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User Manual -> Getting started

User Manual - Getting started

Overview

The MiniCommand uses sysex messages to communicate with its destination synthesizer. It often requires the communication to go both ways (for more information, refer to How does the MiniCommand communicate with the MD and MNM. This means that the MiniCommand must be connected to both the input and the output of the synthesizer. To accomodate for better chaining and merging, the MiniCommand provides an additional input port which can be used to merge MIDI SYNC and other MIDI messages onto its output. This page describes the various ways in which you can connect the MiniCommand to different devices.

Connecting the MiniCommand to a MachineDrum

  • Connect the input (leftmost MIDI connector) of the MiniCommand to the output of the MachineDrum.
  • Connect the output (middle MIDI connector) of the MiniCommand to the input of the MachineDrum.
  • Set up the MachineDrum to send MIDI SYNC and START/STOP messages.
  • Set up the MachineDrum to send and receive trigger events for each track (GLOBAL -> TRACK MAPPING).
  • Set up the MachineDrum to send and receive CC messages for all parameters (GLOBAL -> BASE CHANNEL to a sensible value).
  • Set up the MiniCommand to receive MIDI SYNC on IN1 (see User Manual - Getting started

The settings on the MachineDrum for SYNC and CHANNEL should be the following:

GLOBAL -> MIDI -> BASE CHANNEL : 1 - 4 (or whatever you like, as long as it is not set to --)
GLOBAL -> SYNC -> SYNC TEMPO IN : INTERNAL
GLOBAL -> SYNC -> SYNC CTRL IN : OFF
GLOBAL -> SYNC -> SYNC TEMPO OUT : ON
GLOBAL -> SYNC -> SYNC CTRL OUT : ON

Connecting the MiniCommand to a MonoMachine

  • Connect the input (leftmost MIDI connector) of the MiniCommand to the output of the MonoMachine.
  • Connect the output (middle MIDI connector) of the MiniCommand to the input of the MonoMachine.
  • Set up the MonoMachine to send MIDI SYNC and START/STOP messages.
  • Set up the MonoMachine to send and receive CC messages for all parameters.
  • Set up the MiniCommand to receive MIDI SYNC on IN1 (see User Manual - Getting started

The MNM should be set to

GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> CONTROL IN -> TEMPO SYNC : INTERNAL
GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> CONTROL IN -> TRANSPORT : IGNORE
GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> CONTROL IN -> PRG CHG : IGNORE

GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> CONTROL OUT2 -> MIDI CLOCK : OUT
GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> CONTROL OUT2 -> TRANSPORT : OUT
GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> CONTROL OUT2 -> PRG CHG : OFF

(channel settings)
GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> MIDI CHANLS -> BASE CHANNEL : 08 (or what you want, as long as it sends/receives CC and notes for every track)
GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> MIDI CHANLS -> CHANNEL SPAN : 06
GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> MIDI CHANLS -> MULTI TRIG CH : 14
GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> MIDI CHANLS -> MULTI MAP CH : 15
GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> MIDI CHANLS -> AUTO TRACK CH : 16

Connecting the MiniCommand to a MonoMachine and a MachineDrum

There are different ways to set this up. Select which of the machines you want to use as master. In this example, we'll use the MachineDrum as a clock master.
The setup works in the following way: the MIDI CLOCK (along with other MIDI messages) is sent from the MachineDrum to the MiniCommand in the standard fashion.
The MiniCommand resends those messages to the MachineDrum, which will pass them out on its THRU port. The THRU port is just a hardware buffer that is a direct
mirror of the MIDI input. That way, you can connect a MiniCommand to the MachineDrum the normal way, and relay the MIDI CLOCK to a third device, without the
need for a MIDI merger.

  • Connect the input (leftmost MIDI connector) of the MiniCommand to the output of the MachineDrum.
  • Connect the output (middle MIDI connector) of the MiniCommand to the input of the Machinedrum.
  • Connect the THRU of the MachineDrum to the input of the MonoMachine.
  • Set up the MachineDrum to send MIDI SYNC and START/STOP messages.
  • Set up the MachineDrum to not receive MIDI SYNC and START/STOP messages, as this would create a MIDI CLOCK loop and crash the MachineDrum.
  • Set up the MachineDrum to send and receive CC messages for all parameters.
  • Set up the MiniCommand to receive MIDI SYNC on IN1 (see User Manual - Getting started
  • Set up the MiniCommand to send MIDI SYNC (set SND -> ON).
  • Set up the MiniCommand to merge additional messages if you want, using the MRG knob.
  • Set up the MonoMachine to receive MIDI SYNC and START/STOP messages.

The settings on the MachineDrum for SYNC and CHANNEL should be the following:

GLOBAL -> MIDI -> BASE CHANNEL : 1 - 4
GLOBAL -> SYNC -> SYNC TEMPO IN : INTERNAL
GLOBAL -> SYNC -> SYNC CTRL IN : OFF
GLOBAL -> SYNC -> SYNC TEMPO OUT : ON
GLOBAL -> SYNC -> SYNC CTRL OUT : ON

The settings on the MonoMachine for SYNC and CHANNEL should be the following:

GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> CONTROL IN -> TEMPO SYNC : EXT MIDI CLK
GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> CONTROL IN -> TRANSPORT : ACCEPT
GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> CONTROL IN -> PRG CHG : IGNORE

(channel settings)
GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> MIDI CHANLS -> BASE CHANNEL : 08
GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> MIDI CHANLS -> CHANNEL SPAN : 06
GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> MIDI CHANLS -> MULTI TRIG CH : 14
GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> MIDI CHANLS -> MULTI MAP CH : 15
GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> MIDI CHANLS -> AUTO TRACK CH : 16

Connecting the MiniCommand to a MachineDrum/MonoMachine and an additional synthesizer

Suppose you want the MiniCommand to control a MachineDrum or a MonoMachine, and have the MachineDrum/MonoMachine send MIDI notes to an external synthesizer. The easiest way to hook this up without using an external splitter, and assuming the additional synthesizer has a MIDI THRU port, is the following:

  • Connect the output of the MachineDrum/MonoMachine to the MIDI input of your additional synthesizer.
  • Connect the MIDI THRU of your additional synthesizer to the input (leftmost MIDI connector) of the MiniCommand.
  • Connect the output (middle MIDI connector) of the MiniCommand to the input of the MachineDrum.
  • For MIDI SYNC setup, proceed as described above in Connecting the MiniCommand to a MachineDrum

Chaining MiniCommands

If you want to chain two minicommands, one controlling a MachineDrum, and the other controlling a MonoMachine, use the following setup:

  • Connect one MiniCommand (MC1) to the MachineDrum in the standard fashion (see Connecting the MiniCommand to a Machinedrum).
  • Connect the other MiniCommand (MC2) to the MonoMachine in the standard fashion (see Connecting the MiniCommand to a MonoMachine).
  • Connect the MIDI THRU port of the MachineDrum to the second input of MC2.
  • Set up MC1 to accept MIDI Sync on IN1, and to send midi clock out (SND: ON).
  • Set up MC2 to accept MIDI sync on IN2, and to send midi clock out (SND: ON).

The settings on the MachineDrum for SYNC and CHANNEL should be the following:

GLOBAL -> MIDI -> BASE CHANNEL : 1 - 4
GLOBAL -> SYNC -> SYNC TEMPO IN : INTERNAL
GLOBAL -> SYNC -> SYNC CTRL IN : OFF
GLOBAL -> SYNC -> SYNC TEMPO OUT : ON
GLOBAL -> SYNC -> SYNC CTRL OUT : ON

The settings on the MonoMachine for SYNC and CHANNEL should be the following:

GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> CONTROL IN -> TEMPO SYNC : EXT MIDI CLK
GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> CONTROL IN -> TRANSPORT : ACCEPT
GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> CONTROL IN -> PRG CHG : IGNORE

(channel settings)
GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> MIDI CHANLS -> BASE CHANNEL : 08
GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> MIDI CHANLS -> CHANNEL SPAN : 06
GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> MIDI CHANLS -> MULTI TRIG CH : 14
GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> MIDI CHANLS -> MULTI MAP CH : 15
GLOBAL -> CONTROL -> MIDI CHANLS -> AUTO TRACK CH : 16

Setting up the MIDI SYNC

When powering up, hold Button1 down (upper left button). This will enter the MIDI CLOCK SETUP menu, where you can select on which port the MiniCommand receives MIDI sync. You can also set up if the MiniCommand forwards received MIDI Clock information on its output by setting SND to ON. Set SND to OFF in order to not forward clock information. Setting IMM to ON will make the MiniCommand react to incoming MIDI clock ticks immediately, which seems to work best for most applications. If you set IMM to OFF, the MiniCommand will use its internal software phase-locked-loop to calculate timing information, which is useful when setting up long MIDI chains.

mc-md.png (56.5 KB) Manuel Odendahl, 07/14/2010 01:42 am

mc-mnm-md.png (107.4 KB) Manuel Odendahl, 07/14/2010 01:42 am

mc-mnm.png (54.9 KB) Manuel Odendahl, 07/14/2010 01:42 am

midi-clock-in1.png (76.5 KB) Manuel Odendahl, 07/14/2010 03:01 am

midi-clock-in2.png (73.2 KB) Manuel Odendahl, 07/14/2010 03:01 am

mc-md-mc-mnm.png (174.8 KB) Manuel Odendahl, 07/14/2010 03:09 am

mc-md-synth.png (67.2 KB) Manuel Odendahl, 07/14/2010 12:08 pm

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