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 Forum index » Instruments and Equipment » Modular Synthesis
How to connect Akai MPKII Mini to eurorack modular
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svensei



Joined: Oct 04, 2019
Posts: 5
Location: Sarajevo

PostPosted: Fri Oct 04, 2019 4:43 am    Post subject: How to connect Akai MPKII Mini to eurorack modular Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Hello everyone,

Im new to the eurorack synths, but as soon as i got interested... I was connected to the razmasynth guy that built one beginner setup for me.
However i need help and as much as knowledge from someone that understand this matter...

So the main question is how to connect AKAI Mini (that only have sustain & usb connection) to this modular that i have.

Image of modular synth - http://prntscr.com/pesqrk

Image of akai - http://prntscr.com/pesr2k
- http://prntscr.com/pesrzb

Cheers
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PHOBoS



Joined: Jan 14, 2010
Posts: 5591
Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 705

PostPosted: Fri Oct 04, 2019 6:28 am    Post subject: Re: How to connect Akai MPKII Mini to eurorack modular Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

welcome party!

I am not familiar with the AKAI MPKII mini so I am guessing a bit.
You will probably need a midi to CV converter that takes the USB output of the AKAI mini and converts it into signals
you can use with your modular synth. (I am actually working on a simple one at the moment). I assume there are modules
that use USB midi but you can also use a seperate converter to first convert it to a regular DIN connector. There might be
more modules available that makes use of this instead of USB.

The sustain input (it is an input ?) is probably designed to connect to a pedal with a switch. If you want you could control this
with your modular too but I am not sure which modules there are to do something like this. It wouldn't be very hard to make
something yourself though, if you can handle a soldering iron.

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svensei



Joined: Oct 04, 2019
Posts: 5
Location: Sarajevo

PostPosted: Fri Oct 04, 2019 9:53 am    Post subject: Re: How to connect Akai MPKII Mini to eurorack modular Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

PHOBoS wrote:
welcome party!

I am not familiar with the AKAI MPKII mini so I am guessing a bit.
You will probably need a midi to CV converter that takes the USB output of the AKAI mini and converts it into signals
you can use with your modular synth. (I am actually working on a simple one at the moment). I assume there are modules
that use USB midi but you can also use a seperate converter to first convert it to a regular DIN connector. There might be
more modules available that makes use of this instead of USB.

The sustain input (it is an input ?) is probably designed to connect to a pedal with a switch. If you want you could control this
with your modular too but I am not sure which modules there are to do something like this. It wouldn't be very hard to make
something yourself though, if you can handle a soldering iron.



Thank you for the fast answer PHOBoS,
the sustain is designed for pedal... can you tell me where i can find detailed tutorial for total beginner on how to make something from scratch?

Cheers,
s
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PHOBoS



Joined: Jan 14, 2010
Posts: 5591
Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 705

PostPosted: Fri Oct 04, 2019 11:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

sorry, I don't have a detailed tutorial for you. The simplest way would be to use a standard 5V relay (if you use 5V gate outputs),
however I would not recommend it. The current it needs to switch will be rather high (might even be too high for a gate output)
and would at the very least need an extra diode to protect the gate output. So instead it would be better to use some sort of
electronic switch. Maybe a single transistor can do it but I'd recommend an optocoupler. Actually, I think I made something
similar for a delay unit, hold on,...

yep, I did http://electro-music.com/forum/post-422585.html#422585

You can probably do it with just an optocoupler alone which will eliminate the need for external power (although you could use a battery).
it would be something like this:
Posted Image, might have been reduced in size. Click Image to view fullscreen.
Where 'microcontroller pin' is the input (connected to a gate out) and S1 would be the 2 contacts connected to the sustain input.

Since I don't have an Akai MPKII mini I don't know what will or won't work as I can't test it.

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PHOBoS



Joined: Jan 14, 2010
Posts: 5591
Location: Moon Base
Audio files: 705

PostPosted: Fri Oct 04, 2019 12:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I gave it some more thought and I don't think it would even be useful. The Akai MPKII Mini is just a controller so maybe the sustain pedal
input just gets converted to a midi signal. That would mean you first convert a gate output to a signal for the Akai. The Akai converts it to
a midi signal and then you would use a midi converter to turn it back into a gate output.

ok now I am curious, let me see if I can find something in the manual.


edit: didn't really find anything in the manual but watched a video and it does indeed seem to convert the pedal input to a midi CC message.

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