Wow. Is that the time! 3 ‘o clock already.
I’m down in my diary to be watching Tipping Point, The Chase, Randall and Hopkirk (deceased), and Minder. But I’ll be back in about 10 hours. That should give you enough time to Google anything you don’t know.
I found some Philps 11’ cables W/‘gold’ connectors at Staples. $21.99. Quality? Yes? No? I could get these today.
What cable are you talking about? Midi or USB, or both?
USB. Staple doesn’t carry MIDI cables.
Pete, I see Cubase 15 just got released. How long will Cubase 15 be good for before Cubase 16 arrives?
And is there a trial period for Cubase 15 Artist this time? Thanks.
@trakhause01
Assuming the cables you currently own are all working correctly, you don’t actually need any additional cables.
Steinberg always offers trial licenses for Cubase. Just download and install via Steinberg Download Assistant and you’re good to go.
@Pete_Cockcroft I have worked professionally in the audio world for over 2 decades and have a degree in electrical engineering. What are your credentials? Snark won’t get you anywhere trying to defend snake oil.
If it’s just for your keyboard Midi then the Phillips should be ok. But make sure it has ‘90 Ohms’ somewhere on the documentation. You are looking for USB2.
If streaming digital audio from the keyboard, then a 3m Supra cable would be the best choice at £50.
Thanks. Yes., USB2. That’s the ‘square’ looking connector on one end and the regular ‘flat’ type USB connector on the other. Correct Pete?
To add to the details from MJ, here are the steps I used to get my M-Audio Keystation 88 Mk3 transport buttons working with Cubase (v15 Pro).
In summary, you need to:
Hope these notes are of some use. As others have noted, the K88 Mk2 doesn’t work in the same way (and Mk1 didn’t have transport controls iirc).
The Keystation 88 manual describes how you can set the protocol used to send the transport messages
1 - Press the Advanced button to get the keyboard into Edit Mode.
2 - Press the key labelled “Mackie/Hui” (or “DAW”). Note: “+” and “-” LEDs will be lit green when in Mackie Control mode, red when in HUI mode.
3 - Press Enter.
Pressing that key will toggle between green & red. I used Mackie Control (green).
Also from the manual:
[Mackie controls] are sent on Virtual Port 2.
In Studio > Studio Setup… > MIDI Port Setup there should be two inputs available:
The first – Keystation 88 – transmits the regular MIDI notes together with any Pitch, Mod Wheel and Volume data. I’ve left the “All MIDI Inputs” enabled for this, so they’re picked up by any Instrument that’s set to use “All MIDI Inputs”.
The second – MIDIIN2 (Keystation 88) – is the “Virtual Port 2”, mentioned in the manual, that’s used to transmit our Transport button data. Untick the “All MIDI Inputs” for this Port because, in Mackie mode, it sends Note data that we don’t want to pass on to Instruments.
As per Martin J’s steps above (basics repeated here):
Go to Studio > MIDI Remote Manager then click the [+ Add Surface] button.
Fill in the Vendor (M-Audio), Model (Keystation 88 Mk3), Script Creator . For the Input Port, choose the “MIDIIN2” Port . I didn’t need an Output Port.
Go through adding the buttons as Martin describes. When editing the Surface, as you select the physical button on the Keystation, the data that’s sent can be displayed in the right hand panel. Click the “MIDI Monitor” Icon to see the detail. Selecting the entry in the Monitor panel, e.g. Note 98, will pre-fill the information for you, assigning that note to the selected button.
n.b. If, instead of Note information, you see Control Change (CC) information in the MIDI Monitor, you’re probably in the wrong Protocol [see step a) above]. [Aside: using CC info rather than Notes might work but Cubase’s MIDI Remote requires unique controller numbers. The Keystation in HUI mode appears to send different values on the same controller number, hence we use Mackie Control mode which uses different Notes. Hope that makes sense.]
Click on the [> Go to Mapping Assistant] button. In the Mapping Assistant, press your physical Keystation button and select a Cubase function you want to control with it. Click [Apply Mapping]. Repeat for other buttons.
There are 8 buttons on the K88. Five “Direction” buttons (Up, Down, Left, Right, Centre) and three “Transport” buttons (Stop, Start, Record). I mapped Left & Right to the equivalent “Go To L/R Locator” command, the Centre button to Transport Cycle, Up to “Edit Channel Settings”, Down to “Edit Instrument”. You may have different preferences – choose these in the Mapping Assistant.
a) Your MIDI Ports should now reflect the use of MIDIIN2 with the MIDI Remote
b) Adding an Instrument that uses “All MIDI Inputs” should allow notes, pitch, mod wheel, volume to be “heard” (and captured when recording).
c) Pressing the K88’s physical controls should activate the related Transport method, Locator, Edit screen etc.. You shouldn’t hear any notes being played on the selected Instrument.
