Yamaha mx49 local on/off

[Gesualdo]

The mx is midied to a cp33. I want to play bass, and only bass, in the left hand on the mx (local on) and play organ, and only organ, via midi from the cp33. Or to put it another way, performance part 2 (bass, local on), performance part 1 (organ, local off). I have the vycro mixer for editing the performance, but see no way to switch local on and off for each part.

Thank you for your help
Ges

 

[SeaGtGruff]

I don't think there's a way to switch Local Control on or off for individual parts on the MX, only for all parts at once. The "Local Control" MIDI message (CC# 122) would presumably let you do this-- but according to the MIDI Implementation Chart for the MX49, it doesn't recognize that MIDI message.

Since the MX49 has no built-in speakers, I assume you've got it connected to a studio monitor, stage amp, etc. In that case one possible workaround might be to pan the two parts in opposite directions and plug a cable into only one of the MX49's audio jacks. Since the Left jack doubles as a Mono jack, I suppose you'd want to pan part 2 hard right and pan part 1 hard left, then plug a cable into the Right jack but not the Left jack.

Another approach might be to buy a MIDI splitter so you can go from the MX49's MIDI Out to the CP33's MIDI In, as well as to the MX49's MIDI In. Turn Local Control off on the MX49 so it plays only in response to the received MIDI events. Set the CP33 to receive only Channel 1 and the MX49 to receive only Channel 2.

 

[Gesualdo]

Thank you for your prompt reply. If it is true that a new mx49 cannot do what my 30+ year-old Ensoniq TS-10 can do, then I have a barely used synth for sale. I will look into Korg and Roland. I didn't understand your midi splitter solution and how it could apply to a live performance.

Thanks again,
Ges

 

[anotherscott]

The mx is midied to a cp33. I want to play bass, and only bass, in the left hand on the mx (local on) and play organ, and only organ, via midi from the cp33. Or to put it another way, performance part 2 (bass, local on), performance part 1 (organ, local off). I have the vycro mixer for editing the performance, but see no way to switch local on and off for each part.

Local on/off is generally implemented as a global parameter. But it is easy to do what you want. Put bass on Performance Part 1 (Part 1 is what is played from the internal keys). Put organ on, for example, Part 3 (I'd skip using part 2, in case you ever want to use it for a split or layer, since from the front panel, 2 is the only Part that can be used for that purpose). Then have your CP33 transmit on MIDI channel 3. (The MIDI channel numbers correspond to the Performance Parts.) Done.

 

[Gesualdo]

Local on/off is generally implemented as a global parameter. But it is easy to do what you want. Put bass on Performance Part 1 (Part 1 is what is played from the internal keys). Put organ on, for example, Part 3 (I'd skip using part 2, in case you ever want to use it for a split or layer, since from the front panel, 2 is the only Part that can be used for that purpose). Then have your CP33 transmit on MIDI channel 3. (The MIDI channel numbers correspond to the Performance Parts.) Done.

Thank you for attempting to resolve the issues I am having with the MX. What I failed to mention, although it should be obvious, is that the foot controller needs to control the volume in the MIDIed part (part 3) in your example. All my attempts to apply the volume control on that part, and not on the local part 1 have failed.

 

[anotherscott]

This may sound obvious, but have you tried plugging your foot controller into the Aux Pedal jack of the CP33? That should work.

Basically, a pedal plugged into the MX49 should affect the sounds you're playing from the MX49's keys; a pedal you plug into an external controller should affect the sounds you are triggering from the external controller.

 

[Gesualdo]

This may sound obvious, but have you tried plugging your foot controller into the Aux Pedal jack of the CP33? That should work.

Basically, a pedal plugged into the MX49 should affect the sounds you're playing from the MX49's keys; a pedal you plug into an external controller should affect the sounds you are triggering from the external controller.

Have not tried that, but wouldn't that also affect the volume of the CP33?

 

[anotherscott]

Ah, you've added another wrinkle. So, when you're playing the MX49 organ sound from your CP33, you actually want to simultaneously play the CP33's internal sound? Yes, I would expect that the pedal would affect both sounds.

You could use a MIDI Solutions Pedal Controller and a MIDI Merge box to get the pedal into the MX49 separately from the CP33 (but over the same MIDI channel).

 

[Gesualdo]

Ah, you've added another wrinkle. So, when you're playing the MX49 organ sound from your CP33, you actually want to simultaneously play the CP33's internal sound? Yes, I would expect that the pedal would affect both sounds.

You could use a MIDI Solutions Pedal Controller and a MIDI Merge box to get the pedal into the MX49 separately from the CP33 (but over the same MIDI channel).

Again, thank you for attempting to solve my dilemma. Yes, simultaneously. Envision playing "The Christmas Song" . You play a nice intro on the piano with a subtle string padding added in via the pedal. The verse is played with just piano and bass. 2nd verse add bass and a little strings, Bridge is full blown with everything. This is an obvious set-up that Yamaha somehow failed to accommodate via shoddy programming. Like I said previously, my old Ensoniq TS-10 achieved this beautifully.

 

[anotherscott]

It's just not something it was designed to do. Your TS10 was a full workstation. The MX49 is a designed to give you high quality sounds in a very portable, very inexpensive package. I'm sure each board has advantages over the other.

 

[Gesualdo]

It's just not something it was designed to do. Your TS10 was a full workstation. The MX49 is a designed to give you high quality sounds in a very portable, very inexpensive package. I'm sure each board has advantages over the other.

"Not . . . designed to do." are the key words here, true. I did not need a workstation recording sequencer with sample editing, etc, just a keyboard that could hook up and do what I consider to be an obvious and simple live configuration. A few lines of code could fix that.

 

[anotherscott]

Or you could say the problem is with the inflexibility of the CP33. You just happen to have a pair of keyboards that, between them, can't do this particular thing. As for whether the closest MX competitors from Korg and Roland can handle this (i.e. Kross and DS61), I don't know. Though of the three, the Korg has the most MIDI functionality in general.