CUBASE5andEDIROLPCR300/500/800 TUTORIALS
LastEdited:August8th,2009
HiFolks, Originallycreatedthisformyownreference,anditissolelyforthepurposeoftryingtosimplifythe programmingandconfigurationsettingsforthePCRSeriesMIDIcontrollerstoworkwithinCubasewith asmucheaseandasmuchfunctionalityaspossible.Thistutorialassumesyoualreadyhavethebasic midifunctionofyourcontroller IamnewtoMIDIandhavingpurchasedthePCRoriginallyinthehopesitwouldbeasimplefeattouse allthedialsandfaders.IquicklylearneditsnotjustaplugandplaydeviceandthatsimplyCubasewill recognize.Itneedstobeprogrammedandconfigured.ThisdocumentiswhatIhavelearnedandIwould liketosharewiththeCubasecommunityforthenewbiesthatareexperiencingsimilarissues. ThereisstillaplethoraofthingstolearnwithCubaseandthePCRController.AsIbecomeawareof themIwillupdatethismanualasneeded.Hopethishelpssomepeople!JasonD.
TUNDRASTRUCKPCANDAUDIOSERVICES2009.
EDIROLPCR300/500/800DRUMPADPROGRAMMINGFORCUBASEGROOVEAGENT1 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. SelectEDITonthePCRDevice SelectthePadyouwouldliketoprogram.Ex.A1A2A3A4ETC. TheLEDwillflashthenameofthepadyouselected. PressENTER RotatetheVALUEknobtothelefttillnt(note)isdisplayedintheLED. PressENTERmakesurent0isdisplayedintheLED PressENTERagain. Ch1shouldbedisplayed,againpressENTER IntheLEDyouwillseenplusanumber.Thenumberisthenotevaluewhichiswhatyou wanttoassigntothatspecifickey. a. OpenGrooveAgentinCubaseandselecttheKityouwanttouse. b. ClickontheGrooveAgentpadsinCubasetofindthesoundsyouwanttoprogramto thepadsonthePCRDevice.(MAKENOTEOFTHENOTEVALUEONTHEPADSIN GROOVEAGENT)ForExampleyoushouldseeC1,G#2,D3onthepadsinGroove Agent,writethemdown. c. UsingthechartprovidedbelowMIDINoteKeyNumberChartyoucanlocatethenote valuetobeprogrammedforthePCRPad. i. Example:ThekitIfoundhasaniceKickDrumonthepadinGrooveAgent labeledA1IfIrefertothechartbelowIfindA1isMIDInote#45 10. BacktothePCR,andyoullwanttoroletheVALUEknobuntilitisatthedesirednote number.Inmycaseitis#45(Soyoushouldseen45intheLEDdisplayorwhateverthenote numberisyourelookingfor. 11. PressENTER 12. Youwillseeb0PressENTERagain.
YoureDone!Nowtheprogrammedpadshouldbeilluminatedandwhentappedshouldproducethe soundofthebeatyouarelookingfor.

Octave -1 -7 8

C#/Db 121

D#/Eb 123

E 76 88

F 77 89

F#/Gb 126

G#/Ab -

A#/Bb -

124 125

CUBASE5QUICKCONTROLSFORHALION1/PROLOGUE/MYSTIC/SPECTRE (HowtoprogramthePCR300/500/800withQuickControlsforSoftsynthFilterControl) Thisisabriefandquicktutorialonhowtoprogramthe8RotaryFaderknobslocatedonthetopofthe PCR300/500/800tocontrolthefiltersanddialsfoundintheCubaseSoftsynthssuchasHalionONE, Prologue,Mystic,GrooveAgent1etc.Thiswillalsoworkforthefadersliderslocatedontheright handsideofthekeyboard. HeresthescenarioyouredoingsomeMIDIrecordingandyouareusingHalionONEorsomesoft synthandhaveagreatsound,butitwouldgreatifyoucouldusetheknobstocontrolsomeofthe soundshapinganddialinsomeresonanceandmodifythecutoff.YourPCRispluggedinconfigured, andthepianokeysareworkinggreat,buttherotaryfadersdontdoanythingwithinthesoftsynth. CubasedoesntknowtheyrethereandHaliondoesntknowtheyrethereeitherWELL!!! QUICKCONTROLStotherescue!!! CubasehaswithinitafeatureIjustdiscoveredcalledQuickControlsthatallowsyoutoassignupto8 MIDItriggerswhichcanbeassignedtovariousfunctionswithinthesoftsynths.Itisversatileand handytouseandeliminatesthefrustrationoftryingtoconfigureaMIDIcontrollerandmappingetc.I spenthourstryingtofigureouthowtogetthedialstoworkandthisisbyfarthequickestandeasiest todo,justfollowthesesteps. TEACHINGTHEQUICKSETKNOBSINCUBASE 1. OPENCUBASE 2. FROMTHEMENUBARGOTODEVICESANDTHENDEVICESETUP 3. UNDERREMOTEDEVICESSELECTQUICKCONTROLSYOUSHOULDSEETHEFOLLOWINGON YOURSCREEN.
TUNDRASTRUCKPCANDAUDIOSERVICES2009. Page3
4. SETYOURMIDIINPUTTOEDIROLPCR2 5. SETTHEMIDIOUTPUTTOEDIROLMIDIOUT 6. INORDERFORCUBASETORECOGNIZETHEROTARYDIALSYOUWILLHAVETOTEACHTHE8 CONTROLSAVAILABLEINQUICKCONTROLSSETUPHERE.TODOSO a. SelectthetopcontrolinthelistonCubase b. Readyyourhandonthefirstrotarydial c. Atthesametimetakeyourmouse,leftclickandholddowntheLEARNbutton. d. Starttorotatethefirstdialbackandforththenreleasethemousebutton. i. Youshouldseethenumbervalueschangeforthatquickcontrol. e. Repeatstepsathroughtodforeachrotarydial (IassignedrotaryknobsR1throughtoR8toQuickControls1throughto8.ForexampleR1 assignedtoControl1,R2toControl2andsoon.) 7. WHENFINISHEDHERE,CLICKONAPPLYANDCLOSETHEDEVICESETTINGSWINDOW.THE DIALSARENOWREADYTOBESETUPFORYOURSOFTSYNTH. ASSIGNINGTHEPCRROTARYDIALSTOTHESOFTSYNTHDIALSANDFADERSINCUBASE

AssumingyouhaveyourSoftsynthloadedandready,forexampleIhaveHalionOneloadedwiththe sampleIwillbeusing.IntheaboveexampleontheleftyoucanseeinCubaseintheleftpanethereis atabcalledQuickControls.Ifyouclickonit,itwillexpand,revealing8emptyslots.Fromtopto bottomtheseareyour8availablecontrols1beingthetopmostslotand8beingthebottom.These arethecontrolsyouprogrammedtotherotaryknobsintheprevioussectionofthetutorial. WiththeseQuickcontrolsCubasehassimplifiedthetaskofassigningsoftsynthcontrolstotheMIDI controlknobsandfaders.Onthenextpageyouwillseegeneralinstructionsforprogrammingthese knobsonthePCRDevice.
1. Leftclickinthe1stslotwhichinmycaseisControl1R1.Youshouldseeasimilarmenudrop downasillustratedintheaboveimage. 2. Locateyourselectedsoftsynthinthelistandclickthe+toexpandthelistofavailable controls.IhavechosentheResonancecontrolformyfirstknob.Samegoesforthesecond slotControl2R2onlyIhaveselectedCutoffasthecontrolforthatknob. 3. Repeatsteps1and2foreachadditionalknobyouwanttoassignfunctionsto. Eachsoftsythi.e.Halion,Prologue,MysticandGA1allhavetheirownspecificsetofcontrols availableforeachonethatcanbeassigned.Theoptionsarealmostlimitless. TUNDRASTRUCKPCANDAUDIOSERVICES2009. Page5
Yo oushouldno owbeableto ocontrolthef filtersandkn nobswithinyoursoftsynth h.Goonandgive itatry.Playanoteoracho ordandthenrotatetheassignedcontrolknobandseehowit re esponds.Ifyo ouweresuccessfulyoush houldseethe eknobordialinthesoftsy ynthmoveinsync withyouturni w ingtheassign nedknobonthePCRdevice. Co ongratulation nsifyougotitworking.P PleasenoteIa amstillanam mateuratthis sanditsalla a le earningexper rienceforme e.Ifyounotic ceanyerrorsorhaveanyproblemswiththe in nstructions,p pleaseemailm metech@tun ndrastruck.co omandIwilltrymybestt torespond. oyouall,andIwillbemod difyingthisdo ocumentasIlearnmore. Bestofluckto tayTuned. St Ja asonD.
TUNDRASTRUCKPCA ANDAUDIOSERVICES 2009. Page6 P

Welcome

PCR-300PCR-500PCR-800
USB/MIDI Keyboard Controllers

Selecting Control Maps

The PCR has 16 memory locations for setups called Control Maps: 0-9 and A-F. Note: The PCR comes pre-loaded with Control Maps for Cakewalks SONAR as well as several other popular computer-based recording applications. For a list of these Control Maps, see Page 90 of the Owners Manual. To load a stored setup: Press the CONTROL MAP/V3 button so it lights. Turn the VALUE dial to select the desired memory location.
Congratulations on your purchase of the PCR-300/500/ 800 MIDI keyboard controller. This TurboStart contains step-by-step instructions that will quickly introduce you to the PCR-series major features.

Connecting a Computer

You can connect the PCR-300/500/800well just call them the PCR from here on for simplicitys sakedirectly to your computer using the included USB cable. Follow the instructions in the Setup Guide to install the USB driver and to set up your computer. You can also use the PCR as a MIDI interfaceconnect your other MIDI equipment to the MIDI IN and OUT connectors on the PCRs side panel. Note: If you already have a MIDI interface, you can connect it to the PCRs side-panel MIDI jacks if you prefer. If you do this, you dont need to install the PCRs USB driver on your computer.
Storing Your Own Control Maps
You can store your button, knob, and slider settings as setups in 15 of the PCRs Control Map locations: 1-9 and A-F. This allows you to pre-configure the PCR for different applications or projects, and store each setup for quick recall. Press the EDIT button so it lights. Turn the VALUE dial to select SAVE in the display, and then press ENTER. Turn the VALUE dial to select the desired memory location. Press ENTER.

Setting the MIDI Channel

Use the following procedure for setting the MIDI transmission channel: Press the MIDI CHANNEL/V1 button so it lights. Turn the VALUE dial to select the desired MIDI channel from 1-16.

Sending a Program Change

Use the following procedure to send a Program Change message: Press the PROGRAM CHANGE/V2 button so it lights. Turn the VALUE dial to select the desired Program Change number (1-128).
2009 Roland Corporation U.S.

www.RolandUS.com/EDIROL

TBS273

Sending a Snapshot

When youre working with an external MIDI device such as a sequencer, you can transmit all of your PCR Control Map settings at once as a snapshot. You can store the snapshot at the start of a sequencer track from where it can be automatically loaded back into the PCR when you play the sequence. 5 Press EDIT so it lights. Turn the VALUE dial to select BULK in the display, and then press ENTER. Turn the VALUE dial to select bLt in the display, and then press ENTER. Turn the VALUE dial to select tS in the display, and then press ENTER. Verify that your sequencer is ready to record the data, and then press ENTER again on the PCR to begin transmissionthe PCR displays END when its finished sending the data. Press ENTER one more time to complete the operation.

Assigning Controllers

There are 50 controllersknobs, buttons, sliders, etc.on the PCR that can be assigned to transmit almost any MIDI message. See how this works by using the following procedure to set up Slider S1 for sending a MIDI Volume message on MIDI Channel 1. 7 Press the EDIT button so it lights. Slightly move the S1 sliderthe display shows S-1. Press ENTER to continue. Turn the VALUE dial to select CC in the display, and then press ENTER. Turn the VALUE dial to select CC0 in the display, and then press ENTER. Turn the VALUE dial to select Ch 1 in the displayfor MIDI channel 1and then press ENTER. Turn the VALUE dial to select n 7 in the display (for MIDI Controller #7, Volume), and then press ENTER twice.

Panic Mode

Use the Panic feature if MIDI notes become stuck or if other sound problems occur. Simultaneously press EDIT and PRM MUTE so the display reads PnIC. Press ENTERthe EDIT and PRM MUTE buttons blink several times and the following messages are transmitted on all MIDI channels: All Sound Off, All Notes Off and Reset All Controllers.
Note: Some commonly used MIDI Control Change messages are 1 Modulation, 5 Portamento, 7 Volume, 10 Pan, and 11 Expression. Note: For more information on assigning MIDI messages to PCR controls, please refer to pages 41-65 in the Owners Manual. Tip: To learn more about MIDI and MIDI Control Change messages, see Rolands An Introduction to MIDI booklet, which you can download from the RolandUS website.