No, you don't have poltergeists... although you have what I like to call a recipe for disaster (it's like you have the sharp scissors in your hand, you are approaching the long hallway, and the lights just started dimming, just as you are reaching full speed)... hope that gives a good picture of your MIDI situation. But as long as you proceed knowing what lies ahead... it can be a fun challenge. You'll need to have a focused goal. The days of "let's see what happens" maybe behind you.

The Tyros has dual MIDI INPUTS... and how it deals with play via MIDI is far more complex than your Music Synthesizer. The ”Panel Voices" (Right1, Right2, Right 3) are likely coming from a separate tone generator from the one you might be playing through MIDI... it depends. Take your time.

If you connect the MONTAGE to any other MIDI Device, you must deal with the ZONE MASTER function and the MIDI I/O Mode.

You have a situation where you have a keyboard that can transmit on as many as eight MIDI channels simultaneously from its keys, you have two devices that can receive on 16 MIDI channels at all times. There is no neutral situation. You will need to "deal with" MIDI for each setup. Fortunately that is exactly how the instrument is designed... to deal with these configuration situations.

It is not a simple question. Nor is every thing going to be possible. It is a question that has many answers because it's about configuring Transmit and Receive, and matching Channels. In other words, there is no simple "do this" answer that covers all situations. It is a creative endeavor, based on what specifically you want to accomplish.

You want to learn (because it is new) to deal with what MONTAGE is transmitting Out via MIDI at any given moment.
You will want to learn how to determine exactly what you are transmitting from the currently selected Performance.

There are no real right or wrong here, there will simply be more efficient and less efficient ways of doing things.

Because you have devices that can both transmit and receive on multiple channels, it cannot only become head scratching, but unless you go into this with a definite goal in mind, it can be frustrating. The MONTAGE can be tamed but until you appreciate that what MONTAGE sends Out via MIDI can be a feature or a burden depending on how you discover it works.

What it sends OUT can be different than what it addresses itself with. I know that sounds confusing but that is MONTAGE's forte, being able to send messages to individual Part slots that do different things to the receiving devices. Instead of sending the same Volume command to all Parts and have all receiving devices do the same thing, MONTAGE can address its controlled Parts with independent volume messages, customized movement for that specific Part. The same gesture can cause radically different results on the receiving side.

The last thing I would want to MIDI into is a device that is set to receive everything on all channels, via MIDI. This would mean I would spend a lot of time unassigning things I didn't want to hear or have happen... in a case where the device must receive on all channels then I might want to opt for a situation in MONTAGE where I was only transmitting out on a specific channel from the keyboard.

You will want to learn about the MIDI I/O Modes: this can be MULTI or SINGLE. This determines how MONTAGE will default to transmitting and receiving MIDI data.

_If you select SINGLE, MONTAGE can be addressed via an external controller on a single MIDI channel, and it will transmit Out via MIDI just data directly played on the keyboard.
_If you select MULTI, MONTAGE can be addressed on any of 16 MIDI channels, and will transmit Out via MIDI according to the number of Parts under Keyboard Control at that time. If an Arpeggiator is involved on a Part it can block the direct Key presses and send the ARP phrase data Out via MIDI, on Parts not under an Arpeggiator the direct Key presses go Out via MIDI. Obviously in this instance each Part is addressed on specific MIDI channel, and a combination of direct and Arpeggio sorted note data is transferred Out via MIDI.

The key difference is what gets transmitted Out via MIDI... particularly where it concerns Arpeggio data or direct Key presses.

It is an unwritten Rule but anytime you connect MONTAGE to an external device via MIDI, you should be using the Zone Master function to setup a configuration for the potential 8 Zones you will be addressing.

A Zone can be an internal PART and/or an external Part... any number up to maximum of 8 simultaneously.
In other words, in most cases you will want create Performances that if you are playing four internal MONTAGE Parts, you have four Zones available for external instruments. The total of simultaneous Zones cannot exceed 8.

When you activate the Zone Master (in UTILITY) and you decide you want to address multiple external devices from a particular Performance, you then activate the Zone Switch in that Performance... this will allow you to setup a multiple transmit arrangement, overriding the MIDI I/O Mode setting if need be.

In this manner you can setup a specific configuration for each User Performance that addresses not only internal Parts but external Parts.
If the external device is additionally plugged into the MONTAGE A/D Input you can integrate and automate what happens to its sound in a similar fashion as you would an internal MONTAGE Part... even morph to it with the Super Knob. The possibilities are truly mind boggling.

So I guess the good news/bad news here is: it's programmable/you have to Program it!

Thanks for the opportunity to warn you before you ran too far down that hallway... it can be deep, but it's just a test of your basic MIDI skills... Transmit > Receive on a larger scale.

If you get stuck or have a question please post here. (Head scratching is to be anticipated - these are sophisticated MIDI devices all, MIDI has a proven thirty years history, what seems like an anomaly or poltergeist probably is not... we'll help where we can, and point you in the right direction to find out.)

Hello BM - I can't get to my musicube for a while (a day, maybe two) but wanted to thank you for your illuminating reply. It rang bells all over the place - I need to split the enterprise in two - one being the Montage capability, the other the receiving end(s). Must have been blind luck that I had it working, but in the major upheaval of re-configuring the entire system ready for the new speakers, I managed to upset the (accidentally!) working settings I had (without knowing it!). It's nice to know I'm not going nuts nor have a gremlin in the Works ... not to mention I dropped a light bulb on top of Montage, and spent an hour hunting down and sucking out tiny shards of glass that got about everywhere.

The concept arose simply because I had the requisite items. My initial aim is to go for the simplest combination, which would be a one channel output from Montage (single mode?) but that may be too limiting in that I want to employ my 4 Part Pfs which seems impossible over one channel (?). The end is to record the combined sound (by means as yet not determined) - perhaps as songs, but sounds too. It's a spin-off from trying to record Tyros auto-accompaniments through the Montage A/D inputs. Another tangent I've drawn myself into. I will certainly come back if (when!) I strike another rock. but you have provided me with a chart, thank you.

Hello again BM - just popped in and re-read everything - my MIDI knowledge is sketchy at best, but I think I'm barking up the wrong tree in my last post, at least as far as using 4 Part Pfs is concerned. I might have the chance of a session late tonight, so I'll find out! Stay well ...

Due to the complexity of The Montage plus MIDI I/O to other devices vs performances parts, Multi/Single mode of transmitting and receiving Data and Zoning. There needs to be an serious MIDI Basic to complex video tutorial on dealing the Montage MIDI I/O performance parts vs external devices while utilizing Zoning.

Hello Harold and BM - you can say all that again! I did get a session last night, and Wow! However, as I've often said, I'm not a musician and am not interested in producing music per se - only in the sounds with which music can be made. So, as BM suggested, I first worked out what I wanted to do - which is to mix sounds from the Montage, the Tyros, and the Korg in any combination. Playable, scaleable sounds. No arps. No motion. That knocked out 90% of the problems! No zoning and Multi mode not required. So Single mode on Ch: 1, Bank change and Program change off (I select the voices on the Tyros and the Korg). Tracked everything through with BM's guiding light, and found my major problem ... the Tyros was working on the MIDI B ports, and I had re-plugged into the A ports, not having paid enough attention to what I was doing. So now my simple needs have been met, and everything is working perfectly so far as I want them to. A little venture into the multi-mode and Zoning route proved that my lack of knowledge would make very heavy weather of it, and it did nothing for my purposes anyway. So another little voyage of discovery, thanks to this Forum and you guys - thank you! Stay good ...

The first step toward mastery of configuring the MONTAGE with external gear is to start to understand how MONTAGE works as a MIDI Controller. (And trust me, while related, this is a separate subject from how it responds as a MIDI receiving device). It is the background needed before you attempt to control it from an external device.

Until you are comfortable with how the MONTAGE transmits, it is recommended that you don’t try to trigger it from an external controller. Until you can understand the difference between playing the MONTAGE via the MONTAGE keys and controllers, versus triggering the MONTAGE from an external controller via MIDI. Yes, there are differences.

Why does it get complicated? Because each situation is different. There are “Live” setups, there are recording setups; there are setups where the musician wants the best of both worlds...

If I had to sum it up from my own personal data base of questions... most people do not appreciate the impact Arpeggios make on any Setup. An Arpeggiator is like another virtual “keyboard player” because it is generating Note-On events independent of what you are actually playing. Oh, it’s often based on your input - it depends on it to “know” what to play. It is often a result of some real time musical analysis.

As you know the MONTAGE can have 8 Arpeggiators active for KBD CTRL. There are instances where you want to trigger an external device with an Arpeggio... well if you still want to play MONTAGE directly also... this constitutes transmitting to multiple Parts... one for your direct key presses/control movements, the other for the Arps Note-ons/control movements.

Danger Zone: If you wind up wanting the MONTAGE in Single Receive mode but Multi Transmit, you have completely missed how this MONTAGE world works.

Of course, if no Arpeggiators are involved it is really just basic Send / Receive MIDI 101...match the Transmit Channel to the Receive Channel. But the learning curve here is dealing with setting up the ZONE MASTER. Any time you connect a 5-pin MIDI cable from MONTAGE MIDI Out, you should be using the Zone Master function to intelligently configure what is being transmitted.

I try to get musicians to appreciate just how the Arps make their IMPACT once transmitted Out via MIDI. Keeping Arp data separate becomes a necessity when you need it to trigger an external device (That requires MIDI I/O Mode = MULTI). Key presses travel to the Arpeggiator... if the Key Mode says “sort” the notes, then your direct key presses are blocked and the notes that result will be an analysis of your note-on events (determined by the Arp phrase data).

If the trigger Notes are coming IN via MIDI they do not travel the same path to the Arpeggiator ...

_ Recognizing that PART Note Limit split points for the internal tone generator don’t translate Out via MIDI. They are tone generator limits and have no impact to an external device.
_ ONLY the ZONE Note Limit settings translate Out via MIDI.

A video could Only hope to generally point you in a direction... any ten musicians trying to setup a multi keyboard system would have ten different setup requirements.

I think the best way to tackle the subject is to start by understanding how MONTAGE works as a Midi Controller. Yes and respect that it is different in that it can transmit on eight channels (on purpose).
_ Know what it is transmitting, and when it is transmitting it. This is the only way to avoid conflicts.
_ Recognize that playing MONTAGE from an external keyboard is necessarily different from playing the MONTAGE itself. Will this fact impact what you want to accomplish.
_ Recognize that MONTAGE can control 8 separate Zones simultaneously. Each internal Part addressed uses a Zone, each external device addressed uses a Zone. If you are using 4 Parts internally, this leaves 4 Zones for external use. (I should mention, yes a Zone can transmit to both an internal Part and an external device... but this is of limited use in actual reality).
_ An External Device can be integrated into the Motion Control Synthesis engine if you additionally connect its audio Outputs to the MONTAGE A/D Input. The A/D Input can use the MONTAGE Insert and System processors, it’s volume, Pan, and Effects can be automated, morphed, and used as modifiers within MONTAGE

There are many new features and functions to try. My recommendation is to explore what MONTAGE has to offer, then think about how it can integrate into your gear setup. If you are trying to “replace” a specific device, you may struggle to make a fit initially. My experience is it always came down to an assumption that MONTAGE would work the same way the gear they were replacing. But once realized it has some differences it all makes sense.

I finally bought a Montage 6 which I am totally thrilled with and at some point I will try controlling it from a Kurzweil Forte 7 which is a very good controller as well as a sound source. Should be interesting.