Press the Global button to enter the Global Settings view. Any settings changed in this view affect the whole device and do not change with the Session. These settings save when you turn off the SL MkIII via the power switch. If you remove the power cable these settings will not save.
When you’re in the global menu, you can press Global again to return to the last view you were in.
Press the Up/Down arrows next to the screen to navigate through three pages of global settings and information.
You can change the responsiveness of your SL MkIII keyboard via the ‘Velocity Curve’ setting:
‘Low’ skews MIDI toward lower values. In other words, it is easy to render low velocity values but getting velocity values of, say, 127 will require a lot of physical force. With ‘Low +’ it is slightly easier to get higher velocities; with ‘Normal’ and ‘Normal +’ achieving higher velocities gets even easier.
‘High’ means velocities skew toward high values. Even when pressing keys lightly, it is difficult to achieve low velocities. This could be, for example, a helpful feature for a player with a light touch who wants their velocities to lean toward higher values.
If you select ‘Fixed’ the SL MkIII will output the same MIDI velocity regardless of how hard or soft you press a key. When you select Fixed, a menu item next to Velocity Curve called ‘Fixed Velocity’ will appear; this is where you specify the MIDI velocity for each key press.
The following steps enable or disable receiving of external MIDI clock messages:
Set to ‘On’, if the SL MkIII detects MIDI clock at either MIDI input (USB or DIN) it will synchronise to the external clock. Make sure you send MIDI to USB or DIN, and not both, as this might cause a loss of synchronisation or erratic tempo.
To confirm the SL MkIII is receiving external clock press the Tempo button. Here the screen shows the synced-tempo value, as well as the word ‘External’. Changes to the external device’s or software’s tempo show here. If the SL MkIII loses sync while the transport is playing, the message ‘Sync Lost’ will appear, and the device will not switch to its internal clock until you stop the Transport.
The SL MkIII can either send its internal MIDI clock or sync to an external clock – convenient when using the SL MkIII alongside other devices or software.
The following steps allow you to enable or disable transmission of MIDI clock messages:
When set to ’On’, the SL MkIII sends clock tempo. Devices or software configured to receive the SL MkIII’s MIDI clock will now operate in sync. MIDI clock messages send at 24 PPQN (pulses per quarter note) to the USB MIDI and both MIDI DIN ports.
When using the SL MkIII’s analogue clock turn the rotary knob above the menu item labelled ‘Clock Out PPQN’ to choose between 1, 2, 4, eight or 24 PPQN.
To adjust the tempo of the SL MkIII’s internal clock press the Tempo button. The first screen then shows the tempo as a BPM value, you can raise or lower the tempo with the above rotary knob.
When set to ‘Out’, the SL MkIII can use two MIDI DIN outputs. This means the device can send MIDI clock to two separate destinations via, for example, the ‘OUT’ and ‘OUT 2’ DIN sockets on the back of the SL MkIII.
It’s also possible, to change MIDI Out two from an output to a ‘Thru’. When set to ‘Thru’, the second MIDI output copies messages from the MIDI DIN input to the MIDI DIN output, and the SL MkIII will not send any internally generated MIDI to this output.
If Parts (see Part settings) are being routed to MIDI Out two when the setting changes to ‘Thru’, the previously configured Part destination will not change, but MIDI will no longer send from the device. MIDI from the Part will no longer send from MIDI Out 2.
Fader Pickup changes the way the faders and Mod Wheel behave for their current value. You will find four options for this behaviour:
When fader pickup is on for faders/Mod Wheel, data will not send from that control until the physical position of the control matches (or passes) the previous value. This behaviour prevents sudden jumps in the value after switching between Parts, for example. The default value for these controls will be at the lowest position (i.e., fader all the way down).
Please note the SL MkIII’s fader pickup behaviour does not apply when using InControl. The controller will therefore adopt the pickup behaviour of HUI or your DAW.
Press the down arrow to the left of the screens to show more Global options. These further options are described in the following sections.
When the Transport is running, the Clock Out sends ‘clock pulses’ for each quarter note. This setting determines pulses sent in PPQN (Pulses Per Quarter Note). PPQN can be set to 1, 2 (default), 4, 8 or 24.
These two settings allow you to specify the output voltage of each mod port. Available ranges are ‘-5 to 5V’ or ‘0 to 5V’. Any CC messages directed to the mod port map to one of these ranges.
You can give each Mod port a specific CC number, which you can set individually for each port using the rotary knobs above ‘Mod 1 CC’ and ‘Mod 2 CC’. When a message sends with this CC number using the surface, Sequencer automation, or from external MIDI to a part that routes to a CV port, this will control the CV Mod output.
Both CV outputs can react to the Pitch Wheel. You can set the range of Pitch bend from +/-1 semitone to +/- 12 semitones (+/-1 Octave).
You may need to calibrate the CV Pitch output ports to precisely represent the pitch range. Press the soft button under ‘Calibrate’ to enter calibration mode.
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Press the soft buttons under ‘CV 1 Low’ or ‘CV two Low’. This sets the voltage of the port to approximately 220 Hz (A2). You will need to connect the port to a sound source to either tune by ear or use a tuner. Otherwise, you can connect the port directly to an oscilloscope or measuring device to verify the tuning
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Use the Tune knob above to increase or decrease the voltage and fine-tune the output until it matches 220 Hz exactly.
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Press the soft buttons under the ‘CV 1 High’ or ‘CV two High’ and do the same for 880 Hz (A4).
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Once you are happy with both tunings, press the orange soft button under ‘Apply’ to save these settings.
The full range of the CV Pitch port will now calibrate. Click the Reset soft button to remove your calibration and restore the factory default settings. Press the Exit soft button to return to Global Settings.
When ‘Part LEDs’ is set to ‘On’, and Zones are enabled (See Using SL MkIII's keyboard Zones)the key LEDs (above each key) will light up to represent the colour of the Part those keys are assigned to.
When ‘Keys LEDs’ is set to ‘On’, the key LEDs (above each key) will light up white when you play notes on the keyboard.
When ‘Arp LEDs’ is on, the key LEDs will light up white according to which notes the arpeggiator triggers. Arp LEDs help you confirm what notes your arpeggiator is playing.
When ‘Sequencer LEDs’ is on, keyboard LEDs will light up white with notes (chords, melodies, etc.) playing from either the Sequencer or external MIDI.
When ‘Ext. MIDI LEDs’ is on, key LEDs will light up white according to external MIDI notes being received via the SL MkIII’s MIDI ports.
These show the firmware installed on your SL MkIII. Knowing this information may be helpful in the case of troubleshooting.
To check for and install firmware updates, visit components.novationmusic.com and follow the instructions for installation.
When left unattended for five minutes, the SL MkIII enters Standby Animation (referred to as ‘Vegas Mode’). This animation stops when you interact with the SL MkIII, or if MIDI data arrives at the device. The SL MkIII will not go into Standby Animation while the Sequencer is playing.
Setting ‘Standby Animation’ to ‘Off’ will prevent the SL MkIII from entering the standby animation regardless of how long you leave it unattended.