It should not be confusing... stay with me now.... here's why: (from my post above)

Every MIDI Note-on event, every Controller message, has a MIDI channel associated with it the moment it is created. Say you press the kick drum C1 key with the Part 3 selected at a velocity of 100... the actual coded MIDI Note-on event message would look like this: (hexadecimal)

92 24 64... spoken nine-two, two-four, six-four

9 = Note-On message
2 = MIDI CH 3

24 = Note #36 (C1)

64 = velocity 100

Point being... every MIDI Note-on event includes its MIDI channel. You must match the channel. If your favorite TV show is on a specific channel, you must tune your TV to match that channel to watch the program. Same principle.

Every time you make-up (and that's what you doing, making up your own workflow) you run into a wall. You don't really respect the rules or the reason things are done. Someone tells you the pedal on the left stops the car, you decide to test the theory that perhaps if I step hard enough on the pedal on the right it also will stop the car... this would be "making up" your own method of doing things. Well, ultimately, you're right, it will eventually stop the car, but only after you run into a wall or other obstruction. 🙂 (please laugh, I'm joking)!

Here's what you need to know
Each MIDI Track in Cubase records incoming MIDI data. It documents it, unchanged.
Every note-on event already contains the channel it was created on. You know this but out of context.
If you were to connect MIDI OUT of one keyboard to MIDI IN on another. Doesn't the channel setting on the transmitting device matter? Of course it does. Every MIDI note-on and controller messages already includes the MIDI Channel number. It is documented that way in Cubase... by default, it does not filter or change the channel on the way in (as you get to know Cubase you could setup to do this but that's an advanced setup).

Each Track in Cubase records exactly what is sent. The Channel setting in Cubase is the OUT Channel...it rechannelizes the recorded data and forces back Out on the selected channel and directs it to the specific device in your setup. (Notice how the channel setting is linked to the MIDI OUT destination)

Look at the "List Editor": here's how
Select the Track data for any of your MIDI Tracks
Go to MIDI on the menu bar, select List Editor... there is a column with the MIDI Events and each event has its MIDI channel listed

By ignoring the very reason I went through the trouble of showing the concept of recording to ONE MIDI TRACK, and setting that Track to "any" (I suggested you step on the left pedal to stop the car)
You decided to improvise by "making up" your own rule, and setup three tracks, not realizing they all Record the same thing (you go ahead and press hard on the other pedal, because a pedal is a pedal, right?) 🙂

Notice Cubase does not "channelized" data on the way IN, it simply records the MIDI data. Only on the way OUT. You can direct this MIDI data to any MIDI device in your setup and you can rechannelizes it to any channel. Different DAWs can work differently... this is how Cubase deals with it... it records what you send In, you decide where and on what channel it is echoed back Out.

So you are recording three streams of MIDI data (channels 1, 2, and 3) to each track. But then forcing it all to a single channel going back to the Montage... three times. Chaos!!! If you were the Montage you'd be screaming!!!!

To avoid chaos... to stop the car, use the pedal on the left. 🙂 trust me!

Try recording all your MIDI data to a single track set to "ANY" - trust that all MIDI data can exist on a single track, because of the Channel system.
You can DISSOLVE PART to split the data to separate tracks by channel when you are ready for editing.

Important thing to know about MIDI: the only reason to place MIDI on separate tracks has to do with ease of editing the data. It's just easier to look at. That's it. It has nothing to do with sound. No one has ever heard MIDI. MIDI is not sound... so it is different from audio... which must be kept separate when recorded, separate MIDI tracks is only for the visual convenience when Editing.

I think I didn´t explain this very well. Ok, I start a song by recording let´s say drums, bass arp and a melody all on one track and then split this up and edit it, cut it up, rearrange it. Then I have a new idea and add another part to the performance and want to record that to a separate track. This will be part 4 and I want it on track 4 set to midi out 4. Most likely I will also need to rerecord one of the 3 split up tracks because the arrangement of the song has completely changed after splitting the tracks up and cutting them up. The melody will most likely change. Maybe I have a new bass arp idea here and there I wanna change too. gotta record that onto the split up tracks, of course, not onto the original multi-track that no longer has much to to with the evolving song idea. But I cannot set a midi IN channel in Cubase, only ALL midi in is available. This means, like you say, all midi channels will be recorded on every single track I record. And this recording cannot be edited in the midi editor because several identical notes from several midi channels are sitting on top of each other and you can only edit notes from exactly the right midi channel of the recorded part. I´m surprised noone else has this problem. How do people build their songs? Is everyone else a genius and already has composed their songs in entirety before recording, so they can get it over with in one single track and be happy? really? If my workflow is wrong, then how to do it if you´re not such a composer genius and tend to change things around a bit for a while? How can I record a new part over the initial single track with the drums, bass and melody if I already split this up and rearranged it and the intial single multipart-track is no longer relevant? It´s impossible. But, like I say, deactivating all keyboard controls and highlighting the new part seems to work. Aparently when doing that, I no longer record all midi channels but only the channel of the highlighted part. I assume and hope this is true because, unlike a recording where I do not do this, these notes can indeed be edited in the midi editor. At least today, this process works. What happens tomorrow, who knows....

(recording 3 parts onto 3 tracks instead of one was only for testing. Hearing the horrible chaos was what made me realize that each track must be recording all midi channels, which is the root of the disfunctional midi editor issue. This is not my workflow, because it obviously does not work.)

Your workflow is in need of work. That's difficult for me to say because I want to be encouraging, but there are some fundamental basics about MIDI we need to clear up, then we can better deal with the (extra) challenges the Montage presents. Yes, there are additional, challenges with Montage that are both new and different but they are different for a reason. So to best take advantage of it requires a bit of time and experimentation. Most of the challenges come from the fact that it can and does, at times, transmit on multiple MIDI channels. And control data can sweep across multiple MIDI channels simultaneously. When you morph between sounds, or apply a movement where several PARTS are involved interactively, you setup a situation where to document this you have to engage multiple channels in record. Without getting into a discussion here about why these differences exist... I think you would be best served in starting simply with basic recording and build up from there.

This can be a challenge for even seasoned MIDI users. Most keyboards transmit on a single channel at a time, so one by one, you build your MIDI tracks. One Part, one Track, one MIDI channel...

You can certainly work that way with Montage. I highly recommend that you start that way, one at a time. Learn and get comfortable with that workflow (first) before wading out into the deeper waters. The "deeper waters" I'm referring to includes recording Arpeggios, recording multiple Parts simultaneously, and certainly recording Motion Control functions... I highly recommend a solid fundamental working knowledge of basic Single Part recording first.

Start with the "Multi/GM" (Single Part) template, and limit your selection of sounds to those found in Part Category Search under the "Single" Attribute.
Press [CATEGORY SEARCH]
Select "Init" > select "Multi/GM"

Once comfortable then expand to attempting a Multi Part recording.

Hint: the KBD CTRL icon on channels 1-8 should be deactivated, when recording one Part (Single Parts). This is critical. When you understand the purpose of KBD CTRL you know it is only necessary to link Parts for simultaneous play from the keys. Selecting a Part is all that is necessary to make it play. Each slot 1-16 is on a successively higher corresponding MIDI channel 1-16.

This way you can create a Cubase MIDI Track for each Performance Part, and you can set MIDI Out Channel to match the Part number.

my workflow is in need of work for sure. But it´s a little too late now to go back to basics. I am working on 4 songs right now. All those have been started with multipart performances I made in the montage. At least none of them are as complicated as "parts acting on other parts" yet. Pretty basic. part 1 drums, part 2 bass arp, part 3 melody, part 4 pad. That´s about it. Yes it is very different than any other synths and very inspiring because thanks to multiple parts I get so many song ideas. Before I usually started with a real guitar and the synth came at the end... So, I´d really like to work with this amazing montage inspiration the best way. And to finish those 4 tunes I started without too any more midi nightmares 🙂

But as far as midi in channels, you say "Cubase does not filter or change the channel on the way in (as you get to know Cubase you could setup to do this but that's an advanced setup)." I just looked at my old DAW that I very sadly had to abandon because I can abolutely not synch it with the montage. it certainly is not an advanced setup there. I can choose from all the 16 midi in channels without making any advanced settings. They are just there. I need to find that advanced setup in Cubase...

You set the MIDI channel on Cubase input by changing the MIDI channel on the input device's output (Montage in this case). Either you can use Montage's "default" MIDI channel assignment where PART 1 output = MIDI channel 1, PART 2 output = MIDI channel 2, and so on ... or you setup the PART zones to change PART MIDI output channels (any mapping you choose) ... or you merge all PARTs to a single output MIDI channel. I'm not saying to do any of this, just informing you where the setup would be.

Certain levels of Cubase have support for "Input Transformer" which could be used for advanced MIDI input routing on Cubase's side. Input transformer, if available, would be in the "inspector" panel which by default is the left-most panel (alt-i, turns on/off the inspector panel). Not recommended at the moment since that's a whole other "can of worms" which should be opened after getting a more firm grasp of workflows without using this tool.

There's different ways to do this - but you could record your new bass line to a 2nd track then merge into the 1st track. Dissolve the 1st track, delete the bass part, then "Merge MIDI in Loop ..." the new bass track which was recorded on the second track.

I say you can do it this way because it lets you have the two bass parts together in your project at the same time and you can mute one and play the other or vice-versa.

how about this in Cubase: I just saw you can filter out midi channels in the midi filter settings. solution to all my problems! only the channel I want to record is being recorded and no more midi editor weirdness.

Glad you found something that works for you. "Weirdness" is one way to put it. If all you need is a standard knife blade to whittle down a block of wood and someone hands you a "swiss army" type knife - with a magnifying glass, saw, screwdriver, toothpick, scissors, etc - along with the standard knife blade - then you may fumble around with trying to cut the block of wood with the magnifying glass and get frustrated at all the "weird" tools in this knife before finally pulling out the blade and writing a complaint to either the individual who handed you the "strange" knife or to the manufacturer of the funky knife.

Or you could look at these other attachments as tools - that serve a purpose. Maybe even the purpose you're trying to accomplish. After all, the saw blade may be better at first to get the block cut to a general shape rather than shaving away using the standard blade -- but you could go the long route of using the standard blade for the entire project.

Certainly Steinberg is not producing software to cause problems - but with any tool, orientation is required for proper use. And even non-standard use is OK if it does what you want. It's generally best to learn the standard methods before deviating.

so easy, actually... screenshot from the cubase manual.

Is it really non-standard use to want to choose the input midi channel? I actually find it bizarre that you can´t (and in my other DAW you absolutely can) It makes perfect sense that an instrument with 16 midi channels has 16 ins and 16 outs and that those can be selected in a DAW. So why is "all inputs" the only option, or at least the standard setting? Well, whatever, filtering out wrong channels instead of selecting the right one is a bit odd but seems to work. That´s all I need to know for now. I hope it works, consistently...

had some more issues with this again today. recorded too many channels again...

I only now understand that when recording to one track and then splitting it up by channels, those new tracks will have the right midi channels and not cause all these issues I am having with the midi editor and so on.
so: when just wanting to record one part on one track, one still needs to split up a track by channels. let´s say I want to record all the available drum arps from my drum part of my multipart performance onto one track and then cut them up and see how I can arrange them in cubase later. I still have to split this track up by channels and throw away all the empty midi tracks this creates and keep only the one with the drum arps. This one will work, have the right midi channel, and not mess up the midi editor.
A bit unconventional, but ok, other than that, filtering out midi channels also is another method that works.
Haven´t decided which is better yet.

The best way is to start understanding exactly what you are transmitting when, then you will know exactly how to setup to record the data.

MIDI Events already contain the MIDI Channel information when created by the Keyboard or by the Arpeggiators. These MIDI Events include Note-Ons, and Control Change messages.
The Channel setting you make in Cubase re-channelized the Note-on and Controller data and forces it to a specific channel unless set to "Any" - in which case it goes back on the Channel it came in on.
Global items that send System Exclusive or can be set to send CC (like the Super Knob, Scene buttons) will be documented on Channel 1 (always). These need to be active for Super Knob movement to occur and for Scene changes to be documented.

If you are recording multiple MIDI Channels simultaneously, it is different from recording one MIDI Channel at a time.
If you are recording a Single Part to one track, did you know you still might be transmitting on more than one MIDI Channel? To me every time I read a post from you - it is clear to me that this is a fact that still hasn't manifest itself to the surface for you quite yet.

The "global" items, I refer to them as that because what they send affects or can effect all Parts on all channels, these are the Super Knob (whether it is sending Sysex or CC) and the Scene buttons (whether sending a Sysex or CC) - their messages are Output on Channel 1. This is true whether or not you are sending Note-Ons and other Control Change messages. Global messages can affect all sixteen Parts

Recommendation: if you are recording multiple MIDI Channels simultaneously, you need to know why you are. And what you plan to do with them.
If you are recording a single Part, say drum Arps, set the template to "Arp Rec on DAW", know what channel you are set to transmit on make sure that channel is set to echo back properly.
System Exclusive messages is not identified with a channel, if your Super Knob is set to cc = 95 for example, this message will be Output on Channel 1... if you have used Dissolve Part the cc95 data will be shown with Channel 1 data. If you've recorded Sysex it will also remain with data on Channel 1.

Hi Bad Mister, well if I still dont´understand it then I conclude it´s hopeless. But right now, what I want to do is working, except when I set something wrong.