RD2000 - How do I set up a secondary controller?

[SorenJ]

Hi there,

I just bought a RD2000 to replace my trusted A90EX. I use the A90 with a KeylabII as a secondary controller. I also have a small rack with sound moduler and connect with mainstage as well. Setting up patches, layers, zones, midi channels etc on both keyboards on the A90EX is Quite easy. You just set it all up and then decide which controller to be used for what. So when you call up a program for a song in A90 everything is set up right on both controllers.

Documentation used to be quite good for Roland products, but the manuals (I also read the extended manuals) really lack clarity this time around. AND... I can not find out how to set up a secondary controller on the RD2000. One would think it to be fairly easy, as it is a logic and normal feature?

I hope my explanation makes sense. Can anyone pls. help me?

Best regards,
Soren J

 

[anotherscott]

I think it's just a matter of connecting MIDI OUT of controller to MIDI IN of Roland, and then the Roland will play the Tone(s) assigned to the Zone(s) of whatever channel(s) your controller is transmitting on, as long as the Part Switch for that tone is turned on. See parameter guide page 37.

 

[SorenJ]

I think it's just a matter of connecting MIDI OUT of controller to MIDI IN of Roland, and then the Roland will play the Tone(s) assigned to the Zone(s) of whatever channel(s) your controller is transmitting on, as long as the Part Switch for that tone is turned on. See parameter guide page 37.

I think perhaps u do not really understand my request?

I need to make my second keyboard an "extension"/second manual to my RD2000.
On my A90EX I can arrange everyting! Set the MIDI-channels, patches, layers, zones etc. - both for internal sounds and external modules - and then decide, which keyboard alle these things are assigned to. The A90 or the Keylab. It,'s much more than just a MIDI in/out issue.

But it may have to do with some local on/off function.

 

[anotherscott]

I was answering the part, "I can not find out how to set up a secondary controller on the RD2000." By that, I thought you meant you wanted to use an external controller (like your keylab) to selectively play sounds that are internal to the RD2000.

If you want to do the reverse (use the RD2000 to play sounds that are located on an external device, like a rack module), see the section "Using the RD-2000 as a Master Keyboard" on p.18 in the Parameter Guide. You can set up up to 8 external zones, with tons of adjustable parameters.

If you want the RD-2000 to also determine what rack module sound will be played by your external controller, try creating an RD-2000 zone that sends a Program Change to the module on whatever channel(s) your external controller is triggering on. If you don't want any keys of the RD2000 to actually play that sound, set that zone's keyboard range outside the range of the 88 keys that are on the RD2000. Of course, you'd have to physically get the MIDI from both the Roland and the controller into the sound module. Assuming the sound module has only a single MIDI IN, you'll need a MIDI merge function somewhere (maybe something like a MIDI Solutions Merger).

If you also want the controller to be able to play sounds that are in the Roland, besides following the Part Switch instructions mentioned in my previous post, you'll also need a MIDI split (thru) function, to get the MIDI out of the controller into both the Roland and the module, and luckily, the Roland already has a thru function built in, so you won't need an additional box for that. (That is, you could go MIDI Out of controller into MIDI In of Roland, and then merge the MIDI Thru and the MIDI Out of the Roland into the MIDI In of the module.)

That should do it, I think.