Audio interface fader is changing pitch not volume

P

Paul Kench

New member
I have a studiologic sl880 fatar keyboard and am using cubase 10 le and a new problem has arisen. I played in a section of music which I could hear on playback, I then went to change the volume fader on my audio interface and the fader is controlling the ptich and not the volume, can anyone help me here I have spent hours trying to fix the setting and now I cant even get the keyboard to play to an instrument track!!
 
You really need to explain how you are doing things, but I'll try. You have created a MIDI track? So first thing is to make sure you can see the inspector column in the left hand section. You have created a new MIDI track in the second column says input/output channels?
It will say something like MIDI 01 in the name above the illuminated red record button. Depending on how you set it up, this will normally tell you the name of the recording device in the inspector. If you are using a MIDI input, then it might try to use the internal sound system or some other device you have connected. The details are in the inspector box.

We have to assume you might need to tweak this if you have fiddled. Assuming the inspector details a midi input, or usb input or however the fatar is connected, then hitting record should record the notes from it and hearing them will depend on those settings too plus you may need to hit the loudspeaker button to enable monitoring - depends how you have your system setup. Alternatively in the right hand box (these extra panels are selected by some buttons near top right on the screen) in the media tab, click the little house symbol, then VST instruments and what you have installed should appear. I suggest grabbing halion sonic and dropping it in the input output column. select a sound when it appears and at the bottom is a keyboard. mouse click here and see if you hear nots play. If you do, all is well. if not, then your output is not connected. Top menu and look for studio connections - something like that and you will see what is connected. fix it.

Now make sure the fatar is connected in the inspector and play it. Things should happen.

Next - record some notes - just a few bars will do. They will appear as a horizontal bar. Double click them. I don't think you have a list edit feature but you will see the events. the very bottom shows controllers - it normally defaults to pitchbend but other controllers appear there. Your keyboard could be sending volume as cc7, but cc1 (expression) is similar. The mod wheel will probably send modulation as cc1. By switching the bottom to show only one controller type you can see what it is. If your keyboard is sending 7 or 11 but pitchbend happens, this is an output device issue - so if the output synth was halion, you'd look there to see if it had been edited to something weird. Your keyboard could be programmed to send otherr controllers - so if it is sending pitchbend, selecting pitchbend in cubase edit window will show you if that works.

Upshot is it could be the keyboard, general cubase settings or synth specific setting within cubase as a plug in.

Normally stuff like this happens when you have fiddled.
Creating a new project and starting simple usually cures it. If the fatar has been fiddled - you need to fix it so it sends volume and/or. mod plus pitchbend
 
So thanks so much to Rob, your advice moved me on but still not fully resolved. I opened a previous small project that has a vst track and it plays fine. I made a new midi track and dropped Halion Se into it as advised and I can play and hear the piano keyboard at the bottom of the Halion window with the mouse but not with the studiologic midi keyboard. I can also see midi input signal coming in to Cubase on the input meter when I press the midi keyboard. Also pressing keys on the piano keyboard changes things in Cubase, ie. changes from bars and beats to seconds on the time scale. I have changed the settings on the Fatar keyboard and have managed to even control the pitch bend on the Halion screen but still no notes being entered or heard! This weekend I will take a midi keyboard home from my work and test a different keyboard but I am wondering if there might be any more ideas that someone could advise me to try. Thanks.
 
Studio - studio setup. Have you got anything accidentally set up there to enable remote control - I use some buttons on one of my master keyboards to control cubase transport controls? Maybe these have been imported with something you loaded? Plus your keyboard can probably send controllers mapped to certain keys - so you could take all notes from say, C0 and map them as controller messages maybe - so instead of C0 note on, note off, it sends controller 76 or something? I know the Swissonic I have can control things this way, if I could remember how to do it? Best guess is the keyboard is sending controllers and cubase is responding - the quick controls may be set to a range of incoming rarely used controllers just in case a remote is needed - and if the music keyboard is accidentally sending them ....... It would also explain why you see evidence of MIDI activity but not notes? Swapping the fatar would prove it.
 
Thanks Rob I am afraid that you are losing me when you say use C0 and map as controller messages, although I do get what you mean I have no idea how that would be done, I will check out the remote control idea and the quick controls. I am quite good with the audio side of things but way behind when it comes to midi technology, do you know of any good book or course that I could get/do to bring myself up to speed on this stuff. cheers Paul
 
Sadly Paul - the old idiots guide books are long gone - but there is an excellent Steinberg forum, and Steinberg will always try to help.

What I mean is that normally a keyboard sends out note messages - D2 was pressed at this time and this hards on this channel, then it was released at this time. A sequence of note messages. Continuous controllers are an alternative to note messages in the MIDI system. They are what are sent when you wiggle joysticks or turn wheels and knobs. So raising a fader for volume - would send a CC7 (continuous controller number 7) message - time and value - so the first one could be bar 1, measure 1 sub division 1 at volume 1. As you push it, a whole stream of messages gets sent, with the time changing and the volume rising each time - until 127 is full volume. If you look in the cubase edit window, under the notes in the grid you can select to see the fader moving as a curve or a line - which if you want, you can edit.

CC messages are used for volume, expression, modulation, pan, reverb, sustain - and loads of odd ones like breath control. The keyboards can often be set to stop sending a certain note, or range of notes and send CC messages - so you could program a low C that rarely gets played as a message to do something - like go into record, or rewind back to the start. Your DAW can nowadays do this itself, inside a VSTi for example - it listens for C0 and when it hears one, instead of playing it, it does something different - like change the sound. Modern master keyboards have less need to send controller on-off messages, but the cleverer ones can do it. Engaging a preset that has these set up make you think something has gone wrong, when it hasn't - you just need a reset.
 
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