Can't get Keystation midi keyboard to work with Organelle M

Hi,

I’m trying to use an M-Audio Keystation 61 mk3 midi controller to control synths on the Organelle.

When I connect via a MIDI cable and the mini MIDI to 1/8" cable I got with my Organelle, the Keystation doesn’t seem to be recognized (doesn’t show up in MIDI settings on the Organelle). My backup MIDI controller is also not recognized with this method.

When I connect via a USB cable, it’s recognized and I can select it, but the Keystation keys don’t play any notes in any synths I tested. Strangely, the Keystation’s transport control buttons (play, stop, etc.) play high notes on whatever synth I have open. (My backup MIDI controller connected via USB works fine.)

Maybe the MIDI-TRS mini cable is broken? But that doesn’t explain the weird behavior of the Keystation via USB. Any idea what’s going wrong?

Thanks for any help!

This is normal. The Organelle M’s TRS-MIDI ports are always ‘on,’ but devices connected to these ports are not listed in the Organelle M’s MIDI page. Only connected USB-MIDI devices are given names on the Organelle M’s MIDI page.
Are you using a TRS-MIDI Type A cable with the Organelle M and your MIDI Controller set to the same MIDI channel? (Also, did you power your MIDI Controller with an external power supply?)


Sometimes USB-MIDI controllers are said to not require a driver (aka ‘class-compliant’) but the manufacturer really means that the controller has only been designed/tested to work via USB with Windows, Mac, and/or iOS. This means that a controller may or may not work with a Linux OS like the one that runs on the Organelle. This is frustrating for everyone.

Looking at the Minimum System Requirements (under ‘Specs’) on this M-Audio page, it only lists the following operating systems:

  • Windows 7
  • macOS 10.11

…so it doesn’t look like your MIDI controller supports USB-MIDI with Linux OSes. It might be worth reaching out to M-Audio about this to confirm.

Thanks so much for the detailed reply!

I’ll test the backup keyboard just to make sure that TRS-MIDI cable is working, and that one (a Reface CP keyboard) was working with the USB cable either way. Not full sized keys, but better than nothing if I need velocity sensitive control.

That’s too bad some controllers don’t work with a Linux OS. I’ll check with M-Audio about it. I imagine using a MIDI interface or something wouldn’t help the issue, eh? It’s strange… I thought I remember using it with the Organelle before, but I must be remembering wrong.

Update in case it’s helpful for anyone…

The TRS-MIDI cable is now working for both the Keystation and my other keyboard (Reface CP), woohoo!

I think the issue was trying to select the MIDI devices when that wasn’t needed for MIDI cable connections.

The Reface CP also works via USB cable, though the Keystation doesn’t, but no worries there, since there’s a way to get them both working.