{"id":3967,"date":"2018-01-25T23:28:39","date_gmt":"2018-01-25T22:28:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.untergeek.de\/?p=3967"},"modified":"2018-03-07T11:55:36","modified_gmt":"2018-03-07T10:55:36","slug":"using-an-arturia-beatstep-or-something-like-it-to-control-the-matrix-1000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.untergeek.de\/de\/2018\/01\/using-an-arturia-beatstep-or-something-like-it-to-control-the-matrix-1000\/","title":{"rendered":"Using an Arturia Beatstep (or something like it) to control the Matrix-1000"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"MIDI<\/p>\n

Hi, I just bought and upgrade a matrix 1000 to 1.20 , I saw your video on youtube where you control yours with a Beatstep Arturia<\/a>.. I’d like to control mine with my key lab but I don’t know how to do that ! can you help me ?<\/em><\/p>\n

I tried to build a template for the key lab with Arturia software (midi control center) but all button and fader on the keylab are midi cc , and if I assigne midi cc 21 for the cutoff it doesn’t work.. I don’t know how to make rnpn with Arturia controller..<\/em><\/p>\n

If you did with the Beatstep I’m pretty sure it can work with key lab..<\/em><\/p>\n

Clement<\/p>\n

Hi Clement, I hope you don’t mind answering your mail in public. Using simple MIDI CCs won’t do the trick; you’ll have to use NRPN. (To be honest, I don’t know whether the Keylab can be programmed to send NRPN but like you, I am pretty confident.)<\/p>\n

What is this NRPN thing after all?<\/h3>\n

You do know about MIDI CCs. This is one type of MIDI command where you send a controller number – 0 to 127 – followed by the value for that parameter. Quite a lot of synths assign a CC number to each and every parameter, for example the Roland JX8P synths, or my wonderful Creamware Pro-12 VA synth. The big advantage being that those synths do not only receive<\/em> MIDI CC values, they also send<\/em> them – when you change a parameter or switch to a different patch. A fader box attached to the synth can be made to show the settings for each individual parameters, like my Pro-12 panel for the iPad. Spoiler: The Matrix-1000 won’t do this.<\/p>\n

The problem with MIDI CC: sometimes, 128 controllers won’t be enough, especially as quite a lot of them have pre-defined meanings<\/a>. It is pretty crowded in CC-Land.<\/p>\n

To overcome this, NPRN was defined – same idea as CC, different way to do it. The main difference being that there are not 128 possible controller numbers but 16,384 of them – and, by the way, they can send a much higher range of values; instead of 0-127, values from 0-16,383 are possible. But, another spoiler, not with the Matrix, and not with Arturia controllers, either.<\/p>\n

You see, NRPN is not really a different MIDI command. It is a way to use the MIDI CC command to transmit a larger range of values. A full NRPN sequence is not one MIDI CC command, but four: using four designated CC controller numbers to send a more complex message.<\/p>\n