I don't have the firmware installed yet - but I saw this on Moessieurs demo (multiple used parts without keyboard control). My assumption was that pressing scene buttons would turn keyboard control ON for some PARTs. If scenes do change keyboard control, the reason to do this would be to simulate SSS within the context of a Performance without using the more limited XA Control way of doing something similar.

The big thing here is now you can reconfigure all of your MUTE/UNMUTE groups of instruments to keyboard control groups and no longer have a hard cutoff of the previous group of instruments when switching to a new group. Sounds from the old group held through a transition will continue to sound (like SSS) as long as you keep the keys held down. New key presses will only trigger the new group with keyboard control turned on.

... also, remember that when faced with the question "what is the point of

performance?", your first instinct should be to press the [AUDITION] button and look/listen. Look for controllers/buttons turning on and off, moving up/down, rotating back and forth. Look at the screen for changes (start from HOME). Listen for changes in sounds, ARPs, modulation, etc. That's a good start.

I did listen to the audition on this performance and I hear drums. But I can't activate those drums because nothing happens when I turn arp on, and I wonder why...

Do you see the play button activate? (Transport controls)

As we are fond of saying... there is no one way to work. This is artist, Nick Semrad’s creation... so the “why” and “how come” questions are really best addressed by him... but in general, how you approach recording and using the tool is, to a great degree, a personal preference. There is Pattern data “NY Jam Sesh” that goes with that particular Performance... which should help you make sense of what is going on.

As far as the pattern sequencer, I read the manual and watched the Moessieurs video but honestly, didn't understand much. The word "pattern" is quite confusing to me in this context, I miss the word "track", because from reading ther manual I have absolutely no idea how to record one track after the other.

The first thing you may notice about the Performance Recorder, there is not a “Record Track” parameter setting. On most traditional sequencers you have a parameter where you select which Track is going to be recorded. On MONTAGE/MODX each Part has its own Track. Once in Record, if you communicate with a Part, you’ll record that interaction to its dedicated Track.

As you know by now, often in a Performance you are not engaging all of the Parts at all times. You might have to move the Super Knob to get a Part to start sounding, or you must press an Assign Switch, or raise the MW. Since each Part has its own Track... as soon as you bring that Part into play, the Performance Recorder documents you performing. So you put the Performance Recorder in Record... it records your performance.

If your workflow is to work a Part/Track at a time, traditionally, you would setup so *selecting* a Part only communicates with that one Part alone. As you know Parts linked by the KBD CTRL icon work as a unit, those Parts not linked by an active KBD CTRL are individual synths (equivalent to a Motif XF or 8-Op FM synth). So selected alone means they are the only Track recorded.

What you hear is what gets recorded... if your Performance is setup with individual (non-linked) Parts, then *selecting* one of them means you are recording that selection... then you can *select* the next and record it, and then the next and record it... and so on. You don’t have to stop, if Loop Recording. What you hear is what you get.

Setup your Performance before attempting to record... you can always add later or change your mind, but setup a couple instruments ahead of time... this way you can work non-stop.

Extra Credit:
Added with firmware version 1.20 (yes, long time ago)... the KBD CTRL LOCK. Found by tapping the “FX” icon top center of the screen. When set On, this allows you to Merge new Parts to your starting Performance without automatically engaging the KBD CTRL icon. It allows you to add Parts for individual play. You may have noticed when you “+” add a new Part automatically it is actively layered with the other KBD CTRL’d Parts. This Lock prevents that from happening automatically. Now each “+” added Part activates as a separate standalone entity.

What you wind up with, upon completion, in this more traditional workflow, is one KBD CTRL Part you reserve for yourself to play live on top of the jam...
If you store a Performance with no Parts having an active KBD CTRL, it will not sound when initially recalled... you would have to directly *select* an individual Part for anything to sound.

watching this video right now, and managed to record a "pattern" 🙂

https://youtu.be/KP2p4awFaXE

Well, I never understood all the people here whining about a sequencer, because we have DAWs, but it really looks like this is useful for me. Seems easier to use than Cubase for starting a song! And then use the DAW to elaborate on it. I think this might end my worst struggles with Cubase 🙂 NOw, that is if I ever figure out how to export the patterns and scenes into Cubase, lol