Programming a MIDI Controller to use with Sound Module w/o using Software?

[FatCat75]

Hello all. I have zero experience with MIDI, or at least did until last week. I bought a Roland XV-2020 sound module from the early 2000's. I've been using my Novation Bass Station II as a midi controller to play the presets on the XV. I would like to be able to access the functions and features of the XV without having to install software and use a PC.

I believe I've read that you can manually map controls for a sound module to a keyboard controller. However, it's not clear to me if that can be done without using software and a computer.

Does anyone know if there is a controller out there with 5 PIN MIDI output that has its own interface that could be used for mapping controls/values? If so, are there any that are ideal for this type of manual mapping? I read that the AKAI MPK series were programmable but again wasn't sure if that meant you can do it with the controller's own interface or if you have to use some kind of software editor. And I'm wondering how I might map controls on the Bass Station II so that I could just continue using it but actually be able to access the controls for the module instead of just playing presets.

I'm probably making this harder that it needs to be but right now I don't have an extra PC for my little studio set up (in my basement).

As you can probably tell, I'm way out of my element here. I'm hoping someone here can give me a clue. If you have any suggested resources to learn the MIDI basics which might help me get a clearer picture of what I'm dealing with that would be helpful and appreciated as well.

 

[anotherscott]

You need to come up with an idea of exactly what it is you want to be able to do from this theoretical standalone controller. Some XV things can be mapped to external controls as you're talking about, other things can only be done via software. Also, whether for the XV itself or for some controllers that require connection to computer to do the mapping, many functions may require only a one-time computer hookup to set it up the way you want, and then after that, the XV and/or the external controller will work the way you want standalone, without the computer connected.

A lot of standalone controller today are USB only, but if you look at used stuff, you'll find more with standard MIDI jacks, like Behringer BCR2000 or BCF2000, Novation Remote Zero SL or Zero SL Mk II. You might also find that you can do what you want with a smartphone or tablet, which you also might already have.

 

[FatCat75]

Thanks for the reply. I went with an Akai Max25. It was fairly easy to assign some controls but as you said and I can see now that probably the best approach will be to use the software to map as much as I can even if I only do so once. The nice thing about the Max25 is its connectivity options. It’s pretty much what I was looking for as far having a fairly simple interface to assign cc values to the different controls (mainly faders and pads on the Max25). So for someone like me who prefers hardware interfaces even to the point of sacrificing some mapping capabilities, it is actually pretty nice.