hooking a usb keyboard controller up to the Kross?

Shutoku · Post by **Shutoku** » Thu May 07, 2015 8:45 pm

Probably there is an adaptor of some sort, but I have an m-audio keyrig 49.
For those unfamiliar it is a pretty basic controller with pitch and mod wheels, a volume slider, octave switches, and an "edit mode" button. It draws power from the computer it is plugged into.
Is there as way to wire it to the Kross and if so how would one determine the midi channel it is sending on?

castorex · Post by **castorex** » Fri May 08, 2015 5:01 am

You need this kind of product: USB Host to MIDI converter
This i a very expensive module (very complex converter in this way).

And you need to find a solution for the power supply...

Expensive and complex... with the risk that it does not work well !

Bald Eagle · Post by **Bald Eagle** » Fri May 08, 2015 12:31 pm

This should work ... iConnectMIDI4

A bit on the expensive side but quite flexible and lots of room for future expansion.

Shutoku · Post by **Shutoku** » Sat May 09, 2015 1:44 am

Yeah I was afraid of that. If I had no other options for a controller maybe, but I do so that price range makes it a firm "no"
Thanks for the info though, I appreciate it!

jobro · Post by **jobro** » Wed Aug 05, 2015 2:23 pm

Now I don't know how old your computer is, but wouldn't it be simpler to connect both Kross and Keyrig to your puter, assign different MIDI ports to them, set the Keyrig to play say MIDI channel 2 on Kross, from within your DAW. Isn't this better and cheaper in the long run?

Shutoku · Post by **Shutoku** » Wed Aug 05, 2015 7:08 pm

Maybe, but the point was to add an already owned controller to the Kross for live applications. If I'm bringing a computer, the rig just got considerably more complex. For home use sure, but not live.

Dragan · Post by **Dragan** » Mon Nov 09, 2015 8:41 pm

I have a similar M-Audio 49 controller keyboard as mentioned. I do not understand what benefit do you expect by hooking up 49-keys to a 61-key synth?

aron · Post by **aron** » Mon Nov 09, 2015 10:01 pm

I assume so he can have 2 keybeds to trigger sounds.

Dragan · Post by **Dragan** » Tue Nov 10, 2015 8:29 am

aron wrote:I assume so he can have 2 keybeds to trigger sounds.

Hey Aron,
I enjoy reading your posts! You mean it is possible to add a MIDI keyboard to the Kross and assign another instrument to it? Is that even possible? Haven't thought of that.

Cheers,
D

aron · Post by **aron** » Tue Nov 10, 2015 10:20 am

I'm not sure if it is possible. I just assumed that's what the OP wanted. It IS possible to do this via the standard MIDI ports, but not sure with the USB connector.

Asleep By Dawn · Post by **Asleep By Dawn** » Sun Feb 28, 2016 8:05 pm

I have controlled a ms2000 with kross so I imagine the reverse is possible with just two midi cords n some setup

DeltaJockey · Post by **DeltaJockey** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 10:31 pm

I just happened to notice this post.

It can be done easily, but it depends on the ports the cheap controller has I think.

I have a Nektar Impact LX88 controller, which is a full 88 keys, but only semi weighted. It is very light for an 88 key though.
Just as an experiment, I used it to play the piano on my Kross 61,
The Nektar, like many controllers gets its power from USB, but it also has a standard MIDI 5 pin DIN port.
So, I MIDI'd it DIN to DIN to the Kross, and then I got a USB plug pack and USB powered the Nektar controller. It worked perfectly. My next step will be to see if I can map the controllers on the Nektar to parameters on the Kross. Should in theory work.
It would give me a Kross 61 with workstation sliders and controls!

Anyway, not sure if this adds any ideas for you, but for me, adding the lightweight controller to the Kross 61, definitely gives me some flexibility when it comes to piano, and portabilty.

Chris

Shutoku · Post by **Shutoku** » Mon Mar 21, 2016 4:18 am

Dragan wrote:
aron wrote:I assume so he can have 2 keybeds to trigger sounds.
Hey Aron,
I enjoy reading your posts! You mean it is possible to add a MIDI keyboard to the Kross and assign another instrument to it? Is that even possible? Haven't thought of that.

Cheers,
D

That was indeed the reason.
I routinely do this. In fact at one point I had a midi merger so I could run my digital piano and old M1 as controllers and the Kross supplying all the sounds, and of course also functioning as a keyboard.
I was doing this primarily for pretty complex material like Rick Wakeman solo stuff, and Yes and it allows me to have super flexible rig where I can without touching a button once the song starts, with splits and layers access a ton of sounds in real time.
The danger is loss of polyphony, but it only ever was an issue in one piece ("Arthur" from "The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table")

for more conventional gigging I still like to have a second controller, but I"m old and lazy, so I want light weight stuff. This is why I was interested in using the Keyrig 49. It is very light weight.

I solved the problem though by picking up a Yamaha reface CS synthesizer.
I use it as a synth, but I also midi it to the Kross, usually running piano and EP sounds from the kross keyboard, and hammond sounds from the CS keyboard. I have zero problems with the mini keys on the CS...in fact I LOVE that keyboard, so it works out really well.

Greg_S · Post by **Greg_S** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 10:38 pm

Is it straight-forward to select programs or combis from a MIDI controller? And still be able to play the Kross as normal, and change sounds?

aron · Post by **aron** » Fri Mar 25, 2016 3:16 am

The problem is that you need to run in Combination mode if you want to be able to play 2 different sounds - one on the Kross and the other on the controller.

Just set the Kross to channel 1 and the controller to channel 2. Then setup your combinations so that the slots that you want to play with the Kross are assigned to channel 1. Then assign the slots for the controller on channel 2 for example.

It is also possible to send program changes with the controller to dial up sounds in the channel 2 slot(s).