Help with midi controller setup

[Trumpeter]

Can someone please help me with setting up an external keyboard midi controller?

 

I would like to use the PX5S keyboard with one stage setting, and at the same time use an external keyboard to drive a second stage setting on the PX5S. For example, play Concert Grand on the PX5S keyboard and have a midi controller play the PX5S FastStrings stage setting. I also want to use ForScore to send the two stage settings to the PX5S via midi. 
 

What are the basic steps to make this happen? I know how to send a single stage setting from ForScore to the PX5S keyboard, but not how to use the external keyboard or to control its stage setting. 

 

Keith

[Brad Saucier]

To be clear, a stage setting is a registration, a snapshot of the current state of the piano.  Stage settings should not be confused with tones.  Stage settings are a combination of tones or a single tone.  In order to use tones from different stage settings at the same time, you'll need to combine these tones into a single stage setting.  You'll need to know a little about the tones used in these stage settings.  Are they factory presets tones?  Are they edited tones?  If edited, are they saved as user tones?   Are they hex layer tones or regular melody tones?  

 

 

[Trumpeter]

It seems I have complicated the question by referring to stage settings. To simplify it, how do I play a grand piano sound on the PX5S keyboard, and separately play a second keyboard which would use the PX5S to generate a string sound? I am not trying to combine sounds - I want them to be played independently by two different keyboards, but both to be generated by the PX5S. 

[Brad Saucier]

What model is your MIDI controller (your second keyboard)?  Have you connected it to the PX-5S already?

[Trumpeter]

Thanks for helping me out. 
 

It is an M-Audio Keystation 49e, 2005 vintage. It has a midi out port. I have not yet connected it to the PX5S. I was planning on using a standard midi cable. My iPad is also connected to the PX5S via USB, communicating on channel 15. I use forScore on the iPad to send stage setting changes to the PX5S when I open a score.

 

Regards,

 

Keith

[Brad Saucier]

Once you connect it to the MIDI IN on the PX-5S, you can set the MIDI OUT channel on your controller to channel 1 to play the tone in zone 1 on the PX-5S.  Use channel 2 for zone 2, 3 for 3 and 4 for zone 4.  That should be all you need to get started. Hope that helps.

[Trumpeter]

Thanks. How would I set the tone that the Keystation will play on the PX5S using the iPad rather than setting it from the Keystation? Right now I send CC112.36.nn on channel 15 from the iPad to the PX5S using forScore, which changes the stage setting that the PX5S keyboard plays to nn (0-99). What is the equivalent string to send from forScore on the iPad to select a tone on the PX5S that the Keystation will use?

[Brad Saucier]

I would create a stage setting with the tones you need on each zone, then have the app select that stage setting.  

[Trumpeter]

Thanks. I will give it a shot. 

[Trumpeter]

I connected the two keyboards and was able to select zone4 within a stage setting from the external midi controller. This works if I have predefined the instrument in that zone in the stage setting. 

The last step would be to be able to send a midi command to the PX5 to change the tone on zone4 without changing the rest of the stage setting. If I leave zone4 unused in all my stage settings, then I could set it to an arbitrary instrument on the external controller while playing zones 1-3 on the PX5S keyboard. 
 

Creating a specific stage setting for each pairing of soloist on external controller and accompanist on the PX5S would require a lot of stage settings and would be less flexible. 
 

Can you give me a sample set of midi commands to set zone4 to a given GM instrument? I tried sending a program change on channel 4, but either I am sending the wrong command, or I am missing a command. 

 

Thanks again for your time and help. 

[Brad Saucier]

The appendix for the PX-5S has every tone listed in charts along with the bank and program change info needed to select each one.  

[Trumpeter]

Thanks. I was looking at the appendix, and just realized that in section 7.1 Bank Select I was reading ll as 11. Not a great choice of typeface or letter in that manual. It is all working now. 
 

Many thanks for the pointers. 
 

For anyone reading this thread who just wants to skip to the answer, here’s what I ended up doing. 

connect the iPad to the PX5S using the Apple camera adapter and a USB cable

connect the M-audio Keystation to the PX5S usin a DIN midi cable

set the general midi channel to 15 on the PX5S

set the M-audio Keystation to transmit on channel 4

in forScore, use the Program Change midi command to switch stage settings on the PX5S by sending 15 112 36 nn where nn is the stage setting number 0-99

Similarly, use a second Program Change midi command to switch the tone on zone4 by sending 4 0 0 mm where mm is the General Midi instrument number. 
To use native PX5S instruments send 4 bb 0 tt where bb is the bank number and tt is the tone number in that bank (taken from pages E42-44 in the Reference section of the PX5S Users Guide (Tutorial).