Keith McMillen QuNexus Users Manual
QuNexus Editor Manual
MAC:
● An Intel Core 2 Duo 2.3GHz or
greater
● Mac OS 10.5 or later
● 50MB free hard disk space
WINDOWS:
● Windows XP, or Windows 7 & 8
● Intel Core 2 processor or greater
● 1GB of RAM with 50MB free hard disk
space
QuNexus Version 1.1.1
July, 2013
The QuNexus Editor is a free application that we provide on our website. It allows you to create
customized Presets and load them onto QuNexus. This chapter will guide you through
everything you need to know to acquire and operate the QuNexus Editor.
System Requirements
We recommend the following minimum system requirements for the QuNexus Editor:
Installing the Software
For those who wish to customize QuNexus, download our free QuNexus Editor Installer from:
http://www.keithmcmillen.com/QuNexus/downloads/. This comes with the QuNexus Editor and
Documentation.
Installer Instructions (Mac)
1. Double-click on the .dmg file to open the disk image, and then drag the QuNexus
directory into the Applications Alias.
2. A QuNexus folder will now appear in your Applications folder.
Installer Instructions (Windows XP, 7, & 8)
1. Extract the directory from the .zip file and place at a location of your choosing.
2. In order for the application to access everything it needs to run, do not move anything
out of the directory.
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Updating the Firmware
When the QuNexus Editor opens, it checks to make sure the
firmware on the device is compatible with the application. If the
firmware is not compatible, an update prompt will appear. Click
ok and wait until the blue Shift button light stops flashing. The
blue light and progress bar on screen indicate that the firmware
update is in progress.
Make sure the editor and the firmware versions are compatible with each other.
An “Update Firmware” option is located in the Hardware Menu of the QuNexus Editor. Select
this option to force a firmware update.
Keith McMillen Instruments cannot be held liable for damage resulting from installation
and operation errors or improper use.
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Main Window Overview
The QuNexus Editor opens with this window:
Customize the QuNexus output and input using the Keyboard, Controller, and CV tabs (Layers).
Just above the right side of the tabbed box are the global sensitivity settings to control Gain, On
Threshold, Off Threshold, and Tilt Sensitivity for the QuNexus keys. Controls for saving and
recalling presets are found on the right side of the window. There are tabs for editing Keyboard
Layer, Controller Layer, and CV Layer. Keyboard Layer is the main space for editing the
behavior of the keyboard. Controller Layer allows you to assign additional Notes and individual
Pressure and Tilt CC#s for each Key. CV Layer is for editing the CV input and output.
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Saving Presets
Select presets by clicking on them in the Library. There are four
Factory Presets (see the QuNexus Presets chapter below for
descriptions of each one).
After clicking a Preset, the name of it will appear above the tabs.
Now you can make changes to the Preset. The Preset name will
turn red and an asterisk will appear next to it to indicate it has
unsaved changes. You can use the Revert button or the Save
button under the Preset Library to discard or keep your changes.
The Revert button will go back to the previously saved version of
the preset.
The Delete and Save As buttons under the Preset Library allow
you to add or remove presets. Copy/Add a Preset by first
selecting the preset you wish to copy and then clicking the Save
As button. You can name it and it will be added to the bottom of
the Library.
To send any of the Presets in the Library down to the QuNexus,
click on the Preset in the Library and use the buttons in the Send
box (shown to the right) to send it to any of the four Preset slots. If
the Preset has any unsaved changes you must save them before
sending them to the QuNexus. The Library will display which
Presets are in which slots on the QuNexus.
To select a preset on the QuNexus, hit the Shift/Preset button to go into preset select mode.
Then hit A, B, C, or D to select the desired preset slot.
QuNexus Presets
Basic (Preset A) - The Basic preset functions as a traditional MIDI keyboard and will work with
any MIDI-enabled software. Though some of the more exciting functions are turned off, the
basic preset outputs notes with a variable velocity and is a great starting point when working
with QuNexus!
● MIDI outputs on Channel 1 through USB and MIDI Expander.
● Velocity is on.
● Local LED Control is on.
● Channel Rotation is off.
● Pitch Bend Range is set to 2 semitones.
● Controller Layer is not active on any keys.
● Control Voltage (CV) output and input are enabled with pitch, gate, and bend all being
sent out of the CV outputs.
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Press & Tilt (Preset B) - The Press and Tilt preset was designed for a wide variety of synths,
apps, and plugins with pitch bend and modulation functionality. This preset maps QuNexus’ key
tilt to pitch bend, and pressure sensitivity to the modulation parameter in most synths. Right out
of the box, most iOS music apps -- like Animoog, Sunrizer and Magellan -- will work with this
preset, allowing for a more exciting and expressive playing experience!
● MIDI outputs on Channel 1 through USB and MIDI Expander.
● Velocity is on.
● Local LED Control is on.
● Channel Rotation is off.
● Tilt is mapped to Pitch Bend for all keys.
● Pitch Bend Range is set to 2 semitones.
● Pressure is mapped to CC#1 (Mod).
● Controller Layer is not active on any keys.
● Control Voltage (CV) output and input are enabled with pitch, gate, bend, and pressure
all being sent out of the CV outputs.
Poly Pitch Bend (Preset C) - The Poly Pitch Bend preset allows for individual pitch and
modulation amounts on different keys by outputting each key’s message on its own MIDI
channel. This functionality, which we call Channel Rotation, allows each key to send its own
pitch bend message. Basically, when using the Poly Pitch Bend preset you have 10 pitch bend
wheels -- one at the tip of each finger. The Poly Pitch Bend preset will work well with any omnivoiced synth or sampler -- like Native Instruments’ Kontact -- or any performance DAW -- like
Ableton Live!
● MIDI Channel Rotation is on (see the Channel Rotation chapter for more information).
● MIDI outputs through USB and MIDI Expander.
● Velocity is on.
● Local LED Control is on.
● Tilt is set to Pitch Bend for all keys.
● Pitch Bend Range is set to 2 semitones.
● Pressure is mapped to CC#1 (Mod).
● Controller Layer is not active on any keys.
● Control Voltage (CV) output and input are enabled with pitch, gate, bend, and pressure
all being sent out of the CV outputs.
Drums & Clips (Preset D) - This preset was designed for playing drum sounds/samples and
launching clips in Ableton Live. This preset is most useful when paired with our Ableton Live
MIDI Remote script, but will also work well with any synth or drum machine that is mapped to
the general MIDI standard for Drums.
● MIDI Notes in Keyboard Layer output on Channel 10 (the Channel typically used for
Drums) through USB and MIDI Expander.
● Velocity is on for notes in Keyboard Layer and off for notes in Controller Layer.
● Local LED Control is off. Remote LED messages are received through Channel 9.
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● Channel rotation is off.
● Tilt is set to Pitch Bend for all keys in Keyboard Layer.
● Pitch Bend Range is set to 2 semitones.
● Pressure is mapped to CC#1 (Mod) in Keyboard Layer.
● Notes and CC#s in Controller Layer output on Channel 9.
● Controller Layer Notes are active for all Keys.
● Controller Layer Pressures and Tilts are active for all Keys. Pressure returns to 0 and Tilt
returns to 63.
● Controller Layer Toggles are not enabled.
● Control Voltage (CV) output and input are enabled with pitch, gate, bend, and pressure
all being sent out of the CV outputs.
Reason Controls - Propellerhead’s Reason 7 in equipped with a QuNexus Control Surface
Mapping. Using this will automatically map QuNexus to various Synthesizer controls within
Reason.
The top octave is for playing melodies. Pressure controls modulation and Tilt controls Pitch
Bend. The lower octave (shown in blue) control FX parameters in the Reason Instruments.
These will control something different depending on the Instrument used. The C# key in the
lower octave acts as a toggle between modes. In the first mode the keys in the lower octave will
control different parameters than in the second mode. For more information on using this preset
with Reason, refer to the QuNexus Reason Quickstart document.
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SymphonixEvolution - Symphonix Evolution is a keyboard/synth app for iPad. Use this preset
Import and Export Presets using the commands in the File Menu.
Import Preset lets you select a previously exported preset and
load it to a new slot. Export Preset will save a file containing the
currently selected preset to a location of your choice on your hard
drive for safe keeping or sharing. Importing and Exporting makes
preset sharing easy.
to extend the functionality of QuNexus with Symphonix Evolution.
The top 8 keys on QuNexus will control transport, the arpeggiator, track selection, mute, and
solo (shown in blue). The other keys (shown in white) can be used for playing melodies. These
keys also use Pressure to control modulation and tilt to control pitch bend. The Expression
Pedal controls Playback Position. For more information on using this preset with Reason, refer
to the QuNexus Symphonix Evolution Quickstart document.
Importing and Exporting Presets
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