LXR MIDI Problems

Martn

Hello everyone,

I have got two problems concerning synchronization of my LXR with other gear and I really hope one of you can help!

First one: when I connect the LXR as a slave to a Akai Rhythm Wolf (Gate Out) via the "Clk In" of the trigger extension, the LXR loses synchronization after I change the pattern in performance mode. Is this a bug or can anyone reproduce a similar behavior?

Second one: my MIDI input does not show any reaction, no matter which source I use (Akai Rhythm Wolf, Korg Volca Keys, Novation MIDI Keyboard). I've already set the tempo to 0 and the MIDI Receive Gate to "all". Can anyone help me with this problem?

I've also tried to rearrange everything by connecting the MIDI out to the AKAI: works fine. Problem: if I add a sync signal via USB from a DAW like Propellerhead Reason, the LXR works well, but there is no MIDI signal arriving at the AKAI, which remains silent...

Thank you very much!

Martn

nagual

for the second question: the LXR only has a midi in and midi out, and unless i am mistaken, you need a midi thru to sync your wolf from your DAW after the LXR. a midi thru box is a cheap way to fix that, but if you don't have an USB powered 4x4 midi i/o box, I recommend to get one and that should help out a lot if you are using your DAW to sync your gears.  

Martn

Thank you! You are right of course... I forgot that there is no MIDI thru... And solving this problem with a MIDI thru box (or another MIDI cable from my MIDI Keyboard) would solve the problem. What remains are of course my original problems. I would love to use the DAW as sync source for my MIDI keyboard, which has a MIDI thru for the LXR... Has anyone experienced similar problems with the MIDI input?

Xirso

First of all, The LXR as a midi out port and it can act like a midi thru, but you must configure it.

I think you misunderstand numbers of things, i will try to make it short:

"Akai Rhythm Wolf (Gate Out) via the "Clk In"", a gate signal isn't normally use to synchronise a clock.

"I've already set the tempo to 0 and the MIDI Receive Gate to "all"" The midi receive config as nothing to do with the gate. You can configure the LXR to send a gate signal or a trigger signal, under a menu with on or off options.

For the midi, under "Rx" you can configure witch midi message the LXR receive. And under Tx you can configure wich midi message the LXR send thru the midi out. Finally, you must check under "mrt" to configure where the midi in is send, usb or midi out...It is in the same menu where you put the BPM to 0. A better explanation of the different possibilities here:

http://wiki.sonic-potions.com/index.php/LXR_Owners_Manual

Look at the midi routing and midi filtering section. You will see that you can certainly configure the LXR to feet your need's.

Martn

Hello Xirso,

you are right, I did not express my problem in the right way... 

And thank you for commenting on problem number one! If I get that right, losing sync could happen when the pattern is changed... I was only surprised because that means that there must be a short delay after changing the pattern which is not corrected by the gate signal...

Let me therefore focus on the main problem: I want to connect a midi output to my LXR MIDI Input. I have set the MIDI FILTER Receive to "all" and the tempo to 0. Now I was hoping that this is enough to get the LXR controlled and synced by my MIDI keyboard... It works with the Korg Volca and the Akai this way, but there is no reaction on the LXR if connected this way... Is this normal or is there another thing I need to set differently?

Thank you for your answer!

nagual

I knew there was a chance that the midi out could be configured as thru. Need to look into that.

Does LXR play in pitched mode across the keyboard Or on specific note numbers? Or both?

I just ordered mine so I have not even touched one yet

cj55

@Martn: Have you configured the right MIDI channel on the LXR?

And yes, you can use the MIDI out as MIDI through port. You can choose the routing with the mrt setting. And the filtering with the txf (transmit) and rxf (receive) setting. This is described in the manual (Point 7 MIDI).

@nagual: You can configure the LXR to play or sequence pitched notes (on different MIDI channels for the different drum voices) or to trigger the voices on specific note numbers (only one MIDI channel needed).
This is not properly documented in the manual, yet.

Martn

Hello cj55!

I think I got the MIDI thru setup. But I am not so sure how to deal with the MIDI channel... I have tried to set it to different numbers, but without success... Could you please explain this aspect to me? Thank you!

Xirso

http://forum.sonic-potions.com/discussion/647/how-to-sent-midi-notes-from-ableton-sequencer-to-lxr-#Item_22
There are some explainations on midi channel in this topic. Perhaps it could help.

Martn

Trank you! I will also try to check the settings on my MIDI keyboard! I think that the situation described in the the other post is the next step and the opportunities are great! Right now I would be happy getting my LXR synced to and triggered by my DAW... This works by the way, if I use the USB MIDI Input, but not with the MIDI input... I will spend some time later to Test all your great suggestions!

Martn

So: I finally managed to create a brillantly working setup syncing the LXR to Ableton via USB:-) The instructions in the other Post are very helpful for understanding the basic concept. However, even after reading the manuals of the LXR, my keyboard and the Akai. No matter which device I connect to the MIDI in, no matter which channel or filter I set, the LXR does not start to play... Is there a way to check, if the MIDI in is working?

Xirso

In your case, i will use an application on your computer who display the midi that your computer is receiving. midiox on Windows or sysex librarian on osx. Then configure the LXR to receive all, an then midi in routing to usb. So you can see what midi messages are coming to the computer.
Or simply try to trigger a voice on the LXR with your keyboard midi out to the LXR midi in.

cj55

Easiest way to check the MIDI in is to connect a keyboard directly or a DAW via MIDI interface. But this is, what you tried already. Next step would be to check your hardware. The first thing to check here: is the optocoupler (6N138) inserted the right way round?

Martn

First of all: thank you all for your answers!!! As the MIDI trigger suggestion by Xirso did not work out, I decided to reopen my box. And cj55, you were right of course... Changed the optocoupler and everything worked... I'm sorry for not checking this earlier, but I wanted to avoid opening it due to my not-so-well-fixed lightpipes...

cj55

Glad it is working now! Opening and reassambling the enclosure is always a bit fiddly. And I can understand that one wants to avoid it.

Martn

I have one more question: I have connected my AKAI Rhythm Wolf to the MIDI out of my LXR. The LXR is triggered by my DAW. I can adjust the MIDI routing and everything is fine except one thing: it looks like the Sequencer Position is only set back on the LXR when playback is stopped, but this information is not forwarded to the AKAI. Is it possible to change this?

Martn

After enjoying my LXR for quite some time now, there is one question left: I am trying to Sync the Sequencer of my MicroBrute to the LXR via the Clock Output on the Trigger Extension and the Gate In on the MicroBrute. This has not been successful so far... Is it related to the fact that the LXR is synced via the MIDI In and therefore not using its own tempo? I could of course use a MIDI cable, but I was wondering if the clock Output also does the job...

nightworxx

The clock out of the Trigger extension board, does exactly this: it sends (afaik) 24 (default) pulses a second as sync signal. I am using it to sync different other sequencers, but all of them need the reset patched either as the clock signal is continuous and else the sequencers do not know when to start at the exact point. Getting sync via MIDI and going further by clocking should not be an issue, as i am doing excatly the same with my LXR, which i use as one of some clock sources for modular equipment. 

EDIT: I just had a quick view in the Microbrute manual, but i did not find anything pointing to the feature that the sequencer is capable of being synced externally other than by MIDI.

Martn

Thank you! That's what I expected... I can tell you that the trigger outputs are able to trigger the MicroBrute when connected to the Gate in! However, they do of course something I am not looking for... I will go for the MIDI solution.