I’m trying to hook up my Yamaha KX-5 to a couple of more modern synthesizers. One in a PSR-E463, the other is an MM6. The KX-5 works fine with a Yamaha DJX and any Motif ES, I just set the patch up on the synthesizer and go. Whatever I play on the KX-5 is played using the patch I set on the synthesizer.
With the PSR-E463 and the MM6, the keytar is absolutely stuck on a piano patch no matter what I do. I can set any patch on the synthesizer and play it with the synthesizer’s keys, but if I play the KX-5 all I get is piano, that’s it.
I need to block the control changes but pass everything else.
Thanks!
Hi and welcome to the Bome community!
You are probably sending Program Changes and but you can block all CC’s and PCs with 2 translators. One to block PC and the other to block CC, but beware that you may be blocking stuff like MOD wheel and other possible effect.
Just define one translator as follows
Incoming: Any CC on any MIDI Channel
Outgoing: None
Incoming: Any PC on any MIDI Channel
Outgong: None
I would put both translators into a preset with incoming of the instrument (s) that you want to block out outgoing of the instrument(s) you are sending to. Note On and Off will still be passed. If you have a MIDI thru path set up, then SysEx messages will also get through but I doubt if they are causing any problems because for the most part SysEx messages are specific to a given vendor make and model.
Steve Caldwell
Bome Customer Care
Also available for paid consulting services: bome@sniz.biz
Steve Caldwell
Bome Customer Care
Also available for paid consulting services: bome@sniz.biz
I got somewhat of a workaround on it. I mapped all of the KX-5’s functions to what I wanted on the MM6. It works…halfway. It will not allow a dual patch to be used, it only send the main voice or the dual but not both.
Actually I mapped them to the MIDI outputs, after three hours of swearing and frustration I was absolutely unable to open and close MIDI inputs and outputs in the Bone Box itself.
If there’s a way, I need to set the box to take a program change on channel 1 to, say, patch 1 on the KX-5 and output a program change on channels 1 to patch 1 and a program change in channel 2 to patch 94. That gives me a grand piano in the foreground with a halo pad in the background.
Honest, I bought this thing wanting it to run everything through from the KX-5 to the synthesizer except patch changes. When paired with a DJX or a Motif ES8, that’s how it works with no special box needed, literally you can hook a cable from the MIDI out to the synth’s MIDI in, turn both on and you’re set. That is currently the only way to run a dual voice from any of my keytars. Frankly I’m not sure I would even waste my time with the Bome Box. My 463 has an analog input and the new generation of keytars all have onboard tone generators so one can hook it up via analog and cut the crap. It’s the most difficult piece of musical hardware or software I have ever tried to use.
It’s going out for the first gig tomorrow. That will be a practice session and I will have a known working keytar/synth combo. Based on my experience this evening I don’t expect it to work. If it does, great, if it doesn’t I’ll be sending the box back and I expect a refund on it and the software. I have wasted $300 on this steaming pile of midi infested digital CRAP.
Hi,
I’m sorry you are experiencing issues. I’m not 100% sure what you are looking for. BomeBox with Bome MIDI Translator Pro is a very powerful and flexible solution, however it does take some time to get the idea how it all works to take advantage of the power it can provide. I can understand a new user being frustrated and probably a bit overwhelmed , but if you hang with us here, with a little patience, I think we can get through this and you will be quite pleased. We also have several MT Pro and BomeBox tutorials to help you get started (most are less than 5 minutes long) and we are here to help when you have specific questions. From what you are saying I think you want to do this:
Send PC1 from From KX-5
Translate this into two messages before sending it to the MM6
- PC1 MIDI CH 1
- PC95 MIDI CH 2
You also want to suppress any CC messages sent from the KX-5 but let everything else through except Program Change translations described above. If you want any other PC’s to be translated, you will need to add additional translators for that.
If this is not what you want, I can still help. Just try and be as clear and concise on what you are trying to do. Start with a single requirement and we can build from there.
In the attached project file I have set up Aliases “KX-5” for input and “MM6” for output. For testing, since I don’t have your devices, I am assigning them to Bome MIDI Translator Virtual ports for testing. On the BomeBox, you would need to assign them to the ports of your actual devices after loading the project file.
- The first translator will take PC1 from MIDI CH1 on your KX-5 and send out PC1 on MIDI CH 1 to your MM6.
- The second translator take the same PC1 from MIDI CH1 on your KX-5 and sends out PC 95 on MIDI Channel 2.
- The third translator will suppress any MIDI CC messages that your KX-5 Sends (outgoing action of NONE)
- The forth translator insures that any other PC message will not get through. (outgoing action of NONE)
Without the Suppress translators, everything else would pass through the MIDI thru path describe below. - Anything else (notes etc) will go through the defined MIDI Thru path as shown by the MIDI router line shown here.
If there are any other device inputs and output that you need, you will need to set up MIDI thru paths or translators for those devices as well.
I know you have a PSR-E463, a Yamaha DJX and a Motif ES but I’m not sure how they are connected together. If you want straight through, with no translation from your KX-5 then you would create aliases for those devices as output and then draw lines on the MIDI router to connect them.
If you want translation, you would need to set up additional translators for that. For now I took the liberty of just setting up MIDI thru paths, again assigning the aliases to virtual ports since I don’t have your synths.
You can test the project first with your computer first and test with your devices. Then if it works OK, upload it to BomeBox and the attach your devices to BomeBox and then assign the aliases there.
The below is a log of what happens when I send. You can turn on logging with the “View->Log” Menu and then check MIDI IN and MIDI OUT.
1 - PC1 on MIDI CH 1 - MIDI C0 00
2 - Note 35 (Hex 23) on MIDI CH1 with velocity of 67 (Hex 43) - MIDI 90 23 43
3 - Note 37 (Hex 25 on MIDI CH 2 with velocity of 71 (Hex 47) - MIDI 90 25 47
Again you can review the Alias Mapping I provided to see what is sent to each Synth.
1: MIDI IN [Bome MIDI Translator 1 Virtual In]: C0 00
2: MIDI OUT [Bome MIDI Translator 1 Virtual Out]: C0 00
3: MIDI OUT [Bome MIDI Translator 1 Virtual Out]: C1 5E
4: MIDI IN [Bome MIDI Translator 1 Virtual In]: 90 23 43
5: MIDI OUT [Bome MIDI Translator 1 Virtual Out]: 90 23 43
6: MIDI OUT [Bome MIDI Translator 4 Virtual Out]: 90 23 43
7: MIDI OUT [Bome MIDI Translator 2 Virtual Out]: 90 23 43
8: MIDI OUT [Bome MIDI Translator 3 Virtual Out]: 90 23 43
9: MIDI IN [Bome MIDI Translator 1 Virtual In]: 91 25 47
10: MIDI OUT [Bome MIDI Translator 1 Virtual Out]: 91 25 47
11: MIDI OUT [Bome MIDI Translator 4 Virtual Out]: 91 25 47
12: MIDI OUT [Bome MIDI Translator 2 Virtual Out]: 91 25 47
13: MIDI OUT [Bome MIDI Translator 3 Virtual Out]: 91 25 47
So with just a few translators and some MIDI thru routes, a lot is happening here.
If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out here an I will be happy to help
KX-5_to_MMC-PC.bmtp (1.9 KB)
Steve Caldwell
Bome Customer Care
Also available for paid consulting services: bome@sniz.biz
Thanks. I’ll look into it more in the next week or two. I’d like to get those dual patches working.
It’s quite frustrating, though, to have put several days’ time and several hundred dollars into what was supposed to be an easy solution.
I will say this: until Bome Box was recommended to me, I had no idea another hardware MIDI Translator existed. There are only a few others I have found online. The Panda MIDI interface is the only hardware translator I’d heard of and it’s pretty hard to get.
Thanks.
OK, it is probably best to work on one requirement at a time. If you can’t figure it out in 1/2 hour, describe it here and I will help. Then start the next one. No need to spend several hours and get frustrated. Of course, once you get the basic concepts, it becomes much easier. I have project files that run multiple keyboards with multiple interactions. Best to work them through one at a time rather than try and get it all figured out at once. Take bite sized chunks.
I started out with Bome MIDI Translator (as a customer) in around 2015. After I got the hang of it I was hooked and when BomeBox came out, I bought one as well. I’ve found the hardware and software very useful however on complex setups it does take a while working through how to get everything the way you want. I think it took a month for me to get my five keyboards to do everything I wanted, controlling them with a MIDI foot switch and a few other MIDI control devices. For me I had the time but not the money to figure it all out.
Once I figured thinks out, I was recruited to do support here and also did most of the available tutorials. My role here is as a teacher and a coach and not to create entire projects for people (free forum support). Although I do independent consulting/programming as well for a fee. This usually still involves the client time to help define the requirements and test the solution but it can be less frustrating sometimes if you have the money but not the time to figure it out for yourself.
Reach out again when you are ready.
Steve Caldwell
Bome Customer Care
Also available for paid consulting services: bome@sniz.biz