Vox Continental - Use of external MIDI keyboard

DrJimmyJam · Post by **DrJimmyJam** » Mon May 10, 2021 5:35 pm

Hi,
So my main goal is to have two separate sounds on the top keyboard (Vox Continental) and the bottom slave keyboard (Roland RD-64), for example Organ on the top and Piano from the bottom. Preferably I'd like to use the inbulit sounds on the Vox because A) they're much better and B) the Continental has two L/R balenced XLR outputs, which removes the need for a DI box and it also has a ground/lift switch, which removes the hiss from the tube overdrive (I think). I've been emailing Korg support for the last few days who say it should be possible but we're getting nowhere (and we've tried multiple different ways), so really I'm hoping that someone who's already managed it can let me know how to do it beacuse it's driving me mad.

Thanks,
James :)

voip · Post by **voip** » Mon May 10, 2021 9:53 pm

Yes, it is possible, provided that the lower keyboard can be set to output MIDI data on MIDI channel 2. The "lower" keyboard isn't strictly a "slave" since it is actively sending out data for the Vox Continental to respond to so, in that sense, the Vox Continental is the "slave" or at least the recipient of the MIDI data. The actual connection will be MIDI Out on the RD64 to the MIDI In on the Vox Continental. A possible downside is that the MIDI channel on the RD-64 is not saved, and will revert to MIDI channel 1 when powered on. Setting the MIDI channel on the RD-64 involves pressing the Function key and one of the keyboard keys, corresponding to MIDI channel 2 (the manual doesn't seem to offer much in the way of detail.

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DrJimmyJam · Post by **DrJimmyJam** » Mon May 10, 2021 10:10 pm

voip wrote:Yes, it is possible, provided that the lower keyboard can be set to output MIDI data on MIDI channel 2. The "lower" keyboard isn't strictly a "slave" since it is actively sending out data for the Vox Continental to respond to so, in that sense, the Vox Continental is the "slave" or at least the recipient of the MIDI data. The actual connection will be MIDI Out on the RD64 to the MIDI In on the Vox Continental.

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Thanks, but I've tried that and it only works with organ, with the RD as an organ lower manual. Outputting on channel 1 (or anything other than what the VOX's MIDI channel is set to, I presume) it just copies the VOX and on channel 2 it works as an organ lower. I've tried all different ways of making it a different sound to no avail. I know it sounds dumb but can you post a step by step on how to set this up (with all the settings etc)?

voip · Post by **voip** » Tue May 11, 2021 8:12 am

It would appear that the VOX Continental is behaving as it should, and it is only possible to play the lower part of the organ sounds using the external keyboard, and not one of the other sound parts. Sorry to have raised your hopes. It must be the only Korg keyboard with such a limitation.

I guess you're left with using each keyboard as a separate instrument, with audio from both going into a mixer.

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romelio · Post by **romelio** » Thu Mar 03, 2022 9:51 pm

You can only use the Organ section at the bottom.
In Upper it is possible to use another sound from the vox itself, for that you need to create a layer/split, where on the screen let the lower drawbar appear through the upper/lower button.
You can change any top or bottom channel settings to better suit your second keyboard.