How to get my user setups to sound and record?

31. Selecting Setups from an External Controller

You can call up a Setup from an external controller or a sequencer, by sending a bank controller and program change message on a specified channel. This would most typically be done in a performance situation where you need to automate calling up Setups.

1. First you need to choose a MIDI channel you will use to send the bank and program change messages. A good rule of thumb is to dedicate a specific channel for this function and not use that channel for sending any other MIDI info. Press the Global button, and then press the >> button 5 times to get to Setup Chg Chan. Set this to the channel you have chosen.

2. Press the MIDI Setups button. At this point, sending bank and program change messages from your external controller on the specified channel will call up the appropriate Setup.

There are a couple of things to be aware of:

First, of all, MIDI Setups are displayed starting numbering at 1 instead of 0. Because of this, there will be an offset of 1 in response to the standard program changes of 0-127. To call up Setup number 1, send program change 0, to call up Setup number 2, send program change 1.

Second, although the User Setups start numbering at 129, MIDI only has 128 values (0-127). So the User Setups are actually in another bank. Sending the bank controller (controller #32) with a value of 1 followed by program change 0 will call up Setup 129, controller #32 with a value of 1 followed by program change 1 will call up Setup 130 etc. If you need to quickly know which program change number to send when calling up a User Setup, simply subtract 129 from the Setup number and you will know the correct value for the program change message.

If no bank controller is sent, the PC2 will always revert to the first bank (the preset Setups). If you ARE sending the bank controller and want to get to a preset Setup, you would send controller #32 with a value of 0.

Thanks for your help. Problems:

Cakewalk says:
1. Click the Echo Midi button in the track (I don't see one)
2. or select Track-Input Monitor/Echo (I pulled down "track" and here was no "Input Monitor.")

Where is this stuff?

I have a Kurzweil PC88mx which was one generation earlier than the PC2. This is what I do:

Midi Out PC88mx -> Midi In of Computer
Midi In PC88mx <- Midi Out of Computer
Midi Thru PC88mx -> Midi In of many other synths

PC88mx: Local Off
Omni Off
Setup Channel 8 (I dedicate this to changing setups and nothing else)

Turn on the MIDI channels you want to use on the PC88mx so they will make sounds when midi events are sent to them. I use channels 9, 10, 11, 12 for this purpose and my other synths are set to receive on other channels. Now, you can send program changes on 9,10,11, and 12 to change the programs (sounds) on each channel.

The individual setups you design will determine which channels the PC88mx transmits on. For example, I could have a setup that splits the keyboard into 4 zones, each with its own channel (e.g., 9, 10, 11, 12). You can also set the program change so that when the setup is recalled, it will send the appropriate program change commands on 9, 10, 11, and 12 to change to the correct sounds. -or- You can also let the sequencer send these the program changes in 9, 10, 11, and 12 instead.

The important thing to realize is that transmit channels are controlled by setups and recieve channels are more global in nature in that they must be enabled separately from the setups and are controlled on an individual channel basis.

Cakwalk: Echo on, Omni off

Watch out for channel remapping in Cakewalk. I disable it as it cause me grief.

Hope this helps.