Any got their voyager to control Reason synths?

tunedLow · Post by **tunedLow** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 4:51 pm

I've posted this question at Reason Station, but haven't gotten any response so I thought I'd try here.

I'm trying to get the controls (knobs etc) on my midi keyboard to control Reason devices like the Subtractor.

The midi controls listed for Reason do in fact corespond to my midi controllers' - that is, my mod wheel will move the mod wheel of the subtractor.

The problem is, for every knob that I can control there is another that spins wildly out of control. So if I move my mod wheel the filter cutoff get screwed up. If I move the wave shape the pitch spins randomly.

I think that the problem is that I must have the control midi messages and the note midi messages on different channels. So I think I'm out of luck - that is, I don't think I can send midi messages on more than one channel from my mmv.

I've read the standard tutorials on mapping, and tried the "midi learn" feature on Reason, with similar weird results.

Am I just missing something totally obvious?

Recap questions:
-- Has anyone done this sucessfully?
-- Might this have anything to do with the midi fix in the new Voyager OS?

Thanks

GregAE · Post by **GregAE** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 6:00 pm

Most likely the problem you are experiencing is related to the MSB/LSB 'high resolution' nature of the Voyager's MIDI CC's.

The ability to simplify MIDI CC's in OS V3.0 should take care of the problem.

tunedLow · Post by **tunedLow** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 11:30 pm

Thanks Greg!

So here's where I'm at - I contacted Moog and am waitng to hear back.

If the OS will not fix the problem, and there's no workaround, I'll get an M-Audio controller (uc-33e).

However, if the new OS will fix the problem, then I'll get it, that way I get the best of both worlds, new OS and midi control of Reason. The upgrade will cost about the same as the m-audio controller.

If it won't fix it, I don't want it.

Hopefully I'm just missing something in my setup, but I don't think so. Even my own midi mappings set by the "learn" function in Reason are messed up.

GregAE · Post by **GregAE** » Tue Aug 09, 2005 7:58 am

Apples and oranges. A UC-33c is a MIDI control surface (albeit, a nice one) without a keyboard, so you can tweak but can't play Reason modules. The Voyager is, well, you know...

I like the idea of controlling Reason with the Voyager's controls (and you can certainly play Reason from the Voyager's keys, which feel very nice!). This solution uses the existing hardware, keeping everything self-contained. Could be important in a small space.

And...

I can see the benefit of having a dedicated control surface to control Reason. Foremost is the fact that since many control surfaces are USB (as is the UC-33c), you only need to fire up your PC and you're making music. Fortunately, there are a lot of choices here, including versions with keyboards.

Personally, I use a Beringer BCR-2000 MIDI control surface to control Arturia's Moog Modular software. Got mine at GC for $125. The BCR-2000 is all knobs (no keys), and there's a version (BCF-2000) that contains moving faders if you need 'em (costs more, though).

So what am I saying? Assuming space is not a problem, it seems to me that you could get a control surface now (shop around & check out features to make sure you get the most 'bang for the buck') AND get the Voyager upgrade later ($225 for the kit version after October 1 - possibily less if it can be ordered through a dealer).

My $0.02

tunedLow · Post by **tunedLow** » Wed Aug 10, 2005 4:15 am

Thanks again Greg.

Yeah, I can send note on/off messages fine, and have been using that to "play" Reason synths, I was just hoping that I could grab that big cutoff knob without thinking and control whatever synth I was playing.

But I think your last suggestion is a good idea.

I leaning towards the m-audio version just because they have the pretty printouts you can get that you place on the controller that show what the pot mappings are for Reason (granted in this case it's a bit less flexible). It's kind of goofy, but I loose my keys daily, and so trying to remember what the 23rd knob controls from one synth to another is beyond my abilites!

Thanks again -- also, for future reference, I'll post what Moog has to say about this when they get back to me.

GregAE · Post by **GregAE** » Wed Aug 10, 2005 10:54 am

Tuned -

There's a Control Surface Details PDF document in the Documentation folder within the Reason installation folder. This may also help you to sort things out.

terry · Post by **terry** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 9:25 am

hello. reason has default mappings for every instrument so this is probably why things are moving when you don't want them to. in reason 3.0 you can turn off the default mappings (you will have to check the manual - it is very detailed on this) and then use the 'learn' feature to control the desired knob. if you haven't downloaded the upgrade (3.0.4 i think) then you need to because there were bugs in the control mappings in 3.0.

also i use an edirol pcr30 which i find pretty good (cheap) if you are looking for a standalone controller.

good luck

p.s. a £3000 synth to control a £300 software synth??!!

TonyR · Post by **TonyR** » Thu Aug 18, 2005 7:51 pm

Ill be getting the update for similar reasons, I would like to control my pulsar software and other software / hardware with my MMV but right now it just overloads it all. Lets hope it helps!