1) I’m trying to set the rack up to plug two keyboard controllers into it using some type of MIDI mixer - how do I assign individual voices to each keyboard?

2) I’m planning on using this keyboard to gig and I frequently play different voices and have to change this frequently, is there some type of device/setting that I can use to quickly change between, say, a Rhodes voice to an Organ voice with out having to toggle through a favorites list?

3) kind of related to 2, I’m using a Roland FP3, which has a button for each category of FP3 voices I want - is there a way to use these buttons and assign them to voices/categories in the Rack? 

If anyone can help I’d really appreciate it.  I’m such a newb at this and i’ve been playing stage pianos my whole life, so i’m finally getting into this synth/MIDI thing. 

Thanks!

Re: Questions from a recent buyer of the the ES Rack

Hi,

1) I use my Motif ES Rack in Multi mode so I can have up to sixteen voices setup, each with it’s own MIDI channel. So let’s say you have an organ on channel 1 and a piano on channel 2. Set one of your keyboards to transmit on channel 1 and the other to transmit on channel 2, and your keyboards will play the respective voice. Depending on your keyboards you could also do layers and splits on a keyboard itself, which I do a lot

2) You could sort all of your voices into the order you need in one of the user voice banks and step through them with a food pedal. Personally myself, I use a Roland FC300 MIDI foot controller which is chained through all of my keyboards. This foot controller is very flexible and allows me to switch patches mid song whilst still playing

3) Can’t comment as I don’t know anything about the FP3

Re: Questions from a recent buyer of the the ES Ra

Thanks for the response.  In regards to “Roland FC300 MIDI foot controller “, is it possible to program one of those pedals to say, play the “R n B Soft” voice?  Such that when I press it it will play that specific voice, instead of toggling - or, program the 2nd pedal to play the “Green Tea” voice? 

That’s pretty much all I’d use the controller for.  Also, is it possible to program buttons on a midi keyboard controller to do that automatically?

Sorry for these basic questions, you’re talking to someone who has played acoustic pianos his whole life…

Re: Questions from a recent buyer of the the ES Ra

Hi,

I use the FC300, for example:

1) To switch patches on my synths
2) To switch a voice on a performance part on my EX5 between acoustic and electric piano (so the principle should work on a Motif ES Multi)
3) To play a bass note (only one pitch needed) in a song whilst I do other things on the keyboards
4) Add expression via the two expression pedals (both fully programmable, and they can control multiple CCs and MIDI channels at the same time.

So it’s a very flexible controller, and I’m mightily impressed with it.

Re: Questions from a recent buyer of the the ES Ra

I have a Motif ES Rack and I need to switch programs as well. I also have a few other rack units (Emu Vintage Keys and Yamaha FS1R). I have them all assigned to different MIDI channels. For gigging, I find a set of patches that I like for a given song (one on each unit/channel) and then name it and assign this master patch to some MIDI control patch. I have used the Yamaha MEP4, the Digital Music MX8 and the Digitech PMC-10. They all do the job. The nice thing about the Digitech is that it is hands free and I can change patches by simply stepping on a pedal.

The more difficult but less equipment intensive option is to get all your patches that you want together for a given song and make them the same program number on the unit. Then you can generally call up the patch from any controller keyboard pretty quickly. I sometimes use that technique with a Roland Axis controller. Since I have done it so many times, I now know which keyboard key corresponds to the more used patches such as piano, B3, Rhodes, Moog, etc.

There are a lot of solutions, it really depends on how you want to proceed.

Enjoy the Motif, it’s great.