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Controlling Plug-In Knobs & Faders


hozierschurch
Go to solution Solved by David Nahmani,

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Sorry David, only just seen this - my notifications didn't work for some reason!

 

Out of my 9 faders and 8 knobs, only 5 of the cc numbers show midi data in the MIDI input monitor? The LX88 was installed using the correct software ... also the manufacturers tell me I should be able to ctrl click and fader / knob and assign, but again, this only works with the 5 faders Logic recognises?

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I should also say that in the controller assignments window, the faders and knobs which don't send messages in the transport window (or work) show as being assigned i.e. Ch 1 73 Lo7, but the faders which do work and receive messages in the transport window don't show do anything in the assignments window ...

Yes that makes sense: any MIDI event that is assigned in Logic's controller assignments window no longer appears on Logic's MIDI input monitor. Only unassigned MIDI events will be displayed there.

 

They all work in the transport window if I do that but they all appear on Channel 16 I think, and have different CC numbers i.e. fader 9 is 16 20 ... whereas before it was 1 7

To determine what type of MIDI event your keyboard send you'll have to refer to your keyboard's manual. Logic only displays whatever MIDI event type it receives (it does not change any of the parameters of the MIDI event).

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Cheers David. I've done that and now all of the faders etc show in the transport window. From here, do I just assign individually to use smart controls e.t.c. as none of them are working? I'm trying to get to the stage where I can just switch on the midi keyboard, open kontakt / signal pulse engine and the controls are mapped automatically. This was the case yesterday with a fresh install but isn't working now ...
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Cheers David. I've done that and now all of the faders etc show in the transport window. From here, do I just assign individually to use smart controls e.t.c. as none of them are working?

If you want, yes. I thought that what you originally asked, indirectly, when you said "Can anybody explain why 'learn midi cc automation' only works on certain knobs / faders on my midi keyboard".

 

For automatic mapping, choose Logic Pro X > Control Surfaces > Preferences and click MIDI Controllers, then select your keyboard below and click Setup.

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Again - no joy! This is driving me nuts.

 

The DIY things works just fine. But unfortunately my controller doesn't show under preferences / Midi Controllers. It does show under Controller Surface Setup and so I'm assuming I should be selecting that? The LX88 is supposed to come pre-mapped via download with Logic / Garageband integration but it is that that I've been having trouble with.

 

For some reason it isn't mapping effectively. This was what I meant in the original post asking why only certain faders work e.t.c. when it is all supposed to be pre-mapped (although I wasn't very clear!)

 

I appreciate it isn't a massive task to assign and save for each plugin but the pre-mapping way would make workflow a lot easier. I'm still just trying to figure out where the issue lies ... Does Logic need a complete re-install?

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It's more the 3rd party stuff. Basically, all the things Nektar says the LX controls in Logic itself works just fine (mixing / transport controls e.t.c.).

 

But as with most people, I use a lot of 3rd party plugins in Kontakt and I want to control these parameters.

 

Nektar say anything is possible by ctrl clicking / Learn Midi Automation but it's that which doesn't work (only on 5 faders - not on the others or the knobs). And without being able to control all of this it seriously hinders workflow especially with sound design.

 

Hope that makes sense!

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Nektar say anything is possible by ctrl clicking / Learn Midi Automation but it's that which doesn't work (only on 5 faders - not on the others or the knobs).

Because the other knobs are already assigned to something?

 

It appears they are assigned to Smart Controls - which in turn don't control anything in Kontakt.

 

The workaround suggested by Nektar is to use Global Channel 2 from the keyboard as the faders / knobs aren't routed to Smart Controls.

 

This seems to be a solution but it means every time I open a Kontakt instrument plugin window, having to change the Midi Channel to '2' so I can hear it ...

 

Is there a way to either (1) set all Kontakt Midi Channels to 2 by default, or to get rid of the Smart Control mapping on the knobs so they are free for me to assign for automation?

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@Hozierschurch, is your keyboard showing up ticked under Prefs -> Control Surfaces -> MIDI Controllers? If so, and you don't mind losing all the mappings, try unticking it. Also as per the keyboard maker's tip, if you set the track's MIDI channel to 1, it will output (to Kontakt) on 1 while Logic receives on 2, to bypass the capture.

 

I have a similar problem with my Akai MPK88. Even though I delete some assignments and save the project, the next time I look they are baaack, AGAIN captured by Logic.

 

David, Is there a way to create a custom "MIDI Controller" definition that retains some of the mappings and not others?

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@Hozierschurch, is your keyboard showing up ticked under Prefs -> Control Surfaces -> MIDI Controllers?

 

David, Is there a way to create a custom "MIDI Controller" definition that retains some of the mappings and not others?

 

Sorry for late reply! Mine shows as my controller in a box highlighted with a blue outline (not a tick). My track channel is always 1 by default but as a workaround I'm having to send from channel 2 from my Midi Keyboard as on channel 1 the faders e.t.c. are already pre-assigned.

 

The controller doesn't do everything it is advertised to do (without me messing with anything at all which I have confirmed by factory reset e.t.c.)

 

The problem I am left with, is how to make Kontakt libraries automatically use channel 2 so I don't have to change channel every time I load an instrument! :roll:

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This time my late reply, sorry. There are control surfaces and there are keyboards. The former have more gizmos and often motorized faders etc. They have a huge set of functions assigned. The latter are "MIDI Controllers" and more limited, the faders etc usually auto-mapped to "Smart Controls". That's been the curse.

 

I imagine yours probably shows up in a bounding box in Control Surfaces -> Setup but did you also look under Preferences -> Control Surfaces -> MIDI Controllers?

 

My AKAI MPK88 is a keyboard with 16 drum pads, and Logic only assigns its 8 faders, 8 buttons, 8 rotaries and the transport buttons, that's it. I've ended up hacking the internal tables to remove the faders from Logic's grasp because even if I deleted the assignments Logic was always repossessing them any time it felt like it. Now I can use MIDI Channel 1 and use MIDI Learn to do my own mapping of the faders. I left the rotaries and buttons for Smart Control auto-mapping for now but may end up freeing them too. I mainly want to retain the functioning of the transport buttons, those are very handy, so just unticking the AKAI under Preferences -> Control Surfaces -> MIDI Controllers was not a good solution.

 

Is your device a full fledged control surface? What's the brand and full model number?

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