Komplete Audio 6 Mk2 DC Coupled to Eurorack with Ableton Live, Bitwig and Reaktor

[@isoldeisobelle552]

What a wonderfully concise and descriptive explanation you have created for users starting out. I use CV.OCD for MIDI to CV and also ES-3 via an RME ADAT card for DC coupled CV via the Silent Way suite. The Komplete Audio 6 is great value for money even when you factor in additional module(s) needed to get its voltage output up to Euro levels.

[@bertengel24]

Doepfer A-183-3 DC coupled amplifier. This module amplifies the signals to 5 Volt.

[@MoltenMusicTech]

cool - i'm going to look into this in another video

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Let me know how that goes

[@robertparenton7470]

You have sold me Komplete Audio 6 Mk2 over ES-8 due to cost and I need audio inputs. Such an excellent video and thank you for your valuable time!

[@xmaverickhunterkx]

I was sure they'd update it after the 1 and 2 were released so I waited and it was worth it!

[@OB1techno]

Just ditched my Focusrite and picked up a MOTU Ultralite mk3 for this exact reason. CV Tools is awesome.

[@internalobserver]

Hi, perhaps you can help me. Got ableton with cv tools and motu ultralite mk3, do you use ONLY TS cables ? Does it work with TRS cables?

[@OB1techno]

@@internalobserver I use standard TS patch cables

[@internalobserver]

@@OB1techno standard patch cable means : 6,3 mm TS - 3,5mm TS right?

[@OB1techno]

@@internalobserver I use standard 3.5mm TS cables with a 6.3mm adapter on one end - I got a bag of 10 of them on eBay for a couple of quid

[@internalobserver]

@@OB1techno I understand. And is it matter when you use adaptor TS vs adaptor TRS? I have by now only TRS adaptor connected to patch cable but this not work.

[@ramirofernandez6079]

Excellent information and excellent review! Thank you so much! Keep the good work! :)

[@chemicalBR0]

nice. if I hadn't just bought a new mixer with interface I'd be tempted. (I'm still tempted) even being able to send a gate/trigger from live is quite a thing (you could use that to clock your eurorack) and have live play in time. regarding the 4V range. you could boost that with Maths . plug the output from the Komplete into channel 2 of your maths, then from Maths out 2 to in 3 , output 3 is your boosted signal (I just tested it and with both attenuverters on maths at max it boosts a 2v signal to just over 4v)

[@danyrockjr]

Hello, Thank you for this demonstration. This audio interface is limited to + -2V ... is this sufficient to control modular devices, semi-modular synths (Moog Grandmother)? Thank you for your help. DRJ;)

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Yes, a little bit - that's what the video is about, it shows you exactly what it can do.

[@danyrockjr]

@@MoltenMusicTech Good evening, Thank you for your answer, but I did not understand all the subtleties. I understand that the limits were reached with the management of musical notes at +/- 10V which should not be played ? Do you know of an audio interface (at a reasonable price) which can handle an amplitude of up to 10 volts? Thank you again for your help. Good night.

[@MoltenMusicTech]

@@danyrockjr This can kick out +-2V and so could potentially give you 3 octaves. To get +-5v which is more normal in Eurorack you would need an Expert Sleepers ES9, MOTU interface, RME or PreSonus. None of those are cheap I'm afraid.

[@danyrockjr]

@@MoltenMusicTech Good evening, Thank you for this precise answer. DRJ;)

[@Blancmanuk]

Hi.. great video and I have the same Audio 6 Mk2. I can get the LFO and shaper to "talk" to my eurorack I can''t get the instrument calibration to work ? I followed everything you did but when I get to the calibration I get to altering the pitch of the osc it stays red and will not change when I alter the pitch. ( no activity in Live ) I have plugged headphones in to the Audio 6 and can hear the pitch changing but Live seems to be ignoring it. Any help you might offer will be much appreciated ( if you have time of course ). Cheers Phil and stay safe.

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Thanks! Not really sure what you mean. Are you referring to the tuning part of the process when you tune the oscillator to C3? You need to make sure you are getting level back into Ableton live into that channel by choosing an external input - the one that you've plugged the oscillator into. I'm sure if you think about it a bit more you'll work it out :D

[@Blancmanuk]

@@MoltenMusicTech Thanks for taking the time to reply.. I'll give it another go :o) Have a nice evening and rest of your weekend ! Stay safe !

[@andreulucio5630]

Hey Robin, thanks for your videos. What about the inputs, are the inputs DC coupled as well? Can I input cv from my hardware with this interface? Thanks!

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Nope

[@putoparri]

@@MoltenMusicTech Thanks! Maybe in for Komplete Audio 6 mk3...

[@simonsherbourne]

Nice one :) Interesting the Ableton tool gets you to tune to a nice mid point -- I was recently writing a tip about doing that manually when using Silent Way in Reason. You probably saw Reaktor also has a Pitch CV Out block that calibrates. I know most people probably have a MIDI to CV option which is easier but apparently you can get much better timing with CV.

[@MoltenMusicTech]

SilentWay is good but a little complex and frightening i find. The CV Tools were remarkably straight forward. You know I haven't spotted the Pitch CV Out in Reaktor - I'm never paying enough attention. Reason should have integrated this sort of thing years ago! Yeah CV is just so much more manipulable - you never tend to look at MIDI in terms of shapes and waves, or at least I haven't. And there's lot more depth to cover in all these bits of software :)

[@Blancmanuk]

Sorry it's me again bothering you and whatever you may be doing today but this has me puzzled.. I have the same Audio interface but when I select the audio input when trying to calibrate I get NO signal input on the live channel volume strip as you do although I can see the led indication on the interface reacting ? ( Tried all the inputs but no difference ) Pulling what little hair I have left out. ANY advice would be helpful apart from telling me to go forth and copulate. Phil

[@MoltenMusicTech]

You'll have to go back to basics. Forget CV - just try to record some audio into Live. The problem, i'm almost sure, is going to be your setup of the audio interface in Live. Try recording some audio onto an audio track using the input you're trying to use for the calibration. Do that first, see the input level, understand how to select inputs because that's all you are doing in the CV Tools. Good luck.

[@Blancmanuk]

@@MoltenMusicTech Many thanks again..... it looks as though the Audio 6 may not be compatible with Mac OS Monterey :o( ( yet ? ) Cheers all the same and have a good day.

[@scossar]

Thanks! I think that's just what I'm looking for. My goal is to be able to send control voltage from Pure Data to my modular synth. It seems that calibration could be tricky, but it should be possible to get it to work. I'll test that out soon.

[@geertmaertens7372]

Very interesting how to connect Ableton or Reaktor with the modular rig! As you suggested, how would this work with ES8 (on Mac)? Or could the Novation SLIII be used too? THANKS!!

[@MoltenMusicTech]

The ES-8 is a USB audio interface - you'll see the outputs in your software - use them. The SL3 is a sequencer.

[@louisl.fourbirds1229]

great video, thank you! I used the Audio6 before this one and wanted to upgrade a week ago. It seems to have an unfixed bug though which made me go back to the old Audio6. When you connect your MIDI-Keyboard, just some values get send through which makes it impossible to use with MIDI. Nobody seems to have a solution even though a ton of people seem to have this problem unfortunately.

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Oh that’s odd. Do you mean via the interface on the KA6?

[@louisl.fourbirds1229]

@@MoltenMusicTech yes exactly - it's not the cable / MIDI-Controller. And i even tried 2 different KA6. Unfortunately...

[@DavidBagshaw]

I have been following closely (down to the same cables, as well as a Surface and Komplete 6 mk2), but I could not get CV into my Lifeforms Eurorack module until I replace the TS cable in Output 1 with a TRS cable and 1/4" adapter.

[@Ureallydontknow]

Americans: the amplitude of the sine wave is less UK: "not quite so wangy"

[@DBCisco]

A summing mixer and voltage source to add a voltage offset to get more than 2v+ will be a real help with that unit. I really should design modules. lol

[@MoltenMusicTech]

cool, thanks

[@ArzylOne]

Congratulations excellent video! You know if it’s possible control reaktor blocks with a René Module? I mean send pitch to virtual modules? I have the same interface

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Yes, if you have DC coupled inputs or a cv-to-midi converter

[@ArzylOne]

Molten Music Technology Thanks for answering! Do you know if it is possible to send cv notes with a DJ-1000 MIDI / 3.5mm Jack?

[@MoltenMusicTech]

I have no idea what that is or what it's for or what it does, sorry. It appears to be specific to Expert Sleepers gear.

[@wojteklass8249]

Hi. Can komplete audio 6 Mk2 work without a computer? Can you provide usb power and use as a headphone amplifier without connecting to a computer?

[@MoltenMusicTech]

I don't think so. Sound only happens once it initialises with Windows.

[@Steve81M]

Great review. One thing I'm struggling with is how you best get audio OUT of your Eurorack for listening and recording! It seems like there are no clear answers or maybe I'm just not getting it. Is there a clear simple answer to this question???

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Yes. Get an output module. There are several to choose from. I use a Make Noise Rosie and a Tesseract TexMix. They have headphones and line outputs etc.

[@Steve81M]

@@MoltenMusicTech Thank you for the reply. So something like the Intellijel Audio Interface II would address the drop in voltage when using Ableton in conjunction with this interface and cover output as well?

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Not sure what you mean by a drop in voltage. Eurorack audio is too loud for for line level to speakers and do the module reduces the audio to the proper level. But you can get away without one using a mixer or VCA to keep things under control. But I’m not sure I’m understanding what you’re trying to do.

[@Steve81M]

@@MoltenMusicTech Sorry for my lack of knowledge and how to clearly convey what I meant. When I was talking about the drop in voltage I was referring to the issue you discuss at the beginning of this review. Essentially, I was looking to kill two birds with one stone. I was looking for confirmation in regards to that module I mentioned from Intellijel being able to sort out the lower CV coming out of the Komplete Audio 6 from Ableton to the Eurorack as well as being a good option for bringing audio out of the Eurorack into the Komplete Audio 6 then to a set of monitors and or headphones. I hope I'm not sounding like a complete moron. I'm fairly new to all of this and just trying to get myself situated.

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Ah ok. Well listening to Eurorack and controlling Eurorack are two different things - although I guess it's all voltage..... The Intellijel module seems to be all about audio so I don't know if you can use it to boost CV signals. Honestly I don't know without trying it - for me Eurorack is only understandably if I actually do it - you need to find someone cleverer :D

[@WellsOliver]

I am wondering if the downside of using a DC coupled interface for normal audio is the re-introduction of the noise? Do you ever notice it? The lack of the filtering...

[@MoltenMusicTech]

It is possible I suppose but I’ve not encountered any and neither has all those MOTU interfaces so it’s probably less to do with noise and more to do with circuit protection for a rare occurrence of trouble.

[@mce3210]

Please please PLEASE help me lol I am extremely confused in what to start with.i play guitar I have a bunch of songs that I’d like to record and put music too, (I also like edm music) I am not sure though if I should get ableton with a push 2 or if I should buy a komplete kontrol s61 with Logic Pro x and native sounds...... (also if you think I should get the keyboard,what drum maschine would you recommend?) thank you so much! :)))

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Hello? I answered your same question yesterday! Check it out :D

[@mce3210]

Molten Music Technology oh hey sorry about that, thank you for answering, I have one more Q please 😐 sorry,basically if I wanted to do live looping with the s61 with ableton would that be easier with the push or s61 would work just as well.... I don’t know why I am so pulled to the push,it just seems like I’d have more “fun” while recording with that then a keyboard?like drumming seems to me easier on a push then a keyboard? Also is NI keyboard the best for ableton or are there better ones out there now? One last Q lol can I do the live stuff with guitar with Logic Pro also or will it only work in ableton? Thank you so much!

[@MoltenMusicTech]

If you like Push then go for it - definitely the best companion to Ableton Live and looping. I don’t know logic, sorry.

[@mce3210]

Molten Music Technology thank you so much ☺️

[@SoulSheIS]

Interesting interface, seemingly streamlined.

[@F_letc.h]

Is it possible to use your whole rack when using cv tools? I noticed you were only using one, or two, modules, and the rest of your rack was sitting there with nothing to do. Can you use all of your modules at once, and write full songs, with CV Tools?

[@MoltenMusicTech]

You can if you have enough DC coupled outputs. Each output carries a single CV signal do with two outputs on the KA6 I can run two modulations or pitch and gate. To run more you’ll need an audio interface with a load more DC coupled outputs.

[@F_letc.h]

Molten Music Technology What if you don’t want to use Ableton to modulate your rack, you just want to sync your rack to Ableton’s metronome, and to have the ability to program drums in Ableton, add samples, use Ableton instruments, etc., and combine that with the music from your rack, keep everything in time, and record it all together in Ableton. Can CV Tools be used for this without having 20 ins/outs on your audio interface? Would you consider making a video showing how to combine your rack with Ableton in this way?

[@MoltenMusicTech]

CV Tools just outputs CV in various forms - you can use that for anything. If you want to send a pulse out to your rack as a clock then do that. You can play trombone at the same time if you wish. The point of CV Tools is to allow you to send things you create in Ableton Live to your modular - but you can simply use it as a clock and use your modular just like you always do and create a shed load of clips in Live doing Live things. It's really up to you - there's no magic involved. I don't have any plans for a video on this because I feel i covered it - but who knows :D

[@F_letc.h]

@@MoltenMusicTech Great. Thanks for your response. I'm waiting on my floating ring cables to arrive, but once they do, I'll experiment, and see what the possibilities are. Would love to combine my modular with my Ableton projects. Thanks!

[@bennn727]

didn't the presonus studio 68 and 68c do the same thing for a similar price before this

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Ooo yeah, good find, I hadn't seen that before. Strange that they didn't make more of a fuss about it. I wonder how they handled the TRS outputs into Euro patch cable? They are a bit more expensive and not bus powered. They should send me one for testing!

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Update - they didn't handle it - it has exactly the same issues.... video explanation coming soon :)

[@bennn727]

thanks for checking that out

[@pipster1001]

presonous 1810 has 6 dc coupled outputs for 285

[@IrobocompI]

No matter what I do, I can't get the cv tool to calibrate...

[@MoltenMusicTech]

It's hard! Took me ages.

[@chris5375]

The Presonus Studio 68 C costs the same and would work very good, it’s not Bus powered, i’ts dc coupled, check it out if you can 😉

[@MoltenMusicTech]

The Studio 68C costs about 20% more, it's not bus powered and it has the exact same CV output problems as the KA6. I've got a video coming up that will explain the issue.

[@chris5375]

Molten Music Technology ok, so we must find a proper solution that it works :-), on the KA 6 and other entry line AUdio Interfaces, i have no money for a MOTU for 600 Dollars

[@chris5375]

Don’t forget you need 2 Outputs for your Monitor speaker ?

[@MoltenMusicTech]

Only If you’re using audio from the computer. Otherwise you can mix in the modular.

[@modularmusings4077]

Nice video. I wouldn't take this route. Prefer to keep everything inside my rack. There' something not quite right with the audio of your video. As soon as the sound of your rack comes in it completely suppresses the sound of your voice.

[@MoltenMusicTech]

I'm sorry you're having audio issues - doesn't seem to be a problem here, the modular audio was generally quite low so i didn't have to duck it as much as i usually do. Maybe what you're viewing it on is compressing the audio. Don't know, but i do try to be aware of that and take steps to make sure the voice isn't lost - so.... dunno.