SL MkII USER GUIDE – Firm wa re V e rsion 1.
Contents INTRODUCTION................................................................................... 5 HARDWARE OVERWIEW....................................................................... 6 Assignable Controls..................................................................6 Non-assignable Controls..........................................................7 Rear Panel Connections.............................................................8 Mod Joystick Spring Selector.............................
Pot Pick-Up..................................................................................22 Template Keyboard Zones........................................................22 Template Routing Sub Menu.....................................................24 Keyboard Channel & Port........................................................24 Common Channel & Port..........................................................24 Template Grouping Sub menu...................................................
Control Label............................................................................31 Value Range................................................................................31 Additional Options for Buttons Only................................. 32 Display Type................................................................................32 Button Type:..............................................................................32 Normal.........................................................
INTRODUCTION Welcome to the SL MK II Guide. This guide will introduce you to the SL MkII hardware and give you information on choosing how best to use the SL MkII for your software and / or hardware studio set-up, take you through the SL MkIIs Menu system and give detailed information on creating your own templates. There is a separate User Guide for the Automap Software which is included on installation CD or can be downloaded from our website: www.novationmusic.
HARDWARE OVERVIEW The SL MkII 25, 49 and 61 note versions all have the same front panel controls and rear panel connections. Assignable controls 4 1 4 2 6 3 4 5 7 8 These are controls that can be assigned to parameters of the software or hardware you are controlling: 1) 8 touch sensitive endless rotary encoders with LED rings: These controls have no end points, so offer full 360˚ of movement.
Non-assignable System Controls They have fixed functions, as follows: 9 13 14 11 11 12 12 10 15 9) 16 144 character LCD display: Displays the names and values of each row of assignable controls from both the left and right side of the SL MkII 10) Automap Buttons: These 6 buttons are used for Automap Software navigation and control. 11) P1 / P2 Page Buttons: Use these to scroll through pages of options when in a menu or through pages of additional control information when in an Advanced template.
Rear Panel Connections 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1) Power in socket: Use to connect a 9volt DC 600-1000mAmp Centre Pin positive PSU. The power supply is available from the online store: http://www.focusrite-estore.com/ 2) Power switch: Use to switch the SL MkII to external power, USB power, or off. 3) USB in socket: Use to connect the SL MkII to your computer with the included USB cable. 4) Sustain pedal socket: Use to connect a sustain pedal. Any polarity pedal can be used.
SL MkII SETUP EXAMPLES The SL MkII can be used for controlling both computer music software and external hardware: Software Control Power Feedback - LCD Screen/LED Rings Control information USB To use the SL MkII to control your music software, connect the SL MkII to your computer with the supplied USB cable. Hardware Control PSU (optional) MIDI To use the SL MKII with your MIDI hardware, you will need to power the SL MkII with a 9 volt 1000mAmp DC PSU center pin positive (not supplied).
AUTOMAP MODE VS ADVANCED MODE Automap Mode Advanced Mode The SLMkII has two main Modes of operation: ‘Automap Mode’ and ‘Advanced Mode’. These are both accessed via the main ‘Automap’ button. Advanced Mode (Led off) If you are going to use your SL MkII without a computer then you must use ‘Advanced mode’. In fact, if you will only ever use your SLMkII in this way you can go straight to the Advanced Mode chapter of this user guide.
AUTOMAP MODE Full instructions on how to use Automap Software have been omitted from this user guide. The Automap software is the same for all Automap Hardware, so please refer to the Automap User Guide, This guide can be found on this CD or downloaded from the website. Both the latest software and user guides can be downloaded at the following link: www.novationmusic.com/support Selecting Automap Mode To use the SL Mk II in Automap Mode, press the automap button so that it is lit.
Automap Template Overview When in Automap Mode (Led On), a unique template is used. This template is separate from the built in 32 templates in advanced mode. All highlighted hardware controls displayed in the image below are available for controlling software parameters via Automap. Expression Sustain The following controls can be assigned to either the Automap Port or to the keyboard port and are thus are special controls when using Automap Mode.
Ports What is a Port and how does it work? Power Feedback - LCD Screen/LED Rings Control information USB U1 (Port 1) SL MkII (Port 1) U2 (Port 2) SL MkII (Port 2) Automap Port (Hidden) Automap Port (Hidden) The SL MkII connects to the computer via a single USB cable, however this USB connection actually consists of 3 sub-connections called ‘ports’. Port 1 This port will be used a lot as it sends messages from the SL MkII Keyboard, Pitch / Modulation Stick and Sustain and Expression Pedals.
Software Set-up Examples Automap for Cubase, Nuendo, Sonar, Tracktion Port 1 MIDI/Instrument Track Port 2 DAW Mixer Automap Port Plug-in MIDI notes from the keyboard are sent on Port 1 to a MIDI / Instrument track.
Automap for hardware control Before you move on to the Advanced Mode section of this guide, you should know that Automap MIDI can also be used to hardware MIDI devices by routing MIDI CC data to the SL MkII MIDI Ports (or any other MIDI interface connected to your computer). Please refer to the Automap User guide for more info. Automap MIDI Automap Port Ableton/Reason Special Templates Please see advanced mode for more information on the Special Ableton/Reason templates.
ADVANCED MODE Advanced Mode is primarily used to control external MIDI hardware, however it can also be used to control software when Automap is not supported or suitable for that software. To switch to Advanced mode, press the Automap button so the LED is off. Advanced mode includes 32 pre-built templates for controlling both hardware units and some software.
Advanced MODE Template Overview Expression Sustain A ‘Template’ in the SL MkII is a layout of controls stored inside of the SL MkII memory. They are remembered even when you turn the unit on and off. All of the hardware controls are used to send out MIDI data of some kind with the exception of the following: Automap System Buttons – These are reserved for the Automap Template only so are unavailable for the Advanced mode templates.
Hardware Control In Advanced mode, MIDI data can be sent to either one of the 2 MIDI output ports M1 M2 You can set up the templates so that all controls in the template are sent to only one or both of the MIDI output ports. Software and Hardware Control M1 M2 Port 1 DAW/Sequencer Port 2 Any software that response to MIDI Advanced mode templates can be used in complex systems so that controls are sent to hardware via the MIDI ports and to software via the USB ports 1 + 2.
Special Templates for controlling Ableton Live and Reason There are 2 special Advanced mode templates (templates 31 and 32). These are templates for controlling DAW software that cannot be controlled using Automap, however the software developers have worked with Novation to create a control experience that offers more than a standard template.
MENU OVERVIEW The SL MkII system menus are accessed by pressing their corresponding button in centre section of the SL MkII. Once a menu is selected, all available options and sub-menus are displayed on the LCD screen. The main Menus are: Global, Edit and Write Navigating Menus Navigating menus and selecting menu items is done using a variety of controls on your SL MkII. To enter a menu, press the corresponding menu button. To exit a menu, press the same button again.
Quick Menu The Quick menu contains mainly commonly used fucntions: Press the quick menu button and the following options will be displayed on the SL MkII LCD screen. Bank Use to output a bank change message from the template Keyboard Port Program Use to output a program change message from the template Keyboard Port Transpose - Trnspose Use to transpose the keyboard up and down (each step is 1 semitone). Keyboard Channel - KeybChan Adjusts the MIDI channel assigned to the Keyboard Port.
Edit Menu The edit button allows access to two main functions, depending on how the button is pressed. Template Edit Mode Press and RELEASE the edit button to enter ‘Template Edit’ Mode. This mode allows you to edit settings that affect the whole template (e.g. Velocity curves) Control Edit Mode Press and HOLD the edit button to enter ‘Control Edit’ Mode. This mode allows you to change the settings for each individual control within the current template (e.g.
OFF – There are no zones for the current template; therefore all Zone Edit settings are ignored. TEMPLATE – Zones are active for the current template. The Zone settings are defined in the Template Zone Edit sub menu. GLOBAL - The Zone settings are defined in the Global Zone Edit sub menu. Zone Edit Sub Menu Zone There are 4 Keyboard zones available. Choose 1-4 to edit the corresponding keyboard zone. Low Note / High Note These set the Low and High note settings for each keyboard zone.
Channel Port - ChanPort This sets whether these control messages are included in the keyboard zones or not as follows: Template The above controls follow the individual settings as set in Edit mode The settings in the Keyboard Zones menu are ignored. Zone The above controls follow the individual settings as set in Keyboard Zones menu. The settings in the Edit menu are ignored.
Control Edit Overview Creating and Editing Advanced Mode Templates from the SL MkII. Please note that we strongly advise you not to edit the Automap template. To enter Control Edit Mode, Press and HOLD the edit button. Now touch or press any control on the SL. The name of the control you have just touched will be displayed on-screen. Note that Control Edit will also work for the last-moved control. i.e. move a control, then press and hold edit and you will see that control on-screen.
Transport - Transprt When the transport button is active, the transport buttons (re-wind, fast-forward, stop, play, loop, and record) can be set to have independent settings for each template. For example, some MIDI hardware may respond to MMC (which is the default for most Advanced Templates), but other hardware may respond to different MIDI messages for transport control. When set to TEMPLATE, each template can have independent transport settings.
MIDI Clock Input - MClk-In MIDI Clock input source can be set to any of the following: AUTO – automatically selects the input port if there is MIDI Clock detected on that port. If there is not external MIDI Clock detected the SL will revert to the Internal Clock. INTERNAL - the SL will use the Internal Clock EXT-AUTO - automatically selects the input port if there is MIDI Clock detected on that port. If there is not external MIDI Clock detected the SL will revert to it’s internal Clock.
Send Globals Press the button to dump the global settings in sysex format. Ports This option sets where template and global sysex dumps are sent to. MIDI O/S Send, Receive Press the buttons below ‘Send’ or ‘Receive’ on the left-hand display to transmit or listen for an operating system (OS) dump on the MIDI IN and OUT connectors on the back of the SL MkII. You will be asked to confirm that you want to dump or update the OS before it will transmit or accept an OS dump.
Aftertouch Calibration To calibrate the aftertouch press a keyboard key down with enough pressure to fully engage the aftertouch mechanism and hold the key in that position. Whilst holding the key down, use encoder 4 to increase the ‘Set’ value from 0. Whilst increasing the ‘Set’ value watch the ‘Read’ value, which will automatically start increasing from 0. As soon as the ‘Read’ value reaches 127 stop increasing the ‘Set’ value and release the key.
Creating and Editing Advanced Mode Templates from the SL: Detailed Information PLEASE REMEMBER THAT ALL TEMPLATE EDITING MUST BE SAVED BEFORE YOU CHANGE TEMPLATE OR TURN OFF YOUR SL MkII OTHERWISE ANY CHANGES MAYBE LOST. When you have finished editing you should remember to press the write button. The LCD displays the option to rename the template and choose the template position. Then press write again to finish saving.
Additional Options for Encoders Only REL1 (Relative 1): A message with value 65 is sent out for every clockwise step (increment) and a message with value 63 is sent out for every anti-clockwise step (decrement). With this option the encoder functions as a true endless control rather than emulates an analogue pot as with the 0-127 and -64/+63 settings. REL2 (Relative 2): This is similar to the ‘REL1’ setting however it includes encoder acceleration.
Additional Options for Buttons Only DispType (Display Type): Control value displayed as either ON or OFF. The low value setting determines the ON value and the high value setting determines the OFF value. This is best suited to a bi-state parameter where you want to see whether it is in an on or off state e.g. phase reverse on a mixer channel. LED: This is like ON/OFF except that nothing is displayed when the control is in an OFF state.
MidiChan (MIDI Channel): This option sets the MIDI Channel on which the data will be transmitted. This can be set to a value between 1 and 16, or to ‘KeybCHAN’ or ‘ComnCHAN’. Like the ‘KeybPORT’ and ‘ComnPORT’ options for the Ports setting, ‘KeybCHAN’ and ‘ComnCHAN’ are special options which allow the MIDI Channel setting for the control to follow one of two common MIDI Channel settings which can be accessed from the template edit menu (Keyboard Channel and Common Channel).
TchMode (Touch Pad Mode): This setting is only available for the X-Y touchpad. Where available, it can be found on the second page of control settings so scroll up to access it.
SYSTEM EXCLUSIVE (SYSEX) The LowVal, HighVal, Ports, MidiChan, Response, BtnType, TchMode and Name settings are the same as for Control Change (CC) so see that section for information on these settings. DispType (DisplayType): The options for this setting are the same as for CC however the ‘REL1’, ‘REL2’ and ‘APOT’ display types are not available for encoders. Length: This determines the length of the sysex message sent when the control is operated.
NOTE ON/OFF (NOTE) The Ports, MidiChan, and Name settings are the same as for Control Change (CC) so see that section for information on these settings. Note: This sets the MIDI note value that the control will transmit (range C-2 to G8). The Note setting will be displayed as a MIDI note value by default but you can toggle the display format between note value, decimal and hexadecimal by pressing the ENCODER ROW-SELECT button.
DRUM PAD NOTE (DRUMNOTE) This option only applies to the drum pads and allows you to set them up to send MIDI note data when hit. The velocity value sent is always dependent on how hard you hit the drum pads and cannot be set to a fixed value. The Ports, MidiChan and Name settings are the same as for Control Change (CC) so see that section for information on these settings. Note: This is the same as for ‘NOTE ON/OFF’ so see that section for information on this setting.
