Unfortunately, in its present form it is not possible to have them active at the same time. I have no idea why they did it in that way but there is no advance and a couple of limitations for the user.

Ahh man, that's what I thought. Ah well, it's still a great tool:)

Hi,
Sure, you can do it.
It is only some routing in your DAW.
You have 3 ports in your DAW:
USB Port 1 is for montage keyboard and sound generator as you know.
USB Port 2 is actually unused.
USB Port 3 is the midi DIN port.
The montage, in USB midi mode, has 2 midi interfaces, 1 USB, AND 1 DIN.
You just have to route midi controller In from port 3 to port 1.

@+

Excellent, thanks man:).

I'm a bit confused though...If USB port 3 is the MIDI din port, shouldn't I route MIDI in to port 3 in the DAW?

Just to clarify- I want to trigger sounds in Montage from and external controller and record that MIDI into my DAW via the USB cable attached to Montage.

Sorry, if I'm talking in circles here...kinda like a nasty MIDI loop lol:)

You’re not talking in circles, it is as Tino says, a matter of routing through your DAW
Information you need, the MONTAGE has a built in MIDI and Audio interface. So just like a microphone can be plugged into MONTAGE and it can be recorded to your DAW, MIDI signal from an external controller can be recorded to your DAW through the MONTAGE as MIDI interface.

You can configure your setup so you can play either physical set of keys, or even both simultaneously if you wish... what Port and MIDI Channel you select to route things OUT on from the DAW will determine what plays back.

You absolutely can use the MONTAGE via USB while using the MIDI jack, (it’s a feature)... while playing the MONTAGE from an external controller.
Set the MONTAGE MIDI IN/OUT = USB
Connect your external keyboard to the 5-pin MIDI IN jack on the MONTAGE back panel.

Now, you don’t provide enough information for us to be more specific.

What are you recording?
To what DAW?
Are Arpeggios involved?
Are you recording Single Parts? Or a Multi Part Performance?
The devil is always in the details... one DAW pretty much looks like another, except when you dig into the details. So in theory you can setup and do this elegantly depending on the DAW you’re using.

Playing and triggering the MONTAGE via MIDI is different from triggering the MONTAGE keys directly. And this fact will become apparent as you as you go.

If you study the MIDI Signal Flow diagram, you will see that triggering the Arpeggiators with the MONTAGE keyboard is necessarily different from triggering it with signal coming in via MIDI. You don’t really outline what it is you want to do.

Sorry BM, guess I should have been a bit more specific. I'm using Cubase 8.5 Pro and have had no problem recording MIDI, including the arps into the DAW MIDI track using just Montage. I forgot about the multiple USB ports as Toni pointed out earlier. I have my external controller connected to Montage MIDI in din port-and of course the USB is connected to my computer. I guess now I just choose the correct MIDI in port when setting up MIDI flow on the track. Right now I'm only recording a single track on MIDI channel 1 in Cubase but I'm positive I'll be adding more. I guess I should switch to Single Parts so each Part gets it's own channel. Do Multi-Performances transmit data on a single MIDI channel?

Thanks.

There is no one answer. Multi Part Performances can transmit each Parts data on a separate channel... or it can transmit a single stream of MIDI data on a single channel.

This head scratcher, (seemingly paradoxical statement) can be understood... when MONTAGE is in MIDI I/O Mode = Multi each of the Part Outputs Data... so your Drum Arp Data is printed out as event data. The Bass Arp Data is printed out as event data, etc. this way each Track’s MIDI data can be sent back to that Part and it can sound properly. The Parts you play directly, output your actual key presses; Parts under Arp Control, your key presses are blocked, and the event data of the Arp phrase is output via MIDI.

You earn a MIDI Jedi Merit Badge, when you figure out that when MIDI I/O Mode = Single, Only your direct key presses are documented. In order for the data to playback properly, you will need to stop, reset, and rearm the Arpeggiators because in this case, the MIDI track only duplicates what you actually “played”... it simply plays back what you actually played, which will cause the Arps to follow exactly what you did. (No other note data I’d documented in the DAW).

since when an Arp phrase is Output, that is not YOU playing the drums or the bass, it’s that other guy “Arp”!