PACER DAW SETUP

PACER FACTORY PRESETS & FIRMWARE UPDATE

PACER HOW TO

Functions of the Control Edit Menu

Assigning Program Change Messages

If you use Pacer to select patches for instruments or effects, using Program Change messages, Presets A1-A4 are a good place to get started. But you will likely want to change the order of the patches which you select with Pacer’s stomp switches. To do so, you need to change the value of the Program Change message which Pacer transmits, from the Control Edit menu.

To get started, press and hold the [Preset] stomp switch, then load preset A1.

1. Turn the Data Encoder to select ‘CTRL’, then press the Encoder Button.
2. Press the Stomp switch that you would like to configure.
3. Turn the Data Encoder to select ‘PRG’, then press the Encoder Button.
4. Now the 3-character display will show the current Program value for the selected Stomp Switch and the active step.
5. Turn the Data Encoder to select the Program value you would like to transmit.
   • The available values are 0-127. The target device may start listing patches at 1, in which case you will need to offset the Program value you select. For example, to select Patch 1 on the target device, you would need to use a Program value of 0 on Pacer. If you want to load Patch 5 on the target device, you would need to use a Program value of 4 on Pacer.
6. Press the Encoder Button to accept the change or press [Preset] to cancel the change.

The instructions above assume that you are using a device which only has 128 patches. If your target device has more patches, you may be able to access patches 129 and above by using Bank change messages. When Pacer’s Stomp Switches are assigned to ‘PRGBNK’, Bank messages are sent first and then the Program value. You can choose the Bank you would like to load by changing the Bank MSB and LSB values. In most cases, you will only need to change the MSB.

After step 5, in the instructions above, instead of pressing the Encoder button, follow these steps:

1. Press Stomp Switch [C] twice to select the ‘MSB’ option.
2. Turn the Data Encoder to select the Bank value, from which you would like to load you patch.
3. Press the Encoder button to accept the change or press [Preset] to cancel the change

While still in the Control Edit menu, turn the Data Encoder to select ‘SETUP’, then press the next Stomp Switch you would like to configure, then follow steps 3-8 again. When you are done, press the [Preset] Stomp Switch to exit the Control Edit menu.

Assigning CC Messages

As with the the instructions for assigning program change messages, we will start with a template preset.

Press and hold the [Preset] Stomp Switch, then load preset D4 (GM CC).

In this preset Stomp Switches [1]-[6] are setup to toggle between two values for one MIDI CC. This is useful when you want to control something that should turn on with one press and off with another press. Like bypassing an effect or enabling modulation. The CCs used in this preset, the CCs used in this preset are good for MIDI learn purposes, because they are not commonly used. However if you would like to change the CCs to control a specific parameter, it’s easy to do so.

1. Turn the Data Encoder to select ‘CTRL’, then press the Encoder Button.
2. Press the Stomp Switch or Expression Pedal that you would like to configure.
3. Turn the Data Encoder to select ‘CC’, then press the Encoder Button.
4. The 3-character display will now show the current CC value for the selected Stomp Switch and the active step.
5. Turn the Data Encoder to select the CC which you would like the control to send.
6. Press the Encoder Button to accept the change or press [Preset] to cancel the change.

If you are only trying to control on/off type parameters, then you can move on to assign the next control but if you need to define the values for the on/off states or min/max values, you will need to do the following after step 5 in the instructions above.

1. Press Stomp Switch [C] to go to the next option for the CC message type.
2. Turn the Data Encoder to select the CC value, which you would like to transmit for the first press of the selected Stomp Switch (or the Maximum value for expression pedals).
3. Press Stomp Switch [C], then turn the Data encoder to select the CC value, which you would like to transmit for the second press of the selected Stomp Switch (or the Minimum value for expression pedals).
4. Press the Encoder Button to accept the change or press [Preset] to cancel the change

While still in the Control Edit menu, turn the Data Encoder to select ‘SETUP’, then press the next Stomp Switch you would like to configure, then follow steps 3-9 again. When you are done, press the [Preset] Stomp Switch to exit the Control Edit menu.

If you need the Stomp Switches to operate as momentary switches (on/max value when pressed, off/min value when released), these same instructions also apply to Preset D3 (Keyboard Tool Box).

Assigning Note Messages

As with the the instructions in the two previous sections, we will start with a template preset.

Press and hold the [Preset] Stomp Switch, then load preset A5 (NOTES).

Preset A5 is a template for transmitting MIDI Note data from Pacer, which can be used to play instruments, like a keyboard. By default, the Notes assigned to Stomp Switches [1]-[6] make up an Em scale but you can reassign them to any notes you would like.

1. Turn the Data Encoder to select ‘CTRL’, then press the Encoder Button.
2. Press the Stomp Switch that you would like to configure.
3. Turn the Data Encoder to select ‘NOTE’, then press the Encoder Button.
4. The 3-character display will now show the current Note value for the selected Stomp Switch and the active step.
5. Turn the Data Encoder to select the Note number which you would like the control to send (hint 0=C-2, 36=C1, 57=A2, 60=C3, etc).
6. Press the Encoder Button to accept the change or press [Preset] to cancel the change.

By default the Stomp Switches will transmit Note On message with a velocity value of 127 (maximum velocity) when pressed and a value of 0 (Note Off) when released. If you want to define the Note On Velocity value, you will need to do the following after step 5 in the instructions above.

1. Press Stomp Switch [C] to go to the VELOC setting for the Note message type.
2. Turn the Data Encoder to select the velocity value, which you would like to transmit when the Stomp Switch is pressed.
3. Press the Encoder Button to accept the change or press [Preset] to cancel the change.

While still in the Control Edit menu, turn the Data Encoder to select ‘SETUP’, then press the next Stomp Switch you would like to configure, then follow steps 3-8 again. When you are done, press the [Preset] Stomp Switch to exit the Control Edit menu.

Assigning MIDI Channels

Most of Pacer’s User Presets are configured to transmit on the Global channel (set from the Global menu, as described in the user guide). This is useful, because you can change the channel which all controls transmit from at once. However, it’s not so useful, if you would like to control more than one device/plug-in from a single preset. In that case you can configure, each step of each control, to transmit on it’s own MIDI channel.

Press and hold the [Preset] Stomp Switch, then load preset D4.

1. Turn the Data Encoder to select ‘CTRL’, then press the Encoder Button.
2. Press the Stomp Switch or Expression Pedal that you would like to configure.
3. Turn the Data Encoder to select ‘M CHA’, then press the Encoder Button.
4. The 3-character display will now show ‘0’ to indicate that the control is configured to transmit on the Global Channel.
5. Turn the Data Encoder to select the Channel, on which you would like the control to send.
6. Press the Encoder Button to accept the change or press [Preset] to cancel the change.

While still in the Control Edit menu, turn the Data Encoder to select ‘SETUP’, then press the next Stomp Switch you would like to configure, then follow steps 3-6 again. When you are done, press the [Preset] Stomp Switch to exit the Control Edit menu.

These instructions apply to most of Pacer’s user Presets. However, some of Pacer’s functions don’t have a channel setting (Relays and MMC messages for example). You can find a table which shows which settings apply to each message type, in the user guide.

Clearing Control Settings and Presets

If you would like to start from a clean slate, you can clear the settings for the selected step, all steps of the selected control or the entire preset. Before doing so, it’s recommended to make a back up of the preset or all of Pacer’s memory.

Press and hold the [Preset] Stomp Switch, then load any of Pacer’s presets.

1. Turn the Data Encoder to select ‘CTRL’, then press the Encoder Button.
2. Press the Stomp Switch or Expression Pedal that you would like to configure.
3. Turn the Data Encoder to select ‘CLEAR’, then press the Encoder Button.
4. The Options for Clear are:
   • ‘StP’ – Clear currently selected Step
   • ‘CtL’ – Clear currently selected Control
   • ‘PSt’ – Clear all settings from the current Preset.
5. Turn the Data Encoder to select the Clear option you want.
6. Press the Encoder Button to accept the change or press [Preset] to cancel the change.

Functions of the Save Menu

The Save menu also has a number of options which can be applied to Presets.

Copying Presets

If you would like to configure several presets to have similar functions it can be useful to copy a preset to a different preset slot.

Press and hold the [Preset] Stomp Switch, then load any of Pacer’s presets (the preset you would like to copy).

1. Turn the Data Encoder to select ‘SAVE’, then press the Encoder Button.
2. The display says ‘Store’, press the Encoder Button.
3. The display will now show the currently selected preset slot, turn the Data Encoder to select a different preset slot (the preset slot, to which you would like to ‘Paste’ the preset)
4. Press the Encoder Button
5. Press the [Preset] Stomp Switch to exit the Save menu.

Now you have two presets with the exact same settings.

Renaming Presets

Press and hold the [Preset] Stomp Switch, then load any of Pacer’s presets.

1. Turn the Data Encoder to select ‘SAVE’, then press the Encoder Button.
2. Turn the Data Encoder to select ‘NAME’, then press the Encoder Button.
3. The name of the current preset will appear in the 5-character display with the first character flashing.
4. Turn the Data Encoder to changing the first character.
5. Press Stomp Switch [D] to select the next character. Observe that the second character is now flashing.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 to create your custom patch name.
7. Press the Encoder Button to accept the change or press [Preset] to cancel the change.
8. The 5-character display should now say ‘STORE’. Press the Encoder button
9. Turn the Data Encoder to select the Preset*, to which you would like to save, then press the Encoder button or press [Preset] to cancel the save operation.
10. Press the [Preset] Stomp Switch to exit the Save menu.

*Note: Since the preset hasn’t been saved yet, the old preset name will still appear here.

Sending MIDI Messages, When Loading a Preset

When you load a preset, Pacer can be configured to send 16 MIDI messages. Relays can also be opened and closed this way. This is useful when you want a preset on Pacer to correspond to a preset on a device or in a performance application like MainStage. You can have a program change message transmitted when you elect the preset, so that the target device/application changes presets at the same time. You can then have preset that you loaded on Pacer, setup to control parameters specific to the preset that was loaded on the target device/application. Setting up MIDI Configurations for presets works in a similar manner to renaming a preset. You make changes in the ‘M CFG’ menu, then save those changes to a preset.

Press and hold the [Preset] Stomp Switch, then load any of Pacer’s presets.

1. Turn the Data Encoder to select ‘SAVE’, then press the Encoder Button.
2. Turn the Data Encoder to select ‘M CFG’, then press the Encoder Button.
3. The 3-character display will say ‘1’ to indicate that the first  MIDI Config slot is selected.
4. Turn the Data Encoder to select a MIDI Config slot, then press the Encoder Button.
5. The 5-character display will say ‘Type’. Press the Encoder Button and the 3-character display will show the name of the current assignment type. Turn the data encoder to scroll through the different functions for the MIDI Config. You will find a table of the assignment  types in the user guide.
6. Press the Encoder Button to select a assignment type.
7. Press Stomp Switch [C] to navigate the different configuration options for the selected assignment type.
8. Press the Encoder Button to accept the change or press [Preset] to cancel the change.
9. Press [Preset] button to exit the ‘M CFG’ menu.
10. The 5-character display should now say ‘STORE’. Press the Encoder button
11. Turn the Data Encoder to select the Preset, to which you would like to save, then press the Encoder button or press [Preset] to cancel the save operation.
12. Press the [Preset] Stomp Switch to exit the Save menu.

Setup

First, select how Steps should function, from the ‘Setup’ option in the Control Edit menu.

1. Press the [Preset] Stomp Switch, then Load the preset you would like to edit.
2. Turn the Data Encoder to select ‘CTRL’, then press the Encoder Button.
3. The display will show the name of the currently selected control, then after a moment, the display will say ‘SETUP’. From this option, you can press another Stomp Switch or move an expression pedal to select it.
4. Press the encoder button with the ‘SETUP’ option selected. Turn the encoder knob to see the available options (note: the ‘SEq’ option is only available for Stomp Switches and foot switch inputs):
   • ALL: The functions of all Steps are executed at once. Use this when you want to activate/deactivate several effects at once or play chords. Up to 6 Steps can occur at once. This is the default behavior.
   • SEq: The functions of Steps occur one at a time in sequence. This is useful if you want a Stomp Switch to do one thing the first time it’s pressed and something else the second time it’s pressed. Sequences can be up to 6 Steps long.
   • ESS: Another control is used to choose which Step is currently active. This can be useful for changing the function an Expression Pedal.
5. Select a SETUP option and then press the encoder button to confirm the change or press the [Preset] Stomp Switch to return to the top of the Control Edit menu without making any changes.

Activating Steps

Press the Stomp Switches for Steps you would like to activate. If you only need two active steps, press Stomp Switch [2] so that Steps 1 and 2 are active. The LEDs for those Stomp Switches should now be lit white.

Selecting Steps & Editing the Active Step

Stomp Switches [1]-[6] still represent Steps 1-6. The LED for the Stomp Switch which represents the Step which you are currently editing will be lit red. The LEDs for Stomp Switches which represent active steps will be lit white and the LED for Stomp Switches which represent inactive steps will be lit blue.

Now, with the ‘TYPE’ option still selected, the LED for Stomp Switch [1] should be lit red, which indicates that you are editing step 1. If you have activated Step 2, the LED for Stomp Switch [2] should be lit white and pressing that Stomp Switch should result in the LED turning red (the LED for Stomp Switch [1] should now be white). At this point you are editing Step 2 for the selected control.

In most user presets the ‘Type’ for Steps 2-6 is set to ‘OFF’. Press the data encoder to access the list of different Message types. Once you have selected the function you want for the current step, press the encoder button to return to the top level of the menu or press Stomp Switch [C] to select the next  Control Edit option.

Once you are done setting up the current Step, press the Encoder button to confirm your changes. You can then press Stomp Switches [1]-[6] to select a different step for editing.

External Step Select

Turn the Data Encoder to select ‘TYPE’ and then press the encoder button. As you turn the Data encoder you will find two message types which can be used to select the Step of another control.

• STEP: This message type is for selecting a specific Step for the target control.
• STP-+: This message type is for incrementing/decrementing through the active steps for the Target Control.

Once you have chosen the Message Type you want, press Stomp Switch [C]. The Display will say ‘TRGT’.

Turn the data encoder to select the target control, for which you would like the selected control to choose steps.

Once you have chosen the target control, press Stomp Switch [C]. The Display will say ‘STEP’ if you chose the ‘STEP’ message type or ‘DIR’ if you chose ‘STP-+’. Turning the data encoder will either select the step which should be activated or whether steps for the target control will be selected in descending (Dec)/ascending (Inc) order.

Press the encoder button to accept the changes or press the [Preset] Stomp Switch to exit without confirming the changes.

Once you have setup your multi-step controls and external step select controls, make sure to save your changes before loading another preset!

Here is a link to a preset template for Pacer which is designed to work with Mainstage:

Pacer Mainstage Template 1.38 KB 3240 downloads

...

Download

To send the sysex data to Pacer, use Sysex Librarian (OS X) or Bome’s Send SX (Windows).

The sysex data will be loaded as the ‘Current’ preset. You can then save the settings to any of Pacer’s preset slots. If you don’t save the preset, the settings will be lost the next time you select a different user preset.

1. With Pacer in Preset Mode, turn the Data Encoder to select ‘SAVE’, then press the Encoder Button.
2. The 5-character display will say ‘STORE’, press the Encoder button.
3. Turn the data encoder to select the Preset slot, to which you would like to save this preset, then press the Encoder button.

Once you have saved that preset, Pacer’s controls will be configured as shown below:

The Preset

• FS1: MIDI CC 80
• FS2: MIDI CC 81
• FS3: MIDI CC 82
• FS4: MIDI CC 83
• EXP1: MIDI CC 7 – Volume
• EXP2: MIDI CC 11 – Expression

We are often asked about using Pacer with the Boss RC-505 Loop Station (original and Mk2).

The RC-505 doesn’t have any MIDI assignments by default, so you will need to manually assign MIDI CCs to the parameters you would like to control on the RC-505.

There is a section in the RC-505 manual about controlling it via MIDI, on page 21:

“The RC-505mkll can be controlled using Control Change messages from external MIDI devices.

Receiving Control Change messages
You can use Control Change messages from an external MIDI device to control functions that would be difficult to control using the RC-505mkll’s own controllers.

In the “ASSIGN” (p. 17) setting, set SOURCE to “MIDI CC#1–#31, CC#64–#95,” and select the parameter that you want to control in TARGET.”

On Pacer, you can start with Pacer preset D4, “General MIDI CC”—please note that when you press a Stomp Switch, the display will show the MIDI CC which is being transmitted. You can then assign the CCs to the function you would like to control on the RC-505.

Solutions

We have found that in many cases, simply trying a different USB cable will help.

In other cases, we recommend connecting the controller through a powered USB hub (particularly when using a laptop). To be clear, Nektar controllers will not work with a passive USB hub, only USB hubs which provide their own external power supply are recommended.

This is an example of a powered hub that we have tested extensively: Plugable USB 2.0 10-Port High Speed Hub

Panorama P4/P6: For motorized fader issues we commonly recommend connecting the USB Aux Power cable to a USB > AC adapter. These will often allow devices to draw more current than is typically possible with a standard USB port. Here is an example: iClever BoostCube Wall Charger.

With this solution you also don’t need to use two USB ports on your computer. Very handy if you use a laptop with only one or two USB ports.

iOS Devices

All Nektar controllers with the exception of the Panorama (P and T) Series can be connected to iOS devices via the USB Camera Adapter, available from Apple.

Nektar controllers will only work with a Camera Adapter that has an additional power connector. The exception is the Impact LX+ series when used in Low Power Mode.

Please connect the controller and power cable to the Camera Adapter first, and then connect it to the iOS Device

In addition, Pacer and Aura need to be connected via a powered USB hub before connecting to the adapter.

External Power Adapters

Certain Nektar controllers have the option of being powered from an external power supply. This is intended for powering the unit when away from a computer, so please note that all of these devices will defer to USB power when it is present.

Adapter specifications:

• Impact LX88+, GXP, Aura: 9v 600mA, center positive, 2.1mm barrel connector.
• Pacer: 9v 600mA center negative, 2.1mm barrel connector.

About Panorama P4/P6’s Dual USB Jacks

The Panorama P4 and P6 have two USB jacks on their rear panel: a standard USB-B jack and a USB-MicroB jack. The standard USB-B jack is used for communication between Panorama and the computer to which it’s connected. It also provides power for everything but Panorama’s motorized fader. *

The USB-MicroB jack can serve on its own as a power source when you’d like to use the Panorama without a computer. In this case the motor for the motorized fader would not be powered *, but power would be supplied to the display and the LEDs in the buttons and wheels.

*Note: The motorized fader will still transmit MIDI data when the USB Micro B cable is not providing power to the motor.

• When using both USB cables, we recommend that you connect both USB cables to the same computer or hub.
• If you are going to use both USB jacks in order to supply power to the motor, make sure both cables are plugged in before you power up the Panorama.
• The USB port for powering the motorized fader should be capable of delivering 500mA of current. USB 2.0 ports should provide sufficient power, and “dedicated charging ports” will also provide this.
• Be careful not to use ports that are rated for USB 1.0 only, as the power they provide is likely to be insufficient.
• It is possible that some computers might not supply full power to the built in USB ports.
• With certain computers or hubs, if other gear that draws high current is powered from the same USB port, the computer’s operating system may shut off power to the port for the motor. In this case, either use an external power supply, try a different port on the computer (changing ports on the same powered hub won’t help), or move the other gear to a different power source.