Behringer BCR2000 and a G2 engine

Afro88 · Last edited by Afro88 on Tue Feb 01, 2005 5:47 pm; edited 1 time in total

Well, I took the plunge and bought a BCR2000 to go with my engine. What can I say? This piece of gear has breathed new life into my G2. Nothing quite compares to having a bank of knobs in front of you to tweak your patches! I now know how the G2 key users feel, being able to tweak tens of parameters from their synth without having to look at a computer screen. It really is a completely new experience designing a patch, then turning off your computer screen and spending a good hour or so tweaking and programing variations with your hands on real knobs. It's like I'm creating completely new synths with each G2 patch, and then learning how to program them, which is what I originally wanted from my G2. Instead of the counter intuitiveness of programming variations using a mouse, playing the keyboard, going back to the mouse, playing the keyboard, it feels like I'm programming a real physical synth. I highly reccomend the BCR2000 to anyone with an engine - these two pieces of gear are really made for each other!

I have designed a patch for the BCR so that every knob and button (all 108 of them when using the encoder groups!) is assigned to usable G2 midi CC's.

The first row of buttons is programmed to change variations, the second row is split into two - four that send out cc's from 0 to 127 in 5 increments for waveform selection and the other four as normal on/off switches. The top row of encoders' switches (8 for each encoder group too) are assigned as normal on/off types too. All the knobs are assigned as normal from 0 to 127.

g2engineSetupFixed.syx

Description:

BCR2000 patch for G2 engine. Fixed 8th variation button.

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g2engineSetupFixed.syx

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elektro80 · Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2004 5:39 am Post subject:

Hey, sounds cool!
I still have that Evolution U-Control and I was thinking about using that one with the NM1. at work I have a huge Roland plotter which also has a foil cutting knife. The U-control came with a lot of those plastic sheet overlays that matces a set of different parameter controls for several NI softsynths. Theoretically I could make my own sheets for both the NM1 and the U-Control. I could laminate the prints before I cut the holes for the pots and sliders etc. I was wondering if any of you guys have a 1:1 eps file of the NM1 frontrol surface? I can of course make my own drawing in Adobe Illustrator.
When I think of it I could probably mass produce such tepmlate sheets .. complete with text and holes and stuff.

ffransis · Joined: Jun 24, 2004 Posts: 31

elektro80 · Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 2:26 am Post subject:

Hmm.. I have the U-Control UC 33.

gomidas

elektro80 · Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2004 5:38 am Post subject:

I haven´t used that one yet, but I am sure it is very good. Behringer for some reason equals Satan on many boards. I cannot really see why. A lot of what Behringer makes is of course low end budget gear, but all the Behringer stuff I have tested actually works quite well. Many of the mixers aren´t really that good, but the gear compares well with similar low end products from other vendors. That said, the popular Mackie budget mixers aren´t really that much better.

seraph

gomidas

Rob

cebec · Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2004 7:56 am Post subject:

i used the sysex preset for my bcr2000 and G2 key and it worked great! thank you very much for this!

wavesinspace · Joined: Dec 25, 2004 Posts: 20 Location: planet earth

Hi I went out and bought the bcr2000 + g2 after I saw this post... are you guys getting knob position feedback from the g2 to the bcr2000? for instance I have 1 knob assigned to osc pitch on variation 1... when I switch to variation 2, that knob is in a different position on the g2... yet my bcr2000 still reflects the old value... i assumed I would get two way communication with the bcr2000 as I thought that was the point of the leds.

I have my bcr2000 connected through logic 7 via usb and I have midi in and out connected to the g2 via my amt8.

am I asking for too much here?

thanks

Paul

Rob

wavesinspace · Joined: Dec 25, 2004 Posts: 20 Location: planet earth

ok

I read the midi implimentation of the g2 manual but hasnt really gotten me very far...

so when I switch from variation 1 to varaiaton 2, I have to manually press "apple-m" on my laptop to send the bcr2000 all the controller values.. is there any way to automate this? is there a midi message for this "request all controller values" and somehow combine that message with the variation change buttons on the bcr2000?

it would be nice if there was 2 checkboxes on the g2 editor:

1. send all controller values when changing variations
2. send all controller values when changing patches

these two options would seal the deal.

has anyone else ran into this limitation? if so, how are you dealing with it?

wavesinspace · Joined: Dec 25, 2004 Posts: 20 Location: planet earth

I think i just answered my question.... turrns out I have an old manual (g2 software v.1.1) - there are no sysex commands in the old manual..

I just looked online and found on page 133 of the new manual (1.2x) there is a sysex command to request all controler values...

now I just have to figure out how to combine this message with the variation change and patch change buttons and I am golden.

mosc · Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2005 8:32 pm Post subject:

I just ordered a Behringer BCR2000 to use with my G2 and other gear. I'll be working with this same problem.

egw · Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2005 8:27 am Post subject:

Can the BCR2000 send sysex commands?
Since I don't use a laptop/editor when playing, I would have to be able
to trigger an update to the knob values, either from the synth or from the BCR. Is this possible?

seraph · Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2005 10:45 am Post subject:

mosc · Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:25 am Post subject:

You can send out an update MIDI from the front panel; Click System and then the > button.

There seems to be a problem with this in that you have to do this everytime you change a patch, or performance, and everytime you change a variation.

It would be nice if Clavia gave us a system option to do this automatically.

diskonext · Joined: Aug 26, 2004 Posts: 306 Location: London, UK

The BCR2000 should be able to send (short) sysex-commands.

I think you can only have the BCR2000 'learn' them, so you'll have to expose it to the sysex you need.

-diskonext

Fozzie · Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2005 1:48 am Post subject:

I am also lusting for a BCR2000. This is what I found in the manual; shouldn't be too hard to send a midi controller snapshot request:

(Quote:) Data request: current value settings of the midi device connected to your B-control can be transmitted to your B-control using the data request function (provided that the midi device supports this function, and a request command was defined using the editor software). In this case, the midi device doesn't send data; the B-control requests them instead.
--> Press the LEARN key while the EDIT key is kept pressed.......(end of quote)
blabla and it should be done.

So, according to the manual, the BCR can send sysex messages, and these can either be programmed via the midi Learn function (elsewhere in the manual) or via the software editor. On page 133 of the G2 manual you can find the sysex string needed for a controller snapshot request, so I guess and hope that this functionality is present and working.

Does anyone know whether the G2 sends controller values at a variation change, when in synth settings 'controller send' is turned ON? If so, one would not have to request a controller snapshot after every variation change.

For us engine owners, there are no convenient front panel knobs that invoke a controller send (from G2 to BCR), so it will be critical that a controller snapshot request can be requested from the BCR2000.

mosc · Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2005 7:46 am Post subject:

I put my G2 on a MIDI analyzer (MIDIOX) and it does not send controller updates when you change variations, even when Send Controllers is ON. Crying or Very sad

Rob · Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2005 10:57 am Post subject:

mosc · Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2005 4:00 pm Post subject:

Rob · Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2005 8:01 am Post subject:

cebec · Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2005 8:31 am Post subject:

Hi Rob! Glad to see you back, too...

If you don't mind, could we see some examples of these effects that you've been using your Engines for? Or at least, basic templates or examples of these effects? What you said really sparked my curiosity! Do you have an example of a patch that allows effecting of specific frequency bands?