# Midi Controller for changing presets on keyboards?



## p0ke (Dec 9, 2014)

Hi,

I play in a melodic metal band, and we're about start gigging pretty soon. 

I don't have any problems with switching tones quickly, as I have a Behringer FCB1010 that does everything and our bass player only uses one tone, but our keyboard player sometimes takes like 20 minutes to find the right tones for each song (he has two keyboards and a keytar, although the keytar uses a separate Alesis NanoPiano that's always set to lead). The backlight on his second keyboard is also broken, so he can't see what he's doing. 
I was thinking about setting up something similar to the FCB1010 for him, something that would change presets on both keyboards simultaneously, and it should be something that could be strapped onto either one of the keyboards with a velcro or something. The Korg NanoPad 2 looks pretty much like what I'm looking for, but it's only got a usb-output. Is there a similar controller, but with midi ports? Or does someone have a better idea? What do keyboard players usually use for these things anyway? Or do they really always scroll through millions of menus to find their tones?


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## JohnIce (Dec 9, 2014)

There's the Keith McMillen midi expander, unless you find a better option:


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## yingmin (Dec 10, 2014)

An FCB1010 would work, or any MIDI controller that can output multiple PC messages. Hell, you could even use your own FCB to trigger patch changes on his keyboards. 

To be perfectly honest, this problem can be solved almost entirely by better preparation on your keyboardist's part. Can't find the right patches quickly enough? Rearrange the patches, so they're all together and in the order you need them. Can't see the display on one of your keyboards? Fix the God damn display, or stop using that keyboard. Does either of those keyboards have a mapping function? Does he even know?


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## thrashmetal85 (Dec 11, 2014)

Yeah. Get him to have them set up one after the other with the set list so all he has to do is press bank up for the next song.


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## yingmin (Dec 11, 2014)

I also wanted to add that the page for the Keith Miller MIDI Expander says that it's only compatible with other KMI products, but it says that in such a way that's it's not clear whether they're referring to a specific function, or if the entire thing will only work with KMI products. 

Another possibility, if you have the resources for it and it makes sense for your situation, is to have a computer handle the patch changes. Especially if you play to backing tracks, you could just program all the patch changes into whatever DAW you want to use, and then your guitar and whatever keyboards, plus any other instruments that use programmable gear, can happen automatically.


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## TonyFlyingSquirrel (Dec 12, 2014)

Before setting him up with a controller, you'll want to research/invest in a librarian/editor, so that all of the presets on all units are arranged in a way that will facilitate efficiency in a live set list. Something similar to the HD500 Edit, where you can have a set list that changes from night to night. 

Once that is done, a simple MIDI Mouse can scroll through the presets one by one sequencially through each song part, then each song, same thing that Jordan Rudess uses.


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## hairychris (Dec 15, 2014)

Assuming that said keyboard player can get his patches in order across all devices so that they match the songs/parts, he can get all his devices listening on the same channel and switch all devices at the same time.

If his backlight is causing a problem then he needs to fix it asap. It also sounds like he needs to go over his patches and save them in sensible positions in device memory if it's taking him that long to arrange. He should know that song x requires patch y on device 1 and patch z on device 2.

He needs to get his arse in gear as he can't screw around while on stage!


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## p0ke (Jan 27, 2015)

hairychris said:


> Assuming that said keyboard player can get his patches in order across all devices so that they match the songs/parts, he can get all his devices listening on the same channel and switch all devices at the same time.
> 
> If his backlight is causing a problem then he needs to fix it asap. It also sounds like he needs to go over his patches and save them in sensible positions in device memory if it's taking him that long to arrange. He should know that song x requires patch y on device 1 and patch z on device 2.
> 
> He needs to get his arse in gear as he can't screw around while on stage!



Yep. 
Well, we partially fixed the problem: I replaced the broken EL-panel on his second keyboard and then we figured out how to put the patches into categories and subcategories on the better keyboard, so now changing is much quicker. We're playing a gig this thursday and as it's a really short set, we're only bringing the better keyboard (A Korg M50, which is much smaller and lighter than the other one as well), so we should be good for now.
The patch changing on the second keyboard (Korg T3) is a bit of a problem still, as it's really old and quite cryptic to use, but I guess we'll check if it's possible to handle through the M50. Our keyboard player is too stupid to even understand what midi actually means, so it's basically up to me to handle 



yingmin said:


> Another possibility, if you have the resources for it and it makes sense for your situation, is to have a computer handle the patch changes. Especially if you play to backing tracks, you could just program all the patch changes into whatever DAW you want to use, and then your guitar and whatever keyboards, plus any other instruments that use programmable gear, can happen automatically.



I thought of this, but we're not gonna use backing tracks (I hate backing tracks) so using a computer feels like overkill for our situation.




yingmin said:


> To be perfectly honest, this problem can be solved almost entirely by better preparation on your keyboardist's part. Can't find the right patches quickly enough? Rearrange the patches, so they're all together and in the order you need them. Can't see the display on one of your keyboards? Fix the God damn display, or stop using that keyboard. Does either of those keyboards have a mapping function? Does he even know?



Yep, that's true. But he's lazy and stupid, and since I'm neither of those (IMO ) I'm trying to help out as much as I can


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