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View Full Version : Looking into using my Akai MPK49 to control my Virus Snow like a Virus Desktop

sp33s
20.06.2012, 03:01 PM
I recently bought the Snow, which was my first synth ever. But I noticed I love turning the knobs more than turning on my PC and starting Ableton or some sort of VST host.

Now I can't easily switch to a TI Desktop, so I was thinking if it was possible to put my MPK49 to use.

http://i.imgur.com/3HtQC.jpg

I did a quick count though, and there are 28 knobs on the Virus Desktop, aside from the Volume and three softknobs which are on the Snow as well. So there are some concerns. The MPK has 3x8 knobs (bank A, B and C), which is not enough to cover all the knobs the Desktop has. Aside from that there are quite some buttons, and I'm not sure where I should place those.

In short:
http://i.imgur.com/Zfhd6.jpg

Well not completely true. I am a very technical person, but I would like a lead on which route to take for such a matter. And whether it's a smart thing to do or not. Perhaps there are better alternatives?
MarPabl
20.06.2012, 04:09 PM
Check this thread: Virus TI ReMOTE Templates v0.7 - Now with sysex (http://www.infekted.org/virus/showthread.php?t=30856)

There are "more knobs" on the Virus Desktop, because there's the Shift button which will double the available knobs... But you also have 24 sliders which you can use just as a knob.

There's also usage for the buttons, because there are also buttons on the TI Desktop (for example to change LFO mode from normal to envelope)
enossified
20.06.2012, 05:46 PM
Find the section in the Virus manual(s) that describe the MIDI CCs. Choose which are of most importance to you and map those to the knobs and sliders of the MPK 49 (read the manual on how to do this). Don't forget the Snow has it's own five knobs which will not need to be remapped.
DarkstaR
21.06.2012, 06:58 PM
I think it works best if you only assign the most commonly used parameters. I used one of those BCR2000's in the past to control software synths, but it was quicker to just click with the mouse. I could never remember which encoder did what, so I ended up changing the wrong parameters all the time.