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KARMA Real-Time Control Using the Steinberg CMC-QC Revision 30-Jul-2014 © by Stephen Kay

Overview

[This document is in progress. Sorry for the mess.] Although you can use the CMC-QC by itself to control various aspects of KARMA, we’ve generally designed the functionality to work in combination with the CMC-PD Pad Controller. That’s why you won’t find Chord Triggers, Stutter, Retrigger etc. on this device. First, there are not enough buttons and secondly, the CMC-PD does a much better job of handling those. Where the CMC-QC excels is in giving you access to the eight Sliders of KARMA’s Real-Time Controls Editor > Mix View or RTC View.

Drivers/Software Required

It is assumed you have installed the latest version of the Yamaha USB Driver, available from http://download.yamaha.com. You should also have the latest versions of the Steinberg Tools and Firmware updates for your CMC-QC, available from http://steinberg.net.

Port Settings in the KARMA Software

With the Yamaha USB Drivers installed, you will see three ports in the Input and Output port menus of KARMA Motif when the CMC-QC is attached to your computer: Port 1 – Steinberg CMC-QC Port 2 – Steinberg CMC-QC Port 3 – Steinberg CMC-QC (Mac port names shown; Windows port names are slightly different.)

www.karma-lab.com

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As the diagram above shows, certain MIDI messages are sent on Port 1, while others are sent on Port 2. Therefore, to use all of the features of the CMC-QC as programmed and explained here, you must listen to both Ports 1 and Port 2 of the Steinberg CMC-QC, which are assigned in two different locations in the KARMA software (Port 3 is not used). The functionality described in this document is a combination of the messages received on the two different ports.

Knobs on Port 1 and Port 2: When the [MIDI] button is on (lit up), the eight programmable knobs send on Port 1 of the Steinberg CMC-QC USB Driver. Therefore, to react to these as we have programmed them, you must set one of the Receive Ports on the RTC Setup page to Port 1 of the CMC-QC Driver. When the [MIDI] button is off (not lit), the eight knobs send “defined” CCs (non-programmable) on Port 2 of the CMC-QC Driver. KARMA uses a Remote Mode Control Map to route these messages. Therefore, to react to these you must set one of the Remote In Ports on the Devices page to Port 2 of the CMC-QC Driver.

Buttons on Port 2: Furthermore, all of the buttons on the device send “defined” (non-programmable) Note Number messages on Port 2 only. Therefore, as in the case of the knobs above, to react to these you must set one of the Remote In Ports on the Devices page to Port 2 of the CMC-QC Driver. In other words, for complete operation of the CMC-QC as described in this document, make the following settings: 1. Open the first two input ports of the CMC-QC Driver in KARMA’s

MIDI Port Manager (you do not need to open any output ports).

Mac port names shown; Windows port names are slightly different.

2. MIDI Setup (Global) > RTC Setup Page:

Receive Port 2 = Port 1 - Steinberg CMC-QC Channel = 1 Active = on (checked)

3. MIDI Setup (Global) > Devices Page:

(Example uses Remote In Port 2, but you can use any available port) Remote In Port 2 Active = on (checked) Remote In Port 2 = Port 2 - Steinberg CMC-QC Control Map = Steinberg CMC-QC

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Using both a CMC-QC and CMC-PD

If you have both a CMC-QC and a CMC-PD (Pad Device), you would make the following additional settings: 4. Open the first two input ports of the CMC-PD in the MIDI

Port Manager as well.

5. MIDI Setup (Global) > Devices Page: Remote In Port 3 Active = on (checked) Remote In Port 3 = Port 1 - Steinberg CMC-PD Control Map = Steinberg CMC-PD Remote In Port 4 Active = on (checked) Remote In Port 4 = Port 2 - Steinberg CMC-PD Control Map = Steinberg CMC-PD

See the CMC-PD document for further information on the Pad Device operations and setup.

Loading the Karma-Lab CMC-QC file

We have provided a CMC-QC data file that you can load into your CMC-QC. Download the file from the KARMA Motif Docs page:

karma-lab.com/kmo/docs -> [Not Yet Available]

1. With the CMC-QC connected to your computer, launch the Steinberg CMC-QCEditor.

2. Use the File Menu > Open command to locate the “KARMA Motif CMC-QC 1.CPD” file. This loads all the settings into the CMC-QC – that’s all there is to it.

3. You may now quit the editor and try out the KARMA Motif CMC-QC control.

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Functions and Operation – Two Modes

There are two basic modes of operation: Shift Off (Normal) Shift On (Held Down) The eight knobs work basically the same regardless of whether the Shift button is held down or not; however, the twelve buttons in the bottom section have completely different functions.

Functions and Operation – Shift Off (Normal)

The diagram above shows the functions controlled during normal operation (with the shift button not pressed).

Knobs: The eight knobs operate in two different modes, depending on whether the MIDI button is lit. Pressing the MIDI button activates and lights it up; pressing either the Q or EQ button will deselect the MIDI button and turn it off. We have used the EQ button as a means of deselecting the MIDI button without doing anything else, thereby switching the mode of operation for the knobs. Therefore, the knobs operate like this: When the MIDI button (Abs) is on: Absolute Mode - the knobs send absolute values (move a knobs and the value jumps instantly to that setting). When the MIDI button is off (use the EQ3 (Smooth) button to select) Smooth Mode – the knobs send smooth values (twist a knob and the value moves smoothly up or down from the current setting). Therefore, the Smooth Mode is particularly useful for changing RT Parameters or Track Volumes when you don’t want sudden jumps or changes in the parameter being controlled. The Absolute Mode is particularly useful for moving quickly to the top or bottom of the range, or drastic changes.

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Furthermore, when shift is down and the knobs are set to the Absolute mode (MIDI button on), the scaling of the knob is reduced so that you have finer control over the range of the knob. The shift key does not affect the scaling of the knobs when the Smooth mode is selected (MIDI button off).

Buttons: [To be described.]

Functions and Operation – Shift On (Held Down)

The diagram above shows the functions controlled with the shift key on (held down). [To be described].]

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Reference:

The diagram below shows all MIDI messages that are sent when using the CMC-QC data file that we have provided.

The following table summarizes and explains the knob settings in above diagram:

Knobs CC # KARMA Function USB Port Programmable MIDI button on Absolute 0 ~127 Knob 1 23 Slider 1 (absolute) 1 √ Knob 2 24 Slider 2 (absolute) 1 √ Knob 3 25 Slider 3 (absolute) 1 √ Knob 4 26 Slider 4 (absolute) 1 √ Knob 5 27 Slider 5 (absolute) 1 √ Knob 6 28 Slider 6 (absolute) 1 √ Knob 7 29 Slider 7 (absolute) 1 √ Knob 8 30 Slider 8 (absolute) 1 √ MIDI button off Increment/Decrement from current value Knob 1 16 Slider 1 (smooth) 2 X Knob 2 17 Slider 2 (smooth) 2 X Knob 3 18 Slider 3 (smooth) 2 X Knob 4 19 Slider 4 (smooth) 2 X Knob 5 20 Slider 5 (smooth) 2 X Knob 6 21 Slider 6 (smooth) 2 X Knob 7 22 Slider 7 (smooth) 2 X Knob 8 23 Slider 8 (smooth) 2 X

The Knobs have different functions depending on the selected view: Mix View: Track Volumes in current Master Layer Scene RTC View: RT Sliders in current Scene of current RT Control Layer

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The following table summarizes and explains the button settings in above diagram:

Buttons Note # KARMA Function USB Port Programmable Shift 70 When held down, selects an alternate operation for

each button; if the MIDI button is on, causes the operation of the knobs to use a finer control

2 X

Normal (Shift Off) Q 42 Compare Current Scene/Mix 2 X fQ/Learn 50 Stop 2 X EQ 44 Select smooth operation for Knobs 2 X MIDI 116 Select "absolute" operation for Knobs 2 X F1 54 Select RT Control Layer 1 2 X F2 55 Select RT Control Layer 2 2 X F3 56 Select RT Control Layer 3 2 X F4 57 Select RT Control Layer 4 2 X < 48 Select RT Control Layer 5 2 X > 49 Select RT Control Layer 6 2 X R 91 Select RT Control Layer [M] (Master) 2 X W 78 Toggle between RTC View and Mix View 2 X Shift Held Down Q 24 Switch 1 2 X fQ/Learn 25 Switch 2 2 X EQ 26 Switch 3 2 X MIDI 27 Switch 4 2 X F1 28 Switch 5 2 X F2 29 Switch 6 2 X F3 30 Switch 7 2 X F4 31 Switch 8 2 X

The Switches have different functions depending on the selected view: Mix View: Track Mutes in current Master Layer Scene RTC View: RT Switches in current Scene of current RT Control Layer

< 91 Previous Scene in current RT Control Layer 2 X > 92 Next Scene in current RT Control Layer 2 X R 93 Startup Scene in current RT Control Layer 2 X W 94 Trigger the Fill Button 2 X

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Knob Assignments (CCs)

The following diagram shows the knob assignments in the CMC-QC Editor as we have programmed them in the provided CMC-QC data file. These correspond to the RTC Setup Slider CCs in KARMA:

(It is recommended to use these CCs and not attempt to change them to other numbers in the RTC Setup page, as this may have unintended consequences since many different CCs are used by KARMA for various features.)