Can Korg nanoKontrol Studio play nice with Arturia Keylab MKII? [SOLVED]

[Sal Sorice]

Got the Korg nanoKontrol Studio and was able to set it up via USB / Mackie Control. I also have an Arturia Keylab88 MKII setup in Cubase Mode and using Mackie Control as well.

Problem:
If I start Cakewalk with the Arturia and nano both on, the nano works great - all the controls function in Cakewalk. However, my Arturia keyboard does not respond anymore. Can't play it, faders/knobs don't work, etc. On the Arturia LCD screen, if I move a fader on the keyboard - nothing happens. If I move a fader on the nano, the Arturia LCD screen shows the activity of the nano fader.

Is it possible to get them to play nice together (ie, both work in tandem to control Cakewalk) and I can play my keyboard as well?

I'm very new to Controllers/Mackie Control, etc. and am probably doing something dumb. Suggestion appreciated!

Edited December 27, 2022 by Sal Sorice

[msmcleod]

@Sal Sorice - I've PM'd you with the answer, but will repeat here for the benefit of other users:

The MackieControl.dll actually contains three control surface interfaces, which are designed to "act as a team":

- Mackie Control  (the main MCU)
- Mackie Control XT (an 8 fader extender)
- Mackie Control C4 (a 32 v-pot extender)

Adding more than one Mackie Control, will cause Cakewalk to think you have two MCU's that are trying to act as a team, so it's likely that two MCU emulated control surfaces from different manufacturers just don't want to play nice together.

The solution is to download my own version of the Mackie Control surface:  https://msmcleod.co.uk/cakewalk/MMcLMackieControlSetup.zip

The installer in the zip file will install three new MackieControl.dll's alongside the existing Cakewalk one.  The surfaces are exactly the same as Cakewalk's control surface, the only difference being that the registered GUID for each control surface is different.  As a result, MMcL Mackie Control #1 will be seen as a different control surface to Cakewalk's Mackie Control, and will not try to act as a team.

This allows you to use up to four independent Mackie Control surfaces within Cakewalk.  It allows each control surface to have their own separate options - e.g. one controlling buses with the other controlling tracks, or one set up as Cubase emulation with the other using the standard Cakewalk/SONAR mode.

Just set one of your control surfaces to use Mackie Control, and the other to use MMcL Mackie Control #1 and it should work fine - make sure you pick the correct MIDI IN/OUT pair for the KeyLab II.

The nanoKONTROL Studio should be set to Cakewalk/SONAR mode and the Scene button set to "Scrub" using KORG's editor program.  The dialog setup within Cakewalk should be as follows:



This will allow you to use the "Scene" button as a shift key to switch between tracks & buses in conjunction with the Bank up/down keys.

It also makes the track select buttons work by double clicking them (out of the box, they don't work at all with Cakewalk, and KORG says as much in their documentation).

The KeyLab II works better in Cubase mode, with Cubase mode being set in the Cakewalk's Mackie Control dialog:

 

[Sal Sorice]

Hi Mark,

Unfortunately, still having the same issue. Downloaded the new MackieControl file you mentioned and set all up as noted. Same result.
Here's what's happening:
> If I start Cakewalk with the nano off, the Keylab works fine - can play it, faders, etc. all work fine. It is (and always was) set as Mackie Control - 1, Cubase Mode, handshake off, etc. - just as your screeshsots show.

> If I setup the nano as described above, it appears as MMcL Mackie Control #1-1 (think the -1 is because I had previously set it up myself, then deleted and re-added it? Not sure). Now I have the 2 Control Surfaces:

Not sure why the nano appears at the top of the Midi Devices Input list (or if it matters), but here is how it looks:

 

> Now, if I close Cakewalk, then re-open and create a new Project, the nano works fine (faders, etc. all respond), but the Keylab is 'dead'. No sound if I play it and no reaction on the track meters in Cakewalk (like no signal is coming through). If I move the Keylab faders I get a 'screeching noise' coming out of my monitors. If I move the faders on the nano, I see the corresponding fader move on the track and also see the Keylab LCD screen update as well (ie, when I move the nano fader, the Keylab LCD will show the track volume increasing).

If I load an instrument (like a piano), I can click notes with my mouse and hear sound, but playing the Keylab results in nothing.

It's almost like the nano is 'highjacking' the Keylab (for lack of a better description).

I must be doing something wrong and demonstrating my total lack of knowledge in this area :^(

Any ideas?

[msmcleod]

It looks like you're using the wrong MIDI ports on the KeyLab II - you've got it set for KeyLab port 1 for MIDI IN, and Port 2 for MIDI OUT.

They should both be using the same port - I suspect it should be MIDIIN2 (Keylab mkII 88) and MIDIOUT2 (Keylab mkII 88)

[Sal Sorice]

MIDIIN2 for Keylab (exclusively) results in no sound. I have to set inputs at Keylab mkII 88 + MIDIIN2 Keylab + 2- Focusrite USB MIDI to get sound and control over the Faders, etc. Works fine.

Also, after testing any changes I usually have to restart PC to get back to a working state. After testing for a while this is what works for the Keylab:

 

nano is off:

All is good... until I turn on the nano again, then the same things happened. Rinse and repeat.

Even with the above settings (that work fine) - if I just turn the nano on (and do nothing else - just power it on), the Keylab goes dead.
Turn nano off, restart Cakewalk, and all is good again.

Most likely answer is that I am doing something dumb... But I can't figure out what it is.

[msmcleod]

@Sal Sorice - try using MMcL Mackie Control #2 for the KeyLab and see if this makes a difference.

It's strange you're seeing issues though, as I've got a similar set up in my studio:  I'm using Mackie Control / Mackie Control XT / Mackie Control C4 for my MCU/XT/C4 on my studio desk, and MMcL Mackie Control #1 for my nanoKONTROL 2 which is mounted on the wall next to my vocal mic.

At one point I also had a Behringer BCF2000 using MMcL Mackie Control #2, which I used exclusively for controlling buses (leaving the MCU/XT/C4 controlling tracks).

[Sal Sorice]

Mark,

Success! That worked. Not sure why or how, but using this combination has the Keylab and the nano both working:

 

Thanks SO much for all your help! Happy New Year!!