denis from OTO helped me fix this issue.

I reset the Pgm Chge Map and I’m now able to change presets by sending Program Change Messages from the Digitakt.

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