Using a synth keyboard to control Digitone to control the synth on the same midi channel?

Elektron Gear Digitone/Digitone Keys
#1

Hi everyone!

I just ordered my Digitone. I want to add it to my setup that already contain an Octatrack ad a Moog Grandmother. I’d like to use the keyboard of the Grandmother to control both Digitone and Grandmother. The Grandmother can only send and receive midi on the same channel. So is there a way to do that, and to choose on the fly wich synth the keyboard is controling?

Thanks!!

(Sorry for my english, this is not my language!)

#2

To give you some ideas about what I do in this scenario is fade in and out the master volume for each instrument. Otherwise you’d have to memorize the button combos for the global settings on the GM and manage to do the switch quickly. There is no feature that easily allows this switch to happen built into either machine.

1 Like
#3

Ok, thanks for the answer!
I also have an Octatrack, do you think it is possible to control both synths with the keyboard on the GM controlling the OT only first, and the choose on the fly on the OT wich synth I pilot?

#4

Yes. There are probably at least two ways to do depending on how comfortable you are with changing the necessary controls in either scenario and on what you want to do overall with your setup in terms of sequencing.

I believe that the simplest way to achieve your basic request is as follows:

Connect GM MIDI Out port to OT MIDI In port.

Connect OT MIDI Thru port to GM MIDI In port.

Connect OT MIDI Out port to DN MIDI In port.

In the GM’s Global settings:

  • set LOCAL to “Off”;
  • set the MIDI channel number to be, for example, 16.

On the OT:

  • make sure that none of its audio tracks or MIDI sequencer tracks are set to MIDI channel number 16;
  • set the AUTO CHANNEL number to, for example, 15.
  • set the MIDI channel number of one of the MIDI sequencer tracks to be, for example, 14.

In the DN’s GLOBAL > MIDI CONFIG > CHANNELS menu, set AUTO CHANNEL to be, in this example, 14.

If you set the GM’s MIDI channel to be 16, the GM’s keyboard should play its own sound.

If you set the GM’s MIDI channel to be 15, the GM’s keyboard should play whichever track you have selected on the OT. If the track selected on the OT is the MIDI sequencer track that corresponds to the DN, then the GM’s keyboard should play whichever synth track you have selected on the DN.

You will need to take some care to ensure that the MIDI settings on all devices are correctly set.

Try this out and let us know whether it works.

2 Likes