Any padKontrol users? Looking for specific and general tips/concepts on mapping controller

Good morning, all. I should know this stuff by now but I find mapping to anything but keys/pad to MIDI notes very confusing (like knobs, faders, x/y controls, etc) and the padKontrol tends to be even more confusing in this regard. So I'm hoping you guys can just point me to the right settings menus in Sonar and methods of achieving these things reliably. I know there are multiple ways to do this so any and all direction would be helpful. I have had some success with MIDI learn but find it doesn't work ALL the time and it doesn't give me as much control over variables as I could have. I just need to give myself a crash course on this and be done with it.
 
So my current controllers are an M-Audio Oxygen 25 key controller and a Korg padKontrol. I'd like to know how to map the Oxygen's various knobs, fader, mod pitch wheel reliably and would especially like to know how to map the transport buttons to control the Transport Module if possible.
 
However that should be much easier than dealing with the padKontrol and I've had more success with the Oxygen already. The padKontrol has a bunch of stuff that I have never been able to make work right and would REALLY like to access those controls.
 
1) The x/y pad. This is supposedly a straightforward x/y controller but I have no real experience with those. Where/how would I set that up within Sonar?
 
2) This may not relate to mapping and might be a quirk of the pK but I have never been able to get the Roll or Flam functions to work on ALL the pads. It only works on one pad near the bottom and I have no idea how to get it to affect the other pads. It's a really cool effect when used with the x/y controller (which by default controls the speed/velocity of the roll function) and I'd like to use it more effectively. The flam isn't all that useful I guess but I'm sure I could figure out something cool to do with it.
 
3) The padKontrol variable knobs. These are just knobs but they are big and ride really nicely so I think they'd be useful for adjust parameters during live playback (like volume automation for mixing instead of writing automation... stuff like that).
 
I know this stuff is in the manual but it seems to be scattered and I'm not super familiar with all the terminology and concepts and sometimes things just don't seem to work as described so maybe there is some special things I need to do for these devices. I think I'd have more success if you guys pointed me in the right direction... especially if anyone actually owns these devices and uses these functions.
 
Not fired up yet but thought I'd get this posted early to see if I could net some response before I sit down to play with this all.
 
Thanks. :-)

Beepster,

I'm in the same boat as you. I've been meaning to set up the knobs and x/y pad but haven't gotten around to it yet. I still haven't gotten my axiom 49 set up right and am still working my way through Sonar's features. It may be a while before I get to it.

Regarding using the pads for controlling pedals, I think you can set the pads the send midi cc messages. You could set up a scene on the padkontrol that transmits midi cc instead of notes. Just switch to that scene when you need that feature and match the transmitted messages to your vst.

Just an idea. I probably shouldn't be suggesting things as I'm still in the early stages of learning.

Side note, do you connect a footswitch to trigger kick sounds? I've been meaning to try that but haven't found a definitive answer on whether or not the switch is velocity sensitive.

Hi, guys. Sorry for not popping back yesterday. A bunch of important meatworld stuff jumped on me and I had to deal with it.
 

Mantofini
Beepster,

I'm in the same boat as you. I've been meaning to set up the knobs and x/y pad but haven't gotten around to it yet. I still haven't gotten my axiom 49 set up right and am still working my way through Sonar's features. It may be a while before I get to it.

Regarding using the pads for controlling pedals, I think you can set the pads the send midi cc messages. You could set up a scene on the padkontrol that transmits midi cc instead of notes. Just switch to that scene when you need that feature and match the transmitted messages to your vst.

Just an idea. I probably shouldn't be suggesting things as I'm still in the early stages of learning.

Side note, do you connect a footswitch to trigger kick sounds? I've been meaning to try that but haven't found a definitive answer on whether or not the switch is velocity sensitive.

I saw some vids on youtube of companies that program scene sets and stuff for the pK to make it do all sorts of crazy things like DAW specific controllers and whatever. Really impressive stuff so I know that I should technically be able to make it do most of the stuff I want... unfortunately it is a notoriously tricky beast compared to other devices. I actually posted some questions over at the Korg forums when I first got it but that place moves reeeeaaallly slow and didn't get any answers. Eventually I figured out how to map the pads to BFD and posted directions. A few months later I posted back and there were other posts thanking me for figuring it out... but no help for me. lol
 
As far as the foot controller I actually have a generic expression pedal that the seller tossed in for free (which was nice). Unfortunately the foot control feature is not velocity sensitive. It outputs at max velocity (I think) and basically just works as an on/off message so any velocity changes need to be done after the fact in the PRV. That's fine for me though because I use it for a kick sound so I can play the thing like a real drum kit. It's weird/hard to play like that but with some practice I can now play it relatively well. Still lots of editing afterward though because the pedal has a tendency to double trigger and it's easy to miss hits with but all in all it's a HELL of a lot easier putting together beats that way than inputting them manually or trying to play the kick parts with my thumbs and still play the rest of the "kit" normally. I highly recommend getting a pedal for this type of thing. I just wish it could do double kick but that's easy enough to plug in after the fact. I haven't gotten that far yet but I may just "overdub" my double kick parts with my thumbs but if that doesn't work just enter that stuff in the PRV.
 
If I figure this stuff out (and I'm hell bent on doing so) I'll definitely share the results with anyone who needs help. It does not seem to be a device many people here own.
 

Stone House Studios
Beepster -
 
Not in the manual at the moment - but you have to enable each pad for flam or roll.  You may want to look into the PadKontrol Editor - you can create this stuff at your computer!

Hi, SHS. I was hoping you'd pop in. Thanks. I did not know that the pads needed to be individually set up for Flam/Roll. I'll look into that.
 
As far as the editor software it was giving me a REAL hard time last time I tried to use it (and that was the only time). I did everything the manual said step by step but I'd get a "Could Not Transmit Data" error (or something like that). I should take another look at that stuff though because that was a long time ago and I may be smart enough to figure it out now. Maybe I was using a bad version of the software or something.
 
So far I've been manually programming the pads from the device instead of trying to map Sonar to it. Kind of complicated but I've gotten pretty fast at it and have a couple nice kit "Scenes" set up for BFD Eco and now Addictive Drums. It works great with those programs and I'm REALLY glad I bought the thing. I don't think I could have gotten a device with pads this good for under $800 (and I looked long and hard).
 
Anyway, I'll update this if I figure anything out. Cheers.