Digitakt + Koala Sampler

Hey I recently bought a Digitakt after being interested in it for many years. I absolutely love it and think it’s one of the funnest machines I’ve ever owned! Before I bought the Digitakt I was using Koala Sampler. Once I realized the Digitakt can’t chop samples as quick and easy as the MPC or Koala I decided to figure out a way to make both work together. It’s such a fun combo!

With the camera connection kit and an usb cable from the Digitakt to my iPad I’m able to:

  • Control Koala with my digitakt

  • Hear audio from both devices at the same time

  • Sample from iPad to Digitakt or vice versa

Here’s a video of me using them together

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Ive just been trying this out controlling some filters and fx on koala from the digitakt knobs using non usb midi. They seem like a good combo.

Can you control the effects via cc via usb midi?

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Yes.

First, go to settings and then go to MIDI. Then send a note from your Digitakt’s MIDI tracks to make sure that Koala is receiving MIDI from your Digitakt. Next, go to map MIDI.

From here, I should say that I did this on a previous version. I have an Android phone and Koala doesn’t work anymore. At least for me. So I don’t know if what I’m going to tell you has changed.

As far as I can tell, if you want to use the fx and be able to play notes then you need to map everything. That means going through the pads one by one and assigning them a MIDI note by selecting a pad and pressing a note on the Digitakt. To assign the knobs you do the same thing. You choose a parameter and twist the knob you’d like to use.

When you’re assigning the knobs, it’s probably good to remember that you’ve got dedicated knobs for things like pitch bend and after touch that you can assign to other things on top of the 8 assignable knobs for each track.

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Yeah Koala is awesome. I need to try it with Digitakt! Thx for the heads up even though this post is old.

I’m looking into trying this with my Digitakt and iPhone (which I’ve read works the same as Koala on iPad). Where does the audio from Koala come into the DT? I know it goes through USB but can it be routed to the external mixer on the DT somehow so the DT effects can be used? If not, is there any way to get aux out from the lightning-to-USB adapter so audio from Koala can be sent to a mixer, while CC’s are being controlled from the DT?

Yeah, I use the usb audio and midi simultaneously. You you use the headphone jack of an older model iPhone to route audio into the digitakts external mixer, but iPhones don’t have headphone jacks anymore. The iPad I use has a headphone jack, but like I said I just use usb audio.

Can you use the USB audio and have other things coming in through the external mixer simultaneously? If the Koala audio is coming in and being monitored in the sampler section, then monitoring has to be turned off for the external mixer to work, doesn’t it?

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I’m not sure if you can use usb audio and the external mixer at the same time.

Can confirm that monitoring the USB L+R on the sample recorder page still allows you to use the external input mixer. The volume of USB L+R monitoring cannot be adjusted on DT, but you can map the volume of individual sample pads in Koala to be controlled by one of the miditracks on the DT. I was actually surprised at how easy the midimapping in Koala was.

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Awesome! Yeah, midi mapping on koala is quick and easy!

So could I connect my A4mk2 to my iPhone (lightning) via a USB cable out of the A4 and then through this adaptor? And then send midi from the A4 to control koala?

If the analog four is class compliant, can send audio and midi over usb, then yes that wire will work on an iPhone that has the lightning port (not usb-c).

Answered in the other thread where you asked the same question:

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