EFM w/ Continuum
Jason | Hello Kodamo and friends:) I just purchased an EFM and I have to say, I love it. I'm struggling a little though, setting up my Haken Continuum as a controller. The main issue is that I'm not getting pitch slides-- when I move my finger along the X axis. I can't seem to figure out why. I've tried to map pitch bend to destinations in the mod matrix, but no luck. I know I'm overlooking something-- not sure if it's a setting in the EFM or the Continuum. I'd be grateful if someone could point me in the right direction. Also, if anyone reading this regularly uses Continuum and EFM together, I'd love to hear any tips and tricks you can offer. Thanks! |
KODAMO | Hello, Try to set the global channel setting to "Omni/MPE" in Global > MIDI Also check that Pitch Bend Range parameter is set to 48 or 96 semitones (depending on how your MPE controller work), default is 2 semitones so you won't hear much pitch slide |
| Jason | Thanks for getting back with me! I'll try again tonight, when I'm back in front of the unit, but I've done those two things-- I've set the EFM to MPE mode (and switched the Continuum to MPE instead of it's default MPE+) and I've matched the bend range (Continuum defaults to 96). Still though, no bending is happening. I play a note and slide my finger-- the note remains the same pitch until I remove my finger from the Continuum and press again in a new location |
| KODAMO | Have you verified in Global > MIDI > Filters that PBend isn't checked? |
| KODAMO | You can also check with MIDI Monitor if the Continuum is actually sending pitch bend |
| Jason | I'm definitely not filtering pitch bend. I've looked at the midi monitor, but OMG its a sea of information moving very quickly... I'll give it a look again tonight |
| Jason | So, I've looked at the midi message monitor again... Unfortunately I can't tell what I'm looking for. When I press the Continuum's surface, all the values start changing very quickly. I even checked every filter (except pitch bend) in the EFM's midi filter section, hoping to narrow it down, but it's still a string of things I can't decipher... Some pairs of digits, some letters and digits, some letter pairs. They're still changing (more slowly), even when I'm not touching a key. Some oscillate between two values, others are more unpredictable. This is a dumb question I know, but how will I recognize pitch bend? |
| Jason | Also, thank you for your help! Even if I never get this working as expected, the EssenceFM is a delight. The interface is so friendly, and it just sounds great. I'll happily play it with standard midi if I have to, but the Continuum is right here... A few more details on the setup: The EFM is connected to a Mio XM midi interface, and through that to the computer and Continuum. Nothing else is routed to the EFM and the only messages I'm filtering are program changes-- changing presets on the Continuum were affecting the EFM |
| KODAMO | Some people are using it with Continuum so it should definitely work. Maybe try connecting the Continuum directly to the EssenceFM to see what happens. MIDI Pitch Bend starts with 0xE followed by two values. You should be able to spot them, pausing the display if needed, by doing a slide on the Continuum. I agree that the monitor is somewhat basic and cryptic though 😓😄 Also try playing a sequence with pitch bend in your DAW to understand where might be the problem (or using a classic master keyboard with pitch bend wheel to see if EFM responds) |
| Jason | Happy to hear that this is known to work, gives me the courage to keep going :) Now that I know what to look for, I'll give it another shot-- and try a direct connection. I'll let you know how it goes. |
| Jason | Direct connection works like a charm! I still don't see any messages starting with OxE on the monitor, but the notes are bending. The range is right everything is in tune, lovely! Seems like the problem is with my MioXM configuration... Wonder what I did wrong... Sorting that out will give me something to do this weekend. Thanks again for the help! Probably should have just tried a direct connection a while ago, but here we are. I'll report back when I figure out the Mio situation. Maybe the info will be helpful to someone |
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