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M-Audio Axiom 25
M-Audio Axiom 25
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Axiom 25

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Topic Axiom 25
I just bought a used like new axium 25. I have no idea what to do with it. I am totally ignorant in this feild. I'm also trying to learn Propeller Head Reason 3 and Cubase se 3 but I've been able to find in depth manuals, books, dvd's, and tutorials for these programs. I found a book " The Idiots Guide To Cubase". I have downloaded the manual for the axium but it really isn't written to a beginner like me. It's completely over my head. I can turn on the axium and stare at it not having a clue what the words written on it mean. I have to start somewhere sometime but need more training resources to get started. Are there any tutorials, books (I looked but couldn't find any), dvd's. etc. out there?
xaatr :??:
Xaatr
2
First of all, it's Axiom with an O ;)

do you know how to play keyboards? what kind of terms do you need help with. do you know anything about midi? do you know anything about computers? are you going to use it with a computer? etc etc

a little more info about what you do know would help. :bravo2:
3
Thanks for responding.
I can hack out some chords and notes on my old casio Tone Bank CT-650 but it's not pretty. It isn't difficult to pick up though. I am not familiar with midi. I know some things about computers. e-mail obviously, internet obioulsy, this is my first experience with forums but they seem quite simple. Word possessing. Video games. Printers. Scanners. Save. My computer/Control panel. Disc defrag. Windows Media. Music downloads. Burning CD's/DVD's. Adobe Photoshop. I can create drum tracks on Reason. Find soundbanks and sample patches. I used to know more and made songs with Reason but I got real sick many years ago and lost a lot of memory including 30 years of guitar playing. I've pretty much started over from scratch after a long recovery. Now I am well and my brain wants to go a thousand miles an hour. I've surpassed where I left off with my guitar and am constantly coming up with original tunes. I am now recording my songs on a little cassette recorder. That's why I got Cubase and Reason so I can enhance my passion to play. I am also involved with a luthier club and am building a classical guitar. If I can do this than I think I can take on the Axiom. I added this stuff so you could get a little idea of my skill level and comprehension. What I'm looking for is for eg. turn on your keyboard. Here's how you connect it to your Reason software. Here's what you do to hit a key and bring up a drum sound from your Reason sound bank redrum. Here's how you connect the keyboard to Reason Synth and mixer. The previous owner used it only a few times and is competent and knowledgeable about it. I'm guessing that he has already done most of the set ups and settings. so I'm not necessarily starting from zero.
I don't know what a zone is. I've used pitch bend in Reason. The octive stuff seems simple enough. I don't know what a velocity curve is. I assume bank MSB has something to do with soundbanks. I don't know what to do with data. I'm guessing memory dump is like emptying the trash or deleting. Don't know what to do with the store feature but I think it's similar to saving a sound. Don't know what a curve is. Don't know how to activate the drum pads. Can't find the glob chan button. Mute is obvious and the instructions seem straight forward. Struggling with Null. Don't know about rotary encoders, acceleration curves. velocity lock, modulation and wheel, toggle values,and how to use the appendices. Have I left anything out? Have I scared you away yet? Now I'll try to give you some info on the current settings. When I power up the LED screen shows zone 3, group b, 01, cc71. When I press program button it says flashing zone 3 and prog. 03 and 00.With advance button pushed and lit when I press zone range--flashing zone 3, group B, range, c2, forward slash c4. when I press double arrow reverse and advance it reads zone 3, group B, 23, 127. If I press double arrow forward it changes from 23 to 24. It won't go any higher of lower than these scores regardless of which button I push. Push A button and it goes to 25 and B button goes to 26. I can change the zones and groups with these buttons. All of of this while in advance mode. Here's some more in advance mode. KEYS--- zone change c03, chan assign 26 c00. cntrl select b25. vel lock 26 off and advance light goes off. Push advance again with vel lock and it reads 26 LOC and advance light goes off. Bank LSB 03 00. Bank MSB 03 00. Mem dump flashing 545. data 3 flashing cc and max 26 127. Midi out 26 cc 24. Store, flashing group A,B,& D po3. zero key midi symbol flashing store and 000. Key 1 value goes to 001. Key 2 value to 012. Key 3 value to 123. Key 4 value to 234. Key 5 value to 345. K (Key) 6 V (value) to 456. k 7 v to 567. k 8 v to 678. k 9 v to 899. After pressing advance off screen reads zone 3 group ABC. 05 32. When I turn B5 knob I can change values. Same with the other knobs. When I press red dot button C and hold it reads zone 3 group ABC 27 127. I got rid of the midi symbol. The pitch bend changes values but I don't know why. So those are the current settings I assume. Does the Axiom have it's own sound bank? That's what I can give you for now. As you can probably see, trying to learn this stuff with the basic manual will take me forever. I can do "one step at a time" but don't know where to put my foot.
Again thanks for your interest.
xaatr
Xaatr
4
Wow, that's an eyeful. ok let's start from the beginning. the first thing is to connect the axiom to your computer. either you'll do this via a midi cable or a usb cable. have you done this. do you have any questions about this?

then you open your music program. in this case let's try reason first (only reason don't open cubase yet). we need to see if you computer is receiving a midi signal. by the way, which version of reason are you using?

ok, so in the sequencer part/window of reason you should select a track (click on it) so that it's highlighted. in previous versions of reason there used to be a midi icon. play the axiom and look to see if you get any blinking or bars moving.

if you don't get a signal, go into edit/preferences and see if you can find and select the axiom.

if you are getting a signal, then you should be able to pilot any track/instrument by just selecting that track.

tell us what happens
5
Some results! I'm using Reason 3. I tried the window option on the toolbar but it only had three choices--stay on top--detach sequencer window----document 1. I went into edit menu and had to deal with a number of options until I came up with the right choices (I think). There was an M Audio option but not my model. I looked in help and wound up in control surfaces category. I chose keyboard with controls, knobs, etc. I went to the sequencer and pressed a key and the channe 3 light came on. When I turned one of the B 1 thru 8 knobs the channel 1 light was activated. I created a mixer and redrum and all of the mute buttons on top of the redrum device lit up when I pressed down keys. I wasn't able to create any sounds with the keyboard. Not sure why. Anyways looks like I getting some signals.
xxatr
Xaatr
6

Quote: I tried the window option on the toolbar but it only had three choices--stay on top--detach sequencer window----document 1.


it doesn't matter if it's detached or not. you have to go to sequencer section where you see the horizontal tracks of the instruments that are open. not the window where you actually see the virtual instruments.

choose a song that already has instruments in it, like the demo song. don't use an empty/new project yet.

so in the sequencer section, there is a name for every track/ instrument. click on the one that you wanna play. one that already has sounds in it (for the moment). when you click on that track you should see a midi icon apear (looks like a midi cable connector). once that icon is on the track you want, start playing, you should see, right next to that icon, a visual indicating that midi is being received. if that's the case then everything's ok.

now you should also hear sound coming from the instrument. but you should try playing an instrument where the range of the instrument is large(like a piano or synth) because some insruments only have small ranges and only a small number of keys will activate a sound. if you're using a really small keyboard (like you are) you might have to find the right octave first.

so basically, first see if you are sending a midi signal, then choose or load a keyboard sample to see if you can play the instrument (remember, you need to activate the track you wanna play), then try the other instrument like doctor rex etc, but remember that only a small section is mapped to sounds.
7
Thanks for hanging in there with me. I really do appreciate your guidance.
I got some hopeful results.I pulled up a demo track. The track options were bass, voc (I think the word is carrier. My monitor is old and I can't read small print very well. Guess where my tax return is going), strings, voices, fat bass, ac guitar, harp, and arpeggio. In the voices window the little keyboard was lit/selected. I clicked on strings but no midi symbol appeared, however I was able to hear my keyboard. I clicked on all of the rest of the windows one at a time and still no midi symbol showed. No midi symbol showed in any of the other windows. My keyboard could be heard in each window however. The keyboard symbol didn't light up in the other windows . I didn't get different sounds on my keyboard as I selected different instruments. They were all the same. I wasn't able to figure out how to control the volume of my keyboard. I guess that comes later. Anyways what do you think?
xxatr
Xaatr
8
Ok bear with me, i don't have reason 3.

in the reason 3 sequencer window (where the track names are) there are 4 or 5 columns. they are: In, Rec, Name, Out, and M S (M = mute) (S= Solo)

the ones that interest us for the moment are "In" (because this is where we choose which track/instrument to control/play) and M S because there is a bar under the M S that indicates midi activity (this is where you should see activity when you play your keyboard controller, even if there's no sound, this is the first step)

you choose the track/instrument by clicking on a track (the piano/keyboard icon should appear to the left of the track name - in the "IN" column

ok...can you get this far? can you make this piano/keyboard icon appear in any track? do you see midi activity in the bar on each track you choose?

once you can do that it's all just a question of making sure you're trying to play an instrument/track that has sounds(samples) already loaded on it (that's why i advised using a demo song first) ... if this is the case, then to find the zone (or keys) that have sounds on them (that's why i advised a piano or synth track, because all keys should trigger a sound).

are you there? you should be able to switch the sound your keyboard controller is generating by just clicking on different tracks...

let me know what happens
9
WOW! Havin' fun now.
Did what you said. It worked great. Sounds changed according to individual selections. I even got it to work with a tutorial song I wrote. What's our next adventure?
xaatr
Xaatr
10

Quote: What's our next adventure?



you tell me :clin:
11
Do you have a manual for the axiom 25 or are you just familiar with it?
I'm looking at page 12 section 2.3 on "basic midi control from your axiom".
I don't understand "banks" and settings as they apply here. In reason they are groups of sound patches. I have a "zoom" guitar processor with banks. Each bank contains a group of sounds/effects. Each sound can be edited. Is it basically the same concept on the axiom? If so how does it work. Are there sound banks in the axiom or do these directions in the manual pertain more to the software/ hardware programs that you use with the keyboard for instances reason patches or a instrument electronic processor?
What does bank "MSB" "LSB" mean. There is a range of 0-127. What do the numbers represrnt?
xaatr
Xaatr
12

Quote: Do you have a manual for the axiom 25 or are you just familiar with it?

i'm just a little familiar with it.

Quote: Are there sound banks in the axiom...

no, your axiom is just a keyboard controller, it doesn't have any sounds in it.

Quote: What does bank "MSB" "LSB" mean. There is a range of 0-127. What do the numbers represrnt?

now you're getting into midi territory! it gets pretty involved and confusing and you might not need to know all that. depends on what you want to do.

Quote: There is a range of 0-127. What do the numbers represent?



this is usually the velocity number, O being the lowest (really soft inaudible) 127 being the highest (loudest). but it can be other things also, like the number of sounds in a general midi bank.

but you'll see this range 0-127 often.
13
I looked at the page your were talking about. it's about sounds within a bank.

a general midi sound bank (just a generic soundbank) has 128 different sounds in it (usually the same instruments- a variety of usual instruments and sound effects) and they're always the same. for example the first one is always piano. electric piano is the fifth sound, harp is like number 49. i used to know a few by heart.

and many sound generators still use this general midi format.

but since you're using reason or the computer to generate sounds, it's probably easier for you to just click or choose using your mouse. this way you don't have to touch any knobs on your axiom. But...if you want to do this remotely with your axiom than you'll need to learn which knobs change the sound.
14
Could you be more specific? :8)
15
Ignore last post. I found it with your reply. Thanks.
I am somewhat confused. In section 5.1 of manual it says there are 128 different sounds. I goes on to say that using the expanded 14-bit (what does this mean?) bank change message there are now 16,384 banks available each with 128 sound patches. Let's say I want to assign a guitar sound to a number in my LSB bank. How do I do this. How do I call up this sound when I need it after I've assigned it? I tried the instructions at the bottom of section 2.3. I assigned a piano to # 05 and a guitar to #06. When I tried each they were both the sound of the piano. It's also possible that no sounds got assigned as I was using the piano earlier. Maybe I shouldn't be trying to do this at 3:10 in the morning! Can you make any sense out of these questions.
xaatr
Xaatr
16
What are you using as your sound generator? as i said your keyboard does not generate sounds. so something has to. is it reason?
17
Yes I was using reason soundbank patches to generate sounds. I was using redrum and subtractor patches. The devices appeared in the sequencer windows and I again clicked on the keyboard under the "in" columb. Also I can't figure out how to get an instrument name in the same columb windows. I can only get devices to show. I've seen them there in one of the demos but I don't know how the artist did it.
xaatr
Xaatr
18

Quote: I am somewhat confused. In section 5.1 of manual it says there are 128 different sounds.

this all depends on what's generating the sounds. In reason if you have an empty project there will be 0 sounds! if you load a drum kit in to redrum, you'll have 8 sounds to choose from, all drum sounds (unless you load something else)

you'll only have at choice of what you loaded or what was already loaded.

for example if you only have a redrum and a subtractor open, you only have the choice (to play at the moment) of the sounds that are loaded in those instruments right now. you can load whatever you want, bt you can't play a sound that isn't loaded.

the 128 sounds (or more) only pertains to sound generators (like external sound modules or sound cards) that have general midi or big banks

is this clear?
19
Yes it's clear accept maybe for the last line. Sounds like I don't really need to know that stuff right now. As far as the rest of your note I pretty much knew most of that. I can start with a new project I'll create a device like a redrum or subtractor and go into the folder on one of these devices and choose a patch/sound that will work with the specific device I've chosen. The devices show in the "name" column window. When I click on the keyboard in the "in" column winow the keyboard will play whatever patch/instrument I have chosen. Do you have an answer for why I can't get an instrument assignedto the "name" column window of the sequencer? The DEVICES come up in the windows no problem. In one of the demos I looked at, there were instruments listed in the "name" column windows as well as devices and some other terms I didn't understand. For instance one demo had the following items in the "name" column windows Sound on Sound, Ageless Exposition, Cocteau guitar, Trance, Lead Seq., SawSync, and instruments - Hats, cymbals, Bass. What do I have to do to be able to get instruments to show in the windows and play them with the keyboard. Geeesse it's 4 am. I need to go to bed. Again thanks for being there.
xaatr
Xaatr
20
Ok i think i know what you want. can't you just double click on the device name and type in whatever you want?
21
OK. That was too easy. I should have thought of that. Can we move on then to section 2.1.3 Transpose. Pushing the octive buttons changes octaves up or down. This is simple. The other night I was playing around with a song and I ran out of keys. All I needed was one more key at the right end of the keyboard (high notes) to complete the chord. Will it only shift by whole octaves or could I have shifted up one key or more at a time, just enough to cover the chord. Shifting up notes rather than whole octaves? If so how do I do it? The manual says the maximum value I can transpose is 12 semitones at a time up or down. Is there a minimum? After I get this section down I'd like to go on to section 2.2 MIDI Channel.
Thanks
xaatr
Xaatr
22
You can transpose in your sequencer by just a couple of half-steps if you need to. this way you'll be able to reach that high note.
23
I'm assuming you mean my Reason sequencer. That would mean the answer is no I can't push any buttons or turn any knobs on my keyboard to make this happen. If so give me some more information on the steps involved in doing this. Does it involve an editing procedure? I'll try to find some information in a book that I bought recently, "Fast Guide to Propellerhead Reason". There's a big section on the sequencer.It's by Debbie Poyser, Derek Johnson, and Hollin Jones. Let me know.
Thanks
xaatr
Xaatr
24
You have to change the pitch directly on the (virtual) instument. for example on the redrum there is a "pitch" knob. on the Dr rex there is a "fine" knob.. etc etc
25
Sorry. You've lost me totally.
xaatr
Xaatr