Astrolab MIDI on Omni mode?

Lab AstroLab
#1

Does anyone know how or if I can restrict the Astrolab to only receive patch changes on a specific MIDI channel. I have tried everything but it seems to receive on all channels.

It is like it is OMNI mode but I cannot find any menu settings to switch out of OMNI

Thanks

#2

Hi @SilverShark. Welcome to the community.

I don’t have Astrolab.

From the Astrolab manual section “3.8.5. MIDI In/Out”

  • • Part 1 Input Channel After clicking the Navigation Wheel, you can set the MIDI receive channel by rotating the wheel. Selecting All makes AstroLab listen to all MIDI channels. -

Have you tried not to select ALL for part 1?
EDIT: I will assume it should be midi channel 1 - if… At least try that first. EDIT END

If it work at all, then i’m not sure how it will work with instruments like organs that use multiple midi channels.
I suggest you try it out.

In Analog Lab there is a separate Global midi channel setting.

Astrolab owners/ users please step in, if you know more about this.

#3

That is the way it is at the moment.
Program Change messages are received on all channels.
A selectable channel for Program Changes has been requested as part of other MIDI improvements for future updates.

#4

Thanks for the info @Sean_W .

Yes i would assume that was the case.

I will assume programChange for Astrolabs Playlists shall work on it’s own dedicated midi Channel, so multiple other midi channels can be sent to the parts.
I don’t think this is as easy to solve to work efficiently and practical.
Let’s see if Arturia can come up with a solution anyway.

#5

This is unfortunately what I would call a massive flaw or oversight on Arturia’s part.

This means that the only way I can use this live with other synths and be able to send patch change info to them all is if I was able to hook up a multi port usb midi interface and restrict what Program Change info is sent to which output (i.e one output for arturia and one for all other synths). Unfortunately I cannot do this as the unit I use for playback ony has one MIDI out.

Just being able to select a master channel and OMNI on/off s all I need.

Hopefully Arturia will sort this out asap.

#6

Would you be happy with a solution where you can select to only send midi messages on one midi channel to Astrolab?
This will mean you can’t send other midi channels to the parts either. So this will not allow midi channel functionality - also for example for the Organs with internal channels for each manual.

Or will you be happy with a solution where programChanges need to be send on it’s own midi channel, if you wan’t to keep ALL/ OMNI selections for he parts to allow using multiple midi channel for those, and keep this side of Astrolabs functionality?

How would you like this to work?
I think this is very well can be a question about what’s a technically possible and perhaps also understandable practical solution at the same time.
Is there a solution noone will complain about and not call it a massive oversight? Just wondering.

As said, then Analog Lab do have a Global midi channel setting. But you also can load multiple instances of Analog Lab in a project. You can’t do that with a single Astrolab.

Only sending midi messages aimed for Astrolab to Astrolab is something that work already it sound like.

#7

Either of these would work me.

At the moment I am just needing to send program change messages to the Astrolab so that as I move through my live set the patches change. For future gigs I may want to trigger patch changes and also send midi parts to the synth. But it is unlikely that I would be using anything along the lines of multi channel functionality for organ manuals for example.

Perhaps easiest to explain in context of how I am set up on other two synths I use live. Each synth is set to a different MIDI channel and patch change info is sent to each synth, then additionally one of those synths also gets MIDI parts sent to it on the same channel as it’s patch change info.

So for me a simple solution which allows me to set the Astrolab to a global channel of say MIDI channel 3 and then I can sent patch and if required MIDI info to that channel would meet my immediate needs

Thanks
G

#8

Yes. I can just imagine, that someone will complain, that they for example can’t set each Astrolab part to different midi channels or use existing presets with different midi channels for the parts then.

I don’t think Arturia have ann easy choice or task to do here. I don’t know, if there exist a technical solution to satisfy all.

But perhaps Arturia actually can do it anyway.

Thanks for your reply.

#9

I have been complaining about the googaga MIDI implementation since day one, it does me zero good and makes zero sense for AL to receive MIDI on all channels. Why is it even configurable if the MIDI channel setting does not hold?? Fun instrument but useless for a dawless keyboard rig.

#10

Have you checked out MIDI routers and similar midi devices?

In a DAW different instances of AL can use it’s own global midi channel, when only one midi channel is needed to be sent to the instance.

#11

Hi! No DAW. I send MIDI to my kbds from a Roland Fantom, each of my kbds gets a dedicated MIDI channel and I sequence on the Fantom. Because AL reverts to “all” MIDI channels I am unable to send a coherent sequence to it, I think it picks up everything the Fantom is sending out on all 16 midi channels.

#13

Since firmware update 1.3.5, it is now possible to select MIDI channels for receiving messages, inlcuding Program Change messages.
There’s always the Main MIDI channel that is currently still fixed on Ch 1, but there’s a new global “Secondary MIDI Channel” parameter in Settings / MIDI In/Out, that can be changed from All (default) to Ch 1 to 16.
In that case, Program Change messages won’t be received on the other channels than 1 and the channel selected there.