Trying To Set Up New M-Audio Oxygen PRO controller

[Starship Krupa]

On 3/6/2021 at 4:20 AM, Poetica said:

Slightly off topic but has anyone used this with Reason on a Mac?

More than "slightly off topic," it's off forum. ?

This forum is dedicated to Cakewalk, a DAW that runs exclusively on Windows. I suggest you will get better answers if you ask on a forum dedicated to Reason, and/or the hardware in question, both of which are more likely to have people using it on Mac/OSX.

Good luck, I hope you get it sorted.

[racl1954]

Extremely annoying.

 

I was about to update my old midi keyboards for the M Audio Oxygen Pro 61. Why is there no straightforward support for Sonar or Cakewalk CBB ?   

One of the reasons I was looking for ward to the change to a modern midi controller was not having to scratch my head for hours trying to set the thing up to work in Cakewalk. 

I was one of the masses that subscribed to Cakewalk from the early days right through to Sonar Platinum.  Would it really be such a big deal for M Audio to add support for Cakewalk CBB ?. 

[6foot5]

For anyone puzzling over whether an Oxygen Pro will work with Cakewalk, or wondering how to set it up as a controller in Cakewalk, I want to share a few resources and tidbits that helped me out with mine (49-key). In short, it's a great keyboard/controller with extensive customization possibilities. I have it controlling transport and track volume/panning with no problem, and I've set up custom mappings for a bunch of buttons to do exactly what I want. Almost all controls are set up using Cakewalk's ACT plugin.  I still don't fully understand what I've done, and am sure I've only scratched the surface.

If you want to learn the M-Audio preset editor software (highly recommended for tuning any button/slider/rotary to your liking), M-Audio hides the manual for this on their website. Looking up Oxygen Pro won't reveal the preset editor manual. However, if you go to the following page and search for "Keyboard Controllers" > "Hammer 88 Pro", you'll see the Preset Editor manual in the results.  As far as I can tell, it's the exact same editor offered to Oxygen Pro owners.

https://m-audio.com/support/documents-search

The below 13-min video was helpful to understand how the preset editor works at a high level. Also, the guy tells you how to find the software in the first place, which is not obvious (gotta enable advanced options in the M-Audio Software Manger, wtf):

M-Audio Preset Editor overview (Youtube)

On the Cakewalk side, this video has aged extremely well in terms of succinctly demonstrating how ACT controller setup works:

ACT controller setup in Cakewalk/Sonar (Youtube)

This part may be obvious to some/most, but Cakewalk does not process MIDI data unless you have a project open. I beat my head against a wall for a short time trying to MIDI-learn controls in the ACT plugin without a project open. Further, if you wanna map your 8 sliders and rotaries using ACT, you should have 8 or more tracks in your open project. Knowing that in advance would have saved me some time.

Finally, the below forum post was so incredibly informative about the quirks of setting up an ACT controller in Cakewalk. There are some great details in there that don't seem to be well documented anywhere else. If you're feeling fuzzy about ACT, read this post in full. It's fantastic.

http://forum.cakewalk.com/I-have-Axiom61-Should-I-get-a-new-to-use-ACT-m2168824.aspx#2174288

The Oxygen Pro has a couple modes - DAW and Preset. Each of these modes can serve as a completely separate controller in Cakewalk if you want to multiply your knobs and buttons (knowing of course that you'd have to switch between Oxygen modes to use them all). Out of caution, I used the M-Audio Preset Editor to make sure I wasn't repeating MIDI CC values between the two modes. I'm not sure if that's totally necessary, since the modes' commands are sent over different MIDI inputs. Just part of my ongoing learning!

Also good to know, according to the Oxygen Pro manual and experience, DAW mode commands (both Mackie/HUI and CC) are sent over the MIDIIN3 input. Preset mode commands are sent over the "Oxygen Pro 49" input (the first one). So that may help with your controller setup if you want to use both DAW and Preset mode to control Cakewalk. For my setup, I decided to reserve DAW mode controls to Cakewalk only (not follow to plugins) and switch over to preset mode when I want to control plugins (and not Cakewalk). That division of labor seems to work OK.

While I'm mostly using ACT to configure the Oxygen Pro, I'm also using Mackie Control for a few things, including the encoder knob that I couldn't quite figure out with MIDI/ACT. The bottom line is, with the M-Audio Preset Editor, you can define, per individual slider/rotary/button, whether you want its message to be sent as MIDI CC or Mackie/HUI. That's pretty awesome.

Anyway, after struggling a bit with my own Oxygen Pro setup in Cakewalk, I wanted to share this info. I hope it helps someone in a similar situation!

 

[Mike Z]

I bought my M-Audio Oxygen Pro 49 a couple days ago and almost went insane trying to get it to work with Cakewalk. This thread in particular was very helpful in getting me on the right track; I've spent a lot of time trying different options and making notes on what worked and what didn't.

For anyone else confused about it, I posted detailed instructions below. 

One important note that might be helpful: the problem some guys here are having with the pan knobs (2% or 98%) is solved by setting the DAW mode on the keyboard to MPC or Ableton or Reason.  Setting the DAW type to anything else (PT or Studio1 or Reaper or FL  etc.) will cause this issue.

Also, as others here have mentioned, when setting the ACT on CbB you must have a project open; make sure the project has a decent number of tracks because you can only assign a control to a track if there's an active track open. I started with a small project with only 7 tracks and couldn't assign a fader to track 8 until I opened a larger project.

And, as mentioned above, the Oxygen Pro uses MIDI inputs 1 and 3 (Oxygen Pro 49 and MIDIIN3) for presets and DAW, respectively. If you leave MIDIIN2 and MIDIIN4 checked as MIDI devices, problems can develop so only enable 1 and 3.

Here's what I did to get it working:

1. Plug the USB connector into the Oxy Pro and your computer (don’t start Cakewalk yet) and turn the power switch on.

2. Set the OS

  - press Shift and Global and the display will show “GLOBE” with “G CHAN” underneath.

  - Rotate the Encoder knob until you see “PC” displayed; press the Encoder to select.

  - Rotate the Encoder again until you see “Win”, press the Encoder again.

  - Press the Back button

3. Set DAW mode

  - Press and hold the DAW button until the display shows “DAW”

  - rotate the Encoder until you see MPC (or Ableton, or Reason)

  - press the Encoder to select

4. Set up Cakewalk

  - Start up CbB

  - Open a project (pick any project, ideally one with 8 or more tracks)

  - Click Edit – Preferences

  - Click MIDI – Devices

  - Inputs: Check Oxygen Pro xx and MIDIIN3; Do not check MIDIIN2 or MIDIIN4

  - Outputs: Check Oxygen Pro xx and MIDIIN3; again, don’t check MIDIIN2 or MIDIIN4

  - Click Apply

  - Click Control Surfaces; You should have at least one controller named ACT MIDI Controller; set the In Port to MIDIIN3

  - Click “Add New Controller” (yellowish icon) and select “Mackie Control” as the Controller/Surface; set the input port also to MIDIIN3

  - Click Apply and Close; At this point you should be able to get MIDI notes out of the Oxy Pro. The next step is to map the transport buttons using the ACT feature in Cakewalk.

5. Map buttons

  - From the menu click Utilities – ACT MIDI Controller -1

  - The ACT map will pop up

  - From the Presets field, select M-Audio Oxygen Pro 49 (Preset 10)

  - Each control may be assigned using MIDI learn. For examply, to set up the Stop button, click on the empty box below where it says C32 Stop; you should see “MIDI learn...”

  - On the Oxy Pro keyboard, press the Stop button and the MIDI learn message will disappear.

  - Repeat for each button you want to assign.

  - Close the ACT window

 

[The_Working_Man]

Mike Z and 6foot5..... THANK YOU SO MUCH!  I'm totally new to midi-commands, and this is exactly the kind of step-by-step handholding that I needed.  I was debating between controllers and hoping to find one that would work with CBB, and having your posts on this thread gave me confidence to go with the Oxy Pro 49.   Followed the steps above and things certainly seem to be responding.  Thanks again!

Edited April 25, 2021 by The_Working_Man

[Mike Z]

On 4/24/2021 at 8:19 PM, The_Working_Man said:

Mike Z and 6foot5..... THANK YOU SO MUCH!  I'm totally new to midi-commands, and this is exactly the kind of step-by-step handholding that I needed.  I was debating between controllers and hoping to find one that would work with CBB, and having your posts on this thread gave me confidence to go with the Oxy Pro 49.   Followed the steps above and things certainly seem to be responding.  Thanks again!

Glad you got yours working. It's a great keyboard and I was frustrated that I couldn't find step-by-step instructions like this. I tried it with Cubase and it worked immediately but CbB was a little more complicated.

[Marco Tavoliere]

if this can help i had the same issues with my 49 pro and using the preset for bitwig seems to work, although when i arm te first track i cannot disarm it. any ideas how to fix it?

 

[Mike Z]

11 hours ago, Marco Tavoliere said:

if this can help i had the same issues with my 49 pro and using the preset for bitwig seems to work, although when i arm te first track i cannot disarm it. any ideas how to fix it?

 

If you mean setting the DAW type on the keyboard to Bitwig, I believe the only fix is to change it to MPC or Reason or Ableton. Any other DAW types I tried had various odd issues (especially when panning).

[abacab]

The controller compatibility with Cakewalk is an ages old question mark. I don't understand why it is so complicated after so many years?

[Dave Oliffe]

Hi folks,

I find myself trying to find a MIDI Controller that will actually work - I've had to send back an Alesis model and now I've just sent back the Arturia Keylab Mk2. The keyboards themselves work, but unless I connected them via MIDI cable, I just couldn't get them operational just using the USB connection. When connected via MIDI cables, I could trigger softsynths with the keys, but none of the transport controls would work at all and none of the accompanying software to edit where things are mapped, velocity, etc etc would work at all.

My knowledge of this kind of stuff is very small - I've always had a Roland Edirol PCR 500 - it just plugged in a worked, simple as. But since buying a new PC very recently, this controller no longer seems to be able to connect at all. It won't show up in Cakewalk Prefs as a controller, where it always used to. 

So I started looking at the the M Audio Oxygen and thought I'd check out if others have had any issues with Windows 10 / Cakewalk. 

Can anyone here give me any advice before I waste yet more time and money purchasing something that won't work to its full capability? Will the above steps work for me if I get an Oxygen Pro? Losing hope with it! I thought MIDI controllers were more basic than this, they certainly were when I last purchased one (about 8 years ago).

Dave

[Mark Morgon-Shaw]

I can sympathize Dave -  You would think they would be pretty plug and play these days but they're not in my experience ! ( maybe it's different for other DAWs IDK  ??  I read that the new Pro models have a preset built in for lots of Daws but not Cakewalk )

I haven't got the Pro version but I do have the normal Oxygen 49 keys  and honestly I kinda gave up on it doing any more than the basics, it works as a keyboard and it works for the transport controls but I could never really get anything else working that well/intuitively  and I decided after a while that the sliders and buttons were not really much use as i find it's a lot easier to navigate Cakewalk with the mouse and keyboard. I don't even bother with the transport now , it's closer to hit the space bar !

The knobs and sliders DO come in handy for certain plugins though if they have midi CC learn and you can bind them to it...I find that useful, but not so good to drive Cakewalk with.  There are some controllers out there that integrate a lot more tightly with other DAWs and there are come good comparisons on the Youtube Channel called Sanjay C but in Cakewalk land we seem to have been left to figure it out somewhat ☺️

Edited August 18, 2021 by Mark Morgon-Shaw

[Byron Dickens]

Are you plugging it in to a USB hub?

[NokNod]

this may have already been addressed but, I have the Oxygen Pro 25 and I use the cubase preset, which is a Mackie Control mode. works perfect for me 

[wylde]

Someone was asking about compatible keyboards for Cakewalk ......
I have the 49 key Launchkey MK3 version - after lots of hesitation almost buying the impulse - lots of flashing lights unfortunately the transport controls do not work in cakewalk - after contact with novation to see if I could do some type of mapping / patch, I  recieved this reply - "There are programs other than Ableton Live that you can use the Launchkey with, and control HUI functions, such as transport, and mixer controls. However, they utilize a pre-established protocol, called Mackie HUI. At this time, Cakewalk does not support Mackie HUI protocol, and you wont be able to control transport functions in Cakewalk."

I am  new to Cakewalk and have not been able to get transport up and running on the mk3. Cakewalk for me is a little more pleasing for starting out with no track limits (ableton has 4 in Lite mode) and the standard VST instruments and TH3 guitar amp stuff which I use a lot and like.

If Cakewalk was able to support this mk3  launckey keyboard family  without a major deep dive headache it would be a slam dunk you would probably get a lot more cakewalk users.  If you have any tips to get this up and running that would be much appreciated. Overall the launchkey mk3 is OK - key quality fair, no aftertouch, drumpads have been reliable,  for Cakewalk is about 60% effective.

I have just downloaded the latest release of cakewalk 21-09 beta....
Working - keys, drumpads, built in arp pushes through midi signal(including arp control), fixed chord system, scale and some twist knobs in certain vsts, sliders . (all this worked on prev version)
Not working  - slider pots, mute solo, transport keys, arm select, faders,device select etc....
The crazy thing is all dials and buttons/pitch/modulation /drumpads/ transport all show a signal in the midi chanel - all except + and -  octave buttons.  So in theory this should be able to be mapped and assigned???

 

[abacab]

1 hour ago, wylde said:

If Cakewalk was able to support this mk3  launckey keyboard family  without a major deep dive headache it would be a slam dunk you would probably get a lot more cakewalk users.  If you have any tips to get this up and running that would be much appreciated. Overall the launchkey mk3 is OK - key quality fair, no aftertouch, drumpads have been reliable,  for Cakewalk is about 60% effective.

You can use many keyboard controllers with Cakewalk, but unfortunately you will need to do some research and deep diving to get most of the functions mapped. There is typically no plug and play hardware support with Cakewalk where MIDI controllers are concerned. There was once upon a time, when Cakewalk was owned by Roland. But those days are long gone. If you search the many threads on this forum, you will discover some "how-to" instructions from users who made theirs work. But it takes more than just plugging them in, and expecting full satisfaction!

If you require fully integrated, out-of-the-box, support these days, it is best to research a hardware and software combo that is fully supported. Ableton is one of those companies that has partnered with hardware manufacturers, among others. Many controllers say they support leading DAWs, but sadly Cakewalk is typically not on their leading DAW list.

Not a slam on Cakewalk, by any means, as I have used it for over 20 years. It just is what it is. A fantastic DAW!

 

Edited September 10, 2021 by abacab

[wylde]

7 hours ago, abacab said:

You can use many keyboard controllers with Cakewalk, but unfortunately you will need to do some research and deep diving to get most of the functions mapped. There is typically no plug and play hardware support with Cakewalk where MIDI controllers are concerned. There was once upon a time, when Cakewalk was owned by Roland. But those days are long gone. If you search the many threads on this forum, you will discover some "how-to" instructions from users who made theirs work. But it takes more than just plugging them in, and expecting full satisfaction!

If you require fully integrated, out-of-the-box, support these days, it is best to research a hardware and software combo that is fully supported. Ableton is one of those companies that has partnered with hardware manufacturers, among others. Many controllers say they support leading DAWs, but sadly Cakewalk is typically not on their leading DAW list.

Not a slam on Cakewalk, by any means, as I have used it for over 20 years. It just is what it is. A fantastic DAW!

 

Thanks , agreed I am finding Cakewalk as a beginner really good and comparing to Ableton interface it is much more inviting. I was not looking for full out of the box satisfaction in Cakewalk with Launchkey but was hoping that at least the transport buttons worked. Believe me I spent some time trying to get it hooked up via all kinds of dead ends Mackie HUI etc and searches online to answer the simple question to get the transport controls working even contacting Novation support - which to their credit did respond.

Finally I found out about ACT "Configuring the ACT MIDI Controller Plug-in" I did manage to get the transport controls working and will be going through the rest of the missing bits - I am just starting out on DAW so although this may be a simple process for experienced users hooking midi components - I had no idea on how to get started but now I know its not a problem.  I found this video for all those in the same situation. In fact on the positive side thanks to "ACT" I have learnt a lot and can apply it to controlling VST plugin as well.


I basically setup Launchkey49 mk3 like this but the same would probably work for other controllers
1. preferences>control surfaces +add new controller chose Cakewalk generic surface. Apply
2. Utilities> chose the Generic controller I just made, then chose AKAI mpk 49 as preset(it seemed like the best option), then renamed and saved the preset to Luanchkey49 so I could find it again. Then started adding the functions by selecting parameter and using Learn button on right.  Saving as I went through.

It functionality works and holds after shutting down and auto links on startup of Cakewalk.

 

Edited September 10, 2021 by wylde
typo

[Alvaro Solano Ortega]

Hi everyone! I found a workaroundwith my oxygen pro 61 without using ACT. When pairing the oxygen pro to Cakewalk, choose midiin3 and I changed the makie mode in my controller to CC in order to control the knobs. Hence, Im creating my customized preset in my controller using the editor software. I will share with you more of my findings as soon as I can. 

[Mike Locus]

Got it.  Works now.  Here's what I did and thanks to   Guerilla Genus above for the clue:  ...don't use Act.  Just Mackie Control.  Set DAW on controller to Cubase.  I think that's all you need to do.  Controller was not stable at first but with a reboot... seems to be stable now.  -All sliders/banks, knobs & banks. Pads& banks.  The only thing 'not'  is the circle button which I expected to arm the track for recording. 

Edited November 22, 2021 by Mike Locus

[Mark Morgon-Shaw]

On 11/18/2021 at 10:47 PM, Mike Locus said:

Got it.  Works now.  Here's what I did and thanks to   Guerilla Genus above for the clue:  ...don't use Act.  Just Mackie Control.  Set DAW on controller to Cubase.  I think that's all you need to do.  Controller was not stable at first but with a reboot... seems to be stable now.  -All sliders/banks, knobs & banks. Pads& banks.  The only thing 'not'  is the circle button which I expected to arm the track for recording. 

I can't get it to work under Mackie Control here, I've given up on ACT.  Can you outline exactly what settings you changed ? This is what I tried..I set the DAW mode to Cubase on the Oxygen Pro, then selected the below on Cakewalk..it doesn't respond at all when I try any knobs, faders or transport control though. The Oxygen keyboard itself is diplaying various knob and slider values on it's own display.

 

 

Edited November 24, 2021 by Mark MoreThan-Shaw

[tulamide]

Any more tips from successful attempts? I got my Oxygen Pro 49 yesterday, and since then try to get it to work.
I followed @Mike Z's list, but it already broke for me when I was advised to use "MIDIIN3". That doesn't show up. On my settings, I see "USB MIDI", "DIN MIDI", "Mackie" and "Editor". I chose Mackie, assuming it is channel 3. But the automatic ACT entry also didn't show. I added a Mackie entry, which helped nothing. If I add an additional ACT, I can learn the transport controls, and the faders are working as well. But none of the knobs, nor the buttons below the faders (wanted to use them for solo state), the keys aren't working and the pads also refuse to work.

If I select USB MIDI, delete all control surface entries and restart Cakewalk, I can use the keys and pads, but none of the other controls.

I'm not a technician, I simply don't know about all of that "behind the scenes" stuff (ACT, Mackie, HUI, etc). Isn't there one consistent way to get it to work? It seems so strange, that for some it works by selecting Cubase and Mackie, for others it works like Mike Z described, and yet again others need to select another DAW than Cubase or MPC.

My firmware is 2.1.1, btw.