Roland VK-8M to VB3 using MT

Do you have a VK-8M? I love it’s B3 like drawbars. A lot of controllers have sliders, but playing live you just don’t have the same control as with B3 like drawbars.
VB3 has a midi learn feature, which will work for controllers sending out CC#’s. The VK-8M however sends out short SysEx commands, which can easily be translated with Midi Translator to CC commands that VB3 understands. It’s weeeell worth the effort. Hook VB3 up in stereo and CRANK IT!!!!! Your guitarist will be jealous because you just took over the band! (And maybe the girls too! 🙂

No, I don´t have a VK-8, but considering buying one…

I will post my VK-8M to VB3 file when I complete it. I’ve had great help from the developers when I hit a couple of hurdles!! (still have one left) The VB3 midi implementation chart doesn’t tell all. I’m a document freak, so I’ll be posting a documentation file too. You may have to modify it depending on which version of VB3 you’re using. (I attached a screenshot of a VB3 pulldown window showing an option that had to be selected before the Leslie Brake would work)

I couldn’t have done this so fast without MT’s great log window. The VK-8M outputs SysEx commands for every control, so VB3’s MIDI learn feature can’t read the VK-8M. I executed each of the VK-8M’s controls, and used MT’s log window to copy and paste them into the translators, and of course edit them. Took advantage of the duplicating translators to speed up things.

If anyone else has already mapped to the VB3 on this forum, would be glad to hear from you. Currently I’m trying to get the Vibrato Chorus types working (C1..3, V1..3) Their MIDI implementation lists the CC#, but not what values VB3 wants. Last issue like this required a menu setting I’d probably never have figured out without emailing the developers.

It’s been a blast!


Attachments:
![](upload://pMC0cwz7x4Uz3mCXE8fm1exoLOu.jpeg)
![](upload://yIPzTp0DHPjCvQZ1UXbLOi00Azt.jpeg)

Status update on my Roland VK-8M --> Bome --> VS3-II progress.

   Well, there are 3 versions of the VB3 VST floating around out there.  I started a Bome project that worked with the free VB3 that came with my DAW.  It worked fine.    Unfortuately not all the Roland VM-8K features have a MIDI controller# assigned to them,  some have Roland system exclusive msgs.   That's were BomeMT comes in.    The drawbars are sysEx, leslie controls are CC#,  and other pertinent Roland front panel controls do send out either SysEx or CC#'s.  

  Unfortunately,  there were some CC# changes made between the 1st VB3 version and the expanded purchased version,  causing the leslie controls to not work.   I'm still trying to resolve those. (can't get stop to work) 

  There's now a VB3-II version, the latest.  There's a $79 upgrade price,  or about $169 if your a new buyer.  Sounds high, but if you're a serious Hammond player, like me,  it's well worth it.    You can use a mouse to control it, but if you're like me, you MUST have,  as a minimum, physical control of the drawbarsl, leslie slow/fast and volume control.   In my case I'm using my Roland VK-8M,  which unfortunately sends out those SysEx message that don't map directly to the great VB3-II VST.    ***That's where Bome comes in ***  

   I'll eventually figure out the Leslie control magic.  (theres more to it than following VB3's MIDI implementation chart when it comes to Slow/Stop/Fast.     Also I've asked the  vendor to add more CC# messages for features like selecting the organ type,  things I'd do live.   

  Hoping to finish this project.   I don't work constantly on it.  


Attachments:
![](upload://q9BFMmY0TNjCQ6GkEv5IKhkAP9G.jpeg)

Hi, I was wondering if you’d be willing to share your work with translating the VK8-M. I have a gig this weekend and am being rented a VK8. I’m just investigating how much work it might be to convert it’s sysex into CC to control another module. Have you gotten it working? hard thing for me is I won’t see the board till sound check… thanks! Darcy

Hi,
I don’t have anything for the VK-8M but I put together a tutorial on the VR-09 that might help you get started. You are cutting it pretty close if you can only do this during the sound check just before your gig.

See this post.

Steve Caldwell
Bome Customer Care


Also available for paid consulting services: bome@sniz.biz

Based on one of the pictures @SirLanceALot posted, this might work.

What I don’t know is

  1. If incoming CC needs to be scaled 0-8 or 0-127
  2. If outgoing CC needs to be scaled 0-8 or 0-127
  3. If incoming Sysex needs to be scaled 0-8 or 0-127
  4. if incoming Sysex needs to be scaled 0-8 or 0-127

Right now:

CC to SysEX is scaled from 0-8 on input to 0-127 on output
SysEX to CC is scaled from 0-127 on input to 0-8 on output

I also don’t know if the che checksum cc to Sysex is right because of scaling or even if the Roland VK-8 will enforce checksum on input.

That is the best I can do with the available documentation.

I set the global variable ga as the beginning CC number and allow only 9 drawbars with consecutive CC’s in translator 0.1

VK-8-VB3-Untested-2021-07-20.bmtp (2.0 KB)

Steve Caldwell
Bome Customer Care


Also available for paid consulting services: bome@sniz.biz

Sorry I’ve been away for a while.
I did get back to my BomeMT project to map the Roland VK-8M to control the VB3 ver 1.4 VST.
I WILL post my project file, I just have one more thing to fix. Getting the VS3 Brake button to work in combination with Roland’s tricky proprietary SysEx and CC’s (the order) for the slow and fast speeds… requires some investigation and more involved programming. “BomeMT Pro to the rescue!”
More real soon!
In the mean time, I can’t remember if I already posted it, but I’ll post my MIDI documentation, "using Bome’s Log Window", showing what the VK-8M is outputting over MIDI.
—> (Sorry folks, Bome won’t let me post an .rtf documentation file. Maybe the admin can show me how)

Hi, Save your RTF file as text or send me an email with it and I will convert it for you.

Steve Caldwell
Bome Customer Care


Also available for paid consulting services: bome@sniz.biz

You can try this, if I read the VK-8M manual correctly and the defaults in the manual for VB3.

Reading the SysEX spec has always been a challenge for me. Calculating which bytes constitute the offset.

Alas, it looks like VB3 does not send MIDI so you cannot send messages from VB3 back to your VK8M

VK-8-to-VB3-Untested-2022-09-05.bmtp (1.5 KB)

Steve Caldwell
Bome Customer Care


Also available for paid consulting services: bome@sniz.biz

Steve,
Thanks for the quick reply.

*** I’m attaching my latest Roland VK-8M to VB3 project file, and also a documentation file I created to help manage the effort. “It does work” , and I’m thinking of doing a short video.
–>I’m still proof reading my doc and project file comments a bit.

Only thing someone else would have to change to use the project is the MIDI interface routing.

I tried to map all the VK-8M sliders, knobs and buttons to their equivalent in VB3. Unfortunately VB3’s MIDI implementation is not a complete match. But all the most important ones are there.

→ I used MT’s log window to capture everything. The LOG window was a God send when it comes to troubleshooting issues! The designers/programmers did a great job!!!

Lance

(Attachment Roland VK-8M Midi Outputs Mapped.rtf is missing)

Roland_VK-8M_UM-2ex_VB3-v1p4.bmtp (10.8 KB)

Steve,
Bome rejected (doesn’t allow) the documentation file (.rtf) I just tried to send you.
Lance

To my email? bome@sniz.biz? - Maybe just see if you can create a dropbox link to it and share that with me.

Or print it to a PDF file and post or send it that way.

Rotary speed doesn’t look right. Looks like it is just reversing polarity of the attached switch which may in fact have a similar effect.

Steve,
Thanks for the comment.:slightly_smiling_face:
Just in case I uploaded the wrong project file, I downloaded it and opened it. It’s working as expected.
—> I should’ve deleted translator #18 and #19. They’re not needed for this project. (#19 is a piece of another super fun project that every keyboardist could use)

I didn't mean to post this project file on the forum yet.   

There’s a final project file I’ll post in a day or 2.
It just has some improved comments and the excess translators not needed removed.

  I'll convert my doc file to a .pdf,   which should explain a lot more.

la

----> halbander and dpmusiclist
See the project I posted today, 9-8-2022

I attached my latest project file.

–>Earlier project files I posted above were programmed and only checked out with the VK-8M & VB3 v1.4 on my laptop, but not with a midi keyboard.

–>The latest project file is checked out using a Roland XP-80, midi’d thru a UMC1820 to my laptop. Once I got on a full setup, there was an issue with the keyboard & VK-8M routing. I had to add Note On/Off, leslie speed and sustain pedal translators.

I’ll keep running it and checking it out to find any bugs, but this version seems pretty much like a keeper, at least with the equipment I’m using. There are a few knob and buttons not used, so there’s room to control extra functions.


The last issue I ran into was the keyboard and VK-8M needed to be mixed together connected to the UMC1820 MIDI input.   I had a Yamaha MIDI mixer to do that.   But that shouldn't be needed because the VK-8M has a MIDI thru feature,  it just has to be initiated at power up.  

 ***This project was designed for the VK-8M to control VB3,  which seems to work with all versions.   If you are using a different Hammond simulator with the VK-8M,  just edit any needed CC#'s that are different than VB3's 

LA

PS I left some temptation in this project. Try turning on the Note On/Off-Octave functions.

Roland_VK-8M_UMC1820_VB3-v1p4_2022-9-8.bmtp (11.3 KB)

Latest Project file. Added a volume pedal to BomeMT project.

This project was written with a

  1. a MIDI keyboard (MIDI out) connected to the VK-8M (MIDI IN), and
  2. the VK-8M (MIDI Out) connected thru a “MIDI to USB” converter, to
  3. a computer’s USB port, with BomeMT Pro and VB3-II installed.
  4. The VK-8M has to be setup for MIDI Thru at every powerup.
  5. A XP-80 was used that has the capability for a leslie slow/fast pedal, sustain pedal, and a volume pedal. Typically all you need is volume and the leslie speed pedal. Most keyboards have both of those.

This project works with all versions of VB3. If anybody uses this project and has any issues, please feel free to comment here or contact me.
SirLanceALot
Roland_VK-8M_UMC1820_VB3-v1p4_2022-9-20msi.bmtp (13.1 KB)

Sorry to bump so late, but I had a question for VK-8M owners if any.
I have one where the chorus and vibrato sounds pretty much the same.
Does the chorus have a distinct sound like a true chorus? Mine sounds like a vibrato.
thanks.

Hi and welcome to the Bome community!

Not sure of any VK-8M owners but certainly VB3 chorus and vibrato are different. I’ve got several clones and I have never had one where vibrato and chorus sounded the same.

Steve Caldwell
Bome Customer Care


Also available for paid consulting services: bome@sniz.biz