Can a Control Surface do 2 things at once?

[Sal Sorice]

This is a follow-up question in reference to this thread:
https://discuss.cakewalk.com/index.php?/topic/52994-can-korg-nanokontrol-studio-play-nice-with-arturia-keylab-mkii-solved/#comment-403462

Thanks again to Mark McLeod for his help on that one!

Per above, I've got my Arturia Keylab 88 MKII and my Korg nanoKontrol Studio setup so that they can both control volume faders, panning, etc. Very convenient - I can use the controls on my Keylab while recording and then use the nano when I slide my Keylab out of the way to mix, etc.

Another newbie Control Surface question:

What if I want to use a slider or knob on my nano to write automation? Is that possible? Seems to me that the sliders and knobs are already "spoken for" (i.e., the panning knob for Track 1 is already assigned to panning) so I can't use "midi learn" to assign that knob to something else - correct?

If that's the case, I assume I can get another Control Surface and use that strictly for assigning/learning midi functions so I can use it for automation, etc.?

Hope I'm clearly stating what I'm trying to accomplish.

Thanks in advance for comments/guidance - and Happy New Year to all!

[msmcleod]

Yes, this is the case.

The Mackie Control Universal, and control surfaces that emulate it are tied to specific functions. Moreover the MIDI ports connected to Mackie devices are exclusively grabbed by the Cakewalk's "Mackie Control" surface DLL, so MIDI data is not available to the rest of Cakewalk.  Given how the MCU protocol works, this makes sense - buttons are generally Note On messages, and the slider/V-pot movements are not easily translated into simple CC messages.

For MIDI learn, you need a generic controller.

If you're only going to do one parameter at a time, then using MIDI learn on you're MIDI keyboard's Modulation wheel can be handy - you can always unlearn it afterwards and use it again for something else.

Personally, for adhoc assignments I use a Philip Rees C16 for this as it has 16 assignable sliders and a pretty small footprint.  I've also used a KORG nanoKONTROL 2 in CC mode, but the sliders are not great for detailed movements.

The Akai MIDIMix is a decent modern alternative.

[Sal Sorice]

Thanks (once again!) Mark. Since I'm in "learning" mode, I might try the nanoKontrol2.

Curious - would it be easy (relatively quick) to switch my current nanoKontrol Studio from Mackie Control to CC mode and back again? That would be a great solution.

[msmcleod]

13 hours ago, Sal Sorice said:

Thanks (once again!) Mark. Since I'm in "learning" mode, I might try the nanoKontrol2.

Curious - would it be easy (relatively quick) to switch my current nanoKontrol Studio from Mackie Control to CC mode and back again? That would be a great solution.

This is possible, but not while Cakewalk is running.

You'd need to:
1. Shutdown Cakewalk
2. Unplug your nanoKONTROL Studio, then plug it back in setting the new mode
3. Make a backup your ctrlsurface.dat, then delete the original
4. Start Cakewalk, and set up your nanoKONTROL Studio as a different control surface within Cakewalk again.

Also, given how Windows does it's port indexing, there's a likelihood that any other hardware ports would now be renumbered, so you may have to go into MIDI devices in preferences and re-order the MIDI Output ports appropriately.  The alternative is to reboot your PC after step 3.

So while technically possible, it's really not practical.

[Sal Sorice]

Thanks Mark. I'm going to get a nanKontrol2 and see how that works. Happy New Year!