Jump to content

CTK 7000 and Bass Pedals


Recommended Posts

On my CTK 7000 I tried to connect midi bass pedals that have a 5 pin midi DIN (out) socket only. As the CTK 7000 only has a USB midi connection I was advised I needed to buy a Kenton Midi Usb/Midi Din Host unit.  When I connected this unit inline between the keyboard and the bass pedals all I could play on the bass pedals was the default piano tone despite selecting different tones on the keyboard?

 

The midi channel on the bass pedals is fixed at CH3  - It seemed as if I could not change the midi channel on the  CTK 7000  to CH3 to match?

 

Any ideas as to what's going on?  Or is it impossible to connect the midi bass pedals because the keyboard does not have conventional midi 5 pin 'In' and 'out' sockets?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Perhaps it would be better if the bass pedal allowed selecting more than one fixed MIDI Channel, but in this case, you need it to transmit on Channel 3, as that is where your bass tone is going to be on the Casio CTK/WK keyboards.  You just need to assign the proper bass tone of your choice to Channel 3.  The default is the grand piano tone you are hearing.  You also need to ensure that the Kenton unit is not redirecting the bass pedal's Channel 3 signal to some other channel to the CTK-7000.

 

Refer to the table in the right hand column of Page E-70 in the manual for the CTK-7000's channel layout.  During "live" play, Channel A-01 is the UPPER-1 (MAIN) Tone; Channel A-02 is the UPPER-2 (LAYER) Tone; and Channel A-03 is the LOWER (SPLIT [bass]) Tone.  These three channels are omitted from this table, because this table shows only the channels that the Song Sequencer uses for recording.  During the recording process, Channels A-01, A-02, A-03 are redirected by the CTK-7000's operating system to Channels A-05, A-06, A-07 respectively.  So, you need to go into the MIXER and assign the bass tone of your choice to Channel A-03.  You can also assign the Channel A-03 (SPLIT) tone by pressing the SPLIT button and selecting the bass (SPLIT) tone of your choice, but if you intend to use Auto-accompaniment, you will need to turn SPLIT back off, after you select the bass tone, or the SPLIT function will sound the chords you are playing for accompaniment chords as SPLIT tones, making for a very muddy mix.  That is, you are turning SPLIT on just long enough to use it as a convenient way to set the Channel A-03 bass tone, then turning it back off, so that it does not interfere with Auto-accompaniment.  If/when you go into record mode, the Channel 3 signal from the bass pedal should be automatically redirected to Channel A-07 within the CTK-7000, and Channel A-07 should pick up your chosen bass tone from Channel A-03, but if this part does not occur automatically, you will have to use the MIXER to manually set Channel A-07 to the correct bass tone.

 

To answer your final question, MIDI bass pedals are really designed to work with non-Arranger (non-Auto accompaniment) workstations, workstations that are commonly (and mistakenly) referred to as "synths".  There are no guarantees when they are used with Arranger Workstations, because of the various channels and keyboard zones which are reserved for the Auto-accompaniment features.  It is not unusual to have to do some experimenting to get them to work properly with Arrange Workstations.  I apologize that I no longer have a CTK/WK-6XXX/7XXX unit to do that experimenting for you, but such is my current reality, so good luck !

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Channels A-01, A-02, and A-03 are only omitted from that one table, because it is a layout of the channels that you can record to in the Easy RECord mode. Easy RECord mode is how you record all facets of an Auto-accompaniment performance, including Main, Layer, Split, Auto-harmonize (Channel A-04), and all Accompaniment  instruments (Channels A-09 thru A16) in a single pass.  The Metronome Channel A-08 is not recorded.  You can not record to A-01, A-02, and A-03 in Easy RECord mode, so those channels are not shown in the table.  Essentially, Channels A-01, A-02, and A-03 are only active during "Live" (non-record) mode.  When you activate Easy RECord mode and play the keyboard, the signals that normally go to Channels A-01, A02, and A-03 go to A-05, A-06, and A-07 instead, and are recorded there.  When they are played back, they are played back on A-05, A-06, and A-07.  Normally, this is totaly transparent to the user, but it is an issue here because you are planning on using a source for the Channel A-03 signal other than the keyboard, so you need to be aware of the complete channel layout assignments. It also becomes an issue if you plan on using the "B" tracks in Individual Track recording mode for adding additional tracks to an existing performance.  For a "full" layout, see the MIXER layout table on Page E-36.  Nothing is hidden or omitted here, but you have to remember that this is the MIXER layout, not the Song Sequencer Easy RECord layout.  Use of Channels A-01, A-02, A-03 is covered elsewhere in the normal ("Live") play sections of the manual.  Had Channels A-01, A-02, and A-03 been included in the Easy RECord layout table, it could lead the user into thinking that those channels are included in the Easy RECord process, and they are not.    This was done this way in order to provide for Main, Layer, and Split operation for both "Live" play and recording without the two scenarios interfering with one another.  During "Live" play, Main, Layer, and Split are played to A-01, A02, A03, but during Easy RECord, they are played/recorded to A-05, A-06, A-07.  This is in contrast to Individual Track Recording to the "B" Tracks/Channels, where play and recording are directed to the specific track/channel (B-01 thru B-16)  as selected by the user.  Here again, this is all done to give the keyboard full Arranger Workstation recording capabilities for the Auto-accompaniment features (the "A" Tracks/Channels) plus the full featured 16 track sequencer (the "B" Tracks/Channels) of a non-Arranger workstation.  Song sequncer/recorders in Arranger Workstations (even those well beyond this price range) are normally limited to 2, 4, 6, 8, or 12 tracks, with most of those being permanently reserved for auto accompaniment.  With their "A" and "B" track/channel design, the CTK/WK-6XXX/7XXX models give you the best of both worlds'without tradeoffs, but at the cost of increased complexity and a steeper learning curve.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.