Midi control box

Boxymusic · 2023-02-19T22:01:08.564Z

I have a kurzweil keyboard I’m learning piano on- part of my extended mid-life crisis. I would like to use it as a midi controller but it’s pretty basic, and really the only thing it can do without faff is send information out on channel 1.

I would like a keyboard that I can use to play my digitone and maybe Syntakt or whatever else, putting them on different channels so I can switch seamlessly between playing the st, dt, dn, whatever else.

I was going to buy a keystep or something (and you easily switch them between midi channels?), but then I wondered if there was some kind of box where you can take a midi signal on channel one and manually (not through a computer) transform that into a different channel, somehow working some magic so that I can plug all my synths in and not have them all playing at the same time!

I don’t think I’ve explained this well. If anyone is knowledgeable about this stuff and willing I can answer questions!

tubefund · 2023-02-19T22:08:28.531Z

I know mio xl can do that but there might be cheaper options.
If you have a digitone or digitakt you can set autochannel to 1, connect other device to midi out. If the other devices have midi thru you can easily make a chain and set the Elektrons miditracks to send channels desired. Only downside the bloody elektrons still don’t pass thru picthbend and modwheel.

Boxymusic · 2023-02-19T22:19:59.962Z

Thanks! If you set them all to one in a chain, then they all play at the same time… kinda annoying.

Tchu · 2023-02-19T22:36:48.459Z

The Blokas Midihub can do this. You have to set the parameters with a computer first, though.

GurtTractor · 2023-02-19T23:14:25.870Z

Yeah the Blokas Midihub seems like one of the best options for this kind of thing, I’m hoping to get one soon. You can filter, channel swap, remap to your heart’s content, and if there’s buttons on the keyboard that send MIDI you should be able to use them to control routing/splitting etc all from the keyboard by mapping things in the Midihub software.

Boxymusic · 2023-02-19T23:22:41.049Z

Yeah this is the thing… thanks!

SoundRider · 2023-02-20T16:55:30.073Z

What about this … can do much more, but also change everything MIDI to something else in MIDI and no computer needed:

Conductive Labs MRCC 880

Conductive Labs LLC

MRCC 880 MIDI Router and USB MIDI Interface

The MRCC 880 MIDI Router and USB MIDI Interface by Conductive Labs with per port routing buttons makes routing MIDI connections super quick!

Boxymusic · 2023-02-21T08:26:24.125Z

That looks cool, but we’re getting close to keystep pro territory in price there!

shigginpit · 2023-02-21T09:06:01.026Z

keystep pro can pretty easily do what you want but if your kurzweil is full size I don’t know if I can recommend it. I went from similar situation, older full size controller but very limited midi capability to keystep pro and for a few reasons I’m not real thrilled with it. I’ve always liked keyboards and synths with mini keys but I guess I was more used to full sized keys than I realized and it’s not that comfortable for me on the keystep pro. Also, I find that the range of velocity sensitivity on keystep pro goes from bad to worse, none of the 3 curves are to my liking. All are much too sensitive, I have to strike the keys much harder than I’m accustomed to playing in order to get full velocity out of live playing and it’s distracting. Also the amount of in’s and outs is really good but the connectivity with other gear is not always there like I had expected out of something that is supposed to be the ultimate controller hub (from how it was sold and advertised to be). The sequencer though, especially the drum track, is really good and intuitive, it’s easy to use with good results and there are a lot of nice features, the device is well made but as a keyboard midi controller which is exactly what I need / want it to be, I’m not super thrilled with it. Especially for the price.

I think you’re headed in the right direction, if you’re comfortable with your current controller and just want more versatility in the routing probably worth waiting to find a deal on one of these hardware go-betweens even if it’s used. Midi gear that doesn’t rely on buttons and keybeds, i.e. not controllers, don’t really seem to go “bad” unless it’s abused, it all sees such low voltage that they seem to last through a couple owners.

Just my 2 cents. Have a long sit down with keystep pro before you commit to it as an electric piano type substitute.

Boxymusic · 2023-02-21T11:22:15.471Z

Thanks - that’s actually really valuable insight. I am not a pianist by any stretch of the imagination, but the kurzweil is a nice thing to play…

shigginpit · 2023-02-21T15:33:21.333Z

You know man, I’m not a piano player. Maybe someone who is traditionally likes to push the keys hard and have more dynamic force be necessary to control the velocity but for me, I’d prefer a setting that went on a sliding scale from min to max instead of just 3 curves which all are pretty sensitive.

Also, a benefit of keystep pro is that it has it’s own power source so it doesn’t have ground loop issues, so that’s a plus in it’s favor. It’s a really well made controller, but If you’re in the market for a new controller and don’t desire the sequencer and cv connectivity or the individual ins and outs for drum triggers maybe in the price range the roland a-49 is a good place to look.

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But you’ll have to verify if it does what you want as far as the midi channel switching. With a quadra thru or some other midi box the keystep pro could do what you’re asking for pretty simply from the settings menu, but it would not be a one button change over, you’d still need to have everything configured to what channel you want each to be on and then do a quick menu dive into a couple sub menus to change the plumbing.

edit: incidentally, something which just occurred to me is that if you only plan to use 4 or less devices, you could ignore the KSP sequencer but use the “tracks” as channels by assigning the midi channel to each of your devices there, then at that point there is a dedicated button on the front panel to switch between. but that would be an expensive set of 4 buttons…

shigginpit · 2023-03-28T15:12:55.405Z

I don’t know if you’re still shopping this but I learned a trick on the keystep pro where if you hold down the track button for tracks 1-4 you can do an on the fly quick change between global midi channels for that track to be assigned to.

Still an expensive option, but it has the potential to do what you want to do on a per track basis instead of what I had believed prior, which was that it would be necessary to change based on multiple track assignments.

It does still require that you turn and then depress the encoder while holding down the track button so both hands required, the only 1 handed change I can think of would still be to preset different tracks with different channels.

Boxymusic · 2023-03-28T22:45:45.472Z

Definitely doesn’t need to be one handed, just a button press would be great

shigginpit · 2023-03-28T22:54:28.956Z

word. well, I was pretty happy to discover this shortcut that had evaded me before now. Now if I want to leave a beat running on the drum track and a bassline on track 2 or something, maybe a melody on track 3 or a chord progression, I can real time auditItion sounds from a few various synths connected with the quadra thru to track 4, that way I don’t have to pull the plug and lose the feel of what I’m looking for or sacrifice part of what I want to match up with, just to switch sources. It’s 2 handed but it’s not heavy lifting. Just thought I would give you a heads up if you were still looking around. Not an exclusive reason to buy this super expensive keyboard but if you like it for other reasons, it would save you the trouble of buying both a keyboard and an expensive midi switchboard thing.

Also, I still wish the velocity had a different curve but I’m able to live with it, It’s not crippling.

Jukka · 2023-07-22T18:54:32.676Z

This is new and looks nice. For Eurorack. The Tubbutec TRS-Bridge.

Though small ( 6 HP ! ) it covers some of the same functionality as the MRCC, but only between TRS MIDI connections – both MIDI Type A and B supported and you can switch every connection. Four in by four out. It has no where near the functionality, and fancy detailed operation in the Midihub, but again that is OK, because it still can do a lot.

It also supports controlled routing of notes/CC, clock, and sysex, separately. You also can change setup on the fly and it plays nice and helps to coordinate the changes.

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