'Program Change' from Elektron Box to set Chase Bliss Midi Channel?

Stlaub · 2022-12-07T13:49:11.544Z

I’ve been on a bit of a Chase Bliss bender lately and thought it would be fun to finally work out how to use the Octatrack cue for external FX. That part I’ve managed to do (after some head scratching and then remembering that you need to cue enable the tracks you want to send).

Anyway, I went out to my shed and soldered up a 5pin midi to TRS cable to the Chase Bliss spec, I’m struggling to get any midi messages to send from my OT and I also tried with the Digitkt because I’m a little more familiar with the midi side of that than the OT.

According to the Chase Bliss manual:

Dark WorldTM is set to MIDI channel 2 by default, but it is easy to change if you need to. If you want to change it, simply hold down both stomp switches when you provide power to the pedal (hold down both stomp switches simultaneously) and then you can let go. The pedal is now looking for the first “Program Change” message it sees, and it will set itself to whatever channel it gets that first message from, permanently (until you change it again).

So I’d set a midi channel to 2, the CC to #15 (the mix parameter on the pedal) and wiggled the knob and no dice, I also did the power on while pressing both footswitches and then wiggling the knob but it doesn’t seem to take.

Any thoughts? Is a CC message a ‘program change’ or do I need to send something else out of the elektron boxes to instigate the midi handshake?

It could also be the cable I made although I tested the correct pins/parts for continuity with a meter and it seems to be as it should.

Ta.

Stlaub · 2022-12-07T13:53:48.570Z

Just thinking out loud into a post, my old world midi brain from the before computer times would class a program change as for example changing a pattern and the sequencer sending out a signal to change an external synth voice to the correct one for that sequence.

I’m just not quite sure how this scans in modern parlance or how to make the OT (or the DT/ST/DN) send out the correct thing.

Stlaub · 2022-12-07T14:25:44.059Z

In a narrowing down process, midi CCs are coming out of the OT as expected when I connect another synth and I can send CC’s so the problem is somewhere in getting the Chase Bliss pedals to receive them.

Stlaub · 2022-12-07T14:28:17.624Z

OK, I think I’m an idiot, turns out the diagram I was looking at was showing the INSIDE of the midi socket and not the pins as you look at them so instead of pin 2, I’ve soldered up 4.

Off to the shed for more soldering I guess

anniewells · 2022-12-07T14:40:37.323Z

I recently learned this process, too, albeit with a Meris Polymoon. It seems like most modern devices treat program changes as something different than CC messages. PCs change between different presets or sequences, and CCs change parameters.

(I assume this works on OT as well, but I’m only familiar with the Digi boxes)
To send a program change on the DT, go to the midi track you want to use in step record mode. Set the midi track to the channel you want to use, say ch5. Drop a trig, and on that trig, p-lock the program change value. Put the Dark World into that boot mode, press play, and you should be ready to go!

Based on what you quoted from the Dark World manual, it shouldn’t matter what value the program change is sending. You might not even need to do it via a trig/sequence- adjusting the PC value on your preferred midi channel while the pedal is in that boot mode might do it alone. But I’ve used the p-locked PCs to change presets on a per-step basis, so I know that will send the PC message at least.

You can then test from there using CC#15 on ch5 to adjust the mix and confirm whether or not it worked.

Stlaub · 2022-12-07T15:18:57.605Z

I’ve managed to get this working which is cool.

Just incase anyone else is confused, first, solder the cable the right way around! Next, Set the pedal into midi learn mode by turning it on with both fotswitches down, all I then had to do was go to the second page of SRC on a midi track and change the PROG parameter.

After that it’s just a case of assigning your midi CCs to knobs and you’re off.

Away to try the same thing with the Habit now.

spiralingalbatross · 2023-05-26T21:59:11.713Z

Rather than post a new topic, I’ll try my question here, as it relates.

I have easily set up my Habit and Mood on the desired MIDI channels, so I know
how to get this done. Oddly, my Generation Loss MKII pedal seems to be stuck on
MIDI 9. Out of the box, it is supposed to be on channel 2, so mine is already an anomaly
there. No matter what I do, how many times and variations I try, the pedal is stuck on MIDI channel 9. I am also getting some electrical arcing when pulling the power and plugging back in. None of my other pedals do that and coupled with the other issues…it seems
my pedal may have a short and/or some other electrical issue internally.

Any idears?