Novation Remote to control Roland MKS 50 / Juno Alpha?

[lain2097]

In theory it should be. If you're talking about the newer remote sl which has 'automap'; makes life much easier. The older remote (like I have) can also work just the sysex values must be entered manually.

I know the cc mapping works fine just I've personally never tried sysex, although I can't foresee why not. See vintagesynth for the sysex values: Vintage Synth Explorer | JUNO MIDI System Exclusive Info If that sounds too confusing just get the PG-300 or use one of the many software editors.

Also note that lots of sysex (cc are much smaller messages) will bog down your other synths on the same midi chain, so I'd refrain from doing lots of traffic unless it's on its own chain.

Nice one, the MKS-50

[Syltagogotronix]

I use my MKS-50 with a Novation SL MKII 25 key. Works well. The SL has a preset for the MKS-50, so I´ve just plugged it in and started knobtwiddling. thumbsup

And MKS-50 = thumbsup thumbsup as well. Really cool.

[Telemann]

Excellent!
Thanks both, I can't wait til it arrives.
So just to make sure, the sysex messages work in realtime like it would with cc messages?
Because I've read somewhere that you can hear the steps when controlling the cutoff for example.

[lain2097]

Originally Posted by Telemann

..So just to make sure, the sysex messages work in realtime like it would with cc messages?
Because I've read somewhere that you can hear the steps when controlling the cutoff for example.

Yes indeed. The PG-300 is a glorified sysex controller.

Both cc and sysex are 7-bit resolution, only sysex has longer messages. Some older synths have problems with realtime controls (Matrix 1000 for example) and can lock-up. The mks50 can definitly handle realtime. If it were me I'd still use a software editor because I like to all the values at a glance. Plus the mks50 has extra strange waveforms which are not 'continuous'. But yes for filter and env control a hardware controller is much nicer.

Even modern synths with cc control have some degree of stepping unless interpolation are employed.

[Telemann]

What do you mean by "not continuous waveforms", how does it affect the controllability?

[lain2097]

Erhm sorry, I only mean waveform selection is only a few fixed values. Again as preference of mine to not have endless encoders.

The layout of most editors I find helps me create custom patches over using a generic unlabelled device. However as stated, hardware is sooo much handier to 'perform'

[Dirty Halo]

Does the PG-300 work well for the MKS-50?

Just picked one up, excited to check it out

-Andrews

[Telemann]

Afaik the PG300 is the best option to control the alpha series, because this is exactly what they were built for.
But they are pretty overpriced.

[RobJB06]

You still have to edit a lot of stuff on the front panel even with the pg300, i found it frustrating so i sold it and use the vst editor now: MKS-50v - www.vst-control.de

Originally Posted by Telemann

Afaik the PG300 is the best option to control the alpha series, because this is exactly what they were built for.
But they are pretty overpriced.

[Telemann]

This looks great, especially since I'm using cubase. Are there any drawbacks? Is it possible to control the editor with a midi controller?

[rids]

Originally Posted by RobJB06

You still have to edit a lot of stuff on the front panel even with the pg300, i found it frustrating so i sold it and use the vst editor now: MKS-50v - www.vst-control.de

Pc only I presume...

[Acid Hazard]

Originally Posted by Dirty Halo

Does the PG-300 work well for the MKS-50?

Just picked one up, excited to check it out

-Andrews

Yes.

[Telemann]

The mks arrived today and after tweaking around a bit, I'm already loving it. Tons of character and the sound of the chorus alone is worth the price.
What seems the best controlling solution so far, is the vst-control plug that RobJB06 posted. Tried the demo and it's working perfectly.
There's also cubase midi device available for the alphas, which you can download here: Cubase SX Device Panels - C.Y.KONG.com
Unfotunately I'm on cubase studio, which doesn't display midi devices,
but this could be a pretty good option for owners of the full version.

[rachel]

Or you can order one of these:





rachel

[rids]

Sure looks purdy.

(actually extremely cool looking )

[lain2097]

Okay I'll admit it looks cool.

However two practicalities: it's 395€ and I can't see how they can get it to properly edit any other synths. A D50/550 has many other parameters (plus 4 partials) than this device. I'm guessing it's only the 'most usable' ones?

[Telemann]

Yep, it sure got the looks, but is too expensive and impractical.
A generic midi controller plus software editor is the way to go imho.
Much more versatile and total recall as a bonus.

[rids]

Originally Posted by Syltagogotronix

I use my MKS-50 with a Novation SL MKII 25 key. Works well. The SL has a preset for the MKS-50, so I´ve just plugged it in and started knobtwiddling. thumbsup

This will be best of all. Didn't realize it covers the 50, but that's perfect.

[silent5]

I used the original ReMote 49 (pre SL version) with the MKS-50 and had no problems either.

[tksense]

Hi,

I also try to use midi controllers to control synths with Roland checksum. Now I use a Novation SL mki with its Roland Checksum option, however, the calculation seems to take 7 addresses prior to the end rather than 5, hence the result of the checksum value is constantly off by the addition of the 2 extra values in front of the addresses.

In case of a SonicCell, the two bytes prior to the addresses are 37, 18 decimal, hence the Novation checksum is always off by 55 values!! I wonder if there is a way to correct this?

I try to use Logic to correct it but it's very cumbersome and actually quite unusable; even a cc-sysex logic environment I programmed works better, but that limits to 128cc options and the reason I buy Novation is to use sysex straight up!

Any clues? Thanks in advance

[Telemann]

Hi,
I also have the SL mk1 and I used the SL Editor software to program it for the mks.
Got the sysex code from Vintage Synth Explorer | JUNO MIDI System Exclusive Info.
You just have to leave away the first and the last component (F0 and F7)
and use "DV" for the control value.
So e.g. the code for cutoff would be: 41 36 00 23 20 01 10 DV

[cooperte]

Hi there, I'm new to this and I've been trying to get my remote zero sl to act like a pg-300 so I can alter patches on my Juno-1. I've tried copy and pasting all the sysex codes from the vintage synth explorer link above into a template using the sl editor software and sending it to the sl.

It kind of half works. It alters a few components of sound when I alter the knobs and sliders, but after a few seconds it tends to stop playing any sound at all from the juno. I found that there's no pattern to the slides/knobs that work too. It's all a bit random.

Can anyone shed any light on this problem? Would be much appreciated if you could..

[Telemann]

I cannot help u with THAT problem, but I attached my template file which is working fine with my setup. Let me know if it works.

[cooperte]

Thanks a lot Telemann!

Your template worked. I looked at how you had programmed each sysex string and noticed that I hadn't swapped the 00 at the end for DV instead like you have (and your earlier post explained). I went through my template and altered it and now that works as well. I just need to work out what all the knobs and slides do now. I'm brand new at this and just messing around really.

[Telemann]

You're welcome! It's a great synth for beginners with just the right amount of options that aren't too overwhelming. Even though there are fantastic emulations (DIVA, TAL-U), I think you can get sounds to fit in the track a lot quicker with the original.
There are a lot tutorials out there for synth programming. A free one for example is "How to make a noise".

[TheUntitled]

So, it's been over 2 years now Tememann, how are you finding the MKS?

[Telemann]

I really like it and wouldn't wanna miss it. Like I already wrote, even though you can get pretty close with plugins, it's just a totally different feel with the hardware. And I feel I can get sounds quicker, without thinking too much about it, whereas with plugins it's always a bit of a struggle to find the sweet spot.
Of course I wouldn't wanna miss vsti's either, but would recommend everyone to have at least one analog synth. A Juno 106 would be even better, because of the handling, but on a budget the alpha is a great choice.
Plus you get the original WhatThe? sound.

[TheUntitled]

Originally Posted by Telemann

I really like it and wouldn't wanna miss it. Like I already wrote, even though you can get pretty close with plugins, it's just a totally different feel with the hardware. And I feel I can get sounds quicker, without thinking too much about it, whereas with plugins it's always a bit of a struggle to find the sweet spot.
Of course I wouldn't wanna miss vsti's either, but would recommend everyone to have at least one analog synth. A Juno 106 would be even better, because of the handling, but on a budget the alpha is a great choice.
Plus you get the original WhatThe? sound.

The fact it can create that sound (the preset you mentioned) is the main reason i bought mine (well, Juno 1 in my case). The PWM + chorus on that synth is an absolute beast. So filthy in the lower octaves. I don't think plugins come close to it personally. Likewise the Juno is pretty useless for the digital clean sounds you would expect to get from VSTi's.