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MIDI routing problems, how to restrict incoming MIDI to specific tracks

I have my template set up whereby I route incoming MIDI (using the Environment) from my hardware synths into a monitor device and then a switch, which either routes the MIDI data to the sequencer input so I can record MIDI notes and CC into the arrangement, or it bypasses and goes nowhere. Let's take the Moog Voyager as the case study for this but it applies to any incoming MIDI from any hardware... What I can't figure out is, how do I route the MIDI of the Voyager's ports and channel ONLY to it's corresponding MIDI instrument channel in the arrangement, and prevent that MIDI data from controlling other tracks in the arrangement? In this case, my Moog Voyager sends MIDI CCs into whatever track I have selected in Logic's arrangement which causes the selected track to be solo'd, change track volume, panning and so on. I have tried setting up the cable destination to route directly to the Voyager's MIDI instrument object in the environment, but this still results in MIDI activity going to the Sequencer Input and thus sending MIDI data to whichever track is currently selected in the arrangement. I have tried this using an External Instrument software instrument track and also with just a regular MIDI instrument object created in the Environment. Both of these tracks do successfully send MIDI data to the Voyager.


If I record MIDI from a hardware synth into a MIDI track in the arrangement which is set up to route that MIDI back to the originating synth, thats fine and things are operating as expected... but then later if I have a different channel in the arrangement selected, and I turn one of the knobs on the first synth, I am sending CCs to a different track or a different synth, and I risk "breaking" the patch on the other synth. Surely there must be a way to prevent this?


I have had other users tell me to set the incoming MIDI using the midi track inspector, but the inspector only allows me to specify the OUTGOING MIDI port and channel, not the source of the incoming MIDI data. As far as I am aware, no incoming MIDI data will be recorded by Logic unless the Physical Input port of the device in question is connected to the Sequencer Input in the environment.  So the question is, how do I prevent certain MIDI ports and channels from sending MIDI data to instrument channels that they shouldn't? Equally, I don't want to restrict a MIDI track to only be able to receive MIDI data from one port and channel. I have a generic USB MIDI controller keyboard connected to the system, I still need to be able to control whichever channel is selected with this keyboard.


Hope someone can help!


Current Pro Desktops

Posted on Oct 25, 2019 7:20 PM

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9 replies

Oct 26, 2019 5:54 AM in response to Jon Dark Arps

You......

1/ turn on auto demix in preferences

2/ you set each external controller to a different midi channel

3/ you assign these midi channels in the track inspector to match that of its respective controller

4/ all tracks must be record enabled



i would create a dummy track which is assigned to the no output object and have it selected during live play or recording - it will catch unassigned midi channel you either forgot or are not using but being sent from one of the controllers

for live playback each controller will only play its respective track - for recording - it will act like live (sound you hear ) but during recording all midi will be recorded to the dummy track but as soon as you press stop - all midi data will pop onto the correct tracks


you dont have to use to use the dummy track - just my preferred way as it helps identify events not assigned to a midi channel/track

autodemix is the only feature that uses the track output channel for routing input - otherwise all input appears on the currently selected track

Oct 28, 2019 12:37 PM in response to Indyuser

Thanks for your reply, I tried enabling Auto Demix but this does not change the behaviour - there is still no way to specify the incoming MIDI device/port and the channel on the MIDI instrument's channel strip, you can only specify the output. So, the same problem remains... if the Physical Input port that the hardware synth sends MIDI to is not connected to Sequencer Input in the environment, then no MIDI will flow into the arrangement and no midi notes or CCs can be recorded. If it IS connected to Sequencer Input, that incoming MIDI data WILL flow into the arrangement, but it will flow to whichever track is currently selected, which means I risk breaking some some aspect of the project if I am not careful (eg changing the parameters of a synth B, whose channel I may have selected, even though I'm just trying to change a parameter on synth A) so if I forget to select the correct channel before turning a physical dial on the hardware, it sends a certain MIDI CC to a different synth and potentially dramatically changes the patch. Thanks for your help just the same.

Oct 28, 2019 1:18 PM in response to Jon Dark Arps

I don’t have time at this moment to do a video but will.... you have several incorrect statements above... I will demonstrate visually..... you cannot define the input midi destination - it all arrives on the selected track... except !!!! when using auto Demix (multi-player) - this is the only exception to the rule - if you can’t get it to work it is likely you are doing something wrong - i will post as soon as I am back in the studio

Oct 28, 2019 3:47 PM in response to Indyuser

Indyuser, I don't mean to hijack the discussion but meanwhile I can suggest the OP to look at the following articles:


https://www.logicprohelp.com/instruments-tracks-midi-channels/


https://macprovideo.com/article/audio-software/logic-pro-x-a-guide-to-multitrack-midi-recording


You can find many on the same subject on the Web.


BTW. I don't know if you know Orb Composer from Hexachords? It provides Logic templates with MIDI mapping to a full orchestra. Always impressed by what you can achieve in the environment.


WD

Oct 28, 2019 9:11 PM in response to Indyuser

Hey Indyuser, thanks a lot for making this video... I now properly understand how Auto Demix by channel works and I can see its power and usefulness. Essentially Logic's Sequencer Input is treated as a single MIDI input port, and there are 16 channels through which you can potentially send MIDI data into Logic, I now see/understand this. This means that my hardware (the ones I wish to discretely send/receive MIDI to/from) must be set to send and receive on discrete MIDI channels, even though they are addressed by different MIDI output ports on my MIDI interface. This is problematic because I have quite a few hardware synths and drum machines, some of them send data on multiple channels (in particular the Elektron devices, drum machines and multitimbral synths), so there are a couple of situations where multiple devices are sending on the same MIDI channel. I should be able to jostle things around though to mitigate this.


One thing I have discovered is that this does not seem to work at all if using the old-style MIDI Instrument objects you create in the Environment, which is what I have been using all this time, hence why my earlier tests didn't work. I also noticed the record-enabled status of these tracks would be lost if you clicked on another track... I replaced the old MIDI Instrument channels with the External Instrument plugin and things seem to be functioning correctly now. Thanks very much for your help with this!

Oct 28, 2019 9:40 PM in response to Jon Dark Arps

For myself and anyone else reading this thread, multiple instrument channels must be record-enabled for this to work correctly - if there are no record-enabled instrument tracks then the behaviour will revert to omni in terms of which incoming MIDI will send data to the selected track, which can be dangerous for the reasons I outline above, ie sending unintended MIDI messages to the "wrong" track. It would be good to know of a way to prevent record enable from being disabled when selecting other tracks (I notice this happens when selecting a track stack/folder track, but not when selecting an audio track)

MIDI routing problems, how to restrict incoming MIDI to specific tracks

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