Using a Midi Pad Controller (AKAI) with SD3

[Tom Martini]

ok long story short, AKAI MPD218 Midi Pad Controller used for making beats mostly but I want to program rock tracks. (it’s not a drum kit) How do you set it up within PROTOOLS  so when you hit a pad it triggers the kit piece within SD3? Is there a place that sets it up that is easy or does each and every pad have to be routed manually for each kit piece and if so how do I get SD3 to even see the AKAI? I can use the AKAI with the SD3 stand alone without having to do anything  except plug it into my pc usb. When I use Protools , nope, nadda, nothing. I can use it with any other instrument or plug in but not SD3 for some reason. Now let me say both PT and AKAI is set up,current drivers,  shows signal on an instrument track and I have tried all 16 midi channels, inserted SD3 in that channel. I have contacted both AKAI & AVID and both have said to contact Toontrack because if I am getting a midi signal then those two are working and it is a setting within SD3. Tried to out put each of 16 midi channels to an audio track and  a midi track. I can’t for the life of me find how to set the AKAI so when I hit a pad say to get the snare, that it will hit the snare inside SD3 within Protools. I have been using a mouse and there is a delay if you do it that way. Every single tutorial I find is a MAC and I use Windows 10 64bit. The Mac directions DO NOT WORK!  OK frustration rant over….thank you, really thank you for any help. 🙂

Superior Drummer 3 version: 3.1.5
Operating system: Windows 10

Windows 11
Dell XPS 8940
32GB ram i9-10 Core
Focusrite 18i20 Scarlett +
Focusrite Octo Pre MK II for 36 channels in
Protools Studio / Studio One 6.5 Artist

Topic

[John]

Hi,

can you trigger another VI if you switch out SD3 on that track?

Does the Stereo Instrument Track you have inserted SD3 on (which is the correct track type for the plugin) have ‘ALL’ MIDI Inputs selected/enabled?

Do you Record Enable the Instrument Track?

BR,
John

John Rammelt - Toontrack
Technical Advisor

[Tom Martini]

Hi John and thanks for responding. Yes, any other VI I put into the track works perfectly fine with my AKAI so I know it works. I enable the recording button  (as per AVID) and only SD3 does not work (EX Drummer2 either ) I have both. Yes All Midi is enabled and so is Recording button. I can see a signal in the midi signal meter at the top of the track channel.  I am not sure what the Output (for midi) is supposed to be set to. I have tried every single channel on each of the choices when it opens. (channels 1 through 16 on each) Nothing triggers anything within SD3 that I have found yet. Thus why I came here looking for help.

Superior Drummer 3 version: 3.1.5
Operating system: Windows 10

Windows 11
Dell XPS 8940
32GB ram i9-10 Core
Focusrite 18i20 Scarlett +
Focusrite Octo Pre MK II for 36 channels in
Protools Studio / Studio One 6.5 Artist

[Bear-Faced Cow]

What MIDI notes are you receiving in the MIDI monitor box in SD3 when you hit a pad on your Akai? Do they correspond to any articulation for a kit piece (select a kit piece and open the MIDI Mapping box)?

jord

---

Jordan L. Chilcott

Web Site: https://jordanchilcottmusic.com/

[Tom Martini]

Bear Faced Cow:  I am not sure where you are talking about? If you are asking am I getting a signal into SD3, then no,  nothing. If I click and use my mouse I can see the drums actually glow representing the strike and hear the sound. Using the Akai pads show nothing at all and again ONLY within Protools but any other virtual instrument works perfectly with it. So I think there has to be a setting somewhere within SD3 that isn’t either turned on or incorrectly set to allow it to see the AKAI is triggering the strikes. A funny thing is SD3 is supposed to be on an instrument track in PT but I have never been able to get it working that way (in EZ Drummer 2) I have SD3 now so I haven’t tried it and have multi-outs yet. I have always used an audio track (but not with the Akai) Thanks!

Superior Drummer 3 version: 3.1.5
Operating system: Windows 10

Windows 11
Dell XPS 8940
32GB ram i9-10 Core
Focusrite 18i20 Scarlett +
Focusrite Octo Pre MK II for 36 channels in
Protools Studio / Studio One 6.5 Artist

[Tom Martini]

So I wanted to clarify something. In my first post I posted that I had a signal going into Protools. That signal is not getting to SD3 at all. If you Google anything related to this I have done all of them and nothing has worked at all to fix this. I have been dealing with this since I had owned the Akai about 2 years now. (I have been using a mouse to program all my drum tracks)  I do not know anyone who has Protools and this Akai and SD3 so I had to turn to this forum to try to get to the bottom of this after paying for support at AVID and speaking to Akai support over and over who insist it is Toontrack related not PT or them. ******** Can someone please tell me what the input and out put on the instrument track MIDI is supposed to be set to? I have midi in as Akai but the out is All Channels. I insert SD3 into Insert box on channel. I/O. – IN is set to NO INPUT. and out goes to Mon 1- 2.  NOW, If I open up SD3 and use my mouse to hit a drum it works fine but the Akai there is no response at all. I have PT Preferences (and yes I have cleared them out to refresh them)set to “first selected midi track” .  I have the Akai set up and recognized in Setup/MIDI/MIDI Input Devices. Yes it is checked. Yes the Instrument track can see it. NO it does nothing in SD3 only.  If I load anything else, the Akai works easily and perfectly. SD3 does not do anything. Think of it this way, you have a home wall light switch…if you switch it on (the pad) nothing happens but if you go to the other switch across the room (stand alone version) it works 100% fine. Even though they both control the same light (SD3)

Superior Drummer 3 version: 3.1.5
Operating system: Windows 10

Windows 11
Dell XPS 8940
32GB ram i9-10 Core
Focusrite 18i20 Scarlett +
Focusrite Octo Pre MK II for 36 channels in
Protools Studio / Studio One 6.5 Artist

[Brad]

I have seen this happen in PT before so I will throw it out there, sorry is I missed something in your original post and response.

In Protools, have you gone into Views > Mix Window Views and selected Instruments. There should be an input selector at the top and a MIDI input selector below. Does the input selector display the Akai (or All) and the MIDI input selector display Superior Drummer 3?

On the input selector I have superior drummer set at channel 1.

Again apologize if you have already covered this.

Superior Drummer 3 version: 3.1.5
Operating system: macOS Mojave (10.14)

Mac Studio M1 Max, RAM 64 GB, 1TB Drive, OSX 12.x/13.x and Windows 10 (VM)
DAW: Studio One Pro (always up to date)
DTX Express III (Extreme triggers), Nektar LX88
OWC Thunderbay Mini (4 X 1TB Sata SSD), Express 4M2 (4 X 2TB M.2 SSD), Envoy Express (1TB M.2 SSD)
Presonus Quantum, Faderport & Faderport 8
Black Lion Sparrow Mk2 A/D, FMR-RNP-RNC, MIDI Xpress 128, BM5A, KRK VXT4, Equator D5
2020 Macbook Pro 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD Audio(mobile rig)

• This post was modified 5 years, 5 months ago by Brad.

[Tom Martini]

Hey Brad, I have everything you mentioned and set like you suggested and still nothing. I can use the  mouse to click a drum and get sound like normal but the pad just won’t trigger it. I’m gonna try and contact Akai again and ask them for suggestions. Maybe Toontrack will respond with a step by step way to to this. I really wish there was better literature on how things in SD3 work for set up. Thanks again for your help

Superior Drummer 3 version: 3.1.5
Operating system: Windows 10

Windows 11
Dell XPS 8940
32GB ram i9-10 Core
Focusrite 18i20 Scarlett +
Focusrite Octo Pre MK II for 36 channels in
Protools Studio / Studio One 6.5 Artist

[Brad]

Could you go into the property box on the right side of the drum construction page. Open the MIDI monitor and see if there’s any control information at all getting to the plug-in.

Mac Studio M1 Max, RAM 64 GB, 1TB Drive, OSX 12.x/13.x and Windows 10 (VM)
DAW: Studio One Pro (always up to date)
DTX Express III (Extreme triggers), Nektar LX88
OWC Thunderbay Mini (4 X 1TB Sata SSD), Express 4M2 (4 X 2TB M.2 SSD), Envoy Express (1TB M.2 SSD)
Presonus Quantum, Faderport & Faderport 8
Black Lion Sparrow Mk2 A/D, FMR-RNP-RNC, MIDI Xpress 128, BM5A, KRK VXT4, Equator D5
2020 Macbook Pro 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD Audio(mobile rig)

[Tom Martini]

UPDATE:    I have no idea how this mattered but this is what I did.

I decided to clear the Protools Preferences ( memory settings for pro tools) and start over.

 

I decided to see if it was an SD3 issue and opened up Protools version 10. Since SD3 is not available in PT10 I opened up SD 2.0 and tried it but still nothing. I also have EZ Drummer 2 and put it in an Instrument Track and guess what, the pad triggers it and works fine but still not in SD 2.0. Now that I know the pad is making the connection it needed to work, I saved the file and opened up PT12 and inserted EZ Drummer 2 into an instrument track and bam it works. Now I created a new track and did the same with SD3 and guess what IT WORKS!!!! I also noticed that the midi output now says Stereo and I didn’t have to choose 1-16 which I am not thinking was the tracks not midi channels. It all also works in a Midi track to Bus (Protools thing) I have no idea why but I am thinking that once it found its setting for EZD2 it must have saved it to Protool references and was available for SD3.   If I didn’t have EZD2 though I wonder if it would have made the connection. Maybe its a set up bug for Protools or maybe its just my system that glitched but whatever it is it’s working now. I also created a brand new project and started with SD3 this time to test it again and it works fine.

Thank you all for  putting up with my frustration. Peace and happy new year 2020 to all.

Superior Drummer 3 version: 3.1.5
Operating system: Windows 10

Windows 11
Dell XPS 8940
32GB ram i9-10 Core
Focusrite 18i20 Scarlett +
Focusrite Octo Pre MK II for 36 channels in
Protools Studio / Studio One 6.5 Artist

[evan davidson]

I’m having the same problem but with Studio one…sigh…I am never gonna get the damn thing working….

[Tom Martini]

Mine was found during the initial start up. My suggestion would be to make sure you have the current updates for S1 first then unintall the MPD218 and restart S1 with it plugged in. It may be able to find it itself. IMPORTANT**Make sure you install the Akai software first though but don’t add the 218 to S1 manually. Hope this helps. It routes better in S1 than in Pro Tools.

Windows 11
Dell XPS 8940
32GB ram i9-10 Core
Focusrite 18i20 Scarlett +
Focusrite Octo Pre MK II for 36 channels in
Protools Studio / Studio One 6.5 Artist

[Mark King]

None of this is a problem with sd3. The DAW routes the midi to SD3. SD3 has no settings to for midi input when in any DAW. Only in standalone mode does it have a part to play by checking the midi device is selected. Have you tried it in standalone mode to see if it works?

SD3 with older sdx,s plus Rooms of Hansa and Death & Darkness. Cubase and wavelab current versions. Roland TD50x using all trigger inputs for triggering SD3 only. Windows 11 computer. Various keyboards and outboard gear as well as VST instruments. Acoustic drums: Yamaha 9000 natural wood and Pearl masters. Various snare drums. RME BabyFace Pro FS and Adam A7X monitors

[Author]

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