Arturia Keylab mkII 49 As control surface - Arm/solo/mute selected track(s)

[Rufrag]

I`ve been using my A&H QU-16 with AZ controller for some years, and it`s superb!

Now I`ve gotten myself an Arturia Keylab mkII 49, and I want to program this one too with AZ controller. I used AZCinstances and gave my QU-16 and my Arturia names so they can be used simultaneously. Works like a charm! I have programmed the transport control, jog wheel, and some of the options I like to have available.

However I was looking for an alternative like "arm/solo/mute selected track(s)". Is this an option, or is it only possible to arm/solo/mute specific tracks (1-8)?

I tried the alternatives F1 through F8 in AZ Control setup. For example F6 opened Cakewalks video view. I looked up the shortcut (assuming the midi command triggered the shortcut), and found the shortcut to video view is alt+shift+2. I then reprogrammed the shortcut alt+shift+2 to solo/unsolo selected track(s). My theory did not work :/

Therefore I am wondering if solo/unsolo selected track(s) is an option from the AZ Controller setup.

I`ve used the mackie preset as a starting point in AZC

Best regards
Øyvind

[azslow3]

Hi,

AZ Controller provides several ways to work with arm/solo/mute:
1) do that for some specific track/bus. Not only WAI 1-8, that can be named or "current" (there can be only one current, unlike selected). That needs 2 Actions in the list: select strip with "Strip" action (and corresponding parameters) and Value Action with Toggle option
2) call it throw Cakewalk Commands. These you can find in "Global" section for (Cakewalk) shortcuts, it has search field. Once found the one you want (f.e. toggle solo for selected tracks), use Command Action in AZ Controller and find the same name there (sorry, not ordered... but you can use the first character to move throw the list)
3) generate assigned "shortcut" with Keyboard action. That is probably out of your current interest, but there are some shortcuts which are not in the shortcuts global list and there is no other controller specific way to perform that operation.

[Rufrag]

Hi,

Thank you so much for the reply! After reading this I realized I it`s over my head... I can`t quite catch what you are saying... How do I use Command action in AZ controller?

Best regards

[azslow3]

Sorry, AZ Controller is rather complicated tool to configure without strong background in programming...

Can you try to complete http://www.azslow.com/index.php/topic,9.0.html ?
Once done, you will know how to add Actions to Controls. In that tutorial two actions are added, one select parameter (track volume) and another change it (using MIDI value). Button for commands is even simpler, one action "Command" will do the trick.

[Rufrag]

YES!!! Thats it! Thank you so much!

I`m really impressed by this program! Even I can (with some guidance) make it work!
There are more possibilities in AZ Controller than I thought! Awesome! Now I need more buttons on my control surface....

Thanks again!

[azslow3]

AZ Controller supports almost infinite number of operations performed by single button, so till you need quick access to some operations in parallel the number of physical controls can be small. F.e. check the list of operations for X-Touch Mini: http://www.azslow.com/index.php/topic,377.0.html , just 18 buttons and 8 encoders device.
At some point, when there was no surfaces near my DP, I was using 2 pedals (left and middle) for like 10 different operations (switching tracks, transport control, undo, etc.)

But that takes time you can spend for music 

[Rufrag]

That's great!

By the way; when I try to program the encoders on my Arturia, the values seem to go crazy... If I turn the knob left the value shuffles between 64 and something, and if I turn the knob right the value locks at 2 or something... Does that mean that these knobs can't be programmed, or is there another way to do this?

[azslow3]

I recommend to read http://www.azslow.com/index.php/topic,12.0.html , in particular "Endless encoders" at the end of that post.

In fact in most cases encoders are more convenient to use then finite knobs, they are always "in position" and you can set "resolution" to your taste.
You need to adjust parameters for Value Action for encoders (defaults are for finite knobs - "Direct Linear"). Start with "Endless MIDI" and (based on your
observation) set "Accelerated". In case direction is "wrong", set "reverse". If still no luck, try to set "Alternative endless encoders" in the Options Tab.

Once you have it working, but do not like the resolution change Value Action parameter "MIDI" to "4% per tick" and start fine adjusting it. In practice, I normally
define one button as resolution switch. So I can switch between coarse and fine resolution for all encoders. But I can explain that once you are so far... 

[Rufrag]

Ok...

So, what I got from the rotor in track one after following the instructions was like expected from what I observed in the midi evnt. The fader in Track 1 jumps between -74,1 and -7,4 or somethimg. No dynamic movement inbetween. They are also reversed.

Regarding faders: When I try to read the midi event from the fader I try to program it just says: "ch:1 N:105 Valoe:0 OFF". When I move the fader the info flimmers, but it doesn`t change the value.

Does this mean that the Arturia isn`t able to send the values correctly? Or is it any settings I have overlooked?


EDIT:
The fader now responds, but in a strange way. I can make it incerase only or decrease only. Meaning, no matter which way I use the fader the slider is just moving in one direction. Or with some settings it just jumps to the top or bottom.

EDIT 2:
The insert marker command doesn`t seem to work. I can attatch the button and seemingly get it right, but CbB doesn`t actually insert marker...

[azslow3]

It is getting a bit complicated, but I will try to explain short.

Arturia has not written special software for all DAWs, but they claim "almost any" DAW compatibility. To achieve that, they try to imitate "well know" controllers. Physically device does not have sufficient controls nor real properties to do this completely, but on MIDI level they mimic it.

Ch:1 N:105 is "FADER 2 TOUCHED" (127) "FADER 2 NO LONGER TOUCHED" (0) in Mackie language. I guess you are using MCU preset on the device (that can be checked/changes, see Arturia manual). Physically faders are not touch sensitive, so they just send "Touched" then "Real value" then "No longer touched" sequence. AZ Controller shows just one MIDI event per time, so you only see the last one.

To continue work with MCU preset on Arturia, you need to ignore these "Touch" messages. For that, define separate control (sets name it FaderTouch2) and select "System" type for it and MIDI learn it from N:105 (other messages for other faders). Leave logic empty. After that you no longer will see that (useless) messages and can finally learn real fader messages (will be PB:2, so PitchBend).
Do not forget to set "Block all channel messages" and "Block SysEx" in the Options tab of AZ Controller.

[Rufrag]

So I create another instance in AZ controller and name it "Fadertoutch2). After that I select "system".. Where is the "system" option?

[azslow3]

No, you add another control into the same preset. If you have done the tutorial you should know how to: create new control, assign midi to it and add actions (for this control you do not need actions).