Midi noob questions

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

Having ups and downs learning more advanced midi than I’ve dug in to previously. A few questions re OT’s way of doing things -

Auto channel -
The manual confuses me in this section. Can someone please explain in idiot proof form what this function is, as opposed to normal procedure of selecting a midi channel on one piece of hardware and selecting the same channel on the other piece of hardware so they communicate.

Clock -
From initial tests it seems like OT can receive and send clock (pass it on) simultaneously right? It’s possible to tick both ‘send’ and ‘receive’ in the Midi Channels options page. Are there any things I should watch out for when doing this? For example using a daw as clock master > OT > Volca keys. Besides internal tempo control do I sacrifice any major OT functionality by using external clock? Could I perhaps use the OT midi output and OT thru at the same time, so as to sync two pieces of hardware to the OT clock at once?

When using a daw as midi master for tempo and transport start/stop, could that potentially conflict with midi sequencing playing in the OT. Like with the OT midi channels used for external synths etc or anything like that? Just that I have OT sync’d to Sonar clock, working fine and haven’t had to set a midi channel for this. Wondering how/where the data/commands are being communicated and if I need to keep that line of communication separate from any sequencing I do on the OT for external synths.

Thanks.

#2

“Auto” channel is used in more than one different way on the OT, but the basic idea is that you can leave an external MIDI keyboard assigned to the same channel as the Auto channel so that no matter which on the OT has the current focus, the external MIDI keyboard will always address it because MIDI information will be directed by the OT from the Auto channel to the channel that is assigned to the current track.

The MIDI Thru port simply echoes what arrives at the MIDI In port. The instrument on the OT MIDI output gets information from the OT’s sequencer. The instrument on the OT’s MIDI Thru port gets information from the DAW.
If you want to sync two units to the OT’s clock, you could connect unit 1 to the OT’s MIDI Out port, and unit 2 to unit’s 1 MIDI Thru port.

MIDI Clock is a System Real-Time message, which means that it is not transmitted on a particular numbered MIDI channel.

#3

Thanks a lot for explaining, all makes a lot more sense now. Don’t think any of my hardware has midi thru on it so I’m restricted to only syncing daw > OT > synth/sampler for now. Might invest in one of those midi splitter boxes so I can sync everything at once to either daw or OT clock., depending on situation.

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#4

I have:
https://m.thomann.de/gb/midi_solutions_quadra_thru.htm
Works great! Using OT as master.

#5

Thanks for the link. Looks perfect, I’ll pick one up asap.

#6

Resurrecting this as the search has brought it up as the most relevant to my questions.

MK2 OT

Trying to sync the A4 and the Moog mother to the OT.

Using the midi out of the OT I can control one or the other as expected.

Obviously the OT only has one midi out and the other is a midi thru, so I can really only use the midi sequencing from the OT on one of the other synths. As the mother has less functions,it makes sense to use the OT to control the m32 and I can take advantage of the ARP and midi sequencing.

If I use the thru to the analog 4, can I send transport from the OT? It wouldn’t be the the ideal solution- that would be controlling all four of the analog 4 synths via the OT and four dedicated midi tracks, however it would allow me to to at least have it all in sync and then I can do what ever on the A4.

I feel like I’m missing something really obvious here. Going through the quick start isn’t really helping,and I’m yet to download the full manual (saving that for Monday at work where I can get it printed).

Thank you xoxoxoxox

#7

OT midi out–>A4 midi in
A4 midi thru–>Mother 32 midi in

This will give you sync and full midi control from OT to both units…

The signals will be sent to the A4 and also “thru” the A4 to the mother. You’ll need to set the A4 tracks and the mother each to a specific channel to control them separately, transport and clock will go to both regardless of any channel selections…

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#8

Love you.

I did have it set up like that, before I even looked at the midi part of the OT. Then I got all excited and started unplugging cables.

Thanks mate.

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#9

Hello. I am trying to set up my OTMKII as master and having issues with controlling my electribe2.
Current set up is OT MIDI out to in on quadra thru box. One of the outs from quadra thru goes to MIDI in on A4, the second out goes to MIDI in on Roland sys1 and third to electribe.
A4 is set up as thru machine on track 1 of OT at the moment no issues there. Roland is on first midi track in OT set to midi channel 10 and is working fine with cc assignments working like I want.
The electribe is on 2nd midi track and set to channel 12. I have muted all pads except pad 12 and assigned sound to it for sequencing that note with OT. Nothing plays when I place trigger on OT and hit play. It will play the sequence programmed in electribe when I hit play on OT but I don’t want it to that. I made sure to press the encoder on OT once channel 12 was selected. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. I have read manual many times as well as this forum under several midi topics which led to success on getting the Roland set up.

Thanks in advance.

#10

If you got your Roland working right from a midi track then your probably doing things right on the OT side, I would investigate the Electribe and look for settings having to do with receiving midi, and confirm pad 12 is on channel 12…
While your looking at settings keep an eye out for “transport” and disable that being received if you don’t want the electribe sequencer starting from the OT play button…

#11

Thank you and I will dig deeper into electribe Settings.

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#12

I don’t see in manual where midi tracks are saved under a specific part. If I change pattern and associate it to a new part what happens to midi notes / sequence used on prior part?

#13

Arise, Midi Noob Thread! Arise from your Death sleep!

I have some MIDI questions. I am a complete ignoramous when it comes to MIDI too, so this seemed like the place to reveal my naievity and ignorance. Ive been watching videos with some degree of learning from them, and reading my printed OT manual, but i came to the realization that im not even sure what i want to DO with MIDI, or how to use it. I can definitely grasp that it is very open, and very powerful…
Here is my setup/situation…

Ive had the DT for about 2.5 years, the DN for 2 years and the OT for about 6 months. I have OT set up as master and have it sending clock and program change to the Digis and that is working just fine.
MIDI route is as follows: OT Midi OUT > DT Midi IN> DT Midi Thru> DN Midi IN
OT starts up the other machines and changes patterns, no problemo.
I guess i just figured that it was time for me to dig into the MIDI side of these machines more and explore that, because i understand that its a huge part of what makes them awesome. So i started reading up on it, and reading about Midi set ups when you dont understand the jargon is stultifyingly boring/ hard to grasp.
I think, ultimately, that my first question is this: As a user of the OT/DT/DN combo, what would you do with this setup and how would you incorporate Midi into it aside from start/stop/change business? Im looking for inspiration as much as im looking for answers to more technical question shortly down the road, like how to get my keystep back into the equation if all my Midi INs are occupied…but i digress.,

I guess its always just seemed like a headache/ pain in the A and i would love to hear how other folks utilize it to bolster my spirits for the slog i am preparing myself for. I hear its wonderful on the other side.After all this time spent at home i should probably emerge with some sort of new skill, right?
thank you for your thoughts in advance…

#14

swing and a miss?

#15

OT midi arp + DN = :ok_hand:

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#16

But WHY? The arp on the DN is fucking great? Why bother reprogramming a thing g that already easily programmed? More specifically: Why program something which already had the Elektron sequencer? The DN is dope, it’s arp is dope, it’s sequencer is dope… what is the advantage of sequencing it all (again) via MIDI?
Why not just raw?
The machine is literally inches away from the other… it’s not that far to reach…
The thing I see as being the most handy is doing track mutes from a One machine (OT)…
do t really see the point in sequencing other Elektron sequencers.
Or am I missing something? (I’d assume I am)

#17

You can use either arp, or both at once, or use the OT to plock arp settings on the DN to create masses of variation.

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#18

Your three instruments have built-in sequencers, so there is not much incentive for you to go beyond the synchronization that you have already achieved.

If you had stand-alone synths to sequence from an Elektron instrument then it would be a different matter.

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#19

All them midi LFOs though…

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#20

Plockable arp is enticing…I wish that was a feature on DN, for sure…

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