Help with midi please?

[DJSubterrain]

Hey guys,

Trying to get started on Reason 9 but I'm having problems and I can't work out what I'm doing wrong.

I have a Roland JD800 and I'm using it as a controller keyboard, want to see if I can undertake to use the plethora of sliders as midi controllers, I have the JD800 going into a Native Instruments Audio Kontrol 1 and I want to use that as the midi input to Reason.

The problem I'm having is that, although I can choose the Audio Kontrol 1 as the input device and if I click on "Find" and press a note, it automatically chooses "Audio Kontrol In" as the midi device, when I choose instruments in my sequencer/rack it won't let me play them unless I specifically go to the "Advanced Midi" section at the top of the rack, click on Channel 1 (I have the keyboard outputting to Channel 1) and then choose a specific instrument from the rack to play.

The problem then is that if I have multiple devices then I'm stuck playing one of them.

I've had previous versions of Reason all the way back to 9 and, as far as I can remember, there used to be a small midi icon on the sequencer track for each instrument where you could choose which one you were playing?

If I right click on any instrument on the sequencer I have an option that says "Lock Native Instruments Audio Kontrol 1 to this device", is there no way to just play the instrument I have selected on the sequencer?

[Raveshaper]

On the preferences tab for control surfaces there should be an option for Master Keyboard Input.
Make sure this is set to "Standard" and not "Separated".

You should be able to play whatever instrument is on the selected track with this setting.

[DJSubterrain]

Yup, that's what I have selected, still no joy, tried the other option too.

I downloaded a program called MIDI-OX and tested the midi signal with that and all seems fine, it sees the note data on channel 1 and sees pitch bend, etc. As I say, if I force an instrument I can play it with the keyboard, I just can't do it by just selecting the track in the sequencer which I'm sure worked in previous versions. Is there anything I'm missing on my sequencer track? Should there be a midi selection icon?

[DJSubterrain]

Just to add I also tried using the remote and LUA files that were already installed with Reason and I also tried downloading these from the Native Instruments site too.

[swamptooth]

Click the ak1 then press the make master keyboard button

[DJSubterrain]

Click the ak1 then press the make master keyboard button

Doesn't show that option if I select the interface.

[Raveshaper]

You can use the following surface and it should work better for you:

Preferences > Control Surfaces > Add > "<Other>" > MIDI Control Keyboard

I think what's wrong is that the Audio Kontrol 1 doesn't have proper keyboard support, but perhaps I'm wrong.
The only reason a surface would not give you the ability to set it as the Master Keyboard is if it does not have any support for keyboard input.

The surface above will allow you to use the AK1 as a generic MIDI port but with added keyboard support.

[LudvigC]

Hi,

Raveshaper is right - you don't get MIDI notes because you have added the AudioKontrol as a control surface, and it doesn't have a keyboard (it only has a knob and a couple of buttons). In this context, it's only used as a MIDI interface, not as a controller.

So, delete the AudioKontrol from the list on the Preferences page, and then add an "Other / MIDI Control Keyboard" instead. Use "Find" again to find the MIDI port. Then you should be good to go.

/ LudvigC

[DJSubterrain]

Thanks for the ideas guys, do you reckon I could add the Kontrol and use the buttons on it and then also add a generic keyboard as above and use that as the master keyboard?

[Raveshaper]

The Midi Control Keyboard will support the buttons and knobs on your AK1 just fine.
If you want to figure out what messages the AK1 sends, use this utility that I wrote for that very purpose.
It's a control surface that can tell you information about MIDI messages passing through it.
http://www.reasontalk.com/viewtopic.php ... 13#p239168

[Carly(Poohbear)]

Thanks for the ideas guys, do you reckon I could add the Kontrol and use the buttons on it and then also add a generic keyboard as above and use that as the master keyboard?

Yes, you can run multiple keyboards\controllers into Reason...

and yes I have run my P4 into Reason as normal and via the Other>Midi Keyboard Controller.

I can then lock one keyboard to an instrument and the other allows me to control device, so from one keyboard I can record notes from the instrument say Thor and also record the changes I make from the knobs on a player device...