Octatrack Midi CC pedal for Pickup Machine use

[ilmai]

I recently got a Morningstar MC8 and it’s great, agreed! So easy to set up, super robust construction. One gotcha is that for notes, the default velocity in the Morningstar editor is 0, which OT (correctly) interprets as a “note off”, so remember to change that when programming. Took me a while to figure out why OT wasn’t responding…

The lag you mentioned is intentional so that double-footswitch shortcuts work, otherwise it would immediately interpret it as a single footswitch press before your foot has a chance to press down the other switch. This can be dealt with either by adjusting footswitch sensitivity or setting “looper mode”, check the manual for details.

[NamedUser]

Wow, this comment about the lag totally makes sense, will try it asap, thanks.

[KiNo]

Hi ya,

I am glad to hear that you got into the MC8.
I am trying to configure the damn thing and got stuck straight away
I would like to link the crossfader to the expression pedal, but I see something HEX DEC instead of a simple CC protocol. Can this be done? Sorry, I am a bit of a noob.

[PeterHanes]

@KiNo

I would like to link the crossfader to the expression pedal, but I see something HEX DEC instead of a simple CC protocol.

If you’re referring to the Control Change mappings in the OT manual, just use the DEC (decimal) value and ignore the HEX value.

[KiNo]

Thanks Peter. It took me about an hour to figure this out by myself after watching a dozen videos, trying to reverse engineer their midi mapping, Ugh.

The manual is tormenting to me.

Tell me please, how do you change banks and pattern with MC?
Also is it possible to select and execute a row in the arrangement mode?

[PeterHanes]

@KiNo

how do you change banks and pattern with MC?

Do you mean “what MIDI messages select banks and patterns on the OT”?

If so, previously on Elektronauts:

New to Program Changes: How to send them to OT?

Yes. Yes. You would connect the MIDI Out of your transmitting device (for example, the PT) to the MIDI In port of the OT. MIDI Program Change (PC) messages are sent on a MIDI channel. In the OT’s PROJECT > MIDI > SYNC menu, activate PROG CH RECEIVE and set the corresponding Channel number to match the channel number on which the PT is sending the Program Change messages. The PC message has a value in the range from 0 to 127. The OT’s patterns are split into two halves: 128 patterns in b…

and

How to change patterns via midi?

On OT, if you are not already in the half of the pattern banks (A-H or I-P) that you want, you need to send a MIDI CC 0 message: with a value of 0 to access pattern banks A-H or with a value of 1 to access pattern banks I-P. That CC message then needs to be immediately followed by the Program Change message.

@KiNo

is it possible to select and execute a row in the arrangement mode?

Using MIDI messages? No.

[sezare56]

@KiNo

Also is it possible to select and execute a row in the arrangement mode?

It’s possible to play a particular step of Arranger with SPP messages. Not simple.

SPP messages with midi controller? - #22 by sezare56

[sjvl]

@KiNo

Tell me please, how do you change banks and pattern with MC?

Hey i have the mc6, ARMKII, OTMKII.

On the MC, you use the PC scroll up/down commands and make sure they are sent to the OT on the correct midi channel. Set OT up in MIDI->sync settings.

But i think ive only done this with the mc6+rytm. Also, just as an fyi…pc scroll doesnt “know” what bank/pattern the OT is on. So one must physically scroll up or down to the desired bank/pattern if OT is not on first bank pattern 1…Thats more of an aside:)…

Hope that’s on track of what you are looking for.

[roadmoviemusic]

@KiNo

The manual is tormenting to me.

When I first got my OT, that’s what I thought too. The OT is complex and so is the manual but once used to it, I find it extremely well done, especially when you start to use all the hyperlinks.

[KiNo]

On the MC8, I set up a bank called SETLIST and when pressed it takes you to a submenu for SONG 1 to 7 (the 8th button is dedicated to be take me to the root level INDEX menu). So in each of those SONGS, when clicked you enter another dedicated BANK to the song, this time each button corresponding to a Pattern on the Octatrack. I am using the PROGRAM CHANGE command on MC8 and starting with PC Number 0 to call A01. PC Number 1 would call A02 and on. In that clause, Midi is pointing to Octatrack, not to individual tracks.

As far as the song mode goes, rytm is not nearly as flexible as OT, so i put that beast as a slave to the OT and bob’s yer uncle.

I don’t understand what this might mean.

@sjvl

PC scroll up/down commands

[KiNo]

The culprit is the abbreviations and technical lingo. Once you don’t know a few of the jargon, you are lost, not the stuff you can look up on a dictionary either. Someone has to literally patch one in. This forum has been great help to me.

[sjvl]

@KiNo

don’t understand what this might mean.

Pc scroll up and pc scroll down are commands for the MC that are meant to be used to scroll through banks and patterns

OT is master for me as well…but i had rytm first:).

[KiNo]

Thanks again!
So, how do you implement this to action?

[sjvl]

@KiNo

So, how do you implement this to action?

Wierd…ive never seen “deprecated” next to the command? Not sure what that means in the context of pc scroll…i will look into this and get back…

Morningstar changes stuff soooo much, so fast that im losing touch…In fact they changed the way midi clock operates in the MC firmware that makes it impossible for me to play/stop OT AND rytm correctly… at least thats what i took away from a conversation with james at Morningstar.

It works with one or the other, but the one that is slaved is out of sync by a half to one step. It sucks-whole reason i use the pedal).

EDIT 2 weeks later: the way i had all my midi devices networked was the problem with clock issues between both elektrons…i think i had midi feedback or some redundancy…but its works perfect now!

[KiNo]

@samvanlan

I have to say hats off to James, I was the one who contacted to him initially about the SPP stuff missing on MorningStar and he made that happen in an update within 24 hours. That guy is a legend.

I hadn’t linked MC8 for about 8 months and last night updated the firmware and the editor and what do i see, a product that has outmoded the chip in terminator’s head It seems the only thing this machine can’t do is coffee at the moment. That said, I don’t understand 70 percent of the stuff!

[sjvl]

@KiNo ok just fired up the MC6 and web editor:

here’s pc scroll down setting:

pc scroll up

[KiNo]

@samvanlan ow, cool, I’ll follow your trail after dinner, a very foggy summit lies up there.

[KiNo]

does this ever happen to you?
Midi communication is working swimmingly when you shutdown and upon restart MC6 doesn’t seem to be sending any information none whatsoever to Octatrack?
That’s gotta be a massive a bug. I can’t do anything at the minute. Bloody painful dealing with this stuff.

[sjvl]

@KiNo no that doesn’t happen to me and it has been one of the amazing things I appreciate about my MC6.

As a quick note, i did discover some info about the “deprecate” next to pc scroll up and down. He is removing those features because he thinks pc scroll number is a better command. I will look into this for my needs later today.

[sjvl]

So far the new MC command pc number scroll nor the deprecated pc scroll work properly with the OT. More to come…maybe.

Sam