Xone: K2 Thread

[Zster]

You should be able to do everything the X1 does with the K2. The process may be a little different, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

That was what i came to also.

[chrisw]

anyone use one of these for ableton live and an external mixer?

[iamtheish]

I am running 1 K2 with the DB4. I have Mix Architekt's .tsi loaded in Traktor for 1 K2 with 2 decks. When I connect the K2 through USB, it works fine in Traktor. However, when I connect the K2 through the X-Link port on the DB4 I get no response from the K2 besides it initial light up. I have the in-port and out-port set to DB4 in the controller manager and still am not getting control. Any idea of what setting I may need to tweak to get midi sending/receiving from the K2 through the DB4 and into Traktor?

xlink will only tx/rx midi information, not audio. don't let the rj45 fool you into thinking that it has gigabit ethernet bandwidth capabilities, because it does not.

when linking multiple K2's together via xlink, the data from all the controllers will be seen by any of the computers connected to them via usb. this could be through a db-series mixer using xlink, the usb ports on the K2's them selves, etc. for instance - 2 K2's linked by xlink with the cpu connected to one of the K2's will see midi from both K2's, on the individual midi channels each K2 is set to, but only recognizes one K2 as the midi in port. my 2x K2 tsi is an example of this. it will work through the DB4 in the same way - 3 channels of midi information will be seen by a single input device (db4 via usb) in your computer.

it also means that you can have multiple computers on a K2 xlink network. for instance - 2 K2's + 1 DB4 can have a total of 3 computers connected, all rx the midi from the k2's, and can tx to them as well.

midi clock does not hold up very well for sync in that scenario - too many conversions from point to point. the variance can be around 100bpm - speaking from experience of running 5 computers on 4 K2's and 1 DB4. this is a problem you'll find with midi clock in general. external sync solutions are recommended for this - inner clock systems from oz is worth a look.

K2's operate on a single midi channel, not multiples. latching layers shifts the midi note/cc's, and does not change the midi channel itself. but all of that is covered in the manual, which is on line at the xone site.

also there is a firmware update which helps with initialization issues, so please update your units if you have not already. :-)

[mix architekt]

we always suggest checking things with snoize midi monitor to see what is transmitting and what isn't. but quite often, and this is becoming a bit of a problem for me in recent travels, lot's of DB4's have bent pins in their xlink ports from people sticking the wrong cable in the hole. if the pins get crossed, it can have some big problems. if they're bent out of the track and not making contact, then they may receive but not transmit, or possibly the other way round.

check your physical connectors first with a flashlight to see if you notice anything out of alignment, then start attaching the units piece by piece, in every possible order to fully explore where the hang up is. with db4 and without. K2 #1 into K2 #2 via xlink, vice versa, etc...

or if the pins are definitely bent, then it's usually a repair trip to fix it. you can try pushing down on the ethernet connector on the DB4 to see if that changes anything.

[iamtheish]

Thanks for the reply. I checked the xlink port and it looks like 1 pin may be a tiny bit off. I haven't had a chance to play with it to see if I can get midi signal by pushing down on the ethernet connector. There is some sort of connection happening though since the K2 lights up when I plug it into the DB4 xlink port, but as you mentioned, this may not mean it will be able to send AND receive MIDI.

I'll play with snoize midi monitor and the connection and see what I can get.

I really appreciate all the time and energy you put into creating these mappings, testing them, sharing them and helping everyone get their setup running optimally, it's a tremendous help. Cheers

[mix architekt]

ok, if pin 1 is off, that can definitely be the cause. i had a similar situation in beijing last month where the K2's would illuminate but not transmit. on close inspection of the DB4, the xlink port had been raped by usb connectors and pin 1+3 were bent. some times you can use a very fine probe to push the pin back on track, but be super careful because breaking it will require it to be sent out for service.

i have updates in the works for TP2.5, though it's taking a bit longer than expected since the LED output did not transfer gracefully in this new version. 4D and DB4 are complete, K2 is sorted except for chained/advanced fx mode indication. i can't for the life of me get consistent results for led output with the new tsi settings.

[neilmcm]

Mix Architekt when do you think the new Db4 tsi update will be released. Thanks for all the great help you give here.

[TommyQuiet]

just bit the bullet and ordered my frist k2,hoping to get a db2 in the next few months and add another k2

[mix architekt]

Mix Architekt when do you think the new Db4 tsi update will be released. Thanks for all the great help you give here.

the tsi is finished, but i need to update the pdf with all the commands. a few details changed (like the key lock placement, and master pitch bend) so once that doc is finished i'll get everything public. i'll double check the details and hopefully have something up in a day.

also, to totally open a can of worms, we have found that running traktor at 44.1kHz sounds much better than any software based conversion to higher sample rates. since i know everyone is only playing wav's :-) keeping the source consistent at 44.1 till it hits the DB4 offered us the best results. in testing we found that any higher sample rate being converted up in the software, sounded a bit grainy at the top. but this should be for the DB4 thread, so sorry for the deviation.

[djproben]

also, to totally open a can of worms, we have found that running traktor at 44.1kHz sounds much better than any software based conversion to higher sample rates. since i know everyone is only playing wav's :-) keeping the source consistent at 44.1 till it hits the DB4 offered us the best results. in testing we found that any higher sample rate being converted up in the software, sounded a bit grainy at the top. but this should be for the DB4 thread, so sorry for the deviation.

Might want to read this regarding sampling rates: http://mixonline.com/recording/mixin..._new_sampling/

"Upsampling" probably has mixed impact in terms of people preferring or not preferring it since it is adding information to the signal. According to this article http://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html higher sampling rates can even be harmful to the original signal (and that sounds consistent with your finding). I used to work at the highest sampling rate the hardware and software would allow but I've been pretty much convinced to stick to 44.1 after reading that stuff (and I never noticed any difference sound-wise anyway).