Problem with ACT -

In EDIT PREFERENCES  ..... CONTROL SURFACES  are you settings as in port A-PRO 2  and Out port   A PRO
 
I had this problem as of a few hours ago.
 
Now when I open Sonar X1 the ACT light on the keyboard switches itself on and connects up automatically.
 
And if I open a fx ie Sonitus delay this is dispalyed on the keyboard lcd screen  and the if I open up for example Dimension pro this will then show on the LCD screen as to what is being controlled.  
 
This never happened untill I made tose control sufaces changes.

Yes I had the eact same problem and now it is solved.

When I got it working the difference was that as soon as I started Sonar the ACT light would light up on the keyboard (this it never done before). And now when I load anything it dispalys what fx/soft synth I am using (before it would just stay on strip view).

I done so many things its hard to pinpoint what I done to get it working,but this is a sort of way I done it.

I turned everything off.

Turned on A PRO

Loaded X1

In edit prefrences devices i ticked inputs A PRO 1  and  A PRO 2   and in ouput  I ticked A PRO

Then in Control surfaces it was  IN PORT  - A PRO 2
                                                   OUT PORT - A PRO


These were all applied and closed


In X1   I  clicked onto the control surface symbol (top middle--should be below a little display saying   A PRO -1  )

It bought up the main display you have .  I then pressed enable ..that is when I got the ACT light on the keyboard to light up..

I saved everything to a file.,shut it all down,restartd and everything was working.



ONE THING I HAVE NOTICED ON MY A-800 PRO I HAVE B3 SELECTED AND I DON'T RECALL IT MOVING FROM THIS POSITION (YOURS  IS ON B1)
COULD IT BE THAT!!!!!!!

Good luck,thats the only advice I can offer.

  

Here's a small developement.
 
I have learned that:
 
in Preferences/Control Surfaces, if I select A-PRO 2 as the InPort, then the keyboard will work well, but the midi learn functions in the VST will not work. If I select anything else as the InPort, then the midi learn functions work with the VST, but the APRO controls do not work at all.
 
It seems like it's an either/or thing.
 
Is this true for anyone else besides me?

Chez Jonesy


Here's a small developement.
 
I have learned that:
 
in Preferences/Control Surfaces, if I select A-PRO 2 as the InPort, then the keyboard will work well, but the midi learn functions in the VST will not work. If I select anything else as the InPort, then the midi learn functions work with the VST, but the APRO controls do not work at all.
 
It seems like it's an either/or thing.
 
Is this true for anyone else besides me?

Hi, Chez - I've had my A-800 Pro since Christmas, and use it every day.  BUT I still find its workings, and the ins-and-outs of ACT to be very confusing.  It all seems inconsistent and hit-and-miss--but I am sure most or even all of the things I encounter are due to user error.  The manual isn't much help at all, that's for sure.

Your thread got me to poking around some more.  I have to admit that I mostly just use the Apro for playing and recording, bypassing all the remote control knobs and sliders - it hasn't seemed, yet, like a better way to work than just using my mouse.  I get impatient with it, I'll admit that too.

But, what you're saying in this post shouldn't be the case - With Apro 2 set as the input, you should be able to use both the keyboard and control synths etc.

Be sure to use the B1 through B4 buttons.  B1 is for controlling Sonar's mixer and all that, B2 is for controlling FX, B3 is what you want for controlling a synth, and B4 is a grab-bag of utilities.

In your MIDI devices choose Apro 1 and 2 as inputs, and plain Apro as an output.  On Sonar's controller surface Forum I was advised by a couple of more experienced people to NOT have the Apro selected as an Output - and I had it that way for a long time, but I don't understand why they said that - it cripples some of the options.  So, go ahead and make sure you have APro selected in the MIDI devices windows - THEN it's a separate thing to make sure Apro is selected as your control surface.

Side note - Every time I open Sonar, I have to go to the control surface window and re-select Apro - that info doesn't stay put for some reason.

I just now tested Apro with the Sonar Studio Instrument - strings.  Once I'd clicked B3 I could see that it was pre-configured for the first 6 sliders to control the sampler - The first 3 sliders control Bass, Cello, Violin volume.  The next 3 control their panning, in the same order.  If I click the ACT button in the synth, I could add more controls - wiggling "attack" then moving the next slider in Apro.  Turn off ACT, it asks if I want that assignment to stick - yep, and then it does.

With all synths I've tried working with, there are some pre-configured control assignments, but they can be extremely random, no logic to how they're laid out.  If I want to get serious about controlling them, I just have to do a lot of manual reassignment.

Note - when working with that Studio Strings player, only the Apro sliders were available for controlling it, not the knobs.  I don't know why.

Pushing B1 again, and I'm back to having Apro control Sonar's console again - And in both modes, the Apro keyboard was available for playing the synth.

All I know is that using ACT and the Apro in conjunction with Sonar is nothing, I meant NOTHING like the videos where it's being shown that "HEy, all you gotta do is click on a synth, voila, instant perfection, now click Sonar again, and you're ready to go"--- Those vids make it all much more instant than it actually is.

I find it unpredictable, confusing - I always end up just grabbing the mouse so I can get on with my work.  With more patience, I'm sure I could get Apro to be a more helpful unit to have.

Maybe something in this rambling post will help you out, Chez.

Randy B.

Chez Jonesy


Jason: thanks. i look forward to seeing if you have any success changing what the knobs/sliders control in a VST (from the A-PRO interface window).

Randy: thanks also for your helpful reply. i share many of your experiences. i have it working more or less as advertised, in that my keyboard now controls the active VST. With the VST's made by Cakewalk, i have been able to make the ACT LEARN function work (click the ACT icon, move the knob, click the ACT button again, and it asks you if you want to save the newly learned controls). But the ACT LEARN doesn't work well all the time, and does not work very well at all on non-Cakewalk-made VSTs. I find it much more intuitive to use the midi-learn functions within the VSTs, but this does not work without doing my trick (change the InPort to something other than A-PRO 2).

I share your angst, as I can't tell you how many hours i've wasted trying to make the keyboard and Sonar work when i should have been recording and working on music.

Anyways, i think if we keep this dialogue going, we might be able to get it solved. I'm keen to get it working,

Hi, Chez - It seems to be working for me a bit better than what you got going so far, like I don't have the "either/or thing" like you mentioned in post #6.  I worked with things more today after posting, and had a good time running successful experiments.  What I still don't get is how ACT can be advertised in the way it is - like the Cakewalk demo video which basically says "Just click on a VST, and there ya go"---not quite.

I've set up several useful maps with the Apro editor.  I do recommend you try that.  I needed a map which re-directs Aftertouch to the mod stick, for instance - I rely on it heavily to control vibrato on some Garritan instruments since, unfortunately, the major fault with the Apro series is that the actual key Aftertouch is for complete ka-ka, as in--it doesn't work, and it's a very well known issue.  So, I just re-mapped it to the mod stick, and dial up that map when I need it.

Randy B.

 This was a response I got from Roland UK Support I got earlier today after I sent them details of when I was unable to get A Pro working over the weekend just gone(although my circumstances have changed).
Hi Jason.
 
Thank you for your email.
 
First I suggest a Factory Reset on the A800 - just so we know we are starting from the same point.
After you have installed the drivers, enabled the MIDI IN/Out in Sonars MIDI options, create a new Control Surface, as the A-Pro.
Make sure the INPUT is set to APRO2 and the out APRO.
Keep the Control Surface Template number to 0.
Insert Dimension Pro.
Press the ACT button on the A Pro.
Now press A/L button on the VSTI window.
Turn a dial on the Dimension Pro Vsti.
Now turn a dial on the A Pro.
 
Press the A/L button on the VSTi window so it’s unlit.
You should see a window saying that 1 change has been made - press OK.
Now turn that dial on the A Pro - it should now work.
Next simply load the next VSTi (Beatscape etc) , do the same thing and you should be able to flip between instruments.....
 
Let me know the outcome..

Has anyone gotten ACT to control the bus faders unstead of track faders.

What about the rest of the faders?  How do I apply the rest of the faders to bus volume?

Oh thats just crazy.  Why?  Its a programing thing.  Why in the world would Cakewalk only make ONE fader available for bus control?