How can I get the MPC to trigger the Cakewalk sequencer?

[kday]

I have an MPC X standalone, I want to trigger the Cakewalk sequencer through Midi, can this be done with a Midi to USB cable or internally? 

[Promidi]

Do you mean, start playback by sending a specific MIDI commands?

Yes, you can.  In the Preferences - Customization - Keyboard Shortcuts (Advanced) you can define which MIDI note triggers the desired action (in your case, play/pause)

For instance, I have set the Eb-2 note to play/pause Cakewalk.  I have also set the "MIDI "shift" Options" to use controller 119 (but can be any CC)

This means in my PCR-800 (The Keyboard Controller I use), the exact string (in hexadecimal) needed would be B0 77 7F 90 03 DT B0 77 00   Where DT is either 0 or 127   Note: the "77" is 119 in hexadecimal.

The B0 77 7F is the CC119 127 to enable the "shift"   :   The 90 03 DT is the note on for the Eb-2:  The B0 77 00 is the CC119 0 to disable the "shift"

I know this looks convoluted to configure - but you only have to configure it once.

I am not sure if the MPC X standalone can catenate controller events with the note events on a single button.  This would be required in order to send the MIDI data in the format that Cakewalk requires for the above MIDI binding to work correctly.

[kday]

In the MPC X you can send Midi signal through one of the outputs. But I don't know how to get that Midi signal to Cakewalk. I'm gonna see if a Midi to USB converter can do the trick. Thanks for the info

[Promidi]

From the user guide, I see that the MPC X has MIDI ports.  You should be able to use a USB to MIDI adapter to get this data into Cakewalk. 

I also note that in controller mode, you can sent MIDI data over the USB Cable  - However, you specifically mention Standlone mode which, according to the manual on page 69, "In Standalone Mode: MPC X is not communicating with a computer over a USB connection."

The USB to MIDI adapter I use is a Roland Roland UM-ONE mk2 USB MIDI Interface - Though I use the to control a MIDI device with 5 pin MIDI connector.  It will work the other way - from MPC X standalone to PC.  Yes, this one is a bit more expensive than the cheap ones you see on eBay, but I preferred a named brand.

Edited April 16, 2020 by Promidi

[User 905133]

This? 

If so, 

Quote

USB-B Port: Use the included USB cable to connect this USB 3.0 port to an available USB 3.0 port on your computer. This connection allows MPC X to send/receive MIDI and audio data to/from the MPC software on your computer. It also allows any connected USB drives, SD cards, and drives connected to the internal SATA port to mount on your computer if MPC X is in Controller Mode (i.e., your computer can access these storage devices that are connected to your MPC X).

 

Edited April 16, 2020 by User 905133
To add info about the usb host port from the manual, if this is the unit under discussion

[JoseC]

7 hours ago, User 905133 said:

This? 

If so, 

 

You can physically attach that to anything   The only problem I see is that CbB will not slave IIRC, it will only be master. Or at least just midi, but no audio, which defeats the idea of triggering Cakewalk´s midi from the MPC if using VSTi is intended.