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Sending MIDI from KB-1 to Xequence...
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Yes. MIDI Thru in Xequence ignores the channel information on the incoming MIDI data and always reroutes to the channel of the current instrument. To change the instrument you would like to play, you can just select a different track in Xequence as you noticed.
The Multitrack Recording settings currently only affect recording, not MIDI Thru. How Multitrack Recording and MIDI Thru could somehow be unified and coordinated better is on the list to investigate though.
Regarding the unexpectedness: At least for me, this is really how MIDI Thru always worked as far back as I can remember from the 1996 Cubase days! 😎 It may work differently in some DAWs of course.
In Xequence in particular, the MIDI channel is tightly bound to the instrument anyway, so IMO it would not make sense to use the incoming channel information.
We basically have two different scenarios here that should be discussed separately:
MIDI Thru. The main purpose of this feature is to allow using an external (hardware) MIDI keyboard / controller to control any of the instruments of the current Xequence project, selectable by just tapping on a track in the arranger. It is much easier to select the target instrument visually by its name in Xequence, rather than by adjusting some arbitrary channel number on your keyboard, that's why it's done this way. Also, as said earlier, the MIDI channel is an integral part of the Xequence instrument and thus it cannot depend on input data. It's just the way the system is designed.
Multitrack Recording. This should of course honor the sources and channels selected in the respective track menus. If you're seeing incoming MIDI data being recorded to the wrong track(s), it could be a bug and it would be great if you could send me the malfunctioning project and give me a few details on the setup (and MIDI sources).
Hope that helps!
Regarding Cubasis: that is also different because there's no MIDI Thru involved -- you're sending MIDI from your keyboard DIRECTLY to the instruments hosted in Cubasis, which listen each on their own MIDI channel.
Fun fact: Cubasis in fact used to work like you suggest, i.e. it simply passed thru the incoming MIDI channel number in its old MIDI Thru implementation. The Cubasis forum is rife with complaints about that behavior (including one from myself!), and Steinberg acknowledged that this was a bug and finally fixed it after several years.
So, essentially, you're asking for the behavior that has been considered a bug by most Cubasis users and Steinberg themselves!
P.D. No offense intended! I'm just trying to explain why it's designed this way.
No app links?
I think it really is just about two different concepts. I do appreciate any input on how to possibly improve features or make them more clear, though!
There's also a good explanation on how MIDI Thru is intended to be used in the manual:
MIDI Thru
MIDI Thru is a feature that lets you use Xequence as a central "hub" for your MIDI setup.
If you enable MIDI Thru, all MIDI notes and controllers that are received by Xequence are immediately forwarded to the instrument on the selected track, and thusly, to the MIDI destination configured in that instrument.
This means that if you setup your MIDI source (hardware MIDI keyboard, Arpeggiator app, etc.) to only send MIDI to Xequence and not to the actual synth apps or external synths, while enabling MIDI Thru in Xequence, you will never have to change any MIDI connection again, because your keyboard, Arpeggiator etc. will always automatically play the instrument on Xequence's selected track.
Needless to say, Xequence will of course also record the notes received as well.
So, to recap:
Setup your MIDI source (hardware keyboard, Arpeggiator app, generative music tool etc.) to only send its MIDI Out to Xequence.
Enable MIDI In in Xequence, and either enable "Xequence Destination" in the "Sources" panel, or disable it and select your MIDI source explicitly, whichever works.
Enable MIDI Thru
Now, your external keyboard or app acts as the "Master controller" for all of the other synths/instruments configured in Xequence. Select a different track, and your keyboard plays that track's instrument. Boom!
Yes, the channel filter on the track settings is only honored for Multitrack Recording currently.
And also yes, Xequence is designed with the "central hub" idea in mind. It's called "MIDI Workstation" after all
It may not be suitable for every style of workflow, but which app is?
But again, the MIDI Thru implementation in Xequence works just the same as every one I've seen in desktop DAWs (mostly Cubase and Logic) between ca. 1996 and 2012. It may have changed since those times...
@tja that is entirely possible once MPE support is added (in an update after Xequence 2 is released), because in that case, channels change their meaning anyway from "Filter by instrument" to "Filter by note", so that requires some infrastructural changes in MIDI channel handling anyway.
@SevenSystems sorry to resurrect a dead thread from a few years ago….. but
I’ve owned Xequence 2 for quite a while, it I’m just now getting into it and learning it. I have a keystep pro that I sketch out sequences and arps on. The keystep pro has 4 channels, so I can stick with my hardware as long as possible when composing stuff. However, what @tja was saying makes complete sense to me. Currently, I don’t believe there is any way for me to actually have everything auditioned at once, because I have to select the current instrument I want to work with. That means the best I can do is midi thru and remembering to change up my channels and select the proper instrument in Xequence. Because of this, Xequence can’t really act as a hub, because there is no opportunity to audition more than one channel at a time. I’m not sure if that makes sense or not. I can record a video if it would be clearer. Any suggestions on what to do?
@jscheel the best way to achieve what you want currently is to just route your source twice, once to Xequence (for recording), and once to your instruments (create two simultaneous routes), and then turn MIDI Thru off in Xequence. Unless I'm misunderstanding
@SevenSystems hmm, I may not be picking up what you are putting down for me. Are you saying to do the double routing externally, with one path going to Xequence?
@jscheel, Xequence2 can do multi-tracking, but only if MIDI Thru is disabled. So to get around not having MIDI through, you just need to route your sources to both Xequence2 and to whatever it is you want them to play.
@wim ah ok, so I would just set up my routing in aum or audiobus, using Xequence’s virtual device to go in and out of Xequence itself?
Use AUM or Audiobus to route what you want to record into Xequence2. Turn midi thru off in X2. Also route those same sources straight to the apps that you want to play so that you can hear them as you play.
Route the midi out from the recorded tracks in X2 to the apps you want to play so that the recorded midi will play the apps when you play back from X2.
I hope that makes sense.
@wim ohhhh, I'm not using an app right now, I'm using hardware
. So, I've got several synths (as well as a midi controller) hooked up via usb to my ipad. I'm using xequence 2 to sequence that hardware. I should probably make a short video to explain.
Ok then I guess I don’t understand what you’re trying to do at all. Whatever it is, there should be some way to accomplish it.