MIDI Tips

GETTING THE 505 WORKING WITH CUBASE 2 [Aaron N.]

To get a pattern from the 505 on to cubase.

on the computer:

1.hit "shift"+"control"+"m" set the BPM for the track, and later on you can also cause tempo changes from here.

on the 505:

1. Set the 505 to "slave" mode

on the computer:

2. Make sure that Cubases sync out is set to the midi source that your 505 is connected to. (not sure, as I don't have cubase in front of me right now, but I believe the syncronization section is in the "option" section of cubase)

3. Hit record on cubase and begin recording (the 505 should be playing while this is occuring in sync to cubase)

4. After cubase has received the pattern, turn off the sync out

5. Set the left locater of cubase at the beginning of the pattern and the right locator at the end of the pattern that has been placed into cubase. Go to cubase's "function" section and select "remix". go ahead and delete the initial track that cubase recorded (what was present before peforming the remix function)

On the 505:

2.Take the 505 off "slave mode" and reset it's syncronization to internal or remote.

At this point you can play back from cubase (there is not need to have the 505 synced to it at all.....it just needs to receive the midi info from Cubase) and you can also record any volume, ASDR, cutoff, etc. changes into cubase.

GETTING THE 505 WORKING WITH CUBASE [Rutger]

OK, here we go:

put your midi 'in' cable in the 505's 'out' and the 'out in the 505's 'in' and deselect midi 'thru' on the 505.
start Cubase
press CTRL + N for a new clean window.
go to menu options > chase events > and deselect it.
press CTRL + T to create a new track
press CTRL + shift + M to give in the mastertempo of your recording in BPM.
press with status bar visible (F12) the M button to activate the Master tempo.
deactivate 'in' and 'out' on the status bar ('i' and 'o' key on your keyboard).
start recording on Cubase (rec. button on status bar or * button at right side of the keyboard).
Wait let's say two measures and press start on the 505 (don't bother if it's of beat)
record your pattern (all your tracks) at once into Cubase.
stop the 505 and stop Cubase (status bar or space bar).
You've now recorded one track.
Select this track with mouse and double click or press CTRL + E.
select all in this track with CTRL + A
delete all with CTRL + X.
go to the first measure of your track ('1' at the right side of the keyboard or with the 'home' key and press CTRL + V.
press enter to leave the edit screen.
now put the left locator at the beginning of the track (left mouse button at top of main window) and the right button at the end of the track (right mouse button).
go to menu structure and select the remix function.
et voila! All midi info on it's own channel!
name all tracks with double clicking on the track name, give in a name and press CTRL + enter to finish.

There's much more to tell about Cubase but maybe it's an idea the buy the original version (no warez) which comes with a tutorial cd and a highly illustrated getting started guide.

RECORDING RPSs TO SP-808 [rEalm]

Here's a few tips and ideas if you're working on using your sp808 for doing RPS type stuff. First off, write your RPS in the 505, for this example, we'll say it's a drum build. Now, also record your volume change into the pattern, this will free up your hands later. Also it gives a you a chance to get it perfect now, instead of having to rerecord it later. Be sure you don't start at a volume of 0 though, or else you won't be able to hear the beginning of it in the mix. I'd recommend a value of around 35-40. Make sure you set the LOOP REST in the 505 to ON when you record the volume build, otherwise it can be a pain in the ass. Once you're done, call up an effect in the 505 like Flanger. Now specify the rate to be tempo synched, and set it to double to the pattern length. I.E. if your pattern is 8 measures long, set the rate at 16 measures. This way, you'll get that nice long flange sound that will peak at the exact moment your build stops. You may need to play with the OFFSET a bit to get it dialed in perfect, sometimes the flange sound will start halfway through it's cycle. Now slowly add more and more effect while recording (by using the EFX level knob). Up until this point, you can still do all of this with just the 505, and then assign that part to an RPS. Keep in mind, the effects could change in actual use though (it usually still sounds cool), depending on what effect you have recorded into the currently playing pattern. Live tips at the bottom of this email.

808er's read on:

Ok, now it's time to record that pattern into the 808 as a RPS build. Instead of recording to a pad, or regular sampling mode, record to a track. Set the desired tempo in the 808. Yes, unlike regular RPS's in the 505, this will be a fixed tempo. If you're like me though, you play at a set tempo anyways, so it's no big deal. Now have the 808 send MIDI CLOCK as the sync source, and set the 505 to SLAVE. Connect your audio out from the 505 to the inputs of the 808, MIDI out from the 808 to MIDI in of the 505. Play back the 505's pattern and adjust the 808's input level while watching the level display. Pay particular attention to the end of the build, where everything is the loudest. Once you have the levels set correctly, set the 808's display to show you track recording, hit REC, then PLAY. When the pattern is done, trim off any extra you have at the end of it. For example, if your pattern was 8 measure long, trim off anything after the end of the 8th measure in the 808. Now you can do cool things like add effects while bouncing that track to another one. Try doing things like adding even more flange, phasers, tape delays, etc. Huge reverbs work well, especially if you add more and more as it plays, and then leave the reverb tail on at the end. (Ras, you could sample your big bomb noise here in the track too) Once you get it where you want it, position the song pointer over the track with the final version of your sample (erase the other versions too, or save them and use them elsewhere). Now press MARK to highlight that track's data. Press MARK again, this time hold it in and press CLIPBOARD too. Now the sample is stored on the CLIPBOARD and you can copy to any PAD you want. Go to the sample parameters page, and set it to trigger in DRUM mode. That way, you only have to tap the pad to get the whole sample to play from start to end. This beats pressing the chiclet and holding it on the 505, or using the HOLD button and having to release it at the right time.

This may seem like a lot of work, but it actually doesn't take that long to get some pretty cool effects, and gives you more flexibility IMO. The only downside, is that once you sample the build, it's set at that tempo. Unless of course you use the VARISPEED function of the 808, in which case you can slow it down a certain amount too. But that's another story :)

Live Tips:

Ok, so one of the biggest problems about triggering RPS's live, is the timing involved. Some believe the 505 has some delays that actually work against you in making a build trigger perfectly (myself included). Others believe that it's due to user error in timing. Either way, here's an easy fix. If you're triggering from the chiclets on the 505, you can quickly tell if it's out of sync. Just release the chiclet, then keep retriggering it every measure. Finally on your 4th measure, hold it in and let it play out. Usually after tapping it like this, you can get it very close to what it's supposed to be. And it sure beats having the whole build play out of time. This way, only 1 measure is off, and the final build will be right where you want it to be.

If you're triggering from the 808's pads, and they're set to DRUM, it's even easier. Just keep tapping the pad in time with the beat, and then let it go at the end of a 4th multiple measure. I.E. 4th, 8th, 16th, etc...

THINGS NATURE NEVER INTENDED [Rob]

Here's a weird drum tip I like to mess around with...You can get some cool effects on your drums if you've got a computer and a drum sequencer. I would use "fruity loops". (there is a free demo that should work for this, and don't let the name fool you, it's probably the best TR style drum programmer out there). OK, using one drum sound, fill all the notes in a 16 step sequence with it. Jack the tempo in fuity loops up to a multiple of 4-5 times the tempo on the 505 pattern (700-900 BPM or so is good). Change the volumes (velocity?)of the notes in fruity loops to sound kinda rhythmic at 700-900 BPM. I think this is probably the most important part to how the finished product will sound (It will almost sound like pure noise, but it should have a subtle rhythm to it) Also, don't mess with the panning in fruityloops, as this will pan your whole rhythm track in the 505. Set the quantize of the 505 to a 16th or something and record the sequence in fruity loops into the 505. See what happens with this, experiment some more, explore, do things nature never intended! Be careful that if you don't like how it sounds when played back through the 505 that you hit undo before doing something else or you'll have to go in manually through the microscope mode and remove a few billion notes you don't want:) Now maybe go back and record the original sound over the top of it using the arpeggiator and a complimentary rhythm. Sometimes using this method will sound like crap, but other times you'll get some truly unique effects that would be impossible to 'program'. Have fun!

WICKED STATIC-Y SNARE ROLLS [TeChNeeK]

drew Version II wrote:

> Has anyone heard the song "Come to daddy" by Aphex Twin? I'm curious
> as to how to get some snare rolls/parts on my 505 to sound as WICKED
> as the ones on that song do. You know, really distorted, sounds like
> "digital static", with what sounds like lots of weird harmonics thrown
> in. Any suggestions?

First: Set MC-505 as slave
Install instrument definition file into Calkwalk 7.0
Connect Midi in to MC-505 and Midi out on PC
Set MC 505 for transmit both (see manual)

I'd try to duplicate the roll to a midi file.....perhaps calkwalk would be nice, match tempo within cakewalk and save the file. The duplicate the MIDI file "track" to track 2 . With the first file assign you MC-505 channel for rhythm (10) and select the snare of choice and preview and tweak until you get at least the snare sound close, apply effects, of course. With the second track find the guitar harmonics selection from standard presets and tweak for the just right harmonic sound. Preview both at once and compare to sample and in 2 hours and a pot of joe' you should be right there.

SAVING A PATTERN OF THE MC505 IN CUBASE [Nitro]

(note: the following is my method to save/restore the patterns in cubase => there are other ways to work. Sorry if sometimes I'm redundant etc.: I've tried to be quick to post this... =:O)

SAVING THE PATTERN: (btw: I use vst 3.65r0):

(we'll record the notes first, then the bulk dump)

mc505: master (shift + 11, sync = int) in cubase (it will be the slave, see below):
audio/disable audio
options/midi setup: midi thru is unchecked (and I use only the midi input(s) that I need)
create (or keep) four midi tracks (we'll record the notes here)
options/midi filter: sysex recording can be checked if you use "mode2" of the mc505 (the filter is active: no sysex now); if you use "mode1" uncheck it
options/synchronization: sync source - tempo base: midi clock; from input: <your midi input here> (here are some of my other settings: 384ppqn (btw: cubase always uses 384 ppqn during recording...); system preroll: 50 (the minimum); bar display: -4 (sometimes I use the first four bars as a setup))
loop mode: disabled (press "/" on your numerical keypad)
options/multirecord/active (record all the channels of the mc505 at once)
options/multirecord/channel split
click on the "R" column and use these settings: track1=> ch1, 5, 9, 13; track2=> ch2, 6, 10, 14; track3=> ch3, 7, 11, 15; track4=> ch4, 8, 12, 16
"Chn" column: channel "any" for every track (=>playback on the associated midi channel)
options/metronome: I use no midi click, no audio click and no precount
mc505: unmute all the parts and the rhythm groups
cubase: choose a position for the right locator (right click); the left locator is on the 1st bar (...wow...)
save this file (CTRL+S) to have a *template* to start from the next time (for the other patterns)
my "punch in" button is active, but the "punch out" is inactive (*I* will choose where to stop)
on the transport bar click on the "sync" and "rec" buttons
mc505: shift+bwd (go to the 1st beat of the 1st bar)
mc505: press play (cubase starts recording from the left locator and it will stop when the stop button will be pressed on the mc505. For example I like to have two complete repetitions of the pattern) one note: you can also filter the unused midi channels here: options/midi filter, then click on the numbers of the channels that you want to "disable". (now we check if the recording was ok)
mc505: mute everything (part mute + part select)
cubase: options/synchronization - sync source/tempo base: internal
click on the "sync" button of the transport bar (=> disabled
press "1" on your numerical keypad (=>go to the left locator), then Enter (=>play). You should hear the original pattern now. Decide which is the portion (bar range) that you want to keep. (btw: press "/" on the numerical keypad if you want to enable the loop mode during playback). Since we will use the "remix" function, place the right locator (right click) after the end of the portion that you want to keep
select ONE of the multitracks; choose structure/remix. Do the same with every multitrack. You can now delete the multitracks since now there's a track for each channel
if the notes were recorded with an offset we can, for example, use the kicks (etc.) to visually see which is the right number of ticks to use to move the notes: double click on the drum track (=>key editor) and look for the kick notes; don't close the key editor and open the logical editor too (CTRL + L)
click on the "expert" button of the logical editor and choose preset: push forward functions: transform processing: position plus <the number of ticks that you need (use the key editor)> click on the "do it" button (use the "undo" button when/if needed)
when the kicks are ok use that number of ticks on the other tracks: in the arrange window select the other parts (shift+click); open the logical editor again and apply the same transformation
Use the eraser and the scissors to keep only the bar range that you want. Save the file again (CTRL+S)
create another track for the bulk dump (CTRL+T) and name it "sysex" or something similar
disable multirecord; mute all the tracks except for the "sysex" one (click on the "M" column)
options/midi filter: sysex record must be unchecked now
I usually record the dump at 80bpm. Options/synchronization - tempo base: internal. On the mc505: shift+11 sync=int
loop mode: disabled (press "/" on the numerical keypad). Place the locators on the correct positions.
on the mc505: shift+16, select the "ALL" type of dumping
select the sysex track; start recording (press "1" and "*" on your numerical keypad)
press Enter on the mc505 to send the data
when the display of the mc505 indicates the pattern again you can stop the recording (press "0" on the numerical keypad)
check if the sysex were recorded (press "1" and then CTRL+G to open List Editor)
when everything is ok save the file (CTRL+S)

RESTORING THE PATTERN on the mc505:

mc505: select the TMP pattern (if you want to initialize it: shift+write) (load in cubase the file that contains the pattern)
mc505: shift+16, go to the "receive" page
cubase: mute all the tracks except for the "sysex" one
start playback (press "1" and Enter on your numerical keypad)
when the mc505 has finished receiving the dump stop the playback (press "0" on the numerical keypad). Press Exit on the mc505
now we restore the notes: mute the sysex track in cubase and unmute all the other ones
mc505: shift+11 sync=slave
cubase: options/synchronization - tempo base: internal, sync out: <your midi out port here>
note: I usually have empty bars ("dummy" bars) before and after the parts with the musical data; to have a similar situation use the locators and move the parts (if necessary).
mc505: press REC, (page >) Count=0, Loop Rest=off (and obviously choose the right number of bars for the pattern!)
start recording the notes in the mc505 (=>press "1" and then Enter on your numerical keypad). Stop before arriving at the right locator ("0" on the num keypad)
mc505: shift+11 sync=int
mc505: restore the original tempo ("tempo/mixer" button and dial)
mc505: restore the right mute/unmute settings
mc505: press the "Patch" button and save the user and/or the modified patches to vacant user memory locations
mc505: press the "Ptn/song" button, press "write" and save the pattern into a vacant user memory location

note: if you have problems check your midi cables and ports too!

REBIRTH PATTERNS IN THE 505 [Jimmy]

Convert a rebirth file to midi and transfer it to the 505. Then create some kind of a 303 patch that sounds good when it is distorted (you know - like rebirth sounds distorted). Then adjust the cutoff and reso level so that the sounds begins to distort when you turn down the cutoff knob a little (but keep it above the "dist" point). Now have one of the LFOs to control filter cutoff (I use filter depth -32) and set keysync=on and tempo sync=on and set rate=whole notes ( o ). Now turn on the overdrive effect for the part (input=127,drive=100). You should have a patch that plays normally without dist at fast notes (=most of the notes from rebirth files) and that distorts at long notes (=the glides in rebirth). This sounds very cool as you get dist at the glides only. I personally love this effect.....just created a kick ass pattern with it. If it distorts all the time, just adjust the cutoff level/filter type/lfo filter depth or whatever you can think of. It pretty much depends on what patch you use. (I use the 006:TB Saw waveform in my patch).

INTERESTING CUTOFF EFFECT WITH EXTERNAL CONTROLLER [Ras]

If you have an external Cutoff controller you can twiddle this and the 505 Cutoff controller at the same time and produce some 'interesting' results. If one is kept low and the other is high you can jump between high and low frequency cutoffs.

I haven't done anything useful with this yet.

JP-8000 AND MC-505 MIDI TALKING [?]

See HTML file for translation of controllers

MIDI SYNC [?]

I'm not sure If I've mentioned it before, but this is a really handy tip for syncing your gear up:

I USE an MSQ100 for my master clock. I plug my controller keyboard into it (MIDI in). The midi out goes to my MIDI gear (incl 505!) and the sync out goes to my sync gear (303,606,x0x etc whatever). To start the whole mess, I press start on the msq. the 505 starts, along with everything else... now, I can PRESS STOP on the 505, and everything else KEEPS PLAYING. I can mess around with settings, change patterns... turn it on & off when it goes all screwey (with my x0x drum machine keeping a 4/4 beat - eh, SUbWooFEr?), put it in RECORD mode, whatever.) Then I PRESS START, and it KEEPS IN SYNC with the rest of my stuff!!!

SETTING THE 505 AS SOUND SOURCE MODULE WITH CAKEWALK [VeloCity]

Drew, The Lawnmover sounds a little more like a Strimmer. <grin>

If you were after a more detailed explanation, here it is:

I am assuming that you are using the piano roll page and drawing in your notes/sequences.

Get the MC505.ins file (can be found in onelist files section)
In Cakewalk, go to Options > Instruments > Define > Add??(from memory, I'm at work)
Add the MC505.ins file (Instrument definition file)
Go Options > Instruments. In the instruments list you will now see your beloved 505, 505 rhythm and 505 RPS.
Map the 505 sounds to channels 1-7.
Map the rhythm to channel 10.
Map RPS to channel 15? (I think this is right? Check your manual)

OK, so you have now set up your instrument file, which will let you select your patches by bank and by name, the same way you would normally do it on your 505.

Righty-o, now we will set up your studio template.

Open a new project.
On the first track, double-click in the Patch box, this will open the track properties box.
In source, select Midi channel 1.
Go straight to Channel and select 1. If you have mapped your instruments properly, you will now see Roland MC505 come up in the Port box.
Continue this for 2 - 7 and also for 10. (RPS too if you want)
Now go to File > Save as and in the drop down box for file type (it will be saying normal) select Template.
Call it something funky (mine's called Mingshui Studios, that's the name of the street I live on) so you remeber it easily.

OK, so know you have set up your 505 to be a sound source and set up your studio template. Next time you want to write a song, just open **** Studios and all of your channels are mapped. Just go straight to Patch, select your desired patch, enter piano roll and start sequencing. When playing back from cakewalk, all of your knobs and sliders will still work, giving you a scratchpad to demo mixes before writing effects/sweeps/envelope and Cutoff/Res into Cakewalk. (Which will all be available to you in the Control section in Piano roll once the .INS file is installed)

As for the 505 itself, I can't remember off the top of my head what needs to be set where, but you will find that in your manual. Hope this was of some help (also for rEalm, if he hasn't had this passed on by someone else)

I don't cut grass, I just smoke it. . . . . . . .

veloCity

j, please correct any spelling mistakes =)

[oh man, have I been correcting people's spelling for THAT long?? :) ]

SETTING THE 505 TO PLAY AN EXTERNAL MODULE WHILE NOT SOUNDING INTERNAL SOUNDS (EVEN WHEN YOU HIT CHICKLETS) [drK]

If you go into the MIDI page of options for the whole box and set the TX switch for a part to E(xt) then the chicklet will not transmit to the local tone module. So, for the application that started this whole discussion - playing an external sound for *any* arbitrary pattern's part do the following: (this is trying to boil down the whole thread for someone trying to get it from just here)

Set the external synth to receive on the parts designated MIDI channel, for instance part 1 on MIDI 1.
Set the MIDI option for the MC505, Tx, so that the designated part only transmits to E(xternal). This will direct the Mc505 keybd and controllers to the external synth only
For each pattern set the pattern MIDI options to E(xternal)

Later, Douglas Kraul

IDEAS ON WAYS OF SETTING UP THE 505 TO TRIGGER A SAMPLER [Rob B.]

Hey realm, I've got a similar setup to yours (505 and sampler - mine's a S2000) and I've been thinking about that 'controlling the sampler from the 505' issue as you have - here's what I came up with:

If you're like me you're using the sampler mostly for triggering one-shot loops and samples, rather than 'playing' instruments such as a piano. If you do want to play a piano, I don't think there's any way around using an entire channel for this. You can't really complain about that.

METHOD 1

This first method involves no changes to the 505 OS as it stands, but involves losing your 505 drum track. You've probably guessed where I'm heading already - the drum mute buttons effectively mute parts of a channel. This allows you to have 8 'banks' of loops in your sampler which you can individually switch in and out. As I'm sure you all know, if you have two different kicks in your pattern, muting the kick kills them both (it's the same for snares, hats and so on - which can be a bummer at times but anyway...). Likewise, you could set your sampler to have 2 loops on notes corresponding to these 2 kicks and muting the kick will kill both. Having 8 switchable loops (or more loops grouped) running together at once is gonna sound really full on! That's a lot of loopage!

The obvious down side is you lose your 505 drums. There are two workarounds for this: 1. record you 505 drums into the sampler. OK your gonna lose some flexibility here, but on the up side it means you don't have to use your 505 Lo-Fi or Compression effects for your drums (since this is how you'll sample them). 2. Use SOME sampled drums and SOME other drum 'menu' patch on a 'normal' part to give you back some flexibility.

METHOD 2

This method does involve OS changes and is basically just expanding on the above. With this method, we keep the drum channel and the rhythm mutes as they are, except for when you press as special key combo (such as shift]-[rhythm mute] or something simple), which would turn the drum mutes into 'note group' mutes which would apply to whatever part you have selected. So if you have Part-R selected, the drum mutes act no differently, but if you have Part-2 selected, certain notes out of your bass pattern can be muted. If you use a sampler on Part-1 (as you and I do), and set up your sampler accordingly, certain loops/hits/orgasmic moans etc. can be muted.

The tricky part is - which notes will be muted with which buttons? Maybe we would need a new display from the patch setup menu, or a display from the sequencer menu could be used. Or maybe note groups could be hard coded by Roland and we would just setup our sampler programs accordingly (one button per octave???).

The important thing with this is, we do not want to lose our normal drum-mute functionality as it stands. I'm talking about like when we've got Part-1 selected, all drums are muted (but Part-R is not muted), doing some hardcore filter tweaking we decide to bring in some hi-hats. We still want this. The extra 'mode' I'm describing should only come from certain key-combo (such as shift]-[rhythm mute], though I'm not sure if this combo is already used - I'm at work and don't have my manual)

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