In the plethora of midi controller keyboards out there, I know I made the right choice with the SL61MKII and I am rather picky about key-action and after touch in that I do not want to feel like I may snap a key using after touch. Also, the fact it has TWO midi outs is a real plus because I recall a lot of still more advanced Roland Controllers from 90's (?) that actually had 4 midi outs.

I was referring to Novation's Automap update notes where there's caveats (on Impulse only), rather than anything "huge". Have never placed hands on an Impulse.

:confused: I do wonder with the SL's two physical midi out ports, would it be proper to connect one to say midi in on audio interface and other midi out to one of my hardware synth rack's midi in and then if not daisy chaining another synth rack, take the midi out from synth rack to the physical midi in on Remote SL MKII, while USB would be for Automap? Newbie question and humble myself to your advice as I feel like a minority in that I have hardware synth racks rather than most of Novation's instructions touching on midi over USB out#1/out#2.:rolleyes: I completely understand my audio outputs of said synth rack will go to input on audio interface and I indeed want to record audio primarily and in Reaper audio and midi can live on same track.:confused:

Thanks in advance.

Maybe someone more hardware oriented can chime in, (my advice here will be as humble as your request since I'm primarily a software setup guy) but I believe you would only have actual MIDI cables between your audio interface and the hardware synths -- all MIDI data between the MKII and the your interface just travels across USB (its still MIDI data even though not on a MIDI cable, and the only reason you need those at all is for the hardware that doesn't support USB).

So the physical MIDI ports on the MKII are more for flexibility I guess when USB, and software like a DAW is not available. For example if I still had some of my (now vintage) modules like Korg M3R, TX81Z, how could I control them with the MKII in a live setup since they were before USB's time, especially if I wasn't using a PC? The physical MIDI ports would be the only option.

Someone please stop me if I'm missing something.

Makes total sense. Would just have to set-up the routing in Scarlett Mix Control, which seems incredibly flexible! The Novation SL MKII is also pretty versatile...just hate the response of the X/Y Pad but will need to look and see if adjusting sensitivity can make it work better.
Thanks!

I would never use the x/y pad anyway. If you want something that's better (debatably) to work with your left hand and not very expensive, use an xbox controller to do the x/y motion. Doesn't seem as sexy but a lot more effective than even "real" touch surfaces (tablets) for controlling modulation, and you can control the speed of response to the stick movement.

The touch pad is really no big deal because I have an older Korg Kontrol 49 that was originally made to control Korg's Wavestation Legacy Program, which has a vector joystick, touch sensitive encoders and sliders, AND 16 velocity sens. pads, has two midi outs, and seeing how this controller pre-dates the Ableton Controllers called "Launchpads", and Korg still keeps updating the driver for this, even though discontinued, it sure looks like some other companies blatantly copied the design from Korg.:rolleyes:

The reason I picked it up dirt cheap is on the Korg forum they highly recommended it to use with Korg Wavestation SR (rack) as it is only rack unit that does not have a vector control joystick, but comes loaded with ALL the WS samples and performance data Korg ever made. Also, the exact same template of many loaded for Wavestation Legacy works flawlessly with original Wavestation:D .

The only thing that sucks on this, like *most* Korg's keys, it has no after touch:( . Korg is never consistent about the after touch thing. They omitted it on the King Korg, but their past legacy stuff they placed it on there like pretty sure Prophecy, Wavestation Keyboard, and only higher end priced newer things. Radias would be more fun with it.

Am still undecided about whether really like the modulation "stick" on the Remote SL...it's one oddly designed thing and am simply not used to it and feels cheaply made.

Hmm... as far as design copying, I say if its really yours then patent it and defend it. If Korg did and didn't defend it, then shame on them. I look at Launchpads and I start to think about pad-based controllers that predate the Korg Kontrol 49 by quite some time, but maybe that's just me. I personally would rather see innovation, even if in incremental improvements and by different vendors, than one person saying "hey we invented the _____ therefore nobody else can make one" :)

Competition fuels technology... without it, the beancounters sit back and say "its not broke, no need to fix or improve" and nothing ever gets better.

hehe.... drifting again. Lots of good MIDI controller related stuff going on in this thread though. Meant to thank Tweakhead for the ribbon link, I want one of those puppies.

Yeah, that touch strip is sweet. I was talking more about how the Kontrol 49 has the touch knobs and sliders and behave exactly way the Novation Remote SL ones do and have user configurable little screens above each slider and knobs you can label them digitally to whatever template you want to create for your own, but will admit the Novation SL is much prettier with the blue screen.
The 16 pads were not so much what I meant as well know Akai has been at that much longer, it's just the design taken as whole, will just say the Launchpads kind of borrowed a bit from it or perhaps the Remote's touch sensitive knobs/sliders are just similar, that's all.

Something Korg does have a patent on and only reason I know this because one of Dave Smith Instrument's code programmers said the ONLY reason Sequential Circuit's Prophet VS had a true Vector Joystick as well as some Yamaha SY/TG units, is because Dave and before they parted ways permanently, Don Solaris, both had some collaboration with Korg before SCI finally went bankrupt, and Korg allowed Dave Smith to use their type of joystick that's patented by Korg for the Prophet VS because guess where the Wavetable Waves came from for the Prophet VS and subsequently the DSI Evolver? From the Korg DW8000, as they were allowed to take the waveforms that are drawn right all over the fascia, and also tweaked them, made 50% of the waves brand new original ones. Then they both worked for Yamaha then Korg when Yamaha turned down Dave's project for the Wavestation, not wanting to take an investment chance on something Yamaha did not think would be popular. So Korg and Dave Smith, and SCI crew designed the Prophecy, Wavestation Wave Sequencing, with Korg adding modulation sequencing.

So what am trying to say Korg HAS protected themselves when feasible with patents, and were told that reason new Prophet 12 does not have the Vector Joystick but two touch strips instead to interpolate any of the 12 Digital Waves with it's 4 Osc's and sub osc, before going into the rest of all analog signal chain/filters, is Korg now considers DSI a viable competitor in the synth market share, and thus, to avoid any legality issues, the Tempest's two touch/pressure pads were utilized as well as two mod wheels. Don Solaris, having a rather "boutique" synth, The Solaris, looking like an Oberhiem Expander on steroids at $6000. a pop, definitely got permission to use Korg's vector control. I rather like the joystick and personally would like that over modulation and pitch wheels but it's the reason you do not see it implemented much on synths. Mentioned this because wondering still why the good old ribbon controller like what's on Andromeda, Doefer Modular, is not built into synths these days?

The Remote is a very capable controller for hardware - and a perfect bridge between the two worlds. For example Rob, you can connect two racks you own (both ins and outs) to the Remote, then on Reaper - this is the part I don't know exactly how is done - even connecting the controller with USB, it should recognize that the SL has two Midi Channels available. This means you can write midi data on your daw and sent it to the units, and the SL will act as a proper Midi interface. You will also be able to play them with the keyboard itself of course and record directly, but... I'm sure anyone finds many uses for having the synthesizer play some notes we recorded before to get two hands, breath and pedals (eheh) going mad tweaking while we record.

This is one of the features I like best about the Remote. And of course you can use the Through as you would with any other Midi setup as well. If all is properly configured - which should be easy enough to do with the manuals ;) - you can pick the midi channel on your audio card and connect a third synthesizer in there.

Don't know if you've tried this: but you can record midi arp from hardware to a midi track and use that on anything else quite easily or even record it, automate it, etc.

The other thing I think gets overlooked a lot is the editor: if you pick something like the Blofeld's CC list, you can configure the SL to control eat just by mouse clicking, save a preset on the user menu and it's ready to tweak...

Plus there's a lot of options in there that the manual poorly covers, have you guys noticed that? like global channel options, groups, so forth and so on... It's quite extensive. You can also bump stuff through it, and it even displays a progress bar of sort - for updating the software of synthesizers and such...

The Korg Prophecy also has a ton of very uncommon controls in there and they're very responsive - and usable with other synthesizers. Some of the old underrated classics can be welcome additions just for using these, I think. If you think of the Karma, for example, it goes rather cheap. But even if you don't like it's sound, the arp engine alone on that thing makes it worth while to use with other hardware, plus it's got the joystick on it and a fantastic keyboard.

Yeah, the Remote is even capable of handling NRPN as well as Sysex/Midi and has a great keyboard. I understand aspects of midi but have a few really great books on it as read a lot but I have to agree, the pdf manual of the Remote is extremely vague on deeper stuff and reason it almost is as if they consider people with hardware synths kind of like an after thought and do noit go deep enough on some things for my liking and understanding. Their videos are even freaking worse! Have you ever watched any of the Novation Automap YouTube tutorials? At least this one guy on several of them speaks with rather strange pauses, looks like a wild animal caught in headlights and never blinks, and through the laborious videos on Automap, he says a lot of nothing. It's like they shoved someone whom knows nothing about Automap, let alone read the script for the PowerPoint presentation of Automap and is making it up as he goes.
Anyway, I get really annoyed at manuals when they often will only start to talk about what you are looking to learn, then the dreaded, "If you want to know more about______, please see Section_____OR, call customer support. You go to that section and it's rather nebulous at best:rolleyes:

Thanks for your advice. It's just that there's more need to learn as far as how the Remote wants connections to be as far as USB and then my midi. I know how to daisy chain hardware racks/synths, different channels, etc., it's just that the Remote manual places more emphasis on the USB than than the actual two midi out ports, let alone thru and in....grrrrr!