I've run into an odd little problem with the Korg Pad Control and Sonar X1. I'm running Win7 64 bit and 64 bit X1. The Korg Pad control is a little drum controller. It's a usb powered thing, with midi transmitted via the usb. The pad control comes with an editor/librarian. If I am running X1, and then start the editor/librarian, the editor/librarian can't communicate with the device. If the editor/librarian is running, then X1 recognizes the midi device (in the preferences window), but will not let you check the box. Or rather, you can select the padKontrol midi device, select 'Apply', the preference dialog 'blinks' for a sec and returns with what you just checked unchecked. I'm thinking maybe the as the editor/librarian is a 32 bit app and sonar x1 is 64 bit, the midi sharing is somehow affected? Or not? Anyone have a clue why this might be happening? Thanks.

Hi Bob.
 
I don't think there is much point in using the editor/librarian at the same time as you have Sonar open - but I also have never had reason to try it!
Definitely go to the Korg site and get the latest Korg midi driver.
Maybe I can help you if you tell me what you are trying to do.
 
Brian

AFAIK it is not possible to share midi drivers between two apps without the use of some loopback device like Midi Yoke. Anyway, why do you need to keep both open? I have a PadKontrol, too, and I have its scenes pre configured. If for some reason I want to change some settings on the fly I find it faster using the unit's buttons and data wheel. If what you need is loading scenes or scene set data while using Sonar X1 live you'll most probably need to take the Midi Yoke route. Another thing that is maybe worth trying if what you need is live scene data loading is trying to use Sonar to send sysex data directly to the PadKontrol. I haven't tried, but I am pretty sure that this is feasible, and if so you could even automate that task triggering sysex banks from a midi track.

I wasn't aware that midi-sharing was an issue. Ah well....I'll just do as suggested and use the controls on the unit itself. Thanks much for the help.

Woohoo! padKontrol party!

I agree. The editor librarian sucks. I've never been able to get it to work. I don't see ever needing to either with the 16 internal scenes.So far I've programmed 3 of the banks and I only use one.

A couple things about the pK... When you first install it choose a USB port you want to use, install it there and always use that port. Lots of talk on the Korg forums about it screwing up when moving it around from port to port. Also the pK refuses to work with Sonar unless I turn on the unit BEFORE opening Sonar. Not sure why. Might just be my set up.

Nice little unit for the price though. Quite happy with it once I figured out how to use the thing. The manual is far more confusing than it needs to be.

Beepster, thanks for that helpful tip about turning on padKontrol first, and then opening Sonar. I spent the bulk of the weekend troubleshooting padKontrol problems and that solved one of them: getting Sonar to respond to my pad hits.
 
Howver, my other major problem remains: the Editor/Librarian won't communicate with padKontrol. I've scoured this forum and others and come across all sorts of tidbits but none that have resolved the issue. Any help is appreciated!
 
I have Sonar X2 Producer though this occurs even when Sonar isn't running.
Windows 7 64 bit, Intel i7, 8GB RAM.
 
Problem in a nutshell:
1. In the Editor/Librarian, I go to MIDI > Preferences. The "MIDI In" field says "Not use MIDI In port." There are no other options. If I click the "Receive" buttons in the editor, I get this error message: "Receive Scene Set failed: MIDI device not specified." Same for the Transmit button.
 
The silly thing is, yesterday I was able to successfully transmit and receive at some point, so I know it *can* work. And the Preferences options were different. First, I had three options for MIDI In: MIDI, Port A, and Port B. It worked when I had Port A chosen. Then, it didn't work and the MIDI In field said "Port A--not connected." Then the PORT A and B options went away entirely.
 
I have done the following:
1. Download and install the latest drivers from Korg.
2. Move the USB cord to a different port, then reinstall the driver.3. Rearrange the order of turning on the padKontrol and opening the software.
4. Verify that padKontrol is recognized in Device Manager and drivers are working property.
5. Verify on the padKontrol through the SETTING and PORT button that it's set up on port A.
 
Thanks in advance for any advice!

Hi, Nick. Wow this is an old thread. lol I'm glad the "turn on device first" tip helped. I'm actually finding that to be the case with some of my other MIDI devices as well. Unfortunately I haven't been messing with the pK much lately so my original statement that I just couldn't get the Editor Librarian software to work still stands. It seems you've actually had more luck than I have. That is the exact error message I got anytime I tried to transmit scenes to my computer and I was following the directions to a T. I think there is just something wrong with that piece of software as is evidenced by a lot of the chatter over on the Korg forums (at least last time I looked which was quite some time ago). For me it's not a major issue because the 16 internal scenes is more than enough for my needs but I could see it being a real problem for guys who need to use it live or just need a lot of different programs. I'd say if you can't get it figured out try using the ACT stuff in Sonar instead but that's not something I've messed with personally either. For the pK I just use the internal programming system to map to the MIDI notes of whatever softsynth I'm using and save it. Even that is ridiculously complicated. Ridiculously complicate seems to be something Korg does well. lol
 
If I start working with the pK more again I'll probably be posting some stuff about it but for now I've shifted into mixing mode and have a few albums to put together so it might be a while. I've also started using the PRV more for most of my data input for drums which is why I bought the pK in the first place but I do kind of want to use it to input more natural sound fills over top of the point and click beats I've been creating.
 
Good luck... in fact if you figure it out update this thread. I'd love to hear any solutions to this problem. Cheers.

Thanks for the follow-up, Beepster. I called Korg tech support--problem solved! (Support was awesome, BTW--answered the phone in about a minute, and it's free). So for anyone interested:

Beepster alluded to this in his earlier post--it's not a KORG issue, it's a Windows issue. Windows 7 has a ten port limit for MIDI devices--and I was over the limit which caused the problem. I only have a few devices, so how could I be over the limit? Every time you plug a device into a different USB port, you install a new software driver and reserve another port. So, for example, I had four slots being "used" by my Edirol PCR-800 even though it wasn't even plugged in! The Korg tech had me delete the redundant driver installs, which brought me under the ten port limit. After that, the ed/lib "talked" to the padKontrol just fine.
 
To delete the redundant driver installs, open the KORG Midi Driver Uninstall Utility, click the Option button, unselect "Delete Korg Midi device only," select the redundant ports, and click Next or Finish (I forget which one).
 
The padKontrol is awesome (when it works!)--I'm working on recording realistic jazz drums using Superior Drummer in Sonar X2 and it would be much harder without it. I love having the features that the software offers so I think this was worth pursuing. Good luck to all!
 
 

Huh... that's weird. I've been aware of that limitation since I built my rig and have kept my MIDI USB devices on the same ports consistently because of it. Still got the error. I did not really spend a lot of time trying to troubleshoot the Editor Librarian problem for very long though once I figured out how to just save the scenes on board. I'll have to give it another crack some day. I should probably dig around to see what's going on with my USB driver list too anyway just to see what's going on there. Thanks for the update. Cheers.
 
Oh and yes... the pK is definitely an nice unit for the price even if it is a little older. I thought mine was broken because with the default SD3 kits the velocities were all sorts of wrong and I had to resort to using the Max Velocity button on the pK (or whatever it's called). I bought the Andy John's kit for SD3 and all of a sudden the hits were responding probably. Works even better with BFD.
 
 

Beepster
Huh... that's weird. I've been aware of that limitation since I built my rig and have kept my MIDI USB devices on the same ports consistently because of it. Still got the error. I did not really spend a lot of time trying to troubleshoot the Editor Librarian problem for very long though once I figured out how to just save the scenes on board. I'll have to give it another crack some day. I should probably dig around to see what's going on with my USB driver list too anyway just to see what's going on there. Thanks for the update. Cheers.

 
Yeah, it's worth it to take a look at the driver list. Mine has a lot of blank entries--I don't know where those came from but I still have nine things on my list including all the blanks, so I'm close to the limit already.
 

Oh and yes... the pK is definitely an nice unit for the price even if it is a little older. I thought mine was broken because with the default SD3 kits the velocities were all sorts of wrong and I had to resort to using the Max Velocity button on the pK (or whatever it's called). I bought the Andy John's kit for SD3 and all of a sudden the hits were responding probably. Works even better with BFD.

 
Have you messed around with the different velocity curves at all? That can make a huge difference in how the pads respond to your touch. They're pretty versatile, too. I've settled on Curve #2 as working best for jazz drums.