Hi there. There’s an older post about this but it refers to 1.06 so figure I’d post here vs reviving it with only 3 replies. Hope that’s fine.
I’m about to re-buy a DT, as I had to sell mine a while ago and while searching for a new machine I’m realizing nothing will satisfy all my needs like the damn DT. Didn’t want to spend that kind of money again, but fuckit.
SO, since I actually need to perform with it this time vs just studio use, wondering if anybody has hooked up the UC-33e to control track volume with faders and say Delay/reverb/LPF with the pots? This will be so helpful for a live performance… and studio jams too.
I’ve not tried the DT with ANY midi controller yet, and since it’s not in front of me yet, thought i’d see if anybody has managed this specific gear setup?
Yes this can be interesting for sure, but maybe If you plock all you want it can be suffisant ( and maybe better to progress on track composition)
As we sometime read : less is more
But definitively it can be cool
I have both devices and have done this before. I’m not sure whether your question is “does it work?” Or “do you like it?”
It works def, you’d assign a midi channel to each audio track and then map all the per channel functions you want on your UC33e accordingly.
I’m not the biggest fan of the UC33e because of its feel and build quality, so my excitement about that combo is not so high, but if you like your UC33e you’ll like the combo
If you already have an ipad pr iphone, check digitouch, its on the forum, it makes exactly the thing you want. Its 2 e and is a layout for touschosc which os less like 10 e…
Is this the cc61 not sending midi cc info relating to actual position?
If so, yes this a downside for me to use an external midi controller.m with the DT.
Sorry its beyond me, all i can say is digitouch cannot actuate is position relatively to the digitakt, and i think i remember i read on the digitouch thread that dt cannot senf these info…
Not sure if it relates to CC61.
But not being able to have the DT sending it’s midi cc data to a controller is a downer for me.
Workaround is to forget about controlling DT with an external midi controller and rather use controls from DT itself along with p locks.
@hausland – yeah the appeal of the UC33 is not just nostalgia, but the ideal configuration AND proper MIDI out + power adapter (vs say USB power), the latter which eliminates the need for a midi/usb host. For instance if I were to buy the Launch Control XL I’d have to buy yet another box to make the thing run right (ie. Kenton or Retrokits), though I have definitely heard great things about that controller anyway. Actually I’ve emailed Retrokits and the guy responded properly thorough and recommended the Nanokontrol that he uses with the RK-006. I think these things are great but seem like overkill. Plus I already own the UC so all I need is a 9v power adapter
– One more question for you @hausland : When I was watching the demo video re: some guy’s work flow with the LaunchControl, he had to change the active track in order to control the respective funct’s like Filter etc. Is it not possible to set the thing up like a 8 channel mixer wherein fader 1 and the 3 pots above it control track 1’s volume, and let’s say LPF/HPF/Reverb or something, and fader 2 and the 3 pots above it follow suit by track? Or am I really restricted to only those functions being available for only active tracks (besides volume/faders). Sorry I hope this mushy pile of words makes sense
@LFO unfortunately I have no iOS devices. The Faderfox UC4 is definitely of interest, for the same reasons I mentioned above re: UC33.
FYI I wrote to Elektron support about this “8 channel mixer” type of setup. I hope it’s possible and not restricted to pots ONLY controlling variables for the active track.
Should work no problem if you assign a unique midi channel to each audio track (ie changing parameters on different channels without switching pages).
The guy you watched probably set up and used his controls via the Auto Channel on Digitakt which is a sort of “Focus Mode” - that is, whatever track you’re on receives those Midi CCs
You could technically mix it up also. Dedicated controls via CC send to a track’s Midi Channel as well as CC sent to the track in focus.
I’ll test it for you in a moment just to make sure I’m not mixing things up with the OT
Eg Track Volume is on CC95, if you set up your Digitakt tracks to individual MIDI channels and then set your UC33e faders to send that CC95 on each respective channel, you can control volumes (and any other parameters) on a per track basis.
I began making myself a layout for the LCXL and the digitakt, but not only as mentioned is there the issue with the DT not having the functionality required to send all current parameters to a controller that can receive and utilize that like the faderfox, but there is no way to enable/use ‘pick up’ midi for controllers with pots, so there is constant parameter jumping. IF you were crazy enough (and careful enough) to move every control to mirror the DT’s midi values by nudging them and returning them to the desired starting point, you’d be able to start a performance without fear of wild parameter jumps…until you switched patterns. As the DT doesn’t use kits, it kinda broke the appeal for me. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to be using these 8 faders for volume and maybe some filter parameters for each of the 8 tracks on a single LCXL page, but…the parameter jumping issue stopped me from putting time into a well thought out layout.
But I have a BSP I don’t use anymore, either endless encoders! Surely the DT would be able to receive relative midi, right? Well, I tried all 3 encoder midi output types the BSP offers, and none of them worked correctly. Nor have I ever read (including official documentation) about a way to configure the DT to look for and respond to relative midi, and there’s certainly no setting for it in the menu. So while the DT exclusively had endless encoders, I couldn’t get any external ones to work properly, and pots have their own jumping issue…
and well, I just sorta gave up. Interested in any oversights I may have made, however. Have you had any great luck yet?
None of the Elektron machines support relative midi CCs.
The only Elektron machine which support parameter values request (the mentioned CC61 above to synchronize an external controller) is the Octatrack.
So to spare others some frustrations (as @dreamsaremaps already wrote):
Using external controllers with an Elektron device other than the OT will involve unpreventable parameter jumps when a parameter changes due to a pattern change and there is no way to work around this.
