Support and discussion for all of Akai’s modern standalone MPCs including the MPC X / X SE, MPC Live 1, 2 & 3, MPC One / One+, MPC Key 37/61.
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By Neurone Mon Jan 16, 2023 2:29 pm
I’m thinking picking one of these up, will the MPC record all the controller data from the front panel controls?
Has anybody done similar?
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By Telefunky Mon Jan 16, 2023 3:35 pm
Did you verify the Kyra specs that control values sent from the dials (CC or sysex) are identical to the values used internally ?
Endless dials may use a very high resolution and dynamic reaction to twisting speed, that cannot be covered in CC 0-127 range or float the midi port with huge amounts of sysex strings.
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By Monotremata Tue Jan 17, 2023 4:10 am
If the Kyra is anything like every other Waldorf, it will and it will use plain old 1-127 CC messages, maybe NRPNs. My Blofeld doesn't even have any 'high resolution' parameters, maybe they got with it for the Kyra, but not likely, they tend to do MIDI 'by the book' sort of. The thing that will throw you off is the parameters themselves. An envelope modulation control doesn't want to start at 0, which would be fully negative. It wants to start at 64 in the middle, so you can go positive or negative. Grab the user manual for it and take a look, Waldorf always has a MIDI implementation chart in the back that will tell you how to setup each controller in that respect whether its a -63 to 64 parameter or a 1-127, or something like the wavetable selection on the Microwave that only recognizes 1-63, or Oscillator shape on the Q which only goes from 1-5.

Now my Bass Station 2 uses dual CC's for a bunch of parameters, which has made making a device panel in Cubase impossible. My Prophet Rev 2 is the same way, but they recommend you set it to use NRPN's instead. With things like the Bass Station's filter cutoff, one CC controls the main cutoff value of 1-127, the second one, moves that value in decimal points so you get a wider sweep range. You CAN use just the first control, but you might hear it 'stepping' through the cutoff values instead of a smooth sweep from start to finish. The Kyra should be perfectly fine either way.
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By Neurone Tue Jan 17, 2023 2:04 pm
Thanks.
Took a look at the manual, table at the end seems to say it doesn't send panel control data but the relevant paragraph states it definitely has an extended CC scheme as well as sysex.
Typical Waldorf.
Much appreciated.
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By Neurone Wed Jan 18, 2023 8:18 pm
On a slightly different topic, I managed to get a response from Waldorf support after nearly a week.
Basically they've abandoned any pretence of supporting the Kyra beyond faults.
No bug fixes, no development, no new features. Nada. Zilch. Zip.
Pay your $$$$$ and suck it.

So if you're thinking of putting down the green for that new piece of shit wavetable "Waldorf Quantum MK2" at measly €4,800...maybe think again.
If they can do it to people who paid €2,500 for the Kyra when it dropped, you might not like where you stand in a years time.
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By Monotremata Wed Jan 18, 2023 9:09 pm
Neurone wrote:On a slightly different topic, I managed to get a response from Waldorf support after nearly a week.
Basically they've abandoned any pretence of supporting the Kyra beyond faults.
No bug fixes, no development, no new features. Nada. Zilch. Zip.
Pay your $$$$$ and suck it.

So if you're thinking of putting down the green for that new piece of shit wavetable "Waldorf Quantum MK2" at measly €4,800...maybe think again.
If they can do it to people who paid €2,500 for the Kyra when it dropped, you might not like where you stand in a years time.


Ouch thats harsh. The Kyra wasn't originally Waldorf's though, it was started by someone else and Waldorf was contracted to basically finish it. Wonder what kind of issues they ran into with it that they cant develop it further. They have lost a few of their big time devs so that could be it. Stefan Stenzel who was the brains behind a lot of things is long gone and he was a big player in the W game. That's probably the big reason the Blofeld hasnt been updated in ages.