Problem with program change on Digitone via Ableton

Elektron Gear Digitone/Digitone Keys
#1

Hi,

I’m having an issue sending the Digitone program changes from Ableton over a USB connection .

I’ve searched the forum and as far as I can tell I have everything set correctly. I’ll try and give as much detail as I can.

The Digitone is selected on the MIDI track I have the program change on and I have the track in Auto mode and I am sending it to channel 16 which set up on the DN as the AUTO channel.

I have another track sending a note on channel 1 and that is working.

I have the following setting on the DN configured :

MIDI Config -> Sync -> PROG CH RECEIVE -> ON
MIDI Config -> Port Config -> Input From -> MIDI+USB
MIDI Config -> Channels -> AUTO CHANNEL -> 16
MIDI Config -> Channels -> PROG CHG IN CH -> AUTO

System -> USB Config -> Overbridge -> ON

I’m using macOS Mojave 10.14.4 / Ableton Live 10.0.6 / Digitone OS 1.20

Can anybody tell what I am doing wrong please ?

Thank you

Matt

1 Like
#2

Just thought I’d update that it does work ok.

The problem was routing the program change back to the track that has the Digitone VST on and not the Digitone (Elektron Midi) device …

Anyway all sorted now.

1 Like
#3

program changes works well for me, but when i make my dgtone clip stop in session view-it doesn’t stop. how does this work for you?
prog change recieve/send is on,recieve notes on…
thank you

#4

To be honest I gave up with the program change in Ableton. No matter what I did it was always a bar late. From reading around it does seem to be a well known problem.

Now I just use Ableton to record the audio from the DN using Overbridge.

1 Like
#5

If you set a negative track delay (at least -50) to the track sending the program changes they will be sent in time, and the Digitone (or whichever) will change it’s pattern correctly.

The caveat with the program changes is that they need to be sent ahead of when the actual change is happening. They are dependent on the underlying cueing system of the sequencer.

4 Likes
#6

Thanks for that. I’ll give it a go.

#7

I’ve tried it and does seemed to have helped. But the thing that really did it was setting the MIDI clip quantize to 1/16 and the program change happens as soon as the clip plays.

1 Like
#8

Thanks, I was confused about this. I thought when using OB 2.0 we weren’t supposed to activate the Digitone (Elektron Midi) device, but that was wrong. Now that I have that setup in Ableton on the output channel of Digitone (Elektron Midi) port all worked well for me. The Fx are coming into the plugin track and the individual tracks are coming to the associated Digitone USB output tracks.

The questions in this thread about timing are still tricky though. As far as I know nothing on earth will change a pattern on Digitone until the current pattern has played to completion (unless you hit stop, which is dumb). I wish there was the possibility of Jumping as on the AR.

For this reason when automating pattern changes I must always be aware of how long the current pattern is when sending the Program change. For example I set the delay to -50 ms as suggested later in the thread and I set the launch follow action to the a multiple of the number of bars in the pattern. That basically works out but there are a few kinks.

The first is that if you try to launch the first pattern it doesn’t always start on the ableton 1:1 if there is a pattern active in DN that didn’t complete. You can fix this by a double tap on stop, but that may not work in a live situation.

In ableton there is no out of the box way to send a program change within a clip but there is a workaround if you use a cool Max for live device (PksMidiTool.amxd) which can transform incoming MIDI to any desire outgoing MIDI - for example a note # can be converted to the equivalent program change. I’ve gotten this to work but it also suffers from the 1:1 problem.

Joe

#9

MIDI Config -> Sync -> PROG CH RECEIVE -> ON
MIDI Config -> Port Config -> Input From -> USB (use only USB, this is important as sad in the manual of digitone)
MIDI Config -> Channels -> AUTO CHANNEL -> 16
MIDI Config -> Channels -> PROG CHG IN CH -> Make this a channel like (15, and configure ableton to send the midi in that channel too) Do not use the auto channel for this.

System -> USB Config -> Overbridge -> ON

Give that a try, for me Ableton and Digitone are working great in this matter.

1 Like