Way to set values to unity?

babble.catalog · 2025-04-05T00:09:02+00:00

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On the Kontrol Mk3 keyboards, is there a way to set a value to unity easily? Especially in DAW mode.

So say I change the volume of something, and I want to bring is back to 0, or - even more useful - I am changing the pan and decide I don't like it, and want to bring it back to center. Is there any simple way to do this?

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Komplete Kontrol Keyboards

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JesterMgee

Nope.

Isuse is that different plugins have differing values for where "unity" is for a parameter. Pan for instance in some plugins may be -64 for left and +64 for right or 0 left and 100 right. KK has no real clue what is what and where "unity" should be.

Not sure about the new V3 software but in KK V2 using the on-screen display of the controls you CAN double click the control and it sets it centered. That's about it.

One (of MANY) suggestions I submitted before I realised NI don't consider user suggestions at all was along this line where it would be great that upon loading a NKS file the value of all parameters was stored in memory as the default for the preset so you could tweak any control but if you wanted to return to default for that preset, hold SHIFT + double tap the control and it would return to the value when you loaded the preset.

That would 100% be possible but never likely to ever be a thing.

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JesterMgee

Nope.

Not sure about the new V3 software but in KK V2 using the on-screen display of the controls you CAN double click the control and it sets it centered. That's about it.

That would 100% be possible but never likely to ever be a thing.

babble.catalog

Weird. I feel like most other DAW controllers are able to do this. And I just mean in DAW mode, it should be pretty simple as there is only Volume and Pan — and the software obviously knows where 0db and C pan is as it already has the integration . . .

JesterMgee

So you are talking about the DAW controls (in some kind of unmentioned DAW) not NKS plugin control?

That should be something more easier since there is usually a control script with better access to parameters, but no idea since I use Ableton Live with both a Push and an MCU which have far better control for this kind of thing than the KK keyboard, but based on the lackluster functionality that is included in KK for this kind of thing, I would say it's not possible.

babble.catalog

Cubase/Nuendo, yes.

NKS plugin control would be nice too, but I could see how it would be harder to implement, and its not as important to me

DunedinDragon

I would kind of think this sort of thing would be pretty tough in order to get the proper signal levels consistent across all DAWs as they seem to vary a lot in the way they process the signals in my experience. Generally I'm only concerned with getting a relatively useful level coming into my DAW because there are most likely going to be other things added to that track for getting the signal to some form of unity level and appropriate mix across the entire project, all of which are controlled much more easily and visually within the DAW.

babble.catalog

I get what you're saying, but I mean, wanting to get back to unity volume and pan is a pretty standard thing. And KontrolMk3 already has integration with most DAWs. Plus, unity in terms of volume is pretty standard, its really only panning where things can get weird I guess.

But I think wanting to bring faders to unity is a pretty standard thing.

babble.catalog

It really isn't complicated — maybe you think I'm describing something else.
The Mk3 keyboards (and I believe previous versions) already have integration with most DAWs where it knows where 0db and Center pan are. If they didn't know that, we wouldn't be able to adjust them back to 0 or Center in DAW mode. A unity function would literally just bring the fader back to 0 or the pan back to Center. There's nothing complicated or tough about that

JesterMgee

It's not complicated and usually the scripting for the control surface side will have the required messages detailed on how to do this which can be applied on a per-daw basis if it is supported.

However that is extra work and there may indeed be some DAWs that would not support it and the way NI deliver this kind of integration is to make it do enough to be useful, but not too useful so while it may be possible, don't count on it actually being implemented.

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/220134#Comment_220134

He's not asking for a consistent unity level over all DAWs, he is asking for the channel control to be reset to the unity setting for the channel which is the same for example as right-clicking the fader and selecting to reset or for a pan, double click to reset to center. I think you are confusing his request with something else.

babble.catalog

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/220319#Comment_220319

I would still not really worry about what DAWs "support" it, etc. Really, I just want a function that brings the fader back to 0db or to C, no matter what DAW. I think they obviously already have enough DAW support (for the DAWs they support) to see where 0db and C pan is. I don't even think it needs much more integration with the DAW and more just some integration with itself — a feature that brings faders back to 0 and pans back to C.

JesterMgee

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/220996#Comment_220996

Yes but you are talking from the POV of someone looking at a fader with a scale on it, not programmatically via code.

As I mentioned already, the keyboard needs to know on what scale unity is since the scale could be 0-10,000 in code for instance. Is unity 5000? Is it 2500 or 7500 (is it a logarithmic scale or a linear scale)? Next DAW will have a different scale for their parameters, maybe not as fine resolution so maybe it's 1-1024 and maybe where unity is is not the same fraction of a position.

I understand what you are asking and know it could potentially be possible but it depends on the script that communicates between hardware and software and to be blunt, if it does not do it now unlikely it will be added as a feature any time in the near future.

babble.catalog

I'm sure you are right about the scale. I am not a programmer. However — if the keyboard already knows where 0 and C are (which it does) — why can't it just simply automate the process of getting back to where 0 and C are? It obviously already knows the unity scale because it already knows where 0 and C are.

JesterMgee

it doesn’t, that’s the script that tells it the value or the converted values, hence why I said that function would have to be part of the script…

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