With "Local Off" the keyboard will send out MIDI message out the MIDI output (USB or 5-pin connector depending on how you have your instrument configured) and does NOT send these messages to the keyboard itself. The expectation here is that an external MIDI device will "echo" the messages back to your MODX.

If you have "Local Off" and do not "complete the circuit" (meaning looping back the MIDI messages back to MODX) - then you will be left seeing that buttons or sliders or sliders do not work.

If you are using your instrument in a standalone mode without expecting external devices to complete the MIDI circuit - then the quick template "Standalone" mode will set your keyboard up to not rely on external instruments. Probably better would be to unset the "Local Off" setting.

Thanks for your reply, Jason.

Yes, I forgot to mention that my MODX is hooked up to the computer via an USB cable. I actually play the synth thru the respective midi track in Cubase, so the circuit is complete.

Nonetheless I know some functions, as the 4 sliders, don't work if Local off is selected, no matter if the signal goes out and comes back in. Later today I'll go to the studio and check.

Btw I can't set the keyboard with Local On, cause I'd have double note triggering.

Connecting to a DAW is not the only requirement - you need to have the DAW properly configured to echo back the MIDI messages back to MODX.

There's a MIDI thru setting on the DAW side that needs to be turned on. Also, the MIDI channel needs to be set to ALL on the DAW side particularly if you are using mutli-channel MIDI mode.

If you use a track that's a single MIDI channel and it isn't sending back to channel 1 (assuming multi-channel MIDI mode) then the circuit isn't compete for the "anchor" messages that must come back in to channel 1.

Thanks Jason, it turned out I had SysEx data filtered on Cubase. I did that change long time ago and I totally forgot about it. I removed the filter and now Scene buttons and SuperKnob are back to normal.

Anyway Sliders still won't work in Local Off, I know it's been discussed here before, and there's no way to fix that.

Not the only weird thing in this otherwise good piece of equipment.

I had thought about Sysex but my setup I think has scene buttons set to CC. I think CCs are generated when I press a scene (not only for receive) although I haven't checked. There's a setting of Scene CC Off (which I assume means Sysex) or CC number. It's a global setting.

Sliders when a Part is selected are Sysex and CC when common (no Part) is selected.

Thanks Jason.

Actually, no kind of data is received by Cubase from the MODX when moving sliders, no matter what's selected. Scene buttons also don't output any signal to the DAW, nor the SuperKnob. Rotary controls surprisingly do that instead.

I just think those controls are meant to be used in a live scenario, when (in most of the cases) "Local" parameter is set to On.

What always amazes me is the number of users that have these issues with connectivity (I'm one of them), and the absence of these issues for those others apparently not having these issues.

None of the advice metered out has ever helped me with these problems, only trial and error and restarts and reinstalls have ever somewhat sorted some of these issues, some of the time, for some period of time until it occurs again, for reasons unknown, and the dance begins again.

This is usually what happens when experts know what NOT to do, and the majority of other users aren't aware of the pitfalls of/in seemingly common and innocuous actions, and their unwanted potential consequences - and/or unacknowledged software instability. This is also most often the result of bad design and implementation, and the experts being so familiar with those poor decisions in the design and development that they don't actually remember or even know what it's like for someone without their library of things to NOT do, nor are they able to recognise the processes as poor. They've lost objectivity through familiarity.

Without jumping through a lot of hoops - Cubasis isn't going to work for the sliders in Part mode because they transmit Sysex (even with local control OFF). I'm not saying you're using Cubasis - but it's one of those things that doesn't "plug and play" well with the architecture which sends SysEx for some things you would want to document. I'm leaving this as a comment for others.

Since you're using Cubase - which does pass Sysex - your sliders should work.

Here I'm testing my own configuration.

1) Montage (should work like your MODX) turned Local Control OFF
2) Cubase 9.5 (older version shouldn't matter) - loaded and opened an EMPTY project. My normal starting point.
3) Added a MIDI track
4) MIDI Track configuration:
4a) Set MIDI input to "MONTAGE-1" (Montage Port 1)
4b) Set MIDI output to "MONTAGE-1" (Montage Port 1)
4c) Set MIDI channel to "Any"
5) MIDI Preferences (under Cubase 9.5, the "File" menu, then "Preferences", then the "MIDI" row)
5a) Confirmed "MIDI Thru Active" is checked
5b) Under "MIDI Filter" row - confirmed that no check boxes were checked. Nothing filtered for either the "Record" or "Thru" items.
6) Press [PERFORMANCE] (HOME) to select no Part
7) Move sliders - I see the LED bars changing so the messages (CC) are properly being echoed back and sliders are moving in this mode
8) Touch Part 1 on touch screen so Part 1 is selected
9) Move sliders - I see the LED bars changing so the messages (Sysex) are properly being echoed back and sliders are moving in this mode

Note: My instrument is not in DAW Remote mode.

What you cannot do is easily manipulate the Sysex data recorded in the DAW since Cubase (and other DAWs for that matter) doesn't have great support for Sysex. You can record the Sysex and pass it back to your MODX - but the display and editing of Sysex is not user friendly. This is, in my opinion, the limitation of any controllers which cannot be set to CC messages and only support Sysex such as the sliders in Part mode.

There is a non-zero burden in getting the configuration properly setup - but sliders absolutely will work with Local Control OFF. And "work" is defined as being echoed back to your MODX so moving the sliders does what you expect back on the MODX. If this isn't working then there's a configuration issue. I'm assuming you've retested the sliders after turning off the Sysex filter.

Many thanks Jason. I have Cubase 9.5 too.

I already had all set up as you instructed, and still nothing happened. It turned out the real problem was my MODX set on Hybrid mode. That was the problem.

Both in Single and Hybrid mode sliders won't work. The MODX has to be set on Multi, with Track Ch. set to Any on Cubase (otherwise you'll only control the relative part on the MODX).

Big thanks for your support & Happy 2022.

That's it. I didn't get into the details - but my comment about "assuming multi-channel MIDI mode" was brushing up against the difference with single and hybrid modes.

Single and Hybrid are not individual Part aware. Certainly not for the keyboard control=ON Parts. Since all of these Parts act as a MIDI group and are not distinguishable - sliders do not work the same.

I think many of these things are not so easy to intuitively know so one stumbles upon them along the way of dealing the with the instrument. Now you know - or are forming those connections - you can understand how to best reconfigure your instrument for each task.

This chart might help.

Agreed, Jason. Thanks very much for your help.

@Michael Trigoboff, thanks for sharing your chart, very explanatory!