I’ve been searching for an all in one mixer type controller for my DN/DT setup and have landed on the Beatstep for clean, dawless connection. I’m hoping to have mutes for each channel as well as level and some other encoders mapped to the DN, for easy access simultaneously (ie all 4 level controls at the same time).
From what I’ve read, sending midi cc values from encoders can be unpredictable as an endless encoder may cause values to jump. That’s the experience i’m having with the DN, whenever an encoder is first adjusted the value jumps—doesn’t matter if I’m adjusting levels, attack, filter cutoff etc—they all behave the same way with that initial change. Is there any way around this with the DN? Is there a setting I’m missing?
Or are there alternatives that would work better for controlling mutes and a few encoder values?
Of course it’s not a problem with the Beatstep. You will get these value jumps with every other controller, too, because none of the Elektron devices supports relative CCs.
And to make the situation even worse: as far as I know there is only one Elektron device (the Octatrack) which supports a CC values request. So only with the OT you can work around the problem when you have an “inteligent enough” controller (one that can adapt itself to the response from the CC values request). But even then its cumbersome, because whenever you change a pattern you’ll need to trigger the CC values request manually before you can use the external encoders.
to be fair - MIDI control feedback (device>controller>device etc) is a fairly rare feature on hardware synths. I was excited that the Octatrack implemented it even with some limitations.
mkay, did not know about that, so what’s the point then if every controller skips values when controlling ext gear because the receiver does not have relative cc?
or even absolute CC: I used to perform with Max or Pd patches and a Behringer BCR - I’d just echo out any relevant value updates the software might make back to the controller = so all the values everywhere were current all the time.
In a standalone machine, I think two-way MIDI communication like this is viewed as an exotic usage & is pushed down the list of priorities. It could also lead to excessive demand on the devices I/O & processor… which might already be carefully budgeted for sound & sequencing demands…
in this context - talking about software running on Mac/PC that allows you to send (‘echo’) out any old MIDI data. ie. if some kind of state changed inside my patch or applications, I could update the encoder in the control surface
Slim pickings on being able to do this from a piece of hardware unfortunately.
mkay, maybe I need to change that, which I probably only can do if I attach computer pfff, haven’t touched the thing in ages! If only every controller would have midi learn!
I hear you about plugging stuff in, I wish they had an ios app or even better had bluetooth.
The issue I have is definitely a hardware issue, it only affects some knobs on mine, it sounds like something different from what people are talking about here.
don’t know had skipping encoders when I first tried it with an old crack of Reaktor v4, then used it a few times with my Ms20mini which was great for the arp and random stuff and scales, then just boxed it maybe for future extra sequencer things. It’s just crap like most of Arturia’s hardware stuff, my minibrute has been replaced 3 times! And my beatstep came with midi adapter which was almost half melted/damaged plastic around midi jack because of bad packaging this thing!
Don’t have a beatstep but if it can receive midi info then how about setting the encoder and mute destinations on DN to “int+ext” to provide the beatstep with midi information when making adjustments on DN so that the controls on DN and the beatstep are always matched up?
You can adjust the setting per encoder in the Midi Control Center but the issue is in the DN or DT not making sense of the “relative” midi message. I’ve tried each of the settings (absolute, relative 1, 2 and 3) with varying degrees of values jumping.
That won’t fix the issue, Mike. Suppose you switch to an other pattern. Unless you change every parameter you want to control externally first on the device itself the controller doesn’t know at what values they are. It’s this “initially getting into sync” which is so cumbersome and makes external controllers for most cases un-usable (at least for me).
You don’t need “to think it is”. It is (fact). Support for relative CC messages is a rarity among (even modern) synths.
