MPC & Reason 4

Whats goin on guys. Got my 2500 last night been on this thing all day. Before u guys say it, I think I've RTFM about 10 times before i even got the thing, searched all over, i even read thru all the comments on the sparq video tutorial on how to use reason as a sound mod with the mp. Now i'm halfway there. I've got all my connections setup properly (i'm pretty sure): keyboard usb to mac, midi out of keyboard to 2500 midi in 1, 2500 MIDI out A to interface midi in. I've got em sync'd properly and I can play and record reason's sounds on the 2500 with the pads, but when i try recording something using the keyboard, i hear nothing during playback. All the forums i searched where people had this issue there were no solutions..i'm hoping one of u guys can help me out please! oh and all my audio is routed to my presonus monitor station so it's not a monitoring issue as everythings coming out of one place.. in Reason's advanced controls I have my audio interface selected as Bus 1.. all help would be appreciated, thanks a lot!

i just hooked my 2500 up to reason 4 the other day....do you have your MIDI set correctly in the MIDI window of the MPC?

it's setup to ALL and Soft Thru... and for my track i set it to Midi and chanell 1A i get sound out of everything and i can record reason with my mpc pads but when i record with the keyboard i hear nothing during playback

Does the keyboard have midi ports as well, or just USB? If it has an actual midi out, just go from the keyboard out to one of the mpc ins and just use the mpc as the path from the keyboard to the computer.

so you're saying don't even use the usb out to computer in on the keyboard, plug in external power and go midi out to midi in on the 2500? when i do that, reason no longer detects my novation remote sl as a controller, then when i click auto detect surfaces it scans but doesn't find anything.

ando wrote:so you're saying don't even use the usb out to computer in on the keyboard, plug in external power and go midi out to midi in on the 2500? when i do that, reason no longer detects my novation remote sl as a controller, then when i click auto detect surfaces it scans but doesn't find anything.

Don't need to. When you set the mpc to midi so the pads play reason, the keyboard should play reason as well through the MPC. That's how I do mine. The only draw back is you will always have to have the MPC on and set to a track with midi to play sounds in Reason. For me, this isn't a big deal since I only sequence through the MPC anyway. Also, for this method, you also need a midi interface. Mine happens to be my Mbox 2. If all you have is the USB controller, then you will have to figure out how to get the USB function working!

No bro, I have a presonus firestudio project as my interface.. in reason under advanced controls i have it selected under bus A, and under the clock sync as well. I'm able to play reason on my pads and even sequence reason on the mpc but only using my pads. I can play reason with my keyboard too, but i cant seem to record reason on the mpc using the keyboard. One thing i noticed is my keyboard still controls reason even after i unplug the midi connection from the keyboard to the mpc (Midi Out -> Midi in...probly cause my keyboard usb out goes to the comp). Could that be an issue? Everything else is working solid except that i can't sequence reason on the mpc using my keyboard

What MIDI keyboard are you using?

To my knowledge, MIDI controller keyboard cannot send midi via the USB and the MIDI out at the same time, there is usually a switch on the rear of the unit that allows you to choose one or the other (such as on the m-audio controllers).

In my setup, the USB is only used to power the keyboard. The MIDI out is then connected to the MPC and then routed via the MPC settiings to my chosen sound source.

Its all very simple stuff.

If the notes from your keyboard are being recorded in the MPC sequencer, it must be a midi routing issue.

please understand, that REASON does not send midi out.

it will send out midi sync, but not regular old midi

ando wrote:No bro, I have a presonus firestudio project as my interface.. in reason under advanced controls i have it selected under bus A, and under the clock sync as well. I'm able to play reason on my pads and even sequence reason on the mpc but only using my pads. I can play reason with my keyboard too, but i cant seem to record reason on the mpc using the keyboard. One thing i noticed is my keyboard still controls reason even after i unplug the midi connection from the keyboard to the mpc (Midi Out -> Midi in...probly cause my keyboard usb out goes to the comp). Could that be an issue? Everything else is working solid except that i can't sequence reason on the mpc using my keyboard

yeah, try getting rid of that USB connection if possible. Connect midi out of the keyboard to midi in 1 or 2 of the mpc. Connect mpc out a or b to the presonus in. Connect presonus midi out to mpc midi in 1 or 2 (whichever is open). Now you should be able to control/record reason with the pads or keys. Make sure in the mpc, the track is set to midi, program off, and select the proper midi channel. I forget the midi settings for the mpc, but I think it should be set to through. I can check for sure when I get home.

If it still don't work then there is an issue with the communication between the keyboard and the mpc. Because essentially all you are doing when recording reason in the mpc with the keyboard is using the keys to trigger the mpc pads. The pads are what actually control reason. So if the keyboard isn't recording the sounds on the mpc, the keyboard isn't talking to the mpc.

yeah i have a feeling it's something to do with the keyboard being usb powered, cause even when i disconnect the keyboard from the mpc, i can still play pads on the mpc and everything. I'm using a novation remote sl 61. I'm gonna try that method when I get home.. Do i have to setup the mpc as a controller by any chance? then reason will recognize the mpc and i can then connect the keyboard to the mp and trigger it?

ando wrote:yeah i have a feeling it's something to do with the keyboard being usb powered, cause even when i disconnect the keyboard from the mpc, i can still play pads on the mpc and everything. I'm using a novation remote sl 61. I'm gonna try that method when I get home.. Do i have to setup the mpc as a controller by any chance? then reason will recognize the mpc and i can then connect the keyboard to the mp and trigger it?

Nope. The only thing reason needs to recognize is the presonus. The mpc will talk to reason through that.

should i remove my midi keyboard from the control surfaces in reason? maybe that's why?

nope that didn't do the trick either. hmmmmmm this is really weird. i've disconnected the usb computer from my midi keyboard completely, and have it running on external power, midi out to the mpc's midi in, and still no sound from the keyboard..really weird

Does the keyboard play samples in the mpc, with the track set to drum and one of your programs (not midi)?

Also, in mode + Pad 9, F1, set the fields as follows:
Active track recieve channel: ALL
Soft thru: AS TRACK
Sequence change...: OFF
Pad to internal sound: ON