Korg Forums

[Grog96]

Hi all! Can anybody please help me try to configure mixer knobs in a Combi?

I made a combi for Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", using the first 10 timbres across various key zones and two MIDI channels.
Most are set to Gch and I play them on the Nautilus itself. Timbres 6,7,8,10,11 are on MIDI channel 3, and I play them externally (from a Krome).
So far, so good.

Now I want to be able to fade groups out, or change the balance between the groups as I'm playing.
I know that the Expression MIDI CC is the way to go, as it changes levels in relative terms, whereas Volume or EQ Trim sets all affected timbres to the same new absolute value.

I discovered the Controllers tab on the EQ/X-Y/Controllers page, and it seems to do exactly what I want!
So, I assigned Knob1 to Mixer/EXPRESSION and selected all the Gch timbres.
Then I assigned Knob2 to Mixer/EXPRESSION and selected all the timbres on MIDI channel 3.

However...
• Sometimes when I select timbres they light up in the Assign View - sometimes they don't!
• If I tap another box (e.g. a different Target), sometimes they all deselect themselves!
• Even worse, timbres indicated as assigned sometimes don't change, or unlit ones *DO* change when I twiddle that knob!

Utter madness, totally unpredictable regardless of what the screen is showing me.

Has anybody else found this? Is it a bug, or is there something I've missed or misunderstood?

TIA
_________________
Current gear: Korg Nautilus 73, Korg Kronos X 61 (non-booting!), Korg Krome 73,
Gathering dust: Korg 01/Wfd, Korg M1, GEM S2, AKAI S2800, EMU Morpheus, Casio AZ-1 + midiBeam
Band: Harmony Of Spheres

[Grog96]

OK, here's an update. If anyone else also falls into this trap, read on...

I found that EXPRESSION seems to work differently to all the other possible Mixer Controls (EQ TRIM, EQ LO/MID/HI GAIN, SEND 1/2, PAN, VOLUME). Whereas the other controls operate on just the timbre(s) you select in the bottom panel ("Knob# Timbre"), EXPRESSION doesn't. It only works if you select Timbre 1; then the knob affects *all* timbres on the Global channel (i.e. Gch and whichever one that is numerically, e.g. 01G). BTW, Timbre 1's MIDI channel is irrelevant here - even if it's an otherwise unused channel. This means that you can't limit EXPRESSION to specific timbres by lighting them up in the bottom panel, as the GUI would lead you to expect.

I suspect EXPRESSION has had to be implemented in a more 'hard-coded' way than the others because it's the only parameter not to appear as a control on any of the Edit pages. The other controls probably work like 'macros', changing the in-GUI value as if the user is scraping around on the screen; this then affects the timbre's program in the normal way.

So, I have a solution - albeit confusing as it deviates from what the GUI shows. It's good enough, now I understand the implementation, despite falling a little short of my goal (grouping and affecting certain timbres on both MIDI channels using one physical knob), but never mind. I have assigned EXPRESSION to knob 4 on the Krome, so I can also control all Nautilus timbres on MIDI channel 3 via the knob on the Krome. This is now my standard for all Nautilus Combis that I create for the songs in our set.

PS: I still think the GUI is glitchy in this area - that's a separate issue.
_________________
Current gear: Korg Nautilus 73, Korg Kronos X 61 (non-booting!), Korg Krome 73,
Gathering dust: Korg 01/Wfd, Korg M1, GEM S2, AKAI S2800, EMU Morpheus, Casio AZ-1 + midiBeam
Band: Harmony Of Spheres