Question for Novation SL MkIII users

[loopeydoug]

I'm considering the SL MkIII as the controller(coupled with Reason) for my new band. Is it possible to have a Session Change on the MkIII send a corresponding Program Change or multiple Changes inside of Reason?

[demt]

another question i carnt find the update firmware page of the sl3 on novations site though its mentioned ,any body got the link, i have this feeling its not quite as plug and play as they make out and im the sort that needs a vague understanding of what goes where and y ther must b around 7 midi connections and im going to need them all and din connections just to get started, help really appreciated

[marcuswitt]

I'm considering the SL MkIII as the controller(coupled with Reason) for my new band. Is it possible to have a Session Change on the MkIII send a corresponding Program Change or multiple Changes inside of Reason?

Based on your question I'm not 100%ly sure if I understood you correctly. But let me say it his way:

With the current software architecture of Reason as well as of the SL MkIII's integration in Reason I don't see any way of achieving this. This is because Reason doesn't react to MIDI Program Changes, at least not in a way that you might know from hardware MIDI sound sources, such as the Roland XV-5080 for instance. If you're running Reason on a Mac then you could use Apple's Main Stage with the Reason Rack Plugin for your live performances.

Another trick could be to assign each sound that you actually want to call up via a MIDI Program Change command to a certain MIDI Channel by utilizing Reason's ADVANCED MIDI routing matrix. The only thing you have to do on stage then is to change the MkIII's transmitting MIDI channel. in order to address 16 different sounds.

Maybe you can describe your workflow in a more detailed form so that we can help you in a better way than I've tried it here?

[selig]

I have that controller and love it, but don't use it to change programs, but I remember previously reading what user marcuswitt says above.
In the past when I've used Reason for live gigs I typically have a track in the sequencer with a Combinator for each song, then use the up/down arrows to step through the tracks (sounds). With this controller you will need to use "InControl" mode and the TRACK </> buttons above the pitch/mod wheels.

Using Combinators means you can setup very complex routings/stacking/fx which can further be controlled with front panel knobs and the hardware sliders fairly easily. If you can give more details about what exactly you're trying to accomplish I can hopefully provide more detailed answers!

[demt]

so erm not mutch on creating and saving sessions in reason

[loopeydoug]

Just to fill in the details and update my progress: My setup is a master reason project with a single Combinator that I switch patches on for each song. There is no way I was going to be able to have 24 Combinators in one project(one for each song). Even with only one active at a time my machine would not be able to handle that load(they are some thick, involved Combinators). The SL MKIII has "sessions"(songs, for my use) that represent control setups/routing. I was trying to figure out a way to minimize button presses between songs by having the SL MKIII change the patch when I changed the session. I couldn't get that to work, however I have now gotten it to work the other way around(which is actually better(only a single button press)). I have a template Combinator that I made for the SL MKIII and on it I've routed to buttons to do the patch up and patch down messages in Reason. What I found out is that the MIDI Out device in Reason will change sessions(Program Changes) on the SL MKIII on channel 16. All I had to do was put one in every Combinator and set the appropriate Program Change number to match the session number on the SL MKIII. Now, when I change the patch the next patch has the MIDI out device withe the proper Program Change so that it changes the session on the SL MKIII. One button press gets me all the correct keyzone mappings, pad mappings, knob mappings(and labels), etc.

The only trouble, and this is very frustrating, is that it doesn't always work. If I open up the Combinator and manually adjust the Program it changes the session every time, as one would expect. However, within the intended action(a single patch change press) it's often intermittent or sometimes doesn't work at all. I wish I understood why so I could rectify it.

[loopeydoug]

Just to fill in the details and update my progress: My setup is a master reason project with a single Combinator that I switch patches on for each song. There is no way I was going to be able to have 24 Combinators in one project(one for each song). Even with only one active at a time my machine would not be able to handle that load(they are some thick, involved Combinators). The SL MKIII has "sessions"(songs, for my use) that represent control setups/routing. I was trying to figure out a way to minimize button presses between songs by having the SL MKIII change the patch when I changed the session. I couldn't get that to work, however I have now gotten it to work the other way around(which is actually better(only a single button press)). I have a template Combinator that I made for the SL MKIII and on it I've routed to buttons to do the patch up and patch down messages in Reason. What I found out is that the MIDI Out device in Reason will change sessions(Program Changes) on the SL MKIII on channel 16. All I had to do was put one in every Combinator and set the appropriate Program Change number to match the session number on the SL MKIII. Now, when I change the patch the next patch has the MIDI out device withe the proper Program Change so that it changes the session on the SL MKIII. One button press gets me all the correct keyzone mappings, pad mappings, knob mappings(and labels), etc.

The only trouble, and this is very frustrating, is that it doesn't always work. If I open up the Combinator and manually adjust the Program it changes the session every time, as one would expect. However, within the intended action(a single patch change press) it's often intermittent or sometimes doesn't work at all. I wish I understood why so I could rectify it.

SOLVED(hopefully): I acted on the hunch that there might be an issue with MIDI over usb causing the problem of intermittent Program change messages, so I switched to standard MIDI cables. It appears to be working perfectly, so far. Fingers crossed(I have a 6 hour gig tomorrow). I have the other setup saved in another folder so I should be able to default back to it if any serious hiccups occur.