Hi,

in Multi/Seq Play mode I’ve split my keyboard left hand MIDI Ch.1 and right hand MIDI Ch.2 at middle C, I have also put ARP Drums on Ch.10. At the moment I can get the ARP drums to transmit as well as 1 other MIDI channel (whichever selected) but it all records to only one Logic MIDI channel. Is it possible to transmit MIDI from Ch.1, Ch.2 and Ch.10 simultaneously (recording 3 separate channels of MIDI in Logic) while playing in realtime?

Thanks

in Multi/Seq Play mode I’ve split my keyboard left hand MIDI Ch.1 and right hand MIDI Ch.2 at middle C, I have also put ARP Drums on Ch.10

If you are in MULTI/SEQ PLAY mode and have things as you have said, then it would be impossible to play them simultaneously. So we have to ask - do you mean PART 1, and PART 2, not MIDI CH 1 and MIDI CH 2?

In MULTI/SEQ PLAY mode the S90 ES can only transmit on a single MIDI channel at a time. Period. So we are not certain what you are asking ... please let us know.

Yes I did mean Parts but they do reflect the 16 midi channels. If I play midi across 16 MIDI channels in Logic they will be received by the S90ES playing the respective Voice in each Part (Ch.6 = PART6). But as you rightly pointed out the S90ES can only transmit on 1 channel at a time. I really wouldn’t expect this limitation from such a keyboard. After a lot of experimenting I did happen to have 2 Parts (1&2;) playing simultaneously aswell as the ARP Drums (Part 10) in Multi/Seq Play mode. Not sure how I did it and can’t seem to do it again.

Thanks anyway.

It is NOT a limitation of the keyboard, it is more your lack of understanding how this works… That is first. Stop thinking it is a limitation. MIDI works a certain way - such that to play multiple Parts you must place them on the same MIDI channel, that is as basic as it gets. Or setup to transmit on multiple MIDI channels.

The S90 ES can transmit on as many as four MIDI channels simultaneously, so it is not limited at all. You will need to use the MASTER mode associated with your MULTI program. You have to figure out what it is you want to do, then pick the correct mode to do it in. It is really that simple.

As I’m not clear on what it is you want to do, I can only correct what you’ve written. I knew you meant PART - because it would be impossible to create a Split with a drum arp while in the mode as you originally stated it… take your time and figure out what you want to play, and what you need to record.

Then you will need to learn how to set up Logic to record what you require.
Can Logic record separate incoming MIDI channels simultaneously? I’m sure it can, I ask because I don’t know Logic as well as I do some of the other DAWs - if so, then you can setup to transmit to each of your S90ES PARTS on separate channels and record them all to Logic.

If I understood how it all worked then I wouldn’t need to post things on forums asking for help.

Also the MIDI PARTs of Multi mode do actually correspond to the respective MIDI channel i.e. a MIDI channel sent from Logic plays the corresponding PART in Multi mode on the S90ES, MIDI Ch.3 in Logic would correspond to PART 3 on the S90ES.

My problem is merely transmitting more than one MIDI channel from the S90ES into Logic whilst playing live. With split keyboard: Left hand Ch.1 (or PART 1) and Right hand Ch.2 (or PART 2) whilst playing ARP drums on Ch.10 (or PART 10) and having Logic record all this on 3 separate MIDI tracks simultaneously.

We appreciate your dilemma. However, this is one of the trickier things to pull off with MIDI data. You’ll have to trust me on this. The reason it is tricky (and I’m sure you have already discovered this, but perhaps are not sure why… And thus you are here asking the question) is because to “play” multiple MIDI channels of a tone generator at once you either have to place all of the sounds on a single MIDI channel, or you must transmit on multiple MIDI channels addressing each sound on its own MIDI channel.

This is further complicated because the device recording the MIDI data must have a way to deal with the incoming information. You see, when you press a key on a MIDI device it generates a NOTE-ON event, that event includes the MIDI channel, the velocity, the note number, etc. therefore if you are transmitting on a single MIDI channel, the receiving sequencer has no idea what the MIDI event is for… All the sounds are after all on the same MIDI channel.

Logic is like most DAW software and will faithfully record the data you send, typically it records all incoming MIDI data on each track… So if you were to create three tracks to record the data, each track will contain the same data, you’d have it 3 times… Unless you “filter” the incoming data to exclude all but the single channel you desire for that track. You will need to consult your Logic documentation for details ... As I mentioned I do not know Logic well enough to help you with that.

MIDI data normally does not require separate tracks - after all MIDI events always include the MIDI channel they were generated on. The only reason separate MIDI tracks are used is because it makes them easier to look at when you want to EDIT the data.

That said, Yamaha developed something called DIRECT PERFORMANCE RECORD on the Motif XS, XF, and MOX-series synths to deal with just this issue. However, on the S90 ES we can recommend several different solutions to work around the LAWS OF MIDI DATA…

Record your trigger notes to your DAW, monitoring your playing direct. Make sure the MIDI data “dead ends” in the DAW during the record process. Then setup to playback the data to the S90ES tone engine, after having transfer the PARTS of the PERFORMANCE to a MULTI Mix - where you have placed them on separate MIDI channels.

See this from the Sninety.com archives
http://www.sninety.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=1,3&Board=Arpeggios&Number=449869&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o;=&fpart=1

http://www.sninety.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=1,3&Board=Arpeggios&Number=418487&page=1&view=collapsed&sb=5&o;=&fpart=1

Many thanks Bad Mister, a very comprehensive answer and the links to the previous threads you sent me are perfect!!!

I also think I’ve been having problems with this “dead-end” thing too as it’s all being echoed back into the S90ES, sometimes causing problems. I need to look into that.

I’ve not had chance to try all this out yet but sure the answer is right there in your reply.

Once again many thanks!