Can you use mutiple controllers of the same type at same time?

[dallasknight]

Hey there

Is it possible to use 2 controllers at the same time which are the same make and type

Basically I want to use two Novation Launch Control XL's (with remote maps) at same time locked to two different devices

Is this possible?

Thanks in advance for any insight

[artotaku]

Hey there

Is it possible to use 2 controllers at the same time which are the same make and type

Basically I want to use two Novation Launch Control XL's (with remote maps) at same time locked to two different devices

Is this possible?

Thanks in advance for any insight

It´s perfectly possible. Since you´d add them as separate control surfaces with separate MIDI ports (but same model) they act separate. Issues arise if both are locked to the same device and if the same controls are mapped.

[dallasknight]

Hey there

Is it possible to use 2 controllers at the same time which are the same make and type

Basically I want to use two Novation Launch Control XL's (with remote maps) at same time locked to two different devices

Is this possible?

Thanks in advance for any insight

It´s perfectly possible. Since you´d add them as separate control surfaces with separate MIDI ports (but same model) they act separate. Issues arise if both are locked to the same device and if the same controls are mapped.

Thanks for your reply

[mcatalao]

It´s perfectly possible. Since you´d add them as separate control surfaces with separate MIDI ports (but same model) they act separate. Issues arise if both are locked to the same device and if the same controls are mapped.

This depends a lot on the type of device. Multiple BCF2000, can control different sections on the SSL mixer, for example (or any other surface), because they can make use of the remote group feature.

[HepCat]

Yes, l use multiple Akai Midi Mix units simultaneously within Reason. I don't even need to assign them to separate MIDI channels with an external firmware editor (kudo to the Props for making it this way ... other DAWs fall down at this hurdle).

The problem is that Reason often forgets which hardware unit is which (perhaps l need to lock the hardware unit to its Reason device?), but that can easily be solved by writing a name on the actual hardware unit, and then find that exact name on the MIDI controller list, Edit --> shift a control on the hardware unit --> OK.

[dallasknight]

I have since bought a second Control XL but can't get them both to work

I have setup the second as Control XL 2 but by the looks of it the remote map and codec are not being used for second XL I plug in, basically the top row of knobs work in default manner but the controller is not mapped as it should be

Do I need to create a different remote map and codec under a different name? how does this all work?

Any help really appreciated thanks

[artotaku]

I have since bought a second Control XL but can't get them both to work

I have setup the second as Control XL 2 but by the looks of it the remote map and codec are not being used for second XL I plug in, basically the top row of knobs work in default manner but the controller is not mapped as it should be

Do I need to create a different remote map and codec under a different name? how does this all work?

Any help really appreciated thanks

Which control surface/remote codec do you use for both Control XL?
To which device have you assigned the controllers? Are they locked to specific devices?
Do both control surfaces have the correct MIDI port? Does remote overrides work for both controllers?

Note that if the controllers are not locked to a specific device and the remote codec has a remotemap entry for a device for which a midi track in the sequencer exists, both controllers may be automatically assigned to the same device and controls when the midi track is selected. This may or may not cause issues.

[dallasknight]

thanks for your reply

I used the maps this guy kindly shared
http://www.irregular-cluster.de/launchcontrolxl.html

I locked both controllers to a different PSQ1684

First controller uses Novation Control XL port and second used Novation Control XL port 4 in and 5 for out, these are the only 2 options except for Novation Control MIDI3 which doesn't work

How would I know if the remote override works? ive not used it before. in the dropdown menu the Control XL is available in both

I don't think that they are both being assigned to the same device

This could be a problem with my computer as I have problems when using multiple USB devices at one time but the Control XL has usually been good working with others

[artotaku]

thanks for your reply

I used the maps this guy kindly shared
http://www.irregular-cluster.de/launchcontrolxl.html

I locked both controllers to a different PSQ1684

First controller uses Novation Control XL port and second used Novation Control XL port 4 in and 5 for out, these are the only 2 options except for Novation Control MIDI3 which doesn't work

How would I know if the remote override works? ive not used it before. in the dropdown menu the Control XL is available in both

I don't think that they are both being assigned to the same device

This could be a problem with my computer as I have problems when using multiple USB devices at one time but the Control XL has usually been good working with others

I had a look at this codec. Have you used the "Novation Launch Control XL Editor" that is mentioned in manual for this codec? The thing is, the codec expects certain MIDI CC values to be sent by the Control XL to the codec e. g. for a knob. The editor (which I didn´t know about) seems to allow to configure the CC values for the controls and store it per SYSEX message in the Control XL.
I´m just guessing, maybe one of your Control XL has a different CC value for the same knob than the other. This could explain why one works and the other does not. Both controllers should have the same template and CC values for their controls.

[dallasknight]

Yes I used the editor to load the map but I didn't edit anything myself

Both controllers work individually, but only the first plugged in will work if you try use them both

Hope this makes sense?

Sorry im useless at all this stuff

[artotaku]

Yes I used the editor to load the map but I didn't edit anything myself

Both controllers work individually, but only the first plugged in will work if you try use them both

Hope this makes sense?

Sorry im useless at all this stuff

But the second works at least partially if plugged in together with the first one, right? You said something like the top row of knobs is working ok?
Just to be sure that both are at least recognized by their correct MIDI drivers/ports.
- each controller has its own MIDI port and must be recognized when the MIDI port is looked up in Edit -> Preferences -> Control Surfaces -> Click on Launch Control XL Surface -> Control Surface Dialog -> In Port -> Find

If the second one does work at least partially and is assigned to a PSQ device you can activate the Remote Override Edit Mode in Reason (Options -> Remote Override Edit Mode) to see which controls are actually mapped (yellow/black circles).
Would be nice to see a screenshot of that too.

Could you make screenshot/video of the preferences dialogue/control surfaces tab in Reason where the control surfaces are listed? I´d like to see the MIDI ports that are used for both. It would be nice to see how you have added both and how their MIDI ports are recognized.

Also, to be really sure that both send on the same MIDI CC (control change) for a knob we would need a MIDI utility like MIDI-OX which captures incoming MIDI data to inspect what is sent from the controllers.

I still see no issue why these two controllers should not work if both connected so I suspect a misconfiguration either in MIDI ports or wrong MIDI CCs somewhere.

[dallasknight]

Yes it does, I can't work out if the second one plugged is taking information from the remote map or just becoming a default midi controller and that's why only the top encoders work, sorry if im getting th terminology wrong.

Ill have a go with your suggestions later when I get back from work and get back to you

Thanks again for your continued help

[artotaku]

Yes it does, I can't work out if the second one plugged is taking information from the remote map or just becoming a default midi controller and that's why only the top encoders work, sorry if im getting th terminology wrong.

Ill have a go with your suggestions later when I get back from work and get back to you

Thanks again for your continued help

No problem. The terminology can be a bit confusing at first, since we have not just to deal with MIDI but also with Propellerhead Remote protocol.

To recap: If you say that both controllers work on their own (if just one of them is connected), that is, the controller is correctly mapped with all controls to the PSQ and if you change any knobs the PSQ changes its controls as well, we know, that the MIDI CC are not the problem.
The remote codec has remotemap entries for the PSQ so I see no problem there as well.

So next would be to check if the correct MIDI ports are assigned to the controllers.
If a controller is plugged into a USB port the very first time, a new MIDI in/out port will be available by Operation System.
If you have two Launch Control XL connected, I´d expect that the MIDI in/out ports are somehow numbered and named by the controller name.
In Reason you can find out which MIDI port belongs to which controller by clicking on the "Find" button in the control surfaces preferences as I wrote earlier and dial any of the knobs.

[dallasknight]

Really sorry but it turns out I didn't load the template into the new device, I didn't realise you had to actually load them onto the device and I thought the mapping data jsut sat in the computer and would be used for both.

Sorry for wasting your time! turns out it was just me being an idiot

But you were such a big help, atleast I understand a bit more about all this now

Again thanks for your time, no wonder it had your logic confused!

[artotaku]

Really sorry but it turns out I didn't load the template into the new device, I didn't realise you had to actually load them onto the device and I thought the mapping data jsut sat in the computer and would be used for both.

Sorry for wasting your time! turns out it was just me being an idiot

But you were such a big help, atleast I understand a bit more about all this now

Again thanks for your time, no wonder it had your logic confused!

Glad you got it figured out