With the Montage layered sounds, even when (MIDI) recording a Piano, it outputs to 4 channels or more in Cubase.

You are referring to a MULTI PART single instrument Performance... we must specify because not all “Montage layered sounds” would need the same solution, only those that use multiple Parts to build a single instrument sound would this be an issue (like the “CFX Concert”), those multiple Parts sound where each sound is a different instrument, naturally you would want separate streams of MIDI data (like “DJ Montage”).

One easy solution is if you are going to record an acoustic piano piece using “CFX Concert” as MIDI data that you need/want to event edit, you will want to record the data to your DAW as a single MIDI stream of data. Anytime you are using multiple Parts to play a single instrument (meaning more than eight Elements of a Single Part are being used to build the instrument sound and it’s associated articulations).
This is accomplished before recording as follows:
Press [UTILITY]
Touch “Settings” > “Advanced” > Set the MIDI I/O Mode = Single
This will allow you to Output the “CFX Concert” as a single channel stream of MIDI data, and allows you to select the Channel.
Select Ch =1

Record this to your DAW to one track set to Channel “1”
Play it back... Correct your errors... When you have it as you desire, select the track data and Copy and Paste it to a new MIDI Track set to channel 2, rinse and repeat, creating as a finished result four Tracks, each assigned to Output the data on a different channel 1, 2, 3, 4.

Set your MONTAGE to MIDI I/O Mode = Multi to playback your now corrected Multi Part data.
That should do it. Let us know...

More Background on this subject for those curious....
Extra Credit: Each Part only responds to the data it is supposed to because each Part’s Elements only sound when the following criteria are met: you strike a note within its defined Note Limits, Velocity Limits, and meet its XA Control requirements. The same data recorded to each MIDI channel represents a documentation of your musical performance... not only the notes that you played but a record of all controller movements that you made. Each MONTAGE Part, being on a separate channel, can individually interpret the control messages.

In MONTAGE you are playing four Parts. What is different from previous models like the MOXF or Motif XF is they only transmitted on one MIDI channel - meaning to layer four Parts you stacked the Parts on a single MIDI Receive Channel... the MOXF and Motif XF had a built-in Sequencer... and when in Mixing Mode you transmitted via a Sequencer track to the tone engine- therefore placing all Parts on the same MIDI channel of that track worked in those synths.

The MONTAGE is not built around a Sequencer, and it *is* capable of transmitting on as many as eight MIDI Channels simultaneously. A huge advantage when you want to send different messages to different Parts without having to do some overly complicated sub-dividing of the Keyboard (a few notes for drums, a few notes for lead, a couple of notes for strings, etc., etc...) MONATGE allows you to play multiple sounds across all key ranges, you can manipulate which Elements in which Parts you are transmitting to are sounding... and when you recall them, the controllers can do exactly what you need them to do on that layer. That’s the key!

So the entire paradigm is different. Multiple channel transmitting comes particularly in play when using Multi Part multiple instrument Performances. Layering in a Multi Part MONTAGE Performance can be accomplished by transmitting (versus stacking and receiving) on the appropriate channel. The Motion Control Engine allows you to access the layer or layers you want to play, when you want to play them.

Extra Credit: Take “Seattle Sections”, a Multi Part (7) recreation of an orchestra string section-by-section; Parts 1-5 place the first violins on your left, second violins just to their right, viola across the center, cellos to their right, and finally contra-basses on the right... Part 6 is an XA Control articulation sounding only when an AsSw is pressed, and Part 7 is a composite “lead string” - a solo cello the cross fades into a solo viola in the middle key range and to a solo violin on the upper keys... that sounds only when you morph to it via Super Knob (FC7 pedal controlling the SuperKnob is imperative to pull this off).

You can think of the “Seattle Sections” Performance as a single instrument (orchestral Strings). Morphing from full mapped sections to the solo (lead) string sound can be used very effectively when doing “call and response” type interplay between solo and Sections. Take the time and play the different string sections individually, using the MUTE and/or SOLO functions...

You start to discover ways you might want to use this string sections in performance of musical compositions. Instead of just using “string sounds” as a synth effect or background filler, get into actually composing something for strings by section...

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the detailed reply 🙂