Need help with UC-33e / Reason 3.0 -- don't know where to look!

[phalaris]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post. I'm usually pretty good at configuring new hardware/software, but this is driving me insane, and I would really appreciate some help, even if you just tell me where to look..

I bought the Evolution UC-33e midi controller for use in Reason 3.0, and I'm having a nightmare trying to set the thing up.

First of all, the manual is a load of crap. Nowhere in the manual does it say what the different LCD symbols mean.. the extended manual then makes a huge leap into advanced midi rewiring that really doesn't apply to me, not to mention it's in PDF and the pages are numbered something like: 32, 2, 31, 30, 3, 29, 4... sequentially from top to bottom...
Anyway, the point is I've done my very best to digest all of it, and I'm still clueless.

The first thing I don't understand is the 'preset banks'. In the manual there is a list of presets for different devices in different programs (which seems logical enough). For example, the Reason mixer is preset no. 4, so I would have assumed if I want to use the mixer in Reason, I select the fourth preset and away I go... likewise, the preset for the Subtractor is no. 6..
However, as soon as I installed the UC-33e, it gave me a message saying something like "preset 2 has now been overwritten for use with Reason".
So now to use ANY of the devices in Reason, I am forced to use preset 2. This applies to any device (mixer, subtractor, etc..).
I select the devices within Reason itself (by clicking on the little midi icon in the track sequencer). But it's always UC-33e preset number 2...
This is confusing me..

Next, I got these vinyl overlays for Reason.. they have different controls printed on them so it's really handy.. however, the functions printed on them don't always match what the controls are actually programmed to do.. for example the button that is supposed to switch on/off oscillator 2, actually reverses the filter envelope..
OK, no big deal.. I'll just change it..

So next comes the biggest problem. How to change stuff? It seems you can do it within the UC-33e itself, or within the SysEX librarian that came with it.. but following the advice of a lot of people, I downloaded Enigma Librarian..
There seems to be no reference guides for this utility anywhere online.. I haven't found any Enigma forums.. but I think I've figured it out anyway:
I made a new custom user bank.. then I picked preset no. 4 (reason mixer)... and I tried changing some of the parameters.. for example the top row of knobs I changed into aux sends (ch 1-8).. I then saved the user bank... and pressed the "send current bank to device" button..
I then launced reason and picked preset no. 4, and selected mixer as my target.. what happens? NOTHING. No midi response at all...
So I tried preset no. 2, which I changed to something else.. but it's still controlling the preset Reason functions..

And lastly, within Enigma, when I select Reason mixer from the library, some of the controls are missing entirely.. what happened to EQ on/off? What happened to channel mute on/off? These are some fairly important controls that I wanted at my fingertips...

So to sum it all up:

(1)I really don't understand why you need separate presets for each device in Reason. On preset no. 2 you can control Mixer, Subtractor, Malstrom, etc... all on one preset.. so what is the advantage of having them on different presets?
(2) Should I use Enigma or SysEx librarian? Should I make the changes manually on the UC-33e itself? Is that even possible if I'm configuring program-specific stuff?
(3) Why aren't the changes I made in Enigma registering with Reason AT ALL?
Is there anywhere I can find a troubleshooter for Enigma or something?
(4) Why are some functions missing entirely from Enigma (like mixer channel mute on/off and EQ on/off)?

.

I would really appreciate some feedback on this. Thanks in advance. :)

[David Muniz]

Propellerhead created a protocol they call REMOTE to make controlling Reason easier. When it overwrites preset 2, it's really just setting the UC33's preset bank to default so it knows what it's dealing with.

The idea is, whichever track you have that keyboard icon on will be controlled by the Master Controller in Reason. This is useful because you never have to worry about bringing a preset up for a different device, it just works with a bunch of default controls. What controls you have is determined by Propellerheads. They guessed at what would be most useful and programmed it to work this way.

The Overlays and presets that you can get for the UC33e were made before Propellerheads implemented REMOTE. Back then, the best way to control the different devices in REason was by having presets for them and switching between those presets as you moved through Reason. Since it can be difficult to remember which knob does what, the overlays were made to make it easy to see. Those presets were made by Evolution/M-Audio.

I'd say your best bet, right now is to use REMOTE. If you don't want to, you can go to your advanced MIDI page and set one of the A B C D busses to receive input from the UC33e. Then in the Reason rack, you'll be able to set individual devices to receive signal from one of the 16 channels on that bus. SO for example, you could set the Mixer to Channel 1, the Subtractor to channel two, etc. Then, using Enigma, set every parameter in the Mixer preset to Channel one, every parameter in the Subtractor preset to channel 2, etc. You can then make changes to that preset to control the knobs and faders in reason that you prefer (drag and drop from the enigma library)
The drawback here is you cannot record your moves this way. That signal does not go to the sequencer.

DO you have a keyboard controller? I would get somethign like an Oxygen 8 or an Axiom 25 and use that as your master controller and set the UC33 to be dedicated to the mixer.

Dig?

[phalaris]

First of all, let me say thanks for reading my post, and taking the time to respond.

I do understand this remote concept you are referring to.. and after sifting through various forums/manuals/reviews/documentation/etc. for about 12 hours yesterday it has become a small bit clearer..
Basically they chose preset 2 because preset 1 is for the Cubase main channel strip and that would be pretty damn popular... the whole "choosing the preset for each device" concept is obviously outdated, hence the confusion on my part..
I also found out why Osc 2 on/off was replaced by filter env invert.. it was because in Reason 3 there are more functions and they had to reassign keypad button no.4 for something else.. Propellerhead actually did write this in some pdf or other within their gargantuan archive of documentation..


I'd say your best bet, right now is to use REMOTE. If you don't want to, you can go to your advanced MIDI page and set one of the A B C D busses to receive input from the UC33e. Then in the Reason rack, you'll be able to set individual devices to receive signal from one of the 16 channels on that bus. SO for example, you could set the Mixer to Channel 1, the Subtractor to channel two, etc. Then, using Enigma, set every parameter in the Mixer preset to Channel one, every parameter in the Subtractor preset to channel 2, etc. You can then make changes to that preset to control the knobs and faders in reason that you prefer (drag and drop from the enigma library)
The drawback here is you cannot record your moves this way. That signal does not go to the sequencer.

Well here's the thing.. although Remote is clearly a tool designed to make life easier, it also seems to have a flipside: for example knob 26 controls cc 36 which in the case of the mixer is the channel 1 treble knob.. however when I select the Subtractor, it is cc 36 that corresponds to the overlay (cc 36 = osc 1 phase differential = what's printed on the overlay). If I switch around the parameters for JUST the mixer on a given preset, I will also be inadvertently changing the function of that knob for the Subtractor, Malstrom etc.. in other words, screwing up the overlay format..

Now here's an even bigger problem (if you can help me out with this, you will be a true legend!).
The Reason 3.0 midi cc chart AND the Evolution manual both claim that cc 39 controls channel 1 aux 1 send.. in reality this corresponds to channel 4 treble.. so the map is CLEARLY WRONG. Infact, the last cc being used is 43.. this is used by knob c33 .. the last knob on the UC-33e.
I tried to manually figure out what the cc numbers are for the aux sends, but whenever I tried ANY cc number of 44 or bigger, it just endep up not working at all.. (this is with Enigma, or when done manually..)
So what's the story with these maps?

And finally, as a very annoying footnote to this problem, here is a quote directly from some Reason 3.0 compatability documentation, with regard to the UC-33e specifically:

Mixer 14:2
"There are four keyboard shortcut variations. In variations 1-2 channels 1-8 are controlled, with the two upper rows of knobs controlling the EQ and Aux sends, respectively. In variations 3-4, channels 9-16 are controlled in the same way. The faders always control the levels, and the lowest row of knobs control the pan. The master level is mapped to fader F9 in all variations."

So from reading this, am I to understand that there is a keyboard shortcut for changing between these 4 presets? Do you have any idea what they're talking about? Because after hours and hours of reading, I have found NO evidence of this..

Basically all I am looking for is this: I am content to resign to use the "generic preset no. 2" for Reason.. I don't care that some stuff doesn't match the overlays.. but I would like another preset, JUST for the mixer, where I can control the aux 1 and 2 sends with the top two rows of knobs for channels 1-8.. and yes, it is pretty important that I can record this stuff.


DO you have a keyboard controller? I would get somethign like an Oxygen 8 or an Axiom 25 and use that as your master controller and set the UC33 to be dedicated to the mixer.

Dig?

Yeah I have a master keyboard, but it's a stone-age Casio with no knobs/faders... just 76 keys.. it lags like hell, and I would like an Axiom25 because the knobs on it are continuously rotatable, so that means no jumping controls while recording..

Anyway thanks again.. hope I wasn't being too confusing.. :)