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MOXF Basic Audio Recording Part I

Written by Bad Mister on May 16, 2018. Posted in MOXF.

BASIC AUDIO RECORDING PART I
Let’s connect the MOXF6/MOXF8 to your computer and learn about how audio is being routed and how to ensure that the signal is properly received on an audio track. For this basic tutorial all you need are the following:
The MOXF6/MOXF8 connected to your computer via a USB cable (provided)

Install the Yamaha Steinberg USB Driver (YSUSB) version for your particular computer operating system:

* Windows currently at version 1.10.0 (or later)
* Mac currently at version 1.9.10-2 (or later)
* Cubase AI7 (or later) installed and updated
* Install the MOXF Extensions (MOXF6/MOXF8 Remote Tools version 1.0.4)

We will keep this first tutorial basic and forego using the MOXF6/MOXF8 Editor Standalone/VST (for now). This way you can see, learn, and understand how the signal is routed.

In this routing tutorial we will route audio to Cubase from a PERFORMANCE (simple basic) and we will use it to record audio to Cubase. Later we can look at recording MIDI data, first let’s concentrate on AUDIO (after all, it precedes the invention of MIDI by several years!)

Prepare the MOXF6/MOXF8
Press [UTILITY]
Press [F5] USB I/O (USB input/output)
Set the mode to “2StereoRec“

If not already set this way make sure the DIRECT MONITOR SWITCH for both “A/D In&Part” and “Part” are set to ON.

This will allow us to send audio from either pair of MOXF audio buses (USB 1/2 and USB 3/4). An audio “bus” simply is a means to transport audio from one place to another. In the signal flow chart below, you can see that USB1/2 and USB3/4 are being ‘bused’ to the DAW (Cubase).

_ Press [F5] USB I/O
_ Set MODE = 2StereoRec (Dual Stereo Record Outputs)
_ Press [SF6] INFO to view the routing (signal flow)

In our first example, we are simply going to be playing the MOXF while in PERFORMANCE and show how to route the signal to the computer and record to Cubase Audio Tracks.
While in [UTILITY], let’s verify the following MIDI settings:

_ Press [F6] MIDI
_ Press [SF2] SWITCH
_ Make sure that “LocalCtrl” (Local Control) is set to ON

Local Control will allow the MOXF keyboard to trigger the MOXF tone generator directly. We will need this because we are going to be generating audio signal to be sent to Cubase. (AUDIO signal as opposed to MIDI signal).

_ Press [SF3] SYNC
_ Make sure that “MIDI Sync” is set to “INTERNAL” and “SeqCtrl” (Sequencer Control) is set to “IN/OUT”

For this basic experiment we want the MOXF to run on its own clock (later we will deal with synchronizing the MOXF’s MIDI clock to the MIDI clock of Cubase)

_ Press [SF4] OTHER
_ Make sure “MIDI IN/OUT” = USB
_ Press [PERFORM]

_ Call up PERFORMANCE: USR2:051(D03) Dark Continent

Cubase AI Project
We will use Cubase AI in our example but you can pretty much substitute any DAW that can utilize an ASIO driver.

Launch Cubase AI

During the launch you maybe asked if you would like to use the MOXF6/MOXF8 as your Master ASIO device (this will depend on what you have already installed on your particular computer – as Cubase boots up it scans all available drivers for audio and MIDI). Yes, you do. You are asked this because you installed the MOXF6/MOXF8 Remote Tools (extensions). This is important because it will automatically setup the driver and make the important setup functions for you.

Select the EMPTY Template (found under the “MORE” options). This will create an empty Project for this experiment.
Click CREATE.

Verify Port Setup

For this article, let’s verify those settings:
Go to DEVICES (called “STUDIO” in Cubase series 9) > DEVICE SETUP… (“STUDIO SETUP… in series 9) > MIDI > MIDI PORT SETUP (The first screenshot shown below is from a Macintosh computer; the second shows the same for Windows computer. The information will be the same but the look and markings may be slightly different).

In the “IN ‘ALL MIDI INPUTS'” column – the “Yamaha MOXF6/MOXF8-1” (port 1) is marked. This is the PORT on which the MOXF will communicate musical MIDI data to and receive data from the computer. Only PORTS that are legitimate MIDI INPUT devices should be marked here. Of the Ports appearing for the MOXF6/MOXF8 only Port 1 concerns the MOXF as a Input device. If you connect an external controller device to the MOXF’s 5-pin MIDI IN jack, you would mark “Yamaha MOXF6/MOXF8-3” (port 3). But nothing but the specific MIDI ports that send Note-on, data should be marked!

On this same DEVICE SETUP screen, click on the “REMOTE DEVICE” folder. The MOXF is automatically selected as the REMOTE CONTROL device. Here the “Yamaha MOXF6/MOXF8-2” (Port 2) should be selected as both the MIDI IN and MIDI OUT PORTS. Again, installing the MOX6/MOX8 Extension (part of the Remote Tools package), makes this setting automatically. Port 2 contains MIDI messages that can operate the DAW interface (note-on commands and control change messages are used to open and close screens and operate various functions). These messages need to be kept discreet, this is why it is so important to have the MIDI Ports assigned properly. Strange behavior can occur if you route these MIDI messages to the tone generator or you route tone generator intended messages to the Remote Control layer!

In the “VST AUDIO SYSTEM“ folder, the DRIVER is selected for streaming AUDIO IN and OUT. This is the ASIO Driver.
If you are using a Windows computer the option for ASIO DRIVER may be listed as “Yamaha Steinberg USB ASIO”.
If you are using a Macintosh computer the option for ASIO Driver may be listed by the product name “Yamaha MOXF6/MOXF8”. This is the equivalent setting. The MOXF is acting as the Audio Interface for the application.

If you did not install the MOXF Extensions (REMOTE TOOLS 1.0.1) you will need to make these settings manually. However, installing the Remote Tools should make all these critical settings for you. However, we list them here in case you need to troubleshoot the settings.

Don’t mind the Inactive/Active status column – this will always indicate what resources you are currently accessing. It is not a setting you make here (on this screen) as much as it is a status report of the MIDI port and whether it is currently being used. For example, if you are not using the “Yamaha MOXF6/MOXF Editor VST” at this moment, the status of the Port reserved for the Editor VST (Port 4) will report “INACTIVE”. Only when you launch and are using the Editor VST will the STATE report ACTIVE. Make sense?

Making the Connections
Next, let’s create a connection between the computer and Cubase so that audio we are sending on our two stereo buses from the MOXF can be received in the software. This is done as follows:

Go to DEVICES > VST CONNECTIONS > INPUTS

Selecting the INPUTS tab makes sense, because we are connecting the MOXF’s two Stereo USB bus OUTPUTS to Cubase’s INPUTS.

Typically, there may already be a “STEREO IN” already created. We can use it if there is, if not, what you will want to do is create a situation where you have two Stereo Bus inputs and have them assigned as in the screen shot below:

“STEREO IN” is set to receive audio from the MOXF on USB 1 and 2
“STEREO IN 2” is set to receive audio from the MOXF on USB 3 and 4

To add inputs you simply click the “ADD BUS” option, and set the attributes you desire. In this case, add 1 or 2 STEREO BUSES, as you require. (Screenshot is from a Macintosh)

Screenshot for Windows:

Any time an AUDIO TRACK is set to receive signal from “STEREO IN” it will be receiving audio from the MOXF’s USB 1/2

Any time an AUDIO TRACK is set to receive signal from “STEREO IN 2” it will be receiving audio from the MOXF’s USB 3/4

You will never need any more than these two created INPUTS – no matter how many tracks you record, you simply assign the Track to receive from one or the other for these two inputs. (Think of these as you would real world INPUTS – you simply change the instrument, you plug the instrument you want to record into these inputs as necessary/when necessary).

Return to the main Cubase Track view window. You may want to set the Cubase time counter to count Minutes and Seconds. You do so by either right clicking in the Timeline area, then select “Seconds” or you can go to PROJECT > PROJECT SETUP… > Set the DISPLAY FORMAT = “SECONDS”. Until we establish MIDI communication, the computer counts minutes and seconds.

Next we will need to create two AUDIO TRACKS… one for each of the INPUTS

You can do so by right clicking in the darker grey area on the Track View screen or by going to PROJECT > ADD TRACK > AUDIO

Once you have created these two AUDIO Tracks we can begin to discover how signal is being routed and some of the useful possibilities.

Make sure Track 01 is set to receive “Stereo In”
Make sure Track 02 is set to receive “Stereo In 2”

In the currently selected setup, (2StereoRec), the internal PARTS of the MOXF are routed to USB 3/4, while the A/D INPUT is routed to USB 1/2.

Select the second track, as you begin to play the PERFORMANCE you should hear your playing and see the audio activity meter for Track 02 respond. The RED Record Ready icon routes audio to the track, while the TAN Monitor Speaker icon sends audio back to the MOXF (as audio interface) via USB.

If the TAN Monitor Speaker icon is activated, audio that is returned from Cubase will arrive back in the MOXF and pass through the SLIDER labeled “DAW LEVEL”. You will not need to monitor this audio because you have selected MONITOR DIRECT. (The DIRECT MONITOR SWITCH = ON). On the MOXF6/MOXF8 lower the DAW LEVEL slider. It contains audio after (called “post”) it has traveled through Cubase. If the TAN icon is active and the DAW LEVEL slider is up, you will hear a doubling of the signal – as you are hearing both the DIRECT MONITOR and the DAW Return Level. During record, in most instances, you really only want to hear yourself “direct”.

Open the Cubase MIXER. You can do so by either going to DEVICES > MIXER or using the QWERTY keyboard shortcut [F3]

(A third alternative allows you to open screens on your favorite DAW using the REMOTE CONTROL layer – but that is for another article).

You should see your two audio tracks (AUDIO 01 and AUDIO 02) and the main Stereo Output.

The Faders will be set at nominal 0.00. This is typical when recording, the fader is set open 0.00 – input gain is set at the source (in this case, the MOXF6/MOXF8). Do not touch the Faders in Cubase, set the record level for this channel by increasing or decreasing the OUTPUT level of the source (MOXF6/MOXF8).

The Mixer will show you the maximum “peak” level reached – in the graphic above this is smaller number: -3.9on the Meter for AUDIO 02.

Level adjustment for this is not made with the main VOLUME Slider on the MOXF6/MOXF8 – in fact, you can pull the main VOLUME Slider all the way down and audio signal is still arriving in Cubase.

Conclusion: The audio that is routed via USB to the computer does not go through the main VOLUME Slider. So “how loud” your speakers are has nothing (whatever) to do with what gets routed to the Cubase audio recorder. We are making this rather basic point for a good reason – it is fundamental to understanding signal routing. The audio that is controlled by the main VOLUME slider is on a different signal path. You can see in the signal flow diagram how the (DIRECT) MONITOR SWITCH routing does not include the DAW (the DIRECT signal flows from the PART through the INS > SYSTEM > MASTER FX then travels through the arrow that points straight down and avoids the USB outputs and the DAW entirely on its way to the main L&R OUTPUTS).

So how do you adjust the overall output level of the MOXF in this case?
You adjust the main OUTPUT VOLUME of the PERFORMANCE:

Press [EDIT]
Press [COMMON]
Press [F2] OUT/MFX
Press [SF1] OUT

Here you can see the OUTPUT VOLUME of this PERFORMANCE was stored at 114 (on a scale of 0-127). This is where you set the overall output volume of this PERFORMANCE for recording purposes. Try it. Lower this VOLUME and see how it affects the levels arriving in Cubase. Raise this OUTPUT VOLUME as necessary to set your record level. Always use METERS to judge record gain. Always use your EARS to judge the quality of the signal, but not the gain – gain must be set with a METER.

As an experiment. Stop the arpeggiator.

_ On the MOXF: Press [ARP ON/OFF] to turn OFF the L.E.D.
_ In Cubase: Arm Track 2 (Audio 02) and press the RED RECORD button on the Transport.
_ On the MOXF: Press [ARP ON/OFF] to re-arm the Arpeggiator. LED turns ON
_ Record yourself playing the PERFORMANCE.
_ Hit the RED Record button on the Cubase Transport…

When you have completed recording, you can return to the top and playback. In order to hear audio (playback) coming from your DAW, raise the DAW LEVEL Slider on the MOXF6/MOXF8 front panel… It controls the level of all audio coming from your computer. If the DAW LEVEL slider is down you will not hear playback.

Let’s see where the individual PARTS of this PERFORMANCE are assigned to be routed to the USB3/4 audio bus.

Press [EDIT]
Press [COMMON]
Press [F4] USB I/O (USB Input/Output)

You can see how each of the four PARTS of the PERFORMANCE are routed to “3&4”

To learn about routing, let’s route one of the PARTS to the other USB audio bus. Move the cursor [>] to the RIGHT to highlight PART 4. PART 4 happens to be the synth pad sound called “P5 Analog Punch” (classic Prophet V type analog pad).

For PART 4: change the USB OUTPUT SELECT = 1&2

This action will route this PART on its own discreet bus and can now be recorded on its own discreet Track. Let’s take another look at the routing and what we have just done:

We have taken one of the four PARTS of the PERFORMANCE and instead of sending it to the USB3&4 we route it up (the small arrow between “INS” and “SYSTEM” that points upward) to the flow that is feeding USB1&2.

The output level of this PART (P5 Analog Punch) was determined by how well it blended with the “Marimba DX” Voice in PART 3. In fact, its output was determined solely on how it balanced with that Marimba DX sound. You may notice that its impact on the Level meter is somewhat less than when it was in with the other PARTS. Alone it is only a portion of that overall level.

now the question: If you individually raise the level of the “P5 Analog Punch” Voice in order to record it separately, won’t it impact the balance between it and the “Marimba DX” Part when played back? Yes, of course, it will. The “Marimba DX” was original set at a Volume of 127, while this “P5 Analog Punch” PART was set at 112.

Recording each PART to a separate track, undoes the musical balance of the original data. As you attempt tooptimize the record level of each PART you are ungluing the original mix balance. Making the record level optimal, then later in the MIXDOWN process you will need to re-capture that musical mix/balance between the Marimba tone and the Analog Pad tone. We bring that point up specifically for the reason that musical balance is more important that optimized level. If you “unglue” the balance between two sounds, it is now your RESPONSIBILITY when mixing down, to restore that critical mix balance.

Say you wanted to record the DRUMS from this PERFORMANCE to a separate Track. You would set PART 1 to USB 1/2, and leave the other PARTS to USB 3/4. If you want to individually raise the level of the drums, you do so by changing the OUTPUT VOLUME of the PART (PART 1)

Press [EDIT]
Press [1] to select PART 1 parameters
Press [F2] OUTPUT
Press [SF1] VOL/PAN

Try a new recording, route the Drums as a separate STEREO pair to Track Audio 01, while recording the other 3 PARTS to Track Audio 02.

In our next article, we will use USB 1&2 and setup to record a vocal performance to AUDIO 01 and simultaneously record the 4 PARTS of a PERFORMANCE to AUDIO 02. How to route the vocal to a mono track

See: Basic Audio Record PART II

MOXF Basic MIDI Recording to Cubase

Written by Bad Mister on May 16, 2018. Posted in MOXF.

BASIC MIDI RECORDING with CUBASE
MIDI has been around since the early 1980’s and is an important pre-production and compositional tool. The single biggest advantages of working with MIDI data is the flexibility it gives us as musician/composers. And specifically the creative power it gives us as synthesizer players. We may have started our musical career with lessons on the piano, but when you own a synthesizer you wind up being self-taught on dozens of other instruments. With MIDI data and its physical controllers we are able to become drummers, guitar players, bass players, cellists, flautist, even zither players of some decent quality… that is, if we apply ourselves and take advantage of the ability to edit and perfect our musical attempts to perform these various other instruments!

In the third of the BASIC AUDIO RECORDING series, we described synchronizing the clock of the MO-XF with that of Cubase, and how this will allow the computer program to count in time with the musical divisions of time (measures and beats). In fact, our introduction to MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) was in setting up Cubase as the “master” MIDI clock and setting the MO-XF so that it will “slave” to that clock. This means it can start and stop when Cubase starts and stops, if we need it to. It will locate to the exact same measure and beat, when we need it to. And it will allow a conductor-orchestra relationship so that we all play together, in time.

_ The MOXF has a MIDI Sequencer.
_ Cubase is able to be a MIDI Sequencer.
_ Which one should I use?

The answer to this is one that can be simply a matter of choice and should be one that you explore fully. Learn to do both. Do not let anyone convince you one is better than another. A hammer is a great tool, but then again so is a screwdriver. If all you look at is the hammer, pretty soon everything starts looking like ‘a nail’. You will find that for some things it is far simpler to record to the MO-XF’s sequencer (for example, when attempting to record a PERFORMANCE as MIDI data). In the AUDIO RECORDING series we recorded a MO-XF PERFORMANCE as audio to Cubase. Recording the same thing as MIDI data is not quite as simple a process – because you are playing a single MIDI channel – yet generating four separate streams of MIDI data, on four separate MIDI channels – some of the data is generated by the notes you are actually triggering, while others are being generated by the arpeggio patterns you are controlling. To the poor recording computer – it does not know which is which, you will need to sort that out. And then you would need to reunite the MIDI data with the PART it is intended for, manually, matching the MIDI receive channel to the appropriate MIDI data. The MO-XF, quite naturally, does this automatically.

The point is, when you have acquired the skills to use both the internal and external sequencer, you will find the utmost flexibility. Yes, they can both be used simultaneously – and there may be situations where this is just what is required. But if you don’t know how to use them both, you may never find a solution when it is required. You want to be able to work so that your MIDI tracks serve their purpose. They represent the raw compositional data – a series of coded messages – that artfully represent our musical performances. They are in a state that we can correct and perfect the performance of music. You will want to think of them as a work in progress. Ultimately, when we are finally happy with our music performance, we can commit to this performance by rendering the track as an AUDIO track in the DAW (Cubase).

Once it is an audio track, we can keep the original MIDI (performance) data muted in a safe place (typically a CUBASE Project “FOLDER”). Later we will talk about how to manage your tracks – once a track has been committed to and rendered as an audio track, we can MUTE the MIDI track, drop the track data in a FOLDER track, and work with the audio. This workflow, will allow you an unlimited number of PARTS you can create with your MO-XF. You are no longer limited to just the 16 PARTS.

And the nice thing about working this way is if at some point you don’t like your AUDIO track (you fall out of love with it), because you archived the MIDI track, you have the ultimate level of UNDO. You can go back to your original data – redo it, fix it or whatever is necessary. Then you can render a new AUDIO track to replace the one that fell out of favor. In this article we will get you into recording MIDI to a computer Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). Since you are provided with Cubase AI we will use this in our example. Basically, you can use any computer based MIDI sequencer.

Basic Setup for Cubase AI
Before we get you into the MOXF6/MOXF8 Editor or the MOXF6/MOXF8 Editor VST, let’s first just understand how the hardware MO-XF works with the software Cubase AI, then later we will introduce you to the advantages of the including the Editors. As we make each connection in this setup we will attempt to explain its impact. In a situation where you are integrating external hardware with the software environment of the computer it will be important to understand just how this takes place. When you sequence in the MO-XF by itself, you have a keyboard with physical controllers that transmits to a track of the internal sequencer and that track triggers a PART of the tone generator. The situation will be exactly the same with one exception – we are going to have to transmit OUT from the MOXF to reach the track in Cubase. That track in Cubase has to transmit OUT from the computer in order to reach the PART of the MO-XF tone generator. So there is this connection that we need to break internally so we can route signal OUT to the computer and then we need to reconnect it so that the signal can complete its route to the MOXF tone generator. This connection is called the LOCAL CONTROL connection.

So it is very typical when working with a hardware keyboard and a software sequencer to work with LOCAL CONTROL set to OFF. This means that the keyboard and its controllers send their MIDI messages OUT via MIDI (instead of directly to the internal tone engine). The Track of the software sequencer receives those messages and “thrus” or echoes those messages back OUT via MIDI to the connected tone engine. In Cubase this ability to echo back or thru the signal is set in the program:

_ PREFERENCES… > MIDI > MIDI THRU ACTIVE (when MIDI THRU ACTIVE is checked, APPLY > OK, Cubase will be able to complete the signal flow circuit.

Setting up the MO-XF to record with an external DAW is handled in one simple operation. Yamaha built-in a simple QUICK SETUP function that will not only set the LOCAL CONTROL parameter but will set the MIDI Clock, Sequencer Control and other functions so that you don’t have to go all over the place setting things. There are six QUICK SETUPS that you can access by pressing two buttons simultaneously:

Hold [QUICK SETUP] + [1 /(A)]

The screen will read “Quick Setup 1 (DAW Rec) applied”

It is completely normal when this template is applied that you can no longer hear the MO-XF when you play the keys. Remember: Local Control being OFF means the keybed is no longer connected to the Tone Generator. The MIDI messages are sent to Cubase where we need to create a track in order to complete the signal flow. In the diagram below, you can see the KEYBOARD is transmitting on MIDI channel 1 – there is a broken connection between the Keyboard and the MOXF’s tone generator (this is LOCAL CONTROL turned OFF) – the MIDI signal travels via USB to the computer running Cubase. In the Cubase program you can see they are using Track 3 as the active (highlighted) track. That means that no matter what MIDI channel you transmit IN on Cubase will take that MIDI data and route it back OUT on the Channel of the TRACK. This is important. So they show the data going back to the MO-XF tone generator on MIDI channel 3 (the MIDI channel of the currently selected Track).

Quick Review of the Setup
Let’s launch Cubase and see how this works.

• Select the EMPTY Template

• Set a target location on your computer for this Project’s data
• Go to DEVICES (called “STUDIO” in Cubase series 9) > DEVICE SETUP (called “STUDIO SETUP” in Cubase series 9) > MIDI PORT SETUP

Macintosh:

Windows:

In the column marked “In ‘All MIDI Inputs'” you will mark those devices that you want to use as your controller. That is, in this case the keyboard that has the keys, and physical controls that you will manipulate to generate the MIDI messages. You do not want any other device marked in this column except those that are MIDI note and controller generating devices. On the MOXF6/MOXF8 that would be PORT 1 (Yamaha MOXF6/MOXF8-1). At times you may want to additionally select PORT 3 (Yamaha MOXF6/MOXF8-3) as this routes any MIDI device connected to the MO-XF’s MIDI IN jack. If you have another keyboard controller or an electronic drum pad controller that you wish to connect to your computer – this PORT 3 is the so-called THRU PORT – data is routed through the MO-XF directly to the computer and any track routed back on PORT 3 passes through the MO-XF and goes directly to the device connected to the MIDI OUT port.

In the REMOTE DEVICE folder you will find the Yamaha MOXF6/MOXF8

Here is where the REMOTE CONTROL functions of the MO-XF are configured. When you want to use the front panel of your MO-XF to control your DAW, you have a REMOTE layer. You gain access to this layer by pressing the [DAW REMOTE] button (notice its particular background, white) – the entire front panel is now retasked as REMOTE CONTROL functions. The Knobs, the Function/SubFunction buttons under the screen, etc., are now retasked for controlling your software. This makes working – arming tracks, muting/soloing, rewinding, playing, recording, mixing, selecting VSTi’s, editing VSTi’s etc., etc., – much easier because you do not have to move from your position in front of your keyboard!

The ports for this REMOTE parameter should be set to “Yamaha MOXF6/MOXF8-2” (port 2)

When Cubase launches it asks if you want to use the MOXF6/MOXF8 as you ASIO device – it does if you have properly installed the MOXF6/MOXF8 Remote Tools. This automatically configures the VST AUDIO SYSTEM settings – selects the driver and secures your audio routing between the MOXF6/MOXF8 hardware and the VST CONNECTIONS (Inputs/Outputs) of Cubase. If you select the option under VST AUDIO SYSTEM you can gain access to the driver via the CONTROL PANEL button in Cubase. Do not obsess over the INPUT and OUTPUT latency. This is the time it takes for data to be routed into and back out your computer.

Mostly you set this so your computer can handle the signals coming in and going out without glitching or struggling. In general, with the monitoring options you have available, you can choose to monitor the information you are currently generating direct. Direct means “zero latency”. One of the items we will discuss in some detail are the monitoring options you have when recording, when overdubbing and when mixing down. Single digit (in milliseconds) is excellent, low teens is typical, above 20ms is fairly slow. At 30ms you may want to look into optimizing your computer as this is going to be difficult to deal with.

Let’s add some MIDI tracks and discover how MIDI is routed into and back out to the MOXF

In our EMPTY Project go to:
PROJECT > ADD TRACK > MIDI > set the Count to 3 and create three MIDI tracks.

In the area called the “Track Inspector” you can see the Track’s INPUT and OUTPUT assignment. The Tracks have been given a default name “MIDI 01”, “MIDI 02” and “MIDI 03”. MIDI IN is set to “ALL MIDI INPUTS” and MIDI OUT is set to “Yamaha MOXF6/MOXF8-1” (Port 1). This is how MIDI is routed to the track and where that MIDI data is going to be directed. Also the track determines on what MIDI channel (Shown: CH= 3, each track is assigned a unique MIDI channel) that the data is going to be directed OUT on. Please recognize this, MIDI data is being re-channelized by the Cubase Track. As you select a track you will be transmitting via that track to the target MIDI tone generator (this is exactly how it works when using the internal MO-XF sequencer): When you select (highlight) a Track you are transmitting through that track, on the MIDI channel of that track to the tone generator. The only difference now is that with Cubase being the sequencer, the track is external to the MO-XF. Let’s see how this works…

Data arrives from the MO-XF to the selected track in Cubase, and no matter the incoming MIDI channel Cubase will re-direct this data on the MIDI channel as set for the track. Try this:

* Set three PARTS in a MO-XF MIXING setup.
Press [SONG] – select a blank location
Press [MIXING]
Press [F2] VOICE

Select Voices for the first three PARTS (you can use [CATEGORY SEARCH])

PART 1 = Drums
PART 2 = Bass
PART 3 = Keyboard

* As you select a Track in Cubase, because “local” is OFF, the associated PART will sound. If no MIDI track is selected you will not hear any sound (Local Control is OFF). Select Track 1, you can play the Drums; Select Track 2 you can play the Bass, Select Track 3 you can play the Keyboard. You will notice it does not matter what TRACK is selected on the MO-XF front panel… this is because no matter what MIDI channel you are sending data into Cubase, it is going to be received by the active track and re-channelized for MIDI OUTPUT. Therefore it is not necessary to change the transmit channel on your keyboard, all you need to do is select the Track in the software. With LOCAL CONTROL set to OFF in the MO-XF, the MIDI channel you transmit on is of no consequence.

Experiment recording using this setup – get comfortable with selecting (highlighting) a track in Cubase to play a particular sound. You may wish to rename the tracks – you do so by double clicking on the name “MIDI 01” and then typing in characters.

Create as many as 16 MIDI tracks –
PROJECT > ADD TRACK > MIDI > set the Count to the number of MIDI tracks you wish to create.

Each MOXF instrument PART gets a separate “MIDI Track” in Cubase. The reason for separate MIDI tracks is simply to make editing (looking at the data) easier.

SUMMARY:
What you have just seen here is how MIDI data, which are just coded messages, travel from the MOXF and arrive in Cubase. (This could be any DAW). The *active* track – that is, the currently selected track in Cubase will be responsible for what you are going to communicate with. This makes sense – you select the track that is in communication with the instrument you want to hear/record. It will also follow that if no track is selected or a track is selected that does not send MIDI data, you will not complete the circuit