Members Michoo Posted April 6, 2009 Members Share Posted April 6, 2009 Hello My blofeld arrived last week, so i'm wondering what controller should I buy. After reading about 40% of the whole internet my choice is between: novation remote 61 sl (lot of possibilities, have pads) novation x-station 61 (i found one in good price) edirol PCR-800 also considered: m-audio axiom 61 e-mu xboard 61 akai mpk49 Main usage will be on stage, so possibility of connecting two different instruments will be great (and blofeld will be one of them, second is yamaha psr-s700, or PC3x when I buy it ) - i need to change beetween sounds and/or instruments with no problem, and playing on two keyboards from one device (yamaha). Is there something more I should know about this kind of stage configuration? thx for any response Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members evildragon Posted April 6, 2009 Members Share Posted April 6, 2009 Why not get a Blofeld Keyboard, with a future OS upgrade we just might increase polyphony that way X-Stations are also cool, having XY pad (set it on 2 #CC numbers and you have 2 additional modulators for Blofeld) and a LOT of knobs. Plus, they have a different flavour VA engine you might like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members plaid_emu Posted April 6, 2009 Members Share Posted April 6, 2009 If you're serious about buying a Novation controller, I'd buy used. They're simply way too expensive for what they are. Cheap plastic frame with some mediocre controls. The best reason to buy it is the keybed (which is great). Automap is also dodgy. Some people have had luck with it here. I have not. I've since sold my 61 SL for one of these. If it were my money, I'd look at the E-mu Xboards or even the Akai MPK series. The new Edirol controllers with aftertouch might be nice. Haven't tried one yet. I used to own an older PCR-M30 which was a very nice little controller. I kind of wish I'd held on to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Michoo Posted April 6, 2009 Author Members Share Posted April 6, 2009 evildragon - i found desktop blofeld in really good price, and keyboard version was too expensive. Right now I have to make a compromise between price, quality and capabilities... And question - I can use keyboard knobs to control blofeld, right? (with direct connection trough midi, without computer) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Michoo Posted April 6, 2009 Author Members Share Posted April 6, 2009 plaid_emu - unfortunately second hand market is really poor. I must buy new, and I found good priced one. If not, i wouldn't even bother... You're right - new are expensive... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomkeen Posted April 6, 2009 Members Share Posted April 6, 2009 +1 on the X-station. I use it for my blofeld all the time and it is excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PaleoPerry Posted April 6, 2009 Members Share Posted April 6, 2009 I use a Yamaha AN1X as my midi controller. Good keybed, cheap on the used market and you get a pretty tolerable VA as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted April 6, 2009 Members Share Posted April 6, 2009 Does the blofeld accept poly AT? if so, MIDIBOARD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Michoo Posted April 6, 2009 Author Members Share Posted April 6, 2009 Tomkeen - do You use your x-station also as a synth? I can have x-station 61 for about 600$/440 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomkeen Posted April 6, 2009 Members Share Posted April 6, 2009 Tomkeen - do You use your x-station also as a synth? Not really. It can sound very nice, but I have enough other synths that do what I want better. It still is an excellent board though, one of the best synth action keybeds as far as I'm concerned, only topped by Korg M3 so far... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AfroRouge Posted April 6, 2009 Members Share Posted April 6, 2009 I got a Korg Kontrol49 for my Blofeld. I'm not much of a player, but even so, I wish I'd saved a bit more and picked up an X-station for the additional controls. You mention using this on stage, though, so I would make sure that the X-Stations are sturdy enough for live use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Michoo Posted April 6, 2009 Author Members Share Posted April 6, 2009 So... Right now my choice is between two Novation models (if shop, in which i want to buy theese keys will confirm prices). It's still hard to decide, and there's no possibility to check them manually... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pr3Va1L Posted April 8, 2009 Members Share Posted April 8, 2009 Why not get a Blofeld Keyboard, with a future OS upgrade we just might increase polyphony that way X-Stations are also cool, having XY pad (set it on 2 #CC numbers and you have 2 additional modulators for Blofeld) and a LOT of knobs. Plus, they have a different flavour VA engine you might like. 2nd that! But it doesn't have to be an X-Station, could be any Novation controller, really.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Michoo Posted June 15, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 15, 2009 OK... I should say, that there is happy ending (really like x-station keys!), BUT!... I've found, that I can't handle "waldorf-novation" combo without help :/ I'll be really grateful, if somebody give me some clues, how to setup X-Station with Blofeld - what I need, is to push one button on X-station (probably buttons from "play-rec" section), to choose a blofeld sound. In simple words, i want to "if i push "play" button, then it should change blofeld sound to number 50 from bank B" - i'm sorry if it's funny, i'm not an expert in MIDI world :/ What I try to do, is to edit x-station template, but enything what I've done, was "Program Change", and it was only for first bank... Then I was trying to use novation software, but I don't know how to set it up. I shoud use Program Change, or CC? I'm confused... Please write me some clues, even if You think that it's stupid Maybe i'll do something, that will work for me (i think it's possible and maybe simple, but there is something I don't know how to do...). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members evildragon Posted June 15, 2009 Members Share Posted June 15, 2009 You should use Program Change, but to select different banks you need to use Bank Select CCs (#0 and #32) before a Program Change. Also, do a detailed run through both the Blofeld and X-Station manuals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Michoo Posted June 15, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 15, 2009 Unfortunately, after few hours of studying manuals and trying to program different buttons with "X-Station Editor" I get no results... I don't know why - probabbly i'm doing something in wrong way :/ (or maybe it's impossible to do it with one button push?) Manuals says only what I have to do, but don't say "how to do it"... I don't know how to put CC#0 and #32 + Program Change to one button... I've got 1.12 firmare on blofeld, maybe it's the reason (the newest is 1.13)? I'll try tomorrow, and maybe upload some screens, so maybe You will be able to say where I made mistakes... Best regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Michoo Posted June 16, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 16, 2009 OK, as far as I know right now, in X-Station it's impossible to do it with one button (there is no way to program CC and PC commands in one button push)... Sorry for bothering You... Next thing - must choose another keyboard maybe... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grumphh Posted June 16, 2009 Members Share Posted June 16, 2009 Not that i am an expert on midi - but for live performances couldn't you just set up one bank on the Blofeld with the sounds you need? Should get you through for a while at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Michoo Posted June 16, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 16, 2009 grumphh - yes, and it's the only way... I figured it out just few minutes after writing my last post... I'll try it, when i'm back from work. I think that it's possible to do with editor made by Kotro Laszlo Lehel. I just don't know how to do it - yet I'm all new for everything with midi, synthesis etc. Unfortunately - must learn on my own mistakes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grumphh Posted June 16, 2009 Members Share Posted June 16, 2009 grumphh - yes, and it's the only way... I figured it out just few minutes after writing my last post... I'll try it, when i'm back from work. I think that it's possible to do with editor made by Kotro Laszlo Lehel. I just don't know how to do it - yet I'm all new for everything with midi, synthesis etc. Unfortunately - must learn on my own mistakes No matter how inexperienced you are, swapping around patches in banks should not be a major problem. Good preparation is the trick though. Write down the names of all the patches you need, and if you have a fixed structure in your set prepare for that too by arranging patches in the order you need them in the set and so on... Should be a good evenings work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members uiua_audiovisi Posted June 16, 2009 Members Share Posted June 16, 2009 Perhaps another way of doing this would be to use the multimode in the Blofeld. You can save 128 multipatches w/ splits/layers, sounds from dif banks & sounds on dif channels etc in the multimode setting of blofeld.. at least on the keyboard version I played in a shop last week (i wanted to check how the multimode section work - and it worked well for me!).. I think, using this function you should be able to send a message, assigned to a single button, from x-station to blofeld which shifts the blofeld to a certain multimode patching (1 of the 128 of them)... which would have the effect (or more complex effects, if you wanted) of changing from a sound in one bank to another.. Having said this, I don't have the blofeld - but have read the manual and played around with the multimode (which i didn't quite understand from reading the manual alone). Hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members uiua_audiovisi Posted June 16, 2009 Members Share Posted June 16, 2009 I just had a quick look in the manual and couldn't see an obvious way to send a midi command to pick a certain multimode setting... But, perhaps another way you could do what you wanted to do is to use a single multimode patching. Place the sounds you wanted to play in your set on seperate midi channels, from 1 to 16, and use the channel select buttons (or make your own) on the x-station to choose which midi channel on blofeld you want to perform with. Perhaps that is a work around?(disclaimer again: i don't -yet- own this synth! someone else might be able to confirm this) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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