worlde Ultra-Portable Mini 25-Key MIDI Keyboard User Manual
- June 8, 2024
- WORLDE
Table of Contents
worlde Ultra-Portable Mini 25-Key MIDI Keyboard
Introduction
Thank you for purchasing the WORLDEMINI USB MIDI controller. WORLDEMINI is a
high quality, feature-packed controller which includes all the essentials to
start making music.To help you get the most out of your new instrument, please
read this manual carefully.
Your WORLDEMINI midi controller will not make any sound unless it is connected
to a computer or other external MIDI gear.
This is because the WORLDEMINI sends MIDI data when you play it and does not
produce sound on its own. Instead, it is used to control a virtual instrument
on your computer or a MIDI sound module to generate sounds.
In order to use the functions of this product, you’ll need to make settings in
the application you’re using. Make settings as described in the owner’s manual
for your application.
WORLDEMINI integrates perfectly with DAWs (such as Ableton Live, Bitwig and so
on) for both production and performance.
Features
- Two banks of 8 backlit performance pads, for 16 total, can be assigned easily as pads, MIDI CC buttons or Program change switches.
- 25 keys with velocity assignable to controllers, with 3 velocity curve and one constant velocity.
- 16 assignable encoders.
- pitch and modulation touch strips.
- USB interface, adaptable to USB 2.0(FULL SPEED). Power supplied by USB.
- Compatible with Win 10/8/7/XP/Vista and Mac OSX. Drive free and hot-plug supported.
Parts and Their Functions
WORLDEMINI Keyboard Overview
Top Panel Overview
-
Trigger pads
These trigger pads can transmit note messages or control change messages. -
Keyboard
There are twenty-five velocity-sensitive keys that can transmit note messages. When CC mode is on, they transmit control change messages. -
Encoders
These encoders transmit control change messages. -
Pitch/Mod Touch strips
Pitch bend and modulation are activated by pressing the touch strips. -
Shift button
Hold Shift and press a Pad to select a Snapshot.
Hold Shift and press a key to select the MIDI Channel. -
Octave Down/Up buttons
Shift the keyboard range +/- 4 octaves. Press both buttons at once to reset the range to center. -
Pad 1-8/9-16 button
Use to access Pad banks 1-8 or 9-16. -
USB connector
Connect the WORLDEMINI to your computer with a USB cable via this port.
Keyboard
WORLDEMINI has a 25-key velocity-sensitive mini-keyboard with a control
surface designed for perfect integration with software interface.
Pitch and Modulation touch strips
If you touch the Pitch bend strip at its center and move your finger forward
or backward it will alter the pitch of the played sound. The range of the
pitch bend is determined by the preset that has been selected.
Similarly, moving your finger along the Modulation strip alters the modulation
amount of the played sound. The level of modulation introduced by activating
the modulation strip depends on which preset is selected.
Note: The modulation strip may not be assigned to modulate a parameter in some presets.
Shift and Pad Bank buttons
Let’s start on the right: The Pads 1-8/9-16 button toggles the WORLDEMINI pads
between two different sets of eight pad assignments.
The Shift button serves two purposes: recalling one of eight presets from
memory (Shift+ pad), and selecting the master MIDI channel (Shift + keyboard).
Octave buttons
Pushing one of the down or up buttons will transpose the keyboard by as much
as four octaves up or down. The farther from center the keyboard has been
transposed, the faster the buttons will flash.
To reset the keyboard octave range back to center, press both buttons at the
same time.
Parameter control encoders
The sixteen encoders can be assigned to control any editable parameter on the
selected device.
The pads/preset buttons
The eight large buttons arranged across the front of the WORLDEMINI serve a
dual purpose. Their exact duties are determined by the state of the Shift and
Pads buttons.
For example: The pads can be assigned to trigger up to sixteen particular MIDI
notes (drums, stabs, bass notes, whatever).
When the Pads 1-8/9-16 button is not lit, the first bank of pads is active
(1-8). When the Pads 1-8/9-16 button is lit, the second bank of pads is active
(9-16).
However, when used in conjunction with the Shift button, the pads will recall
one of eight MIDI presets. This is accomplished by holding the Shift button
and pressing one of the pads.
Side panel overview
The side panel of the WORLDEMINI contains two important connectors: the
footswitch jack and a USB Type B jack.
The footswitch jack functions as an on/off switch and can be configured for either momentary applications (such as sustain pedal) or latching behavior (first press/release sends one event, second press/release sends the next event). The default is sustain control(No.64). Use the WORLDEMINI software editor to assign the pedal to other functions. It can be assigned to 128 different control No.
Note: the default setting for footswitch jack is open meaning that pressing the pedal will function as sustain. If it’s without sustain function when pressed, it means that the pedal polarity is opposite, so it needs to adjust the polarity by moving the pedal polarity switch to the other end.
Setup
Minimum System Requirements
Windows | Mac OS |
---|---|
i3 1.2GHz or higher | Macintosh i31.2GHz/P41.2GHz or higher |
(CPU requirement may be higher for laptops) | (CPU requirement may be higher |
for laptops)
1G RAM| OS X 10.3.9 with 1G RAM,
DirectX 9.0b or higher| OS X 10.4.2 or greater with 1G RAM
Windows XP (SP2) or higher| *G3/G4 accelerator cards are not supported.
(Windows 98, Me, NT or 2000 not supported)|
Using WORLDE MINI with Software
Creating MIDI Presets with the software editor
Overview: What is a WORLDEMINI Preset?
Thanks to the software editor it’s possible to configure the WORLDEMINI to
work with practically any device or software
capable of responding to MIDI information.
To summarize, here are some examples of what you can do with a WORLDEMINI preset:
- Assign pads to send MIDI Machine Control commands (MMC)
- Use the pads or the pedal to transmit MIDI notes
- Switch between two values of any MIDI CC# by playing a pad
- Assign an encoder to control any MIDI CC# and define its operational range
- Send Aftertouch messages from the Mod strip, set its min/max limits, and select ‘return to zero’ or ‘hold’ behavior
- Save the entire set of altered controls to one of WORLDEMINI’s eight preset locations
- Define another seven sets of parameter assignments and save each one to a different memory location
- Recall any of the eight personalized presets easily and immediately.
Assign a Pad to Start/Stop MMC
One feature that often comes in handy with a controller keyboard is the
ability to start and stop a song without having to use
the computer keyboard or mouse. It’s really easy to set up the WORLDEMINI pads
to do that.
For example we’ll use Pad 7 to send Stop commands and Pad 8 to send Start
commands. This is accomplished through the use of MIDI Machine Control
commands, which you’ve probably seen abbreviated as “MMC”.
-
Select the Pad Mode
Let’s begin by selecting Pad 7 by clicking on its graphic in the software editor or by tapping Pad 7 on the WORLDEMINI.
Then click the Mode field to activate the pull-down menu: -
Set the MMC Message number
Once the Mode has been set to MMC, the trick is to set both the LSB and MSB to the same number so the pad knows which command to send. MMC Stop command needs the CC number set to 1, like so:
Next, select Pad 8 so we can set it to the MMC command for “Start”. This means the CC number must be set to 2:
Now you should have Pad 8 set to start your song and Pad 7 set to stop it. Of course you can assign those functions to any pad you like, now that you know how to do it.
Assign a couple of Pads to MIDI notes
The natural thing to do when you’re starting a song is to lay down the kick
and snare tracks. The WORLDEMINI pads can be assigned to any MIDI note number
that you like, so for this example we’ll set Pads 1 and 2 to trigger the
General MIDI note numbers for the Bass drum and Snare drum (MIDI note numbers
36 and 38, respectively).
By default the pads have their Mode set to MIDI note, so when you select each
Pad we’ll get right down to selecting the MIDI note number and velocity
values. Let’s leave the other setting to “Gate” so the notes shut off when you
lift the pad; you can try the “Toggle” value later if you’d like the MIDI note
to stay “On” until you hit the pad a second time.
-
Select the MIDI note number: Kick
The CC number field is used to set the MIDI note number, which makes sense: there are 128 MIDI Controller numbers and 128 MIDI Note numbers. So click the pull-down menu and set this value to 36 to select the General MIDI Kick drum note number:
We’ll show you how to set Pad 2 to the Snare drum note number in section 5.1.3.2. -
Select the MIDI note number: Snare
Setting Pad 2 to trigger the snare is done the same way, only by choosing a different MIDI note number (38 in this case):
So now you’re ready to lay down the groove for your song: You have Pads 1 and 2 set to play the Kick and Snare, and Pads 7 and 8 set to Stop and Start the song.
Assign a Pad to toggle a MIDI CC # between two values
One popular musical effect these days is to take an audio loop, filter it
heavily for certain sections of a song, and switch it back to the full-open
sound later in the song. You can pre-configure one of the WORLDEMINI pads to
send those commands to a filter plug-in that should be readily available in
your DAW software.
We’ll use Pad 6 for this example. Select it and then use the pull-down Mode
menus to select “Switched” and “Toggle”:
These settings will allow you to send two different values of a particular
MIDI CC number each time you press the pad.
There are a couple of MIDI CC numbers that have been assigned the task of
controlling filter brightness (CC# 74) or harmonic content (CC# 71). We’ll use
CC# 74 for this example.
Click on the CC number field and select the Brightness controller number as
shown:
Next we’ll set some minimum and maximum values that might work (adjust them to suit the audio source):
The first press of Pad 6 will send a CC# 74 command with a value of 78, which will close the filter down part way but still let a lot of the audio pass through. The second press of Pad 6 will send a value of 127, opening the filter completely.
Note: Be sure to check the MIDI Channel assignment to make sure it matches that of the receiving device.
Assign an Encoder to control a MIDI CC # between two values
The encoders are assignable using the same techniques described for the pads.
Let’s give a quick example of an interesting
use: setting the rate of an LFO so it operates only within a certain range.
Looking at the picture above we see familiar information:
Encoder 11 has been selected, so it is shown in red.
It is assigned to the Global MIDI channel; you can specify any MIDI channel
from 1-16 or leave it on the Global channel.
Its Mode is set to Continuous, which means it will transmit a MIDI Continuous
Controller number when it is turned.
The second Mode field is set to Absolute, which means it will transmit in a
linear fashion from fully counter-clockwise to fully clockwise.
The CC number field shows CC# 76, the MIDI CC # that has been assigned to
control Vibrato Rate.
The Min / LSB and Max / MSB fields are set in such a way as to limit Encoder
11 to operation only within a certain range.
To summarize, the settings seen above mean that Encoder 11 will control the
Vibrato Rate of the target device, sweeping it between the values of 10 and 35
only. The vibrato will not become too fast, nor will it become too slow.
Naturally you can choose settings that are appropriate for the MIDI device you
are using.
Note: Some devices may not use standard MIDI controller assignments. Refer to the documentation for your device to determine what settings to use for each purpose.
Assign the Mod strip to Aftertouch
Another cool thing about having such a flexible, powerful controller is having
the ability to experiment with non-standard assignments for the hardware. For
example, rather than using the Mod strip to control Modulation, why not take
advantage of its ability to control Aftertouch?
And by control, we mean control. One of the physical limitations of standard
Aftertouch implementation in a keyboard is that you have to keep consistent
pressure on the keys or else it fluctuates, goes too far, and/or goes away
altogether. With the software editor you can assign the Mod strip to bring in
Aftertouch either gradually or instantly, and then have the value you choose
stay chosen until you touch the Mod strip again.
What follows is a walk-through on how to do all of the things mentioned above.
Note: The receiving device determines which parameter is affected by
incoming Aftertouch messages.
-
Select the Mod strip
Touch the Mod strip to select it as the control to be edited. Its graphic will be highlighted in the software editor: -
Select the Message Type (Mode)
Click on the Mode menu and select Aftertouch as the message type. It’s at the bottom of the drop-down list: -
Standard vs. Hold
Next to the Mode, which you just set to Aftertouch, is another drop-down menu. It probably says “Standard”, which means Aftertouch will ‘snap to zero’ when the Mod strip is released. If you want the Aftertouch value to remain where you put it, select “Hold”.
Save the changes to a Preset
So let’s review what we’ve done in section 5.1 so far: The pads have been set
up to play kick and snare, toggle the filter settings, and start/stop the
song; one of the encoders is controlling the vibrato rate, and the Mod strip
is controlling Aftertouch. Not bad! There’s a lot more WORLDEMINI can do, but
that’s a good start.
So the next thing to do is make sure this configuration is available when you
want it. To do that, you need to save these settings as a group into one of
the eight memory locations in the WORLDEMINI.
The upper right-hand section of the software editor has a button called “Send to Keyboard”. Right below that is a pull-down menu that allows you to specify which of the WORLDEMINI’s eight memory locations will be the repository for the Preset you’ve created.
Before clicking the top button, select a location you know is available. We’ll use memory location #2 for this example:
Select #2 in the drop-down list as pictured above.
Once you’re sure where the preset will be stored, click the “Send to Keyboard”
button:
That’s all there is to it! The preset you created has been safely stored to memory location #2, and can be recalled by using the Shift button and Pad #2 together. See section 5.1.8 below for details.
Recalling a Preset / Switching between Presets
Once you’ve created a couple of presets you can switch between your
personalized configurations very quickly. This is as simple as it can be:
simply hold the Shift button and press one of the pads.
In the picture above the combination of the Shift button and Pad 2 will select
Preset #2 from the WORLDEMINI preset memory locations.
To switch from Preset #2 to Preset #1, hold Shift again and press Pad 1
instead.
Changing the Global MIDI Channel
Switching between MIDI Channels is one very quick way to select which instrument and/or track you are controlling in your DAW software. The combination of the Shift button and one of the keys on the WORLDEMINI keyboard is how this is done.
Notice that there are numbers in small blue boxes above each of the first
sixteen keys on the WORLDEMINI keyboard.
These correspond to the 16 possible MIDI channel numbers, and indicate which
key you should use in conjunction with the Shift button to change the Global
MIDI Channel setting.
For example, if you want to switch the Global channel of the WORLDEMINI to
MIDI Channel 2, hold the Shift button and press the first C# key:
Then when it’s time to switch to channel 1, for example, use the same technique but press a different key: in that case, you would hold the Shift button and press the first C key on the keyboard.
Advanced Setup Information
Pad calibration
Pad thresholds are calibrated at the factory, so you shouldn’t encounter an
overly sensitive pad. These settings are not user-editable.
On the other hand, the full range of the pad is not set, and should you wish
to alter that somewhat, you may use the pad calibration page:
Here you can alter the pad velocity gain. Each of the 8 hardware pads has a dedicated setting.
OK | Apply all changes and close this dialog window |
---|---|
Apply | Apply all changes but keep this dialog window open |
Default | Set all sliders to the center position |
Close window | Don’t commit changes to keyboard |
Please be cautious with low values as they could have some negative side effects.
Specifications
- Connectors: USB connector
- Power supply: USB bus power mode
- Current consumption: 100 mA or less
- Dimensions (W x D x H): 14.8 x 7.5 x 1.6 inches / 375 x 190 x 40 mm
- Weight: 35 oz /1000 g
- Included items: USB cable, Owner’s manual
*Specifications and appearance are subject to change without notice.
HANGZHOU WORLDE BLUE WHALE MUSIC TECHNOLOGY CO.,LTD
WEBSITE: WWW.WORLDE.COM.CN
EMAIL:SALES@WORLDE.COM.CN
TEL:86 571 88730848
References
Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
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