Another CV/Gate vs MIDI question...

Gloopikat

New member
Hi gang, I've just got my first modular - well, semi-modular - and immediately running into a wall of my own noobness. For some reason it occurred to me that I could send MIDI messages out of the Keylab 49 to the MIDI In of the Dreadbox Nyx, and play the synth fine without a computer after fiddling about with some settings. Doesn't appear to be so.

I was planning to get a Keystep or Beatstep Pro later down the line to do the more nuanced CV/Gate routings - but I didn't expect to absolutely need one right now, and thought MIDI would do just fine for sending note on/off and gate stuff. What am I getting wrong? Is it possible to play a semi-modular from a MIDI controller, or is a CV/Gate option necessary?

Thanks very much for your patience!
 
Thanks for your reply. I have MIDI going out of the Keylab going into the MIDI IN of the Nyx. Now, I don't expect it to make noise straight off, but there are no particular settings in the Arturia MIDI Center that appear to target this. And I've never been good at navigating the controller's program change menus and other stuff - never needed to. So, the only thing I know how to do is to connect the MIDI cable and expect it to make sound without starting Ableton up.

I can also see that the Nyx is receiving something from the Keylab. Firstly, the channel indicator on the interface flashes on its own - with LFOs and things - thanks to the audio cable. But it also flashes in between, when I press keys on the keylab. So I know it's receiving MIDI.
 
Huh, I'm sure I replied to this...

Anyway, the basic setup shouldn't really consist of anything else than MIDI out from the controller to MIDI in on the Nyx - I would expect it to make noise straight away. The first thing to check would probably be the send & receive channels: usually most devices default to either channel 1 or omni (send/receive on all channels, which is literally a catch-all solution; easy if you only have one receiving unit), but the Nyx seems to have a fairly unconventional setup in the sense that you can only change the channel from some dipswitches inside the unit. So the easiest way would be to just step through the (16) send channels of the Keylab and see if the Nyx plays on one of them (as you're seeing it'll probably "react" to any MIDI data, hence the flashing lights).

If that doesn't work, then maybe there are some menus to be dived in on the Keylab.
 
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