I tried using MIDI OUT from controller to MIDI IN Modx and using MIDI Through but then it seemed as the MIDI Through shut down the transmission from MODX to channel 1. Not exactly what hapened, but it did not work.

I don't have the best picture of what's providing the MIDI Thru. I'm guessing your keyboard controller - but that would require its MIDI IN to come from somewhere. Maybe drawing a diagram would help.

This is how I would setup the connections:

This leverages Crumar's MIDI merge feature of the 2 MIDI ports for upper and lower manual control.

This does not use the external MIDI controller for the MODX. If you wanted that, I would first experiment with the MIDI-USB port (type B) on the back of the Crumar and see if that passes on the external keyboard's MIDI through USB. Plug the other end of the cable to MODX's "TO DEVICE" USB port.

If that doesn't pan out, then there are devices that will take a MIDI port and "multiply" it - so a 1-in 2-out device would work where one out goes to Crumar and the other goes to MODX's MIDI IN.

Speaking of panning - if you want some Parts in the right and some in the left - use pan. Or, at least, see how far that carries you.

Jason, thank you very much for your reply. Your setup worked perfectly. Simpler and better. I should have thought of that myself. Thank you.

The panning idea was great, and I tested with the Piano and Clav but did not get to try it with the Crumar - got sidetracked.

I will also experiment with the MIDI USB B at some point.

One thing I noticed is that, my "3rd instrument" (a Yamaha "vintage" S03") when set to transmit on Ch. 2 seems to also play the "Bass Pedals" of the Crumar (which should be only Ch. 3). Any idea on why that could be? I wanted to have Bass Pedal independent of the second manual (CH. 2)
But I did move in the right direction thanks to extremely knowledgable people that hang out around here (Thank you Jason and everybody else!)

Ps: Sorry for not explaining correctly the MIDI Through. What I was doing did not work anyways, but here is what I was trying.
Eduardo

Glad I could help.

If MODX had a MIDI Thru MIDI port (it doesn't) then this would work and you would connect that port to the 2nd MIDI input of the Crumar. You said the right thing -- it's just that you didn't actually have a MIDI Thru you were utilizing. Some keyboards have an option to merge MIDI out with MIDI Thru. This is not the case here. MODX MIDI Out is only MIDI Out.

Thank you for the explanation Jason!

Greeting everybody, here I am again... hope everybody is well.

Any input is very much appreciated.

Is it possible to assign a button on the Modx to use as a MIDIHOLD button (kind of like a sustain pedal)? This button would hold whatever note is being played while I press said button.

The idea here is that I could hold a note and free the hand to adjust the sound on the instrument. It would be great to be able to hold a note in Ch 3 (the bass) and also be able to hold several notes (chord) in Ch.2 when needed .

I should clarify these 2 actions above should be independent of each other.

Is that possible?
Your help is truly appreciated every time.

Sincerely,
Eduardo

[quotePost id=118799]Is it possible to assign a button on the Modx to use as a MIDIHOLD button (kind of like a sustain pedal)? [/quotePost]
Why not use the sustain pedal? It works as well for external sounds as it does for internal, you can similarly have it recognized or not for each part as desired.

[quotePost id=118801][quotePost id=118799]Is it possible to assign a button on the Modx to use as a MIDIHOLD button (kind of like a sustain pedal)? [/quotePost]
Why not use the sustain pedal? It works as well for external sounds as it does for internal, you can similarly have it recognized or not for each part as desired.[/quotePost]

Almost certainly because the OP wants to retain original operative mechanics of Sustain Pedal on the MODX/Montage Parts/Performance they're playing alongside the organ, and want/need that to be used far more dynamically than the simple, long sustain of the MIDI sent notes.

I think I've figured out a way to do this. It is not fun.

You'll need to make an Arpeggio from a single note (or chord) that's held for as long as you need, via the Pattern Sequencer.

Just getting this to record as you need in the Pattern Sequencer is not fun.

Getting it from the Pattern Sequencer to the Arpeggio System in a way that does what you want is not fun. I don't even remember the exact steps for doing this so that you don't get the wrong result, as there's more ways to get unwanted results than the desired result, by a factor of at least 5.

Then, if you do pull this off, you'll have to set Arp Record on DAW as the MIDI way out, and then turn back on Local Control (close the visual switch act the top of the diagram on the MIDI routing page) so that you can continue playing your MODX/Montage and having it make an actual sound.

And then you'll need to constrain the Arpeggio Part that's driving the organ to a key range that works for you, as a Zone, which is called something different on MODX/Montage, because they also have another definition for Zone, just to drive you mad.

Given this idea, and if this works, someone like Bad Mister or Jason could probably actually make this work. I would go even madder trying, but I do think this is possible.

And it means that the activation of the Arp System (in whole or by part) now provides you a switch to turn on and off sustain for notes played in the region of the keyboard driving the organ.

[ASSIGN 1] and [ASSIGN 2] are the only buttons I am aware of that can be assigned as sources for the kind of control I mention here. You could also use the common assignable knobs if you wanted or mod wheel and pitch bend. The buttons are probably most inline with what you were looking for.

I would set the buttons to momentary. This is a configurable option where the choices are latch or momentary. Momentary will have this work while holding the button and stops it when you let go of the button.

[ASSIGN 1] and [ASSIGN 2] can also be used for something called "XA Control". If already used for XA control - if you also use these buttons for this -- then the current or other Part(s) that use XA Control may "act up" when you press either of the ASSIGN buttons. Therefore, you may have to clean house to force elements on or off without XA Control based on the switches. I won't cover that in any detail here.

[ASSIGN 1] could be set to apply a positive offset to the AEG release level parameter of the bass (Part 3) such that the sound will continue to ring out when you lift the key assuming something else doesn't stop the sound (like the sample properties or something else). Also, these hold (maximum release) don't last "forever" in AWM2 so there would be some maximum limit to how long the release time can be for your knob fiddling you wanted to do with your freed hand. That's something to play with and later determine if this will satisfy your particulars. Related to this: I don't really know if your bass or chord Part is FM-X or AWM2. FM-X has some different rules and AWM2 is assumed here.

[ASSIGN 2] could be set to apply a positive offset to the AEG release level parameter of the chord sound (Part 2) in the same manner as assign 1 -- only now in a different Part.

Use "Mod/Control" -> "Control Assign" to find where to set this up. Or you could first go to the AEG release level parameter in the bass part, highlight it, then press [CONTROL ASSIGN] which will bring up a menu then press [ASSIGN 1] which will bring you to the "Mod/Control" -> "Control Assign" menu with the added bonus that now your source and destination are properly associated. You may want to increase the ratio to the maximum positive value. When the button is not pressed, the graph will output the height on the far left -- which is 0 offset (what you want). When you press the button - the graph will output the height on the far right -- which would increase the release level. And I believe letting go of the button will early terminate any sound that was set to have a long release time because I believe changing the release level affects currently sounding notes as well as the next note played.

This is a variation on something I've done before which acts differently (the ask was different) but is releated.

Some reference:

https://www.yamahasynth.com/forum/how-to-create-a-user-arpeggio-just-for-hold-one-long-chord#reply-96617

@Jason, I think they question is about sending a sustained note over MIDI, not about controlling an onboard sound to make it seem like it's going forever.

Thanks everybody for the very prompt reply! I wish I could have replied immediately but I was rushing out of the house in the morning. Thank you fellow modxers. I am sure I cannot figure this out alone.

I will try to address all the responses here and then follow Bill’s advice and start a new post for clarity.

@Bill - When I said adjust the sound, what I meant was to mainly adjust the organ drawbars, but also it could mean to adjust the EQ of a part, or the filter, or part volume without losing any sound.

@AnotherScott – I will definitely try that, but I am not sure if the External Organ Module recognizes a “sustain message” since it is not something that exists on a “real organ”. If that worked it would be great, but it would potentially create another problem:
What if I wanted to sustain Part 3 (BASS) sometimes and other times I would like to sustain Part 2 (Lower manual). I imagine in your suggestion the sustain pedal would affect a specific part and I would not be able to change it during performance. I will definitely try it anyways.

@everybody – Just for clarity. I am trying to play “Organ Trio music” – where I also play bass with a setup that was not designed for this. However, I think once I figure all these details, it will allow me not only to emulate the Organ Trio sound but also to add a different flavor to it – using the MODX capabilities and other sounds.

I should add that I currently do not have Bass Pedals, which would help with the need of holding a bass note of course – I could just step on it 🙂

But even with the setup I currently have (MODX + Organ Module) if I could figure out how to hold a bass note (Part 3) while I adjust the drawbars… and if I could hold (on another instance) a chord in the lower manual (part 2) while I still play the bass that would give the free hand I need to adjust the drawbars as needed.

I hope that makes sense.

@jason – I really appreciate your reply and I actually have a need for exactly what you suggested in the link (Had a gig this weekend that I would have loved to hold a Cm pad throughout a song that I could bring in and out with the volume pedal while I have my hands free to play other parts). Thank you!

To clarify: Yes, the question is about sending a sustain note (or notes) over MIDI to the External Organ Module. It is not about controlling an onboard sound.

Thank you all for your support, and again sorry for the delayed response.

Eduardo