Emu, Evolution Or Roland ????

[rxkevco]

Hi all,
have recently added a Novation drumstation to my rack, but not had a chance as yet to have a decent play around with it. Am going to need a midi controller keyboard to be able to trigger the drumstation, but am undecided as to which one to go for ?? Using midi is new to me, having managed to get away without REALLY needing it so far, but, the time has come. !!!
I am limited to ebay at the moment, and looking at the evolution mk 149, and 249, also the emu 25.
I am very new to all this and am wondering how on earth is this 25, or whatever key controller going to trigger the drumstation ??
does it control each drumsound with each different key ?? can the controllers with knobs , control realtime changes from the rack unit. ? Am very confused to be honest. most of these controllers only refer to their wonderful compatibilitys with computers and usb. Do they work as effectivly with a rack device ??
I have a yamaha dgx 300 portable grand, and will be taking on board a korg ms 2000 in the next few days. Do i really need a seperate midi controller at all ??????????? OH MY,,,,, MY HEAD HURTS..
cheers, all. kev.

 

[ssscientist]

does it control each drumsound with each different key ??

Yes.

can the controllers with knobs , control realtime changes from the rack unit. ?

That's not a function of the controller but of the rack unit. If you got a manual with your DrumStation look at the midi implementation chart in the back. If it has a bunch of Continuous Controller numbers listed as 'assignable' or their functions preselected ('pitch drum 1', 'decay drum 2', etc) then the answer is yes. Knowing Novation I have a hard time imagining that they'd bring out a product that didn't respond to Continuous Controller information.

And yes, they work very well with a rack device within certain limits. If you're going thru a computer and using a USB 1.0 or 1.1 interface you can expect a certain amount of latency -- that what the phenomenon of striking a key and hearing a little delay before the sound is triggered is called. With Firewire or USB 2.0 the delay is so small most musicians don't even notice it. If you're not going thru a computer but just plugging the controller straight into the rack you won't have any latency problems but you will have a problem recording your drum parts because the DrumStation is just a sound module - it has no sequencer or midi recorder.

And once you get hold of the MS2000 --- if it's the keyboard version --- you will be able to use that as a midi controller. The knobs on the front panel send Continuous Controllers, but they're intended to allow you to record filter sweeps and many other tricky sound modifications along with your sequence. They will work with the DrumStation too, but you'll need to figure out which knob on the Korg controls which function on the Novation.

Here are links to two good articles on midi basics - part one and part two. There are three more articles in this same serieson the same web site so you might want to bookmark it.

 

[rxkevco]

SSSCIENTIST, many thanks for the reply, and the links. I have been reading up a bit on midi anyway, just having a headache sorting out the drumstation.
the links are great, thanks.
You say that a midi controller or the yam/korg will do the job of controlling and assigning keys to sounds, but wont record the midi files ?????
But it surely will record to a multitracker ?? i have a fostex fd 8, which i am hoping to eventually record keyboard, drumstation guitars ect,,, are you saying that i WILL be able to use a controller to trigger drumstation sounds, BUT WONT BE ABLE TO RECORD TO ANY FORMAT ????
Still a little confused ????? It may help if i tell you my setup, but please dont slate my system, its all i can afford at the moment as i am not serious enough or knowlegable to spend better cash on better equipment,,, here goes,,,,,
FOSTEX FD 8 (30GB HDD)
SAMSON POWER AMP RACK
BEHRINGER ULTRAVIOCE PRE -AMP( for phantom power for mic) RACK
BEHRINGER 4 BAND PARAMETRIC EQ RACK
NOVATION DRUMSTATION RACK
BOSS SX 700 FX RACK
ART SGX FX RACK
BEHRINGER PATCHBAY RACK
MXL 990 CONDENSOR MIC
ALESIS POINT 7 MONITORS
YAMAHA DGX PORTABLE GRAND
KORG MS 2000B
WASHBURN AND YAMAHA ELECTRIC AND ACOUSTIC GUITARS
FENDER PRINCETON AMP
VARIETY OF FLOOR BASED FX FOR GUITARS

I hope this might give you a better idea of what i am working with and as i say, i know its ll budget stuff really, but untill i get a bit more knowledgable, i aint spending another penny in the wrong place.
I do hope someone can clarify the points above.
many thanks, kev

 

[altitude909]

He is refering to recording and multitracking MIDI data (not audio) so what you are missing is something to record the midi tracks

 

[rxkevco]

After reading the links ssscientist recommended i do understand a little better, and have just clicked what he meant. Sooooo,,, i need a sequencer dont i ???
This opens up another point of confusion,,, sorry.
Why do i need a multitracker if i can record audio, via midi,, convert it into midi data,,, record the midi data onto a sequencer,,, then its all done , ready for any editing and then transfer to cd or whatever !!!!!!
WHY the need for a multitracker at all. ?? I might as well get shut of it, buy cubase and sit in front of the computer scratching my head. or has the penny suddenly dropped ????cheers, kev.

 

[DavidK]

Sooooo,,, i need a sequencer dont i ???
This opens up another point of confusion,,, sorry.
Why do i need a multitracker if i can record audio, via midi,, convert it into midi data,,, record the midi data onto a sequencer,,,

A. Yup, you probably need a sequencer

B. Think of midi is a player piano roll, a very sophisticated one. The multitracker is for recording audio, the midi just plays your keyboards for you. You need the multitracker for recording it, adding eq and reverb, all that stuff.

Once you get the general concept, you will probably love the sequencer. You can use it in a million ways, like a tape recorder if you want. You can play things slow and speed em up, correct rythmic errors with one button (quantize), change keys, change instrument sounds midstream, play drums with your keyboard, on and on.

As per your original question, I have the evolution 149. It's merely a 49key keyboard for midi, that's about it. I didnt have any money or space when I got it, if it were today I would buy one with at least 61 keys ( as opposed to 49).

 

[ssscientist]

After reading the links ssscientist recommended i do understand a little better, and have just clicked what he meant. Sooooo,,, i need a sequencer dont i ???
This opens up another point of confusion,,, sorry.
Why do i need a multitracker if i can record audio, via midi,, convert it into midi data,,, record the midi data onto a sequencer,,, then its all done , ready for any editing and then transfer to cd or whatever !!!!!!
WHY the need for a multitracker at all. ?? I might as well get shut of it, buy cubase and sit in front of the computer scratching my head. or has the penny suddenly dropped ????cheers, kev.

I guess instead of assuming you had a computer that was set up for music duties I should have made my answer general enough that it could cover your hardware setup too.

My advice would be for you to join us in the 21st Century by getting your computer - or another computer bought specifically for the purpose - ready to record both audio and midi. The Fostex is now 6 years old (at least) and probably ready to be retired. You will find that if you do buy a second-hand computer you won't need the most current machine to run an audio/midi sequencer. A PIII with a 1kHz CPU would do just fine as a starter machine.

If I may be so bold as to gently prod you to spend a few more quid and make some recommendations for your next purchases, download the Tracktion demo. Here's a link to it --- LINK. There's guaranteed to be less head scratching for the same or better results with Tracktion. I use it myself and find it very stable and the workflow very good. If you like it as much as I do, buy it here. For an audio/midi interface, this is what I've used for almost two years and have had no problems at all.