MPK25 - Tap Tempo/MIDI Clock Out

Hello,

I am a first-time poster. I am running a MPK25 into a Moog Minitaur hardware bass synth via standard 5-Pin MIDI (MPK25 powered via proper power supply).

I have managed to make a preset and route the knobs on the MPK25 to control the "under-the-hood" MIDI CC parameters in the Minitaur. One of the features I cannot get working however is the Minitaur's LFO MIDI Sync. function - I would like to control the Minitaur's LFO speed via the MPK25's Tap Tempo/MIDI Clock Out (<- are these treated as the same thing?)

I have the MPK25's knob for this parameter set to a MIDI CC range of 63-64 (on the Minitaur, 63 or lower = free-running LFO , 64 or higher = MIDI Sync. LFO). When I set this to 64 I expect a MIDI Sync. LFO, but this is not the case.

My Korg KP3 Kaoss Pad has been able to MIDI Sync. the LFO, so the problem seems to lie with the MPK25. I have dabbled with the MPK25's various Transport Control settings, but no luck - I think they might be unrelated to my problem anyway?

The MPK25 is meant to send Tap Tempo/MIDI Clock Out, right??

Any help would be appreciated!

Regards,
David Smyth
NZ

I can not say 100% but I'm like 99% sure what you want is a no go. The tap tempo on an MPD/MPK is only for setting up the Note Repeat function. The button is not re-mappable and doesn't send any MIDI output other than the tempo and time divisions for the note repeat function as far as I've ever been able to tell.

It's just there to manually sync the Note Repeat to your sequencer when the MPD is set to Internal MIDI clock. (I use External MIDI clock on my MPD so Tap Tempo and Note Repeat buttons don't do anything at all.)

Thanks for the quick response!

I get what you mean, it's just the manual is kind of ambiguous when it comes to how it works. It does however state: "The MPK25 can be a master or slave for MIDI Clock transmission and reception". Regardless of whether this is tied to Tap Tempo, I do want the MPK25 to be a "master" for MIDI Clock transmission. The manual also mentions selecting "Internal" for MIDI Clock generation under the MIDI Clock menu (which I have): "dial to select “Internal” if you would like to generate MIDI Clock internally".


Is anyone aware of any ways to get MIDI Clock Outputs from the MPK25, even if it cannot be controlled via Tap Tempo?

Thanks,
David
NZ

Yeah on paper it should do what you want if set to Internal MIDI clock. But outside of the obvious application regarding Note Repeat/Tap Tempo I'm not really sure how exactly they have implemented a MIDI master clock in a device that doesn't have a sequencer. (And has no real MIDI sync setting screens, just Internal/External clock toggle)

The transport will send MMC so you can start and stop another sequencer with a MPD/MPK, but as far as full standard implementation of MIDI clock/tempo/sync output, I've never been able to fully figure out. The manual doesn't really give enough info, and Akai's tech support are as clueless as they come. (Not just on this issue, I mean everything.)

I've had my MPD for years so maybe I have some stuff bookmarked that may help. If I can find a pretty quick way to duplicate what you're trying I'll give that a shot. I don't have a Minitaur, so I'd have to substitute a digital keyboard or VST that has a MIDI sync capable LFO.

Thanks for your help - It's very much appreciated!

I will also ask the guys over at the Moog Music forums, as I partly chose the MPK25 because Moog Music was using them to control their Minitaurs (including "under-the-hood" MIDI CC features) at Winter NAMM 2012 etc.

David.
NZ

My pleasure man. I was thinking along those lines and figured I might get more insight looking at the Minitaur's "hidden" CC stuff and work backwards to hopefully find some mapping possibilities on the MPD/MPK. I know the types of MIDI messages able to be transmitted are the same on both series of controllers.