Welcome to YamahaSynth!

One of the first things you will notice about Montage, is although it builds on the technology of the Motif-series, it truly is a different animal. Most of what you knew about the XF will apply, but one fundamental difference between the series is the Motif-series were music production workstations and the Montage series is a Music synthesizer.

The Montage has basically harnessed the power of playing multiple MIDI channels, simultaneously, from the keyboard.
The more Parts you can access in real time, the greater the expressivity of the results. You have the ability to recall different Waveforms, on demand, to emulate a specific nuance or articulation in an instrument sound. Because of this the Controller Matrix on Montage is huge. Each Part has all the power of an XF Voice.

In the XF you transmitted on one channel at a time, whether you were in Voice mode, Performance mode, Song or Pattern mode, the paradigm was to transmit on one channel at a time.

In the Montage you can transmit on as many as eight MIDI channels simultaneously from the keyboard. While this statement is easy enough to say and understand, it has implications that open new sonic possibilities.

When recording MIDI to a DAW from the XF, you recorded one Part per MIDI channel, per Track.

The Montage has 'broken' this old mold with its multi-Part Performance programs. Certain programs, like "CFX + FM EP" (which uses five Parts), or "Seattle Sections" (which uses seven Parts), utilize multiple channels. Each Part is the equivalent of a Motif XF Voice. And can be controlled with a full arsenal of channel messages, if need be.

So when using the Montage as a "live" performance synthesizer, you do not have to limit your thinking to just a one Motif XF, you can literally, harness the equivalent of eight Motif XF Voices... each with its own set of sixteen Source/Destination controller Assignments. This just sounds like so many specifications ...until you realize, it is this architectural change that makes the Montage unique.

When you select "Seattle Sections" as your string sound it occupies 7 Parts:
First violins, second violins, violas, cellos, contrabasses, Part 6 is a spicato articulation that only sounds when AsSw1 is engaged, and Part 7 is a composite solo violin, solo viola, and solo cello across the keyboard, which only sounds when the Super Knob (FC2) is opened. Each of the string sections has its key mapping, its position in the stereo field, its own stereo output, its own dual Insertions Effects, its own EQ, its own everything... literally harnessing eight Motif XF's.

If you are tasked with being strings in a Live performing situation, you will welcome the nuance, expressiveness, and detail you are able to evoke from this Orchestral string program - using an FC7 pedal to move the Super Knob while articulating the strings with your hands on the keyboard.

If your desire is to record this to a MIDI Track in a DAW, you must think about what is going on... and before we explain, let's talk about another kind of multi-Part program... "DJ Montage" and "Kreuzberg Funk" where all eight KBD CTRL (Keyboard Control) Parts are occupied... here you want to keep all the MIDI information separated... you are playing some parts directly others are under control of arpeggio phrases. You naturally want to keep the drum groove separate from the pad sound, the pad data separate from the bass line. Naturally.

When MIDI recording something like "CFX + FM EP" or "Seattle Strings" (one instrument) you'll want to merge the MIDI data to a single stream of MIDI data (makes it possible to edit it, notate it, etc.)

Press [UTILITY]
Touch "Settings" > touch "Advanced"
Set the "MIDI I/O mode = single" and select a channel
If you do not see this parameter, make sure your firmware is up to date (current is 1.20.x) Let us know.
Record your MIDI data to the DAW.
Make your corrections
Render the recording as audio. Keep the MIDI track data muted as your safety if you want to fix something later, but use the audio version for overdubbing to... this will allow you to retask your Montage hardware for more recording.

The workflow in a situation where when you are using 5 or 7 Parts per instrument sound, this will require you to render audio so you can reuse your synth - rendering audio from the Montage with its 32-bus audio outputs means you can record each musical Part with all the EQ and processing power of full Montage. Even routing individual drums from within a drum kit to its own discreet output!

Hi Bad Mister,

it's clear : Press [UTILITY]
Touch "Settings" > touch "Advanced"
Set the "MIDI I/O mode = single" and select a channel

but how can I record let's say 6 tracks drums,2 pads,2 strings,piano etc... all tracks on a different midi channel (1-16) -I use logic. I would like to listen to all tracks coming out the Montage in the same time,then record audio if I like them. Standard Midi like before,not using USB.
My mac can not recognize Montage in some reason.I installed YS usb driver and the plugins too.I use usb 3 cable.Montage is on USB Midi...

thanks a lot

Len, you have a separate question... which has a different answer. The original poster wanted to record a five Part-single instrument.
Your question is completely different and worthy of its own thread. Please post it in a separate topic (so you don't hijack Andre's thread).
The answer is you use a different setup.