Sending Octave Shift Message with Synth?

[Baron von Case]

Hi,

Recently my pitch wheel on my Axiom 61 crapped out on me, so rather than to fix it, I'm thinking I'm going to pick myself up an old synth with good solid keys (I pretty much can't stand anything on the market so I'm looking at a Yamaha SY35 with the FS synth keys) and then a control surface for all the knobs and faders I need. The first problem I anticipate is whether I can switch octaves from a control surface (such as the Novation SL Zero), because the octave shift process is usually really convoluted on old synths (no dedicated button; you have to hit like 2 buttons and then move the data slider). Does the SL Zero have a button for octave shift, and if not, can I assign one (as in, is there a MIDI CC# for it)?

Also, if you're reading this and using a synth instead of a MIDI controller keyboard for your studio, please consider sending me a PM so I can ask you some questions about how to get around losing some of the luxuries that come with using a MIDI controller and keyboard in one.