I’ve encountered an issue. I have a KeyStep 37 connected to octatrack, and then midi sequencing outboard synths from octa.
I can’t seem to be able to use individual midi channels on the KeyStep to go through octa to the synths, I can only use the auto channel on KeyStep and then choose the correct midi 1-8 on octa.
This leads to a second issue; although i map midi cc on the KeyStep knobs to different channels (using arturia Midi control center) it won’t work. I can use these on the auto channel to reach my synths if the synths midi channel is selected on octa, but you see the usefulness of these cc knobs working all the time without having to select synth first.
If i understand correctly it sounds like a THRU vs OUT issue, i.e. I assume you’re connecting to the external synths via MIDI OUT, which generally won’t THRU the input from MIDI IN.
I haven’t checked the OT manual but for that to work I’d expect it to be an explicit option somewhere rather than happening by default.
I’m able to send notes from a keyboard into the OT and have them output again on the appropriate channels no problem. Might be something you need to change in the settings?
I couldn’t find anything in the manual relating specifically to it. Just the usual description:
Normally you’d need to use a hub or THRU box if you wanted the keyboard to control both the OT and other Synths.
What might be possible is if you’re triggering notes on the OT then those triggered notes should be able to output via MIDI too, but I don’t think you could THRU that data on the OUT port without OT track interaction. In that case you’re technically just OUTputting the OT note data, it just happens to be triggered by an external device. If that makes sense.
@GurtTractor That’s for outputting CC data from the OT’s MIDI sequencer, rather than forwarding data from the external keyboard, so the same rule could apply as above - in that if you’re manipulating an OT midi track, you would essentially be forwarding that on. But without changing the OT cc values I don’t think the OUT port would see the keyboard knob changes.
Edit: Here’s a related diagram from a vaguely related thread (no credit to me):
i.e. you could use the OT sequencer is a ‘middleman’, but without it the OUT port shouldn’t see the IN data.
That’s why this works - as you’re telling the OT to do something which is then outputting that data.
Ah yeah you’re probably right about the direct connect thing, it’s not something I’ve messed with much.
In my setup I have a keyboard that I switch the channel on, it goes into the OT where I have a bunch of MIDI tracks with the appropriate MIDI channels set, and those will ‘thru’ notes to the MIDI out port of the OT. This works even if the MIDI track is muted which can be handy for live recording other parts while playing a synth. So the OP should definitely be able to set the channel on the KeyStep and have the notes come out the OT if the MIDI tracks have the channels set.
Here’s a model and some what-ifs that I find helpful in understand this situation:
When you have a controller or keyboard and the OT in your set-up, and you want to MIDI sequence AND play keys/buttons… you basically have two “masters” in your set-up. To really drive this idea home, imagine hitting play on the OT to sequence a synth, and then running the sequencer/arp on the Keystep on a channel that also has OT sequences: Which one is now master? How could the OT know what you want to play (i.e. what it should output)? The OT, by default, with the auto-channel + Track selection, is trying to be helpful, by doing a soft-THRU. When you decide not to use that, you have to accept you have two controllers in the set-up, and work around that (using hubs/mergers etc).
I used to get around this by sending the OT OUT -> controller IN, and then controller THRU -> synth IN. But IIRC, the Keystep only has MIDI OUT or THRU.
I’d offer a suggestion for MIDI mergers but I’ve not used any yet.
I wish I could do what you @GurtTractor seem to be doing, sending midi with the selected channel on the controller into OT midi IN and then having the OT respond to this on the numbered channel. But It seems my OT is behaving like @Octagonist is saying, that it only listens to the auto channel and then dedicates what channel to send midi on based on which one is selected in the OT midi menu. Or am i missing something?
A workaround might be to send octa midi THRU and OUT into a merger…
The OT can be used to control itself over MIDI. You can put a cable ‘MIDI OUT -> IN’ and use a MIDI track, the arp, or knobs to control an audio track. This would normally cause a MIDI loop, which is a thing you want to avoid because it confuses almost every device. To stop MIDI loops, the OT blocks MIDI data on a channel if an audio track and MIDI track share the same channel. The MIDI data will be received by the audio track, but not by the MIDI track. This block breaks potential loops whilst still allowing the MIDI track to control the audio one. (IIRC audio tracks are blocked from sending MIDI too).
If you’re struggling to control synths downstream of the OT without using the auto-channel, you might have your audio channels set up to receive on the same channels as the MIDI tracks.
You can solve this by
either setting the audio tracks to listen to different MIDI channels. I like to use ch1-8 for the MIDI tracks, 9.-16 for the audio because my MS-20 is fixed on ch1.
or setting the audio tracks to ignore MIDI altogether
It’s pre-coffee and I’ve not used my OT for a few months so I can’t recall how you do either operation. The manual explains all this but probably spreads it out across four sections and a footnote.
This. Turning audio channels´ MIDI off solved everything. Now the KeyStep can control at will, both cc and selected MIDI channels. Thanks guys, this really made my day. Sorry if it was a too simple solution- I should read the manual as they say
The MIDI channel blocking behaviour is pretty unusual (although useful). The manual is written in a way that all the information about particular menus or sections is all in one chapter, which is great when you want to look up a detail. However, because some of the menus and behaviours interact, it’s really hard to learn the end-to-end process for some features.
Glad it was figured out. I was confused because I hadn’t really come across the audio/MIDI tracks using the same channel thing yet, so I didn’t have an intuitive grasp of what was going on
