Korg NanoKontrol2 Simple Setup /CbB

[Steve DeMont]

I purchased Korg's NanoKontrol2 to use with Cakewalk CdB as a simple control surface for recording my practice sessions. Basically, I got tired of using my mouse and keyboard to control the application's faders and transport controls. After a few missteps at getting the controller to sync up with Cakewalk, I finally got it to work as designed. And I gotta say, this controller works quite well due to it's simplicity.

First, I did a lot of research around control surfaces, MIDI controllers, Mackie controllers, and how they can be integrated into your workflow with ACT, AZ, CdB's General MIDI controller, Mackie. We're talking hours and hours and hours.

My baseline was trying to get my M-Audio Oxygen 61 mkIV to work as a controller. It took even more hours to figure out how to map it with ACT (AZ was a bit too complicated) to get it to work. I ended up using the MIDI Learn function by right-clicking whatever fader, button, rotary to enable the Remote function. That worked well enough. I swapped out the Pan control for Gain, and even got the master fader to work without much hassle.

The only thing about the Oxygen 61 is that it takes up a lot of desktop space. That's why, after a lot more research, I settled on the NanoKontrol2. It's small, simple to setup with the Mackie controller (I'm using msmcleod's Mackie controllers) once you update your PC to Windows 10 S1H2.

Here's a run down of my process for getting the NanoKontrol2 to sync with Cakewalk:

1. Update Windows 10 to S1H2 update. Don't even try to start using the controller without doing this first. If you don't, have a couple bottles of aspirin on hand. Be sure to restart your machine after the update is installed. Don't install the driver until after you've done this.

2. Download and install the most recent Korg MIDI driver for Windows 10: https://www.korg.com/us/support/download/product/1/285/

3. Reboot your machine again so that the OS can configure and recognize the driver.

4. Once your machine is up and running, open the Unistall Korg USB-MIDI Device utility from the Windows Start menu. No. We're not going to uninstall the driver. We're going to make sure that the NanoKontrol2 is listed in the first 10 MIDI ports (MIDI0 through 9). If it's not, it's most likely listed in the next ten. If the controller doesn't show up in the first 10 slots, you'll have to remove one device from one of the slots. This video explains what I'm talking about:

5. After sorting out your MIDI devices in Step 4, hold down the Set and Record buttons and connect the USB cable to the controller. This puts the device in Sonar mode. The Stop button will be lit.

6. Launch Cakewalk, go to Edit-->Preferences-->Midi Devices and select NanoKontrol 2 for input and output. HIt Apply, but don't close the Preferences screen.

7. Go to Control Surfaces and add a new MIDI controller by clicking the funky yellow button in the upper right-hand side of the Preferences screen. Select Mackie Controller or MMcL Mackie Control #1, if you installed it. Associate the NanoKontrol2 with the controller's input/output ports and click OK.

8. Create a new project and insert a new track or two or three or whatever. Test the controller on whatever track you want. If you want to use the Master bus, hold down the Cycle button and press the right Track button. To go back to a track, hold down Cycle and press the left Track button.

There you go. Keep in mind that my needs are simple as I'm just recording practice sessions and not doing much in the way of production. At some point I'll figure out how to control T-Racks5 plugins and the like as well as VSTi. But that's for a later day. I'll probably get another NanoKontrol2 for that purpose.

If you have feedback, go ahead and send them my way.

Cheers,

Steve

Edited May 10, 2022 by Steve DeMont

[Starship Krupa]

Thanks for sharing what worked for you. There seem to be a number of us trying to get our NanoKONTROL2's working with Cakewalk.

I've managed to get mine to control some plug-in parameters, trigger Matrix cells using the track control buttons, etc. It's fussy, to be sure.

[Ted Vanya]

Hello Steve,

Thanks for your posting,  it really helped me. I wonder if you get to the "other day"and  got some more news for us about nanoKontrol in Cakewalk? 

Edited April 24, 2023 by Ted Vanya
spelling

[abacab]

The Cakewalk Control Surface has added a new Mackie Control option since the OP: Mackie Control Universal [Cubase Mode].

This seems to play nicely with controllers that have a "Cubase" mode.

[Lee Jackson]

On 4/24/2023 at 4:04 PM, abacab said:

The Cakewalk Control Surface has added a new Mackie Control option since the OP: Mackie Control Universal [Cubase Mode].

This seems to play nicely with controllers that have a "Cubase" mode.

Could you elaborate on this, please? Where are you seeing it, and what does it look like? I'd like to get a Studiologic SL Mixface, and it has a Cubase mode. Would that perhaps work with this?

https://www.studiologic-music.com/products/mixface/

[azslow3]

15 hours ago, Lee Jackson said:

Could you elaborate on this, please? Where are you seeing it, and what does it look like? I'd like to get a Studiologic SL Mixface, and it has a Cubase mode. Would that perhaps work with this?

https://www.studiologic-music.com/products/mixface/

Original Mackie Control (https://mackie.com/en/products/controllers/mcu-pro-and-xt-pro) has many non-strip buttons (on the right side of strip controls).
What these buttons are sending is fixed, but what they supposed to do is particular DAW dependent. There are overlays for each DAW, f.e. https://www.loudtechnologies.eu/shop/en/mackie-mcu-midi-controllers/lexan-overlay/g-10000205 (note there is a separate Cakewalk overlay).

Mackie "compatible" devices (NanoKontrol2, Studiologic SL Mixface, etc.) do NOT have all buttons the original device has. They have decided which buttons are most important in particular DAW. "Cubase mode" in Cakewalk surface plug-in tries to use Cubase layout for Mackie Control. So "most important for Cubase" buttons are likely mapped to the corresponding functions in Cakewalk.

Original device has motorized faders, encoders and strip displays. Tiny (but in SL Mixface case not really cheap...) "compatible" devices have finite knobs and not motorized short faders. So not only big part of foreseen functionality is not possible at all, what is controllable does not work as foreseen by design. Motorized faders and encoders are always "at correct position", finite controls are not.

Depending what you want to do, NanoKontrol or SL Mixface can be reasonable. But be aware what you can control, f.e. compare:
https://www.studiologic-music.com/products/mixface/specs/ (note that on the right side of the "DAW" is the WHOLE list what is controllable)
with
https://www.azslow.com/index.php/topic,604.0.html

I mean if you want quickly mix 8 track project by adjusting the volume and pan (and only that), especially if the intention to do this live, SL Mixface will do the trick.
If you want control one instrument in a time (MIDI learn inside instrument, rarely switching between instruments), SL Mixface can help as well.
For anything else there are better options, even for the same money and size.

[Lee Jackson]

7 hours ago, azslow3 said:

For anything else there are better options, even for the same money and size.

After doing some more research (and talking with Sweetwater some more) I settled on a Korg nanoKONTROL Studio Mobile MIDI Control Surface. Got it for $161 including tax. I'm hoping I didn't screw myself. What is your opinion on this unit? From what I can tell, I should be able to access more than just volume and pan. Am I right?

[reginaldStjohn]

Did you see this in the user's manual? It should be able to do transport control, mute, solo and some other things I would image.

 

Here is an older thread about it as well.

 

[azslow3]

4 hours ago, Lee Jackson said:

After doing some more research (and talking with Sweetwater some more) I settled on a Korg nanoKONTROL Studio Mobile MIDI Control Surface. Got it for $161 including tax. I'm hoping I didn't screw myself. What is your opinion on this unit? From what I can tell, I should be able to access more than just volume and pan. Am I right?

For what it is that is not a bad choice. As you can see in referenced thread, msmcleod use and recommend it.  He is official control surfaces support for Cakewalk, so you are covered.

From functionality point of view it is the same as SL Mixface, just with bigger jogger on the left side and dedicated strip buttons instead of switch mode buttons.

Note that with any controller you can use "not official" AZ Controller way. By that you can control whatever is theoretically possible in Cakewalk, for example switching the controller between DAW, plug-in dynamic mapping and MIDI learn in VSTi from the controller itself, assigning arbitrary functions to all controls and combinations, etc. But since I don't have this device there is no ready to use preset.

[Elszakadt az E hur]

On 5/10/2022 at 8:42 PM, Steve DeMont said:

I purchased Korg's NanoKontrol2 to use with Cakewalk CdB as a simple control surface for recording my practice sessions. Basically, I got tired of using my mouse and keyboard to control the application's faders and transport controls. After a few missteps at getting the controller to sync up with Cakewalk, I finally got it to work as designed. And I gotta say, this controller works quite well due to it's simplicity.

First, I did a lot of research around control surfaces, MIDI controllers, Mackie controllers, and how they can be integrated into your workflow with ACT, AZ, CdB's General MIDI controller, Mackie. We're talking hours and hours and hours.

My baseline was trying to get my M-Audio Oxygen 61 mkIV to work as a controller. It took even more hours to figure out how to map it with ACT (AZ was a bit too complicated) to get it to work. I ended up using the MIDI Learn function by right-clicking whatever fader, button, rotary to enable the Remote function. That worked well enough. I swapped out the Pan control for Gain, and even got the master fader to work without much hassle.

The only thing about the Oxygen 61 is that it takes up a lot of desktop space. That's why, after a lot more research, I settled on the NanoKontrol2. It's small, simple to setup with the Mackie controller (I'm using msmcleod's Mackie controllers) once you update your PC to Windows 10 S1H2.

Here's a run down of my process for getting the NanoKontrol2 to sync with Cakewalk:

1. Update Windows 10 to S1H2 update. Don't even try to start using the controller without doing this first. If you don't, have a couple bottles of aspirin on hand. Be sure to restart your machine after the update is installed. Don't install the driver until after you've done this.

2. Download and install the most recent Korg MIDI driver for Windows 10: https://www.korg.com/us/support/download/product/1/285/

3. Reboot your machine again so that the OS can configure and recognize the driver.

4. Once your machine is up and running, open the Unistall Korg USB-MIDI Device utility from the Windows Start menu. No. We're not going to uninstall the driver. We're going to make sure that the NanoKontrol2 is listed in the first 10 MIDI ports (MIDI0 through 9). If it's not, it's most likely listed in the next ten. If the controller doesn't show up in the first 10 slots, you'll have to remove one device from one of the slots. This video explains what I'm talking about:

5. After sorting out your MIDI devices in Step 4, hold down the Set and Record buttons and connect the USB cable to the controller. This puts the device in Sonar mode. The Stop button will be lit.

6. Launch Cakewalk, go to Edit-->Preferences-->Midi Devices and select NanoKontrol 2 for input and output. HIt Apply, but don't close the Preferences screen.

7. Go to Control Surfaces and add a new MIDI controller by clicking the funky yellow button in the upper right-hand side of the Preferences screen. Select Mackie Controller or MMcL Mackie Control #1, if you installed it. Associate the NanoKontrol2 with the controller's input/output ports and click OK.

8. Create a new project and insert a new track or two or three or whatever. Test the controller on whatever track you want. If you want to use the Master bus, hold down the Cycle button and press the right Track button. To go back to a track, hold down Cycle and press the left Track button.

There you go. Keep in mind that my needs are simple as I'm just recording practice sessions and not doing much in the way of production. At some point I'll figure out how to control T-Racks5 plugins and the like as well as VSTi. But that's for a later day. I'll probably get another NanoKontrol2 for that purpose.

If you have feedback, go ahead and send them my way.

Cheers,

Steve

Hi Steve, thank you very much your perfect instuctions and thanks a lot for your long spent time to find the right way of installation. I'm waiting for your suggetions for T-Racks 5   Regards, Las

 

[chordtone]

Thank you, Steve!  Over 2-1/2 years later and your step-by-step procedure still worked like a charm!  I haven't used my NanoKontrol 2 in even longer, and now it feels like a brand new tool.  Thanks again!