Korg Nanokontrol

[bckeeping]

Hi Guys,

Has anyone had any experience of trying to use a korg nankontrol with freestyler?

I am considering purchasing one as they are cheap, easy to fit into a laptop bag and seem pretty appropriate for use with FS, particularly with the pad version aswell :
http://www.korg.co.uk/products/software ... c_nano.asp
9 Faders, 9 knobs, and 2 buttons for going up and down submaster cues

and with the nanopad, an additional 12 buttons (overrid buttons?) and an x-y pad ideal for positioning scanners etc.

I just wonder if there is any reason why these would not work with FS? of anyone had tried

Kind Regards
Ben

[LJ_krede.dk]

Looks really cool.

I dont know nothing about it but please let me know how things goes, if you buy one

[bckeeping]

I have just been looking into the NanoKontol and it seems all of sliders and knobs only transmit CC messages, not Note messages.

Can you assign CC messages to speed and submaster level controls in Freestyler? If so, how, as I have only come across the ability to assign midi notes to functions?

Any help much appreciated as I have just bought one of these... stupidly before I checked.
I notice that you mention CC messages Onge?

B.

[bckeeping]

It must be possible, as looking at the Behringer kit, it too can only give CC messages from the faders and knobs...

most *confuzzled* how have you guys gotten this kit to work with freestyler?

[bckeeping]

Ok Guys,

I have one of these coming in the post now this week, so I am hoping there is some way to get the thing working with FS, or it'll be on ebay ;o)

Has anyone got any idea re: the use of Midi CC messages with freestyler? As mentioned before, as far as I can see the behringer BCF2000 can only ouput CC messages aswell so how do you get that working with FS which seems to only accept midi notes?

Or am I being totally dense here?
Any help most gratefully received as I am hoping to do some serious programming this weekend in advance of a gig next week

B.

[bckeeping]

Righty ho,

It seems that in freestyler, the various elements respond to either note messages or control change message. So if you put the CC number in the "note" box in the midi set up, that seems to work.

So I now have my Nano-kontrol. I was playing with it at the weekend and it all seems to work perfectly So if you have thought about one of these, I would highly recommend it. Perfect size to fit in a laptop bag too

Now, just to convince raph to allow more than 5 submasters on a page

[easyrider1340]

Off topic, but I'm programming an M-Audio Trigger Finger right now.

The 16 pads work well, it seems. However the knobs and faders do not seem be configurable for Freestyler (as you mention about NanoKontrol), but I'm going to try your findings to see if I can use CC data for change.

Thanks for bringing this up.

Terry

[LJ_krede.dk]

Righty ho,

It seems that in freestyler, the various elements respond to either note messages or control change message. So if you put the CC number in the "note" box in the midi set up, that seems to work.

So I now have my Nano-kontrol. I was playing with it at the weekend and it all seems to work perfectly So if you have thought about one of these, I would highly recommend it. Perfect size to fit in a laptop bag too

Now, just to convince raph to allow more than 5 submasters on a page

Yes, more submasters on each page would be nice... it would be even more nice if you can configure it in freestyler setup.. Lets say you have a midi controller with only 4 faders,, then it could be great if you only have 4 submasters per page. and vice versa if you have 8.... you get the picture

@ bckeeping:
now when you have proofed the nanokontrol works with freestyler I consider buying one. I was wondering how you use yours for freestyler? I want to use it to control the submasters. At each fader you have 2 buttons, but in theory you need three: one for "Go", "Back" and "Run". have you any idea how i could do that? can you configure the nanokontrol so if you hold down a button it works for another midi CC? If that's not possible I think I would use the shift function in freestyler.

[dmxlighting]

Looks like a cool bit of kit but I think a BCF2000 is a better package to use with FS.
Am I right in saying that each module needs its own USB slot?
Could get a bit resource hungry ? Also, although the price per module is around £50 (a good price) if you want 3 or more modules then a BCF can be bought online for £103 inc vat and it, in my opinion, has more flexability in one box and only one USB!

Still it does look cool and its always good to have options avalible.

[LJ_krede.dk]

Looks like a cool bit of kit but I think a BCF2000 is a better package to use with FS.
Am I right in saying that each module needs its own USB slot?
Could get a bit resource hungry ? Also, although the price per module is around £50 (a good price) if you want 3 or more modules then a BCF can be bought online for £103 inc vat and it, in my opinion, has more flexability in one box and only one USB!

Still it does look cool and its always good to have options avalible.

the korg nano series dont use a lot of power so you can easily have 3 of them connected to your laptop

youtube video


the organisation I work for has the BCF 2000, i just want the nanokontal to use at home in front of the easy viewer and to small gigs. but yes, if i could choose between the bcf2000 and the nanokontrol i will take the BCF because of the motorised faders. and it has a ok size

[easyrider1340]

I tried this last night, but I wasn't able to input any CC info into any boxes in the midi setup screen. Can you explain how you were able to accomplish this?

Thanks!

Righty ho,

It seems that in freestyler, the various elements respond to either note messages or control change message. So if you put the CC number in the "note" box in the midi set up, that seems to work.

So I now have my Nano-kontrol. I was playing with it at the weekend and it all seems to work perfectly So if you have thought about one of these, I would highly recommend it. Perfect size to fit in a laptop bag too

Now, just to convince raph to allow more than 5 submasters on a page

[bckeeping]

Right, well there are two ways, although i think one of the ways only happens in the beta...

1) Simply click on the box and type the number (I think this might be beta only)
2) Move the controller that has the CC number assigned to it. This seemed to work for me.

[easyrider1340]

I tried typing in, but nothing. Moving the fader caused FS to recognize the midi note, which was a "11" as indicated in FS, but the cc (as indicated in the Trigger Finger software) was actually "7".

Any other thoughts?

As a reminder, I'm using the Trigger Finger, which outputs both cc and note.

Right, well there are two ways, although i think one of the ways only happens in the beta...

1) Simply click on the box and type the number (I think this might be beta only)
2) Move the controller that has the CC number assigned to it. This seemed to work for me.

[bckeeping]

ahh maybe thats the problem, that it sends both, perhaps the note is getting priority...
That would particularly happen if the note command is sent after the CC message.

To be honest though, if the note command is being sent, why do you need the CC, wont the note do the job?

Can somebody confirm if the manuall typing of midi notes is a beta version feature? Maybe you could ask Raph if you could be on the beta programme?

[easyrider1340]

Note doesn't seem to work for the faders and/or knobs.

Is the beta stable in a "live" environment?

Thanks.
Terry

ahh maybe thats the problem, that it sends both, perhaps the note is getting priority...
That would particularly happen if the note command is sent after the CC message.

To be honest though, if the note command is being sent, why do you need the CC, wont the note do the job?

Can somebody confirm if the manuall typing of midi notes is a beta version feature? Maybe you could ask Raph if you could be on the beta programme?

[bckeeping]

well it seems fairly stable while I have been using it live, only crashes I have had are due to noise on the line and my cheapo dmx interface I think.

Why does the fader on your device output note data aswell as CC at the same time? Can you not configure that?

Basically, as far as I can work out in order to operate faders etc in FS, you need either CC data with a value, or a Note On message, where the velocity sets the level of the fader etc...

[easyrider1340]

I'm not sure. I'm a drummer who runs lights - I'm basically completely midi-stupid.

I'll take a look at the software tonight to try and understand if/why its send both at same time and/or if it can be configured to send only one or the other.

I appreciate the dialog. Are there other threads here that I should peruse that may help me understand how to configure my setup?

Why does the fader on your device output note data aswell as CC at the same time? Can you not configure that?

Basically, as far as I can work out in order to operate faders etc in FS, you need either CC data with a value, or a Note On message, where the velocity sets the level of the fader etc...

[spankthafunk]

This is an old post but did the OP ever used the complete nano series?

I was wondering about that touchscreen for moving heads.

[lindsayward]

This thread is still the top hit on a Google search (freestyler nanoKontrol), so I thought I'd add to it...

I had some trouble getting Freestyler to respond to my nanoKontrol (ver 1). Pressing the buttons while in the Edit mode for Setup didn't do anything. I tried several things, then tried my nanoKey2, which DID work, so I figured it was something about different MIDI messages... Anyway, I tried a few other things and the my nanoKey did NOT work, so... I unplugged the devices, closed FreeStyler and MIDI-OX, which I was using to see what messages were being sent, replugged and started things and it DID work.
Very Nice.
Then, I installed the Korg driver because I wanted to use the Kontrol software to update the device... after that FreeStyler didn't see any MIDI devices anymore. I had to uninstall (and delete) the driver and let Windows install it again before it would work again...

So, since I was searching for help with this from others who had experienced similar issues (and I didn't find anything), I thought I'd post my experience here. I hope it helps someone.

[AndrewSchulcz]

I know this thread is pretty old, but for what its worth, I recently bought both a Behringer BCF2000 and a Korg NanoKontrol2.
Both have similar overall functions, but the BCF (@ ~13"x13"x3") is quite a bit larger than the Nano (@ ~13"Wx3"x1").
Usability: The BCF2000 has a lot more room to use the individual buttons and sliders, so it is a bit easier to make very fine adjustments. It also has motorized faders. I use it to control the intensities of submaster channels, so the BCF console echoes perfectly what is shown on the touch screen. I had to modify a couple buttons so that they would work on a single-press, rather than sending a separate ON and OFF. (you can see how to do that here: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=2958)
The Nano is so much smaller that it initially feels like it can't do the job, but I've found that it performs really well. The Korg is able to do everything the BCF can do, except it does not have motorized faders (but that's not a deal-breaker for me). Additionally, Korg released is a free software program called Korg Kontrol Editor that lets you use a simple graphical interface to modify how the buttons, faders, even how the LED lights on the Nano function. This made it extremely simple to customize the Nano for Freestyler use. No programming stuff in MidiOx!
Ultimately, I had members of my lighting team experiment with both the BCF and the Nano, and they unanimously chose the Nano. It is so much smaller that it can easily sit on a little panel on top of the ETC Express console (that was the original controller, now only used for backup).
Hope this helps if anyone is researching whether these devices can work with FS.

[buttza]

I used a nano with no issues. I loved it.

[doctorzorro]

BIiiiiiig Bump!
For all you googlers and searchers looking for an answer:
YES! They work fine!
I use 2 Korg Nano's, the NanoKontrol2 and the NanoKey2.
Both have to be configured using Korg's Kontrol Editor which is found on their site.
Nice thing is that the editor program will do all the Nano series controllers, and even quite a lot of other korg porducts too, my microkey is also recognized and configurable with the editor.

When they are set up correctly to send note on-off messages for the buttons and output full 127 value notes they are wonderfull for controlling FS.
Everything maps fine, sliders work, knobs work great for speed control and using the FF and RW buttons on the Kontrol2 for switching screens in the touch UI so you can have 2 banks of 8 submasters works like a charm.
I use the Kontrol2 for the submasters, buttons next to the faders are set up so the up down buttons light up permanently and the bottom Run button responds to it's state on/off. The faders are set to switch the sub off when down.
The Nanokey2 handles the flash overrides for strobes and blinds on the white keys, black ones for blackouts per group. I have put the tap sync on the far right white key and the release tapsync on the black one next to it. That way you can switch really fast between normal speed and tapspeed while looking like a rockstar doing it.

I have compared just about every midi controller out there for Freestyler purposes and couldn't find anything even close to what the Nano's offer in terms of having the right layout for Freestyler (3 buttons next to the faders is a rare feat) and being nice and small and damn cheap too.

In short:
Go get some! They're great!

[buttza]

yeah they are, I have been using them for years.

[Partyman]

I find the Akai APC Mini to be the perfect midi controller for Freestyler. Color coded buttons that the lights can be configured, 9 sliders, enough buttons for overrides and cuelists. I also have Numark Orbit, BCF 2000, Nanopad, and others but my favorite to work with is the APC Mini.

[doctorzorro]

I tried the apc mini as well, there seems to be a small amount of lag, or some kind of smoothing effect on the faders which is absent in the nano's, they are immediate. My consideration was that a touchscreen can display colored buttons with the right labels directly on them instead of using strips of tape to label the buttons on the apc. WHile the apc mini feels like a better quality product i went with the korg stuff also because there are more people that have to work with this system and they might get confused by the apc's many buttons. Also, the apc mini lacks rotary knobs which I like for controlling cue speeds individually.
I do still have the apc mini, I plan to fool around with it some more to see if it would be usefull for use with a small netbook in outdoor, on-the-fly situations when total control isn't neccesary but having acces to many cuelists and overrides is.
Still, one must admire freestyler's total flexibilty when it comes to configuring for different tasks and controls. There's no other software like it out there.