Input Apps in AB + Beatmaker 2 + MIDI Controllers (Please help)

FRibeiro

I've tried not to ask for help but...

Can anyone please tell me the best workflow for the situation below? A simple sequence of procedures would do

I'm trying to record iGrand Piano into Beatmaker via Audiobus, but I'd like to record the MIDI events first and then bounce the audio. I'm using a Korg KingKorg as a controller via USB/CCK. I've tried many combinations of MIDI Input and Output Channels and OMNI settings in BM, iGrand and KingKorg, and what happens is: No matter what, I'm getting double notes if I want to monitor MIDI events already recorded on a MIDI track and then continue to record from a specific point in the song. If I change channels or turn MIDI Out off in BM while recording, ok, but then I don't hear what's already recorded in the track, obviously.

Another thing is annoying: Do we need to be in the Keyboard Sampler page at all to record MIDI events from a MIDI Controller? I would like to watch the timeline and clips as I'm recording...

And there's the latency issue... Very high latency, even on 256 frames.

With the same setup in Cubasis, things are way easier and the latency is very much better, but Cubasis has the ridiculous approach of recording Sustain Pedal Events as long notes and that makes editing a nightmare!

Help!

Thanks!!

Dubhausdisco

Ok-

From the beginning-

Start audiobus

Select BM2 for the output slot, start. Make sure you are using an empty preset. Go into the midi settings and enable midi out, and make sure midi thru is disabled.

Select the midi settings for the keyboard device, select channel 1 for in and out. Make sure your controller is sending midi on channel 1.

Go back to audiobus, and open igrand in input slot, start.

Set igrand to receive on channel 1.

Go back to BM2. Disarm the igrand audio track for now. Also double check in the general midi settings that igrand is not enabled for input.

You should be set to go. I don't have igrand but I used sunriser for this. As far as latency, have you checked BM2's latency settings as well?

Any other problems lemme know

FRibeiro

Thank you very much @Dubhausdisco !

Half the problem solved, but some odd things are happening.

It seems iGrand doesn't have a MIDI Port selection, only Channel selection. That may explain the double notes, because even if I follow your procedure exactly, it seems iGrand is receiving MIDI twice from Beatmaker and (maybe) the internal iPad port, even MIDI Through is disabled in Beatmaker.

So I've found a workaround, setting the controller on Channel 2, Beatmaker Input on Channel 2 and Output on Channel 1, and iGrand on Channel 1. Double notes gone, ok. I don't know if it was the procedure of unarming the audio track, but now I can record on the Timeline view and recorded clips are shown in realtime, that's good. And it worked fine with the settings like that.

But... I start recording and as soon as I step off the sustain pedal (first sustain off message in the track), even that I can see subsequent sustain pedal events being recorded in the clip (the vertical bars are there), iGrand doesn't respond to the pedal events anymore (on or off) untill I stop the recording. The recorded take indeed reproduces the events well and iGrand responds ok.

Other thing I've noticed - Sometimes dourng these last tests I saw two clips being recorded overlapped at the same time (say clip 1, and then a small clip 2 over clip 1, containg part of the data). Odd...

Latency seems a little better now, but far from the ultra low latency with iGrand alone (which is great by the way). I've changed Beatmaker in settings from 512 to 256 (even I thought Audiobus was automatically managing this). The iPad 3 is handling it fine, no audio clicks or other problems. The thing is only with MIDI.

I'll keep on testing now with other apps to see if this Sustain problem relates to iGrand or Beatmaker.

Thank you!

[Deleted User]

Can't you have the controller on channel 1 with both iGrand and BM2 receiving on channel 1, but neither app sending on that channel? e.g. Set BM output to channel 2 and iGrand to channel 3. That way BM2 can record what you play and iGrand will let you hear what you play. Then when you're done, switch iGrand input to channel 2 and BM2 will control it so you can record the audio.

FRibeiro

Thanks @PaulB !

I get duplicated response in iGrand in any case... (you know when you have Local On on a keyboard and it receives its own data back from a MIDI loop from a sequencer? That's how it sounds although there is no "local keyboard", hehehe)
I've found something like a workaround mixing the procedures you both mentioned and I should really have thought of this before - using two tracks and two instruments in Beatmaker.
I'm used to analog and computer DAWs, so iOS intrigues me sometimes.
What I wanted to do was to be able to hear a previous MIDI clip and continue to record MIDI on the same track, like punchin-in/out...
So now I'm using two MIDI tracks, each with its own MIDI settings. Controller is on Channel 1. I use the first track for recording (Input Channel 1, Output Channel 2, enabled for recording - iGrand responds anyway so I hear what I play), and move the clips to the second track (Input Channel None, Output Channel 1 - iGrand is on Channel 1 so it responds to this track). iGrand responds to both, although it is set to respond on Channel 1... It's working for me.

The other option I have is to keep changing MIDI Channels on the same track, when I'm recording or playing the track, which doesn't work because I don't hear what I play, or what's recorded, only one thing at a time.

Latency is not excellent but ok... 256 in Beatmaker and Audiobus. Audio is running fine.

Thank you!