Playbox vs. Maschine

phillip2637

I'm seeing an incompatibility and not sure where to place the blame. :)

I use a Komplete Kontrol S49 Mk2 as a controller. (Mac Mini 2018, macOS 12.3)

In general, loading a patch from an instrument shows me which keys are mapped to sounds by adjusting the keyboard lights. When I use Playbox as my instrument, however, I get different results depending on the host software. Using the Komplete Kontrol app, mapped keys are orange and unmapped are blue. Using Maschine software, however, all keys show as orange, making it less obvious where to play.

(Even more of a problem if one has shifted the octave without taking proper notice.)

Gee_Flat

Playbox

for use with: Free KONTAKT PLAYER version 6.7 and higher, or KONTAKT version 6.7 and higher.

phillip2637

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/49730#Comment_49730

Thanks for reminding me to check! It has the same problem in Kontakt 7 that it does in Maschine...all blue lights this time, still no feedback about mapped keys.

Gee_Flat

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/49736#Comment_49736

My mistake. I don't know Maschine software and didn't realize that Kontakt instruments could be used as plugins without Kontakt.

I am curious though. What do you mean by, mapped keys are orange and unmapped keys are blue?

phillip2637

Playbox creates a set of eight chords (with all kinds of control over the notes and sounds), having each of those chords playable using one key on the keyboard. So, only eight keys actually trigger any sound. Loaded into Komplete Kontrol software, the keyboard lights are one colour for the eight that produce sound, in contrast to a different colour for those that do nothing. In Maschine and Kontakt all the keys are the same colour, meaning that when switching between tracks (for example) you don't get a visual cue about where your sounds are located.

Usually, the cues are present in either Maschine or Komplete Kontrol. (I just verified that using Cuba and Prime Bass to convince myself I wasn't hallucinating. 😀 )

Gee_Flat

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/49746#Comment_49746

ahhh.... so in other words, there are 8 groups or multiple groups, being triggered by 8 keyswitches which also trigger the sounds.

From the demo I just watched though, those other keys are mapped to 'piano sounds' so that you can create your own chord groups.

phillip2637

It's either/or. If you're in chord edit mode all keys produce sound; if you're in playback, only eight. (And in Komplete Kontrol the key colours change to match.)

Kymeia

Maschine is Orange by default but I think you can change the default key colour - try that and maybe the mapped keys will stand out then?