Novation ReMOTE SL Compact User Manual
  1. Manuals
  2. Brands
  3. Novation Manuals
  4. Electronic Keyboard
  5. ReMOTE SL COMPACT
  6. User manual

Novation ReMOTE SL Compact User Manual

Hide thumbs Also See for ReMOTE SL Compact:
Table of Contents

Advertisement

Quick Links

See also: User Manual
FA000-01

Advertisement

Table of Contents
loading

Related Manuals for Novation ReMOTE SL Compact

Summary of Contents for Novation ReMOTE SL Compact

  • Page 1 FA000-01...
  • Page 2 INTRO Thank you for purchasing the Novation ReMOTE SL Compact controller keyboard. This guide is designed to help you get started with the keyboard, as well as to provide comprehensive information about the operational features. As such, the content is structured in a way that allows you to read only as far as you need to, without forcing you to delve into later sections unnecessarily.

  • Page 3: Front Panel Overview

    WHAT’S IN THE BOX? 1. KEYBOARD 2. USB CABLE – use this to connect the keyboard to your computer 3. RESOURCES DVD – contains the SL Compact Installers (Mac and PC), Tutorial movies (separate SL Compact and Automap Universal movies), User Guide pdf and the standard template setup files 4.
  • Page 4 6. LCD display – displays up to 8 parameter names and values simultaneously, as well as various menu options 7. Encoder/f1 and button/f2 row select buttons – display the parameter names and values of either the encoders or buttons on the LCD display. Used for other functions in Automap mode 8.

  • Page 5: Rear Panel Connections

    REAR PANEL CONNECTIONS 1. PSU connector – allows a power supply unit (PSU - not supplied) to be connected for providing 9V DC from the mains 2. Power select switch – sets the power supply between DC, off and USB 3.
  • Page 6 Separate PC and Mac installers can be found on the Resources DVD. These are universal SL range installers that work with the ReMOTE SL Compact and the original ReMOTE SL. The installer carries out the following actions: • Installs the driver (PC only) •...
  • Page 7 Because there are three virtual USB ports, the SL Compact will appear three times in the MIDI input and output device lists in your software as ‘ReMOTE SL Compact Port 1’, ‘ReMOTE SL Compact Port 2’...
  • Page 8 MODES AND MENUS OVERVIEW The vertical column of five buttons to the left of the display are the mode and menu buttons. These allow access to settings that affect individual controls within a template (Edit), general template settings (Template) and also the overall keyboard settings (Global).
  • Page 9 There is space for 40 templates on the SL Compact. Templates 1-33 are pre-programmed standard templates (designed by Novation to work with popular software instruments), templates 35- 36 are blank user templates and templates 34, 37-40 are Automap templates. You cannot delete any templates so that there are less on the SL Compact but you can overwrite any template by editing and then saving it, or by uploading one from your computer.

  • Page 10: Automap Overview

    Use any assignable button or drumpad – any assignable button or drumpad within any template can be used to select one of the onboard templates. This can be useful for quickly switching to a different template. To set this up, the button must be selected for editing in Edit Mode and then the Control set to ‘template’...
  • Page 11 To control a plug-in, you must first enable it for Automap control in the Plug-in Manager. Once enabled it will be ‘wrapped’. This means that a new version of the plug-in will be created, which is contained within our Automap software. The new Automap-wrapped plug-in will appear in your sequencer with ‘(Automap)’...
  • Page 12 SL Compact, however it allows access to certain Automap options too. The Automap Server can be launched manually by running it from: Windows – Start->All Programs->Novation->Automap Universal->Launch Server Mac OSX - /Applications/AutomapServer Once the Automap Server is running you can access the Automap settings as follows: Windows –...
  • Page 13 Plug-in Manager: This setting opens a separate window, the Plug-in Manager, where you can select which plug-ins you want to wrap for Automap control. The left-hand list shows all plug-ins installed on your system and the right-hand list shows all plug-ins that have been wrapped.
  • Page 14 Learn Once. The Learn feature is described in more detail below and on page 16. Novation Logo: When clicked, this opens up a drop-down menu with more options: Learn once: When this is active, you can move a parameter on the screen with the mouse and then operate a control on the SL Compact to assign it to that parameter.
  • Page 15 ACTIVATING AUTOMAP FUNCTIONS FROM THE SL COMPACT Some of the Automap Functions described in the previous section, and others not available in the Automap border in the plug-in window, are accessible from the Automap Universal template on the SL Compact. BUTTONS GROUP B4 are not assignable in Automap mode and instead have been set aside for accessing Automap functions.
  • Page 16 It will then not be assigned to anything and there will be a blank space on the display below it. Clear and Clear Once can be activated either by selecting them from the drop-down menu that appears when you click the Novation logo on the Automap border in the plug-in window or by using button 2 in group B4 on the SL Compact.
  • Page 17 Clear All can be activated either by selecting it from the drop-down menu, which appears when you click the Novation logo on the Automap border in the plug-in window, or by using button 6 in group B4 on the SL Compact.
  • Page 18 The Max, Min and Step Size values can be used to determine the sensitivity of the encoder or button, i.e. how many steps or presses it takes to scroll the whole parameter range. When an encoder or button is first assigned, the Max and Min values will probably be set to 1 and 0.
  • Page 19 5. Click on the ReMOTE SL (Compact) in the list to select it and then click 'edit' to access its settings. 6. Ensure the In Port and Out Port are set to 'ReMOTE SL Compact: Port 2', then click 'OK'.
  • Page 20 The SL Compact will now automatically switch to the Reason Automap template (template 37) and will do so each time you subsequently open Reason. To select a Reason device to control from the ReMOTE SL Compact, click its 'MIDI In' icon in the...
  • Page 21 2. Open Cubase/Nuendo and select ‘Device Setup’ from the ‘Devices’ menu. 3. In the ‘Device Setup’ window click '+' and add a 'Novation Automap Universal. Leave the MIDI Input and MIDI Output ‘not connected’.
  • Page 22 With [Mixer] selected, you can use the SL Compact’s controls as follows: Cycle through available sends Control sends, panning, track faders Control solos, record arming, mutes Bank to other mixer tracks and (with SHIFT held down) switch between the mixer and any active VSTs Sends Panning Track...
  • Page 23 4. Select 'Scan All Models...' from the 'New' menu. 5. The SL Compact should be automatically detected. A message may appear saying that some models cannot be interrogated - click 'OK' and then click 'Done'. 6. Click on the SL Compact in the Control Surface Setup window to view its settings (on the left-hand side of the window). Ensure the Input and Out Port are set to 'Port 2', then close the Control Surface Setup window.
  • Page 24 7. Open the Logic Environment and select the 'Clicks & Ports' page. 8. Ensure that there is no connection between 'SUM', 'Port 2' or 'Port 3' on the Physical Input to the piano keyboard, otherwise Automap data will be routed to the MIDI and instrument tracks and cause unexpected parameter changes. Ensure only 'Port 1' has a connection to the piano keyboard, as shown: If you have any other MIDI ports available in the physical input (if you have another MIDI interface) then connect these directly to the piano keyboard too.
  • Page 25 In Mixer mode, you can use the SL Compact controls as follows: Cycle through available sends Control sends, panning, track faders Control solos, record arming, mutes and track selects Bank to other mixer tracks Switch between Mixer and Instrument modes Sends Panning Track Solos Records Mutes...
  • Page 26 ABLETON LIVE AUTOMAP To set up Ableton Automap, carry out the following steps: 1. Make sure you have Ableton Live 5.2 or later. If you need to update Live then you can download the latest version from www.ableton.com. 2. Connect the SL Compact to your computer and open Live. Go to the 'MIDI/Sync’ page of the Live preferences and set the options as shown in the following screenshot: NOTE: The Input AND Output of the SL Compact in the 'Control Surfaces' section should be set to SL Compact Port 2.
  • Page 27 Once Automap is set up, you can control Ableton in the following way: Control record arming, track on/off and Control sends, panning, track faders and devices return device parameters to default setting Lock to device when in device mode Bank to other mixer tracks Scroll through device parameters...
  • Page 28 To lock the SL Compact to the currently selected device, press the F1/ENCODERS button. A message will appear at the bottom of the Ableton window to indicate that the SL Compact is locked to the device in Live. Press the F1/ENCODERS button again with that device selected for control to unlock the Compact, or press the F1/ENCODERS button with another device selected to lock to that one instead.
  • Page 29 5. In Pro Tools, select ‘Peripherals’ from the Setup’ menu and then select the ‘MIDI Controllers’ page in the Peripherals window. Set ‘Type’ to HUI and ‘Send To’ and ‘Receive From’ to ‘SL Compact Port 2’, then click ‘OK’: The Pro Tools Automap template (template 34) must be selected on the SL Compact to use it in Pro Tools Automap mode. Once you have followed the above set up instructions, the SL Compact will automatically switch to the Pro Tools Automap template and will do so each time you subsequently start Pro Tools.
  • Page 30 The encoders and buttons only control the 8 mixer tracks active on the SL Compact. To bank to other tracks on the mixer, use the PAGE UP/DOWN buttons. When the ENCODERS GROUP D SWITCH is pressed, the SL Compact display shows the function of each of the other group switches, which is useful if you forget how the mixer parameters are assigned to the SL Compact.
  • Page 31 In Insert mode, the SL Compact display can show a maximum of 4 insert slots or 8 plug-in parameters at one time. ENCODERS 1-4 and BUTTONS 1-4 correspond to these insert slots/parameters. ENCODER 5 is used to scroll through pages of insert slots or plug-in parameters. ENCODERS 6-8 and BUTTONS 6-8 are not used in Insert mode. In Insert Select mode the SL Compact display shows the insert slots of the currently selected track.
  • Page 32 DIGITAL PERFORMER AUTOMAP The set up is different for DP 5 and 4/4.5. Here is a guide to each: Digital Performer 5 1. When you run the SL Compact installer, make sure you select ‘Install Digital Performer HUI Support’, as shown: 2.
  • Page 33 6. Select 'Control Surface Setup...' from the 'Setup' menu in Digital Performer. In the setup window, add a control surface by clicking '+' then select 'HUI' from the 'Driver' drop-down menu and 'SL Compact Port 2-1' from the 'MIDI' drop-down menu. Make sure ‘Listen to control surfaces in background’...
  • Page 34 5. In Audio MIDI Setup, go to the 'MIDI Devices' page and click on 'Add Device' three times to add three new devices. Connect the first of these to input and output ports 1 of the SL Compact object, the second to input and output ports 2 of the SL Compact object and the third to input and output ports 3 of the SL Compact object, as shown in the following screenshot: 6.
  • Page 35 Automap template to control Digital Performer again. It is important to ensure that 'ReMOTE SL Compact port 1' is selected as the input for all MIDI and Instrument tracks in Digital Performer so that Automap data on ports 2 and 3 does not get routed to soft-synths and MIDI devices. To allow specific input ports to be selected you need to turn on Multi Record by selecting it from the 'Studio' menu in Digital Performer.
  • Page 36 The encoders and buttons only control the 8 mixer tracks active on the SL Compact. To bank to other tracks on the mixer, use the PAGE UP/DOWN buttons. When the encoder BUTTONS GROUP D SWITCH is pressed, the SL Compact display shows the function of each of the other group switches, which is useful if you forget how the mixer parameters are assigned to the SL Compact.
  • Page 37 In Insert Select mode the lines separating each insert slot indicate whether ENCODERS 1-4 can be used for plug-in or preset selection, as follows: Plug-in select: dots on top Dynamics < eVerb 1. 1. < Esvclcmp Preset select: dots on bottom <...
  • Page 38 4. In the ‘Controllers/Surfaces’ window click the star icon to add a new control surface. 5. The ‘Controller/Surface Settings’ window will appear. Set the Controller/Surface to ‘Novation Automap Universal’ and set the Input Port and Output Port to ‘---None---‘, then click ‘OK’ and close the ‘Controllers/Surfaces’ window.
  • Page 39 If you want to change the way in which the Sonar mixer parameters are mapped to the SL Compact then you can use the Learn, Clear, Add Page, Remove Page and Clear All functions accessed from buttons group B4 (see page 15 for further information on these functions).

  • Page 40: Global Menu

    GLOBAL MENU The GLOBAL Mode allows access to all the universal SL Compact settings. There are seven pages in the Global Menu, which you can scroll through using the PAGE UP/DOWN buttons. The first page displays the currently loaded OS version and one setting, as follows: ENCSENSV SL Compact...
  • Page 41 The third page of the Global Menu is as follows: Template Change Sustain Pedal Midi Clock To BPMPort IDPorts Chan 16 U1 U2 M1 AUTO U1 M1 Template Change: It is possible to use program change messages to remotely change the currently selected template on the SL Compact.
  • Page 42 The fourth page of the Global Menu is for template dumping and operation system control, as follows: Template Dump Send Ports Midi O/S USB1 O/S Current Globals | U 1 M1 Send Receive Receive Template Dump: The first two options on this page allow you to dump templates in sysex format from the SL Compact to your computer or another MIDI device for backing up or editing in the Template Editor software.

  • Page 43: Standard Templates

    The sixth page of the Global Menu is the first of two pages for calibrating the drum pads. The eight values across the SL Compact display correspond to drum pads 1-8. The pad hit velocity value is shown on the top line (‘---‘ if the pad has not yet been hit) and the calibration value is shown on the bottom line.

  • Page 44: Play Mode

    Standard templates can be created and edited using the ReMOTE SL Compact Template Editor software which is free to download from www.novationmusic.com. If you want to control a hardware MIDI device then you will need to create one or more standard templates for it.
  • Page 45 Standard templates can be grouped together to allow quick switching between them in Play Mode. This feature is useful where the software or hardware you are controlling has lots of parameters and you need to create more than one template to allow access to all of them.
  • Page 46 BPM Status – Press the button above or below ‘BPM Status’ on the SL Compact display to see the current clock status of the SL Compact. The display will look as follows: <<BPM>> Internal Tempo 120 BPM Source Status Current Tempo 120 BPM INTERNAL RECEIVING The following information is displayed:...

  • Page 47: Edit Mode

    EDIT MODE ASSIGNING CONTROLS ON THE SL COMPACT In Edit Mode, you can access the settings for each individual assignable control on the SL Compact (all buttons, encoders, wheels, transport buttons and pedals). These settings define what MIDI message is sent when the control is operated. To access the settings for a particular control, press and hold the EDIT button and then operate the control you want to edit.
  • Page 48 CONTROL CHANGE (CC) Control DispType Low Val High Val Ports MidiChan CC Num PAGE 1 0-127 | 1 27 ComnPORT ComnCHAN BtnType Change Case Numbers etc Name: PAGE 2 STEP Upper Lower Punctu « CHAR » DispType (Display Type): This setting allows you to select how the value for the control appears on the SL Compact display. For encoders, it can also be used to change the mode of operation.
  • Page 49 APOT: This is a variation of REL2 and is the same system that is used by some other existing popular control surfaces. A message with value 0+n is sent out for every clockwise step (increment) and a message with value 64+n is sent out for every anti-clockwise step (decrement).
  • Page 50 Ports: This sets the port routing for the control, i.e. where the MIDI messages generated by the control are routed to when it is operated. The options are as follows: OFF – MIDI data is not transmitted U1 – Sent to USB Port 1 U2 –...
  • Page 51 STEP – If this option is selected, an extra setting, StepVal (Step Value), will appear next to BtnType. With the STEP option, the value sent each time the button is pressed will step from the Low Value to the High Value in steps of a size determined by the StepVal setting.
  • Page 52 REGISTERED PARAMETER NUMBER (RPN) – Control DispType Low Val High Val Ports MidiChan RPN lsb RPN msb PAGE 1 0-127 | 1 27 ComnPORT ComnCHAN BtnType Change Case Numbers etc Name: PAGE 2 STEP Upper Lower Punctu « CHAR » The DispType, LowVal, HighVal, Ports, MidiChan, BtnType and Name settings are the same as for Control Change (CC) so see that section for information on these settings.
  • Page 53 determined by the current control value and limited by the Low Value and High Value settings. The format of the sysex message is fixed such that the second-to-last byte is always the variable byte and the last byte is always the checksum byte (excluding the F7 byte).
  • Page 54 DeviceID: This sets the Device ID number transmitted in the MMC command message (range 0-127). NOTE ON/OFF Control Note Velocity Ports MidiChan PAGE 1 NOTE ComnPORT ComnCHAN BtnType Change Case Numbers etc Name: PAGE 2 STEP Upper Lower Punctu « CHAR »...
  • Page 55 option for drumpads is not available if Control is set to PROG CHG. BANK CHG (BANK CHANGE) CONTROL BankMode Bank lsb Bank msb PORTS MIDICHAN PAGE 1 BANK CHG | 1 27 ComnPORT ComnCHAN Change Case Numbers etc Name: PAGE 2 Upper Lower Punctu...
  • Page 56 Auto-Off: This sets the amount of time (in milliseconds) that a note off message is sent after the trigger pad has been hit. It can be set to NONE, in which case a note off message is not sent at all, or from 10ms to 16383ms. Off Sync: This sets the timing reference for the note off message which is sent after the drum pad has been hit.
  • Page 57 PITCHBND (PITCH BEND) CONTROL PORTS MIDICHAN PAGE 1 PITCHBND ComnPORT ComnCHAN Change Case Numbers etc Name: PAGE 2 Upper Lower Punctu « CHAR » This option only applies to the pitch wheel. No other controls on the SL Compact can be assigned to send pitch bend messages.
  • Page 58 send messages using the Keyboard Ports. If you change the Keyboard Ports setting then all controls assigned to KeybPORT will follow the change automatically. The options for this setting are as follows: OFF – MIDI data is not transmitted U1 – Sent to USB Port 1 U2 –...

  • Page 59: Keyboard Zones

    Template: This selects the template whose group settings you are currently editing. The template name will appear on the top line of the display to the right of the settings. Position: This sets the position of the template within the group. Size: This sets the size of the group i.e.
  • Page 60 USE ZONE CHAN PORTS they automatically revert back to sending pitch and modulation messages (although the individual settings in Edit Mode will not be lost). Setting up Keyboard Zones is also easy to do with the free Template Editor software, available from the Novation website.
  • Page 61 -The control currently assigned to the SPEED DIAL To save a template, press WRITE when in Play Mode, Edit Mode, the Template Menu or the Keyboard Zones Menu. This will bring up the template save display: V-Station-1 Novation To Template < >...

  • Page 62: Specifications

    SPECIFICATIONS KEYBOARD Keys: 25/49 Type: semi-weighted with aftertouch Velocity Curves: 7 - individually assignable for each Template PITCH AND MOD WHEEL MECHANISM Pitch wheel: spring loaded, centre return, front to back motion Mod wheel: free running, front to back motion LCD DISPLAY LCD: 1 x 144-character silver.
  • Page 63 PRE-INSTALLED ONBOARD TEMPLATES AND AUTOMAPS SOFTWARE: Novation • V-Station • Bass Station Propellerhead • Reason Automap – All Instruments, Mixer, rack effects (Template 37) Native Instruments • FM7 • Pro 53 • Battery II • Kontakt II • B4 G Media •...
  • Page 64 Apple • Logic Automap - Mixer and instruments (Template 39) Ableton • Live Automap – Mixer, devices and effects (Template 40) Digidesign • Pro Tools Automap – Mixer and inserts (Template 34) Image-Line • FLStudio MINIMUM COMPUTER SPECS: Pentium 3 – 800 MHz or higher (CPU may be higher for laptops) 256 MB RAM DirectX 9.0b or higher...
  • Page 65 Here is a guide to each standard Template: V-Station Location: Templates 1, 2 and 3 Title : V-Station 1,2 and 3 A group of three standard templates is used for the V-Station. The templates follow the general synth parameter layout but additional arpeggiator parameters are assigned to BUTTONS GROUP B3.
  • Page 66 Pro53 Location: Templates 6 and 7 Title: Pro 53 Before using the Pro-53 template, you must import a controllermap file into the plug-in. To do this, click on the ‘NI’ logo on the Pro-53 window and select ‘load controllermap’ from the drop-down menu. Locate the file ‘RemoteSL.txt’ in the Pro-53 resources folder on the SL Compact DVD and click ‘Open’.
  • Page 67 Oddity Location: Templates 13 and 14 Title: Oddity 1 and 2 A group of two standard templates that mainly follow the standard synth parameter layout is used for Oddity. Additional osc parameters are assigned to ENCODERS GROUP B and BUTTONS GROUP B2. HPF cutoff is assigned to ENCODER 6 in GROUP B.
  • Page 68 The SL Compact CS80-V templates will then map correctly to the software. Template 1 should be used to control osc 1 and its HPF and LPF filters. Template 2 should be used to control osc 2 and its HPF and LPF filters. With both templates, the HPF parameters are assigned to ENCODERS 7 and 8 in GROUP A and the LPF parameters are assigned to ENCODERS 7 and 8 in GROUP B.
  • Page 69 4. In the MIDI Settings Window you will see ‘ReMOTE SL Compact: Port 1’, ‘ReMOTE SL Compact: Port 2’ and ‘ReMOTE SL Compact: Port 3’ in the ‘Input’ list. Ensure that only ‘ReMOTE SL Compact: Port 1’ is active by clicking on it in the list and then clicking the ‘Enable’...
  • Page 70 Many of the controls in the template are unassigned so that you can learn them to parameters in FL using the ‘Link to controller…’ feature, accessed by right-clicking on a parameter. Some controls however are assigned to functions in FL Studio, as follows: GROUP A ENCODER 6 –...

Table of Contents