Routing MIDI controller with multiple channels to two VSTs?

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River Cricket
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Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2014 6:53 am

Routing MIDI controller with multiple channels to two VSTs?

Post by River Cricket »

This is probably a bog-simple question, but I'm still not intimately fluent in MIDI, especially not "Buzz MIDI" :D

I have an M-Audio Oxygen-25. It features an eight-button pressure-sensitive "drumpad" that is hard-wired (i.e. not reassignable on the MIDI controller itself) to transmit on MIDI channel 10. Personally, I think it's kind of stupid and a big waste of real estate, would prefer more knobs/sliders or at least the ability to map these to CCs on the device itself, but oh well, fuckin' DJs have their needs too I suppose. :P

Anyway, I was hoping I could have these buttons control one VST for samples/effects/whatever, while the actual keyboard controls my main VST.

I tried right-clicking and assigning the Polac loader to channel 10 (both via right click > MIDI Input channel and right click > attributes > MIDI in), but it doesn't recognize any input on those buttons, it just continues recognizing keyboard input like "normal".

So, simply put, what's the simplest way to have one hardware MIDI device control multiple Buzz machines?
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AndersBrontosaurus
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Re: Routing MIDI controller with multiple channels to two VS

Post by AndersBrontosaurus »

If you mean multiple midichannels I don't know but Peerctrl is the standard lifesaver.
You can assign knobs and buttons on your oxygen to various parameters in peerctrl and from there assign peerctrl's parameters to parameters in vst's or native machines. About the keyboard I'm not sure I've never tried that.

PEERCTRL has a good manual. Here is also a thread that might help
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2130
River Cricket
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Re: Routing MIDI controller with multiple channels to two VS

Post by River Cricket »

I've dabbled with PeerCtrl in the past, but would really prefer a method - if one exists, of course - that gets rid of the PeerCtrl middleman. My main VST has a really nice AutoLearn function that makes assignations a breeze, and I'm more familiar with the sliders and dials by "vision" than by "function" (like, I think of my Moog oscillators as "top", "middle", and "bottom", or my Odyssey's as "blue" and "green", it takes an extra moment to remember which one is VCO1 and which is VCO2).
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AndersBrontosaurus
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Re: Routing MIDI controller with multiple channels to two VS

Post by AndersBrontosaurus »

Don't know about that. I've only used the novation zero remote. It uses automap to autolearn but then I can only control one machine at the time. Therefore I use peerctrl. With a template I only have to do the cumbrious setups once...
About your inputs, have you added your controls in preferences>midi input? Also beware that sometimes go from 1-16 and sometimes 0-15. :-)
River Cricket
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Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2014 6:53 am

Re: Routing MIDI controller with multiple channels to two VS

Post by River Cricket »

Also beware that sometimes go from 1-16 and sometimes 0-15.
:oops:

This was definitely part of my problem, but even now that everything's on the correct channel, it's still not working.

And now I'm remembering why I didn't want to use PeerCtrl - every time I touch it I get horribly horribly lost. :P

PeerCtrl seems geared for knobs/params - maybe I wasn't clear, but the Oxygen "drum pad" is mapped as a regular piano keyboard, but on Midi Channel 10/11 (the standard drum channel).
PEERCTRL has a good manual.
:? Um... do you mean the "BTDSys PeerCtrl.htm" file? Because if so, then I think we have different definitions of "good" :)

Seriously, though, I would really appreciate a (non-video) PeerCtrl tutorial. I can't seem to select piano keys as inputs - just the various CCs.
River Cricket
Posts: 136
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2014 6:53 am

Re: Routing MIDI controller with multiple channels to two VS

Post by River Cricket »

Okay, folks. I am a total moron, but at least I'm the kind of moron who solves my own stupid issues (eventually :D).

For the record:

1. View > Settings > MIDI > MasterKeyboardMode = FALSE
2. Assign channels using right-click > MIDI Input Channel
3. Wait for it...
4. ...
5. Image
6. Remember that this is not the first time I've forgotten about this in ShortCircuit.

(so in other words, one of the VSTs I was using has a kinda-obvious, kinda-not way to assign which channel it listens to, completely separate from the wrapper / DAW it's loaded in, and because I wasn't doing this I ended up wasting an entire day desperately mucking about with various cumbersome setups)

I'd still love some PeerCtrl tutorials though - everyone's always raving about it, and I'm sure it deserves the hype.
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