I'm considering an M50, but I'm concerned about the ability to very rapidly change instruments within a single song during live performance. I'm coming from a laptop setup, where I've done tunes in the past where I've needed 10-12 rapid instrument changes over the course of an 8 minute tune, but obviously I'll have to be a LITTLE more conservative now that I'm using dedicated hardware. But still, something like 6 or 7 is something I'll need to accommodate.
I know that switching combis isn't instantaneous, so I can rule out just keeping each instrument in a separate combi. Besides splits, which I can only do so much of without diminishing each part's range, the other option is dynamic muting. I've heard people here say that's what they do, but what's the best way to trigger it?
Ideally I'd like to trigger the muting of the parts from the chord pads, but the manual doesn't seem to indicate they can be used as controllers. SW1 and SW2 are options but that's not really enough. How do you guys go about setting up combis where you can easily and quickly mute different parts? Or any alternative ideas that provides instantaneous dynamic part switching would be appreciated. Thanks
A dedicated foot controller is probably the easiest way. I use a Behringer FCB 1010. It's very large, but it works fine for quick combi changes.
Browse around the forum and you'll find plenty of other solutions. There are also some videos where bank A-D is used to get 4 "variations" on the same combi by using a single keyclick.
In sequencer mode, there's always one selected track. The tracks that play at any time are the selected track plus any other tracks on the same MIDI channel. Since all the sounds and effect settings are loaded when you load the sequence initially, you can switch the tracks that play by changing the selected track, and it does this seamlessly. If the track field is the selected field, a single button press will do this for you.
The only advantage combi mode has over sequencer mode is that it can send MIDI data on multiple channels at once. If this is a necessity for you, you can either get a programmable MIDI patch bay or other device like the MIDI Solutions Event Processor so you can map data on one channel to several other channels (I'm waiting on my patch bay to come in, and then this is what I'll be doing with my setup), or you'd have to go back to combi mode, in which case you won't get smooth transitions but you can at least use a foot pedal.
If you go with external devices, a patch bay is the better route, since the Event Processor doesn't let you map all data on one channel to another; you have to map the note on messages, note off messages, control change messages, aftertouch messages, pitch bend messages, etc. Since the Event Processor has a limited number of settings (10 for the standard one; 32 for the Event Processor Plus), you'll waste a number of slots doing changes this way. A programmable patch bay, on the other hand (I ordered the MOTU Micro Express) will probably let you do something like map ALL data on channel 13 to channels 5 and 6, for example.
Keyboard Rig: Korg Kronos, Moog Sub 37, Waldorf Blofeld Module, Neo Instruments Ventilator II, Moog MiniFooger Delay, Strymon BigSky, Roland KC-150, Mackie 802-VLZ4 Mixer
In sequencer mode, there's always one selected track. The tracks that play at any time are the selected track plus any other tracks on the same MIDI channel. Since all the sounds and effect settings are loaded when you load the sequence initially, you can switch the tracks that play by changing the selected track, and it does this seamlessly. If the track field is the selected field, a single button press will do this for you.
Excellent! I was scouring the manual and I wasn't sure at all that playing the selected track would trigger all other tracks set to the same MIDI channel. If that's for sure the way it behaves, then sequencer mode is perfect! And with the track field selected, the data entry buttons can be used to increment/decrement?
Guess I need to go buy 2 SD cards (one for backup of course)
By the way, that's interesting that combi mode is the only mode that lets you send on multiple channels. I'll have to keep that in mind for when I re-integrate my laptop into the setup (which is probably going to be as soon as I need a decent realistic orchestra, or a smoother/more flexible VA). Then again, with a laptop I can just re-map anything I want in software
Yes, the normal Inc/Dec buttons will work when the track field is selected.
At least, everything I've said works on the TR, and I don't think this part of the architecture changed in any significant way when moving to the M50. If something I've said *is* incorrect, post it here; maybe someone else would know, or interested parties can figure out a better way of using the M50 for live performances.
Keyboard Rig: Korg Kronos, Moog Sub 37, Waldorf Blofeld Module, Neo Instruments Ventilator II, Moog MiniFooger Delay, Strymon BigSky, Roland KC-150, Mackie 802-VLZ4 Mixer
