I can't get volume on Main Output to work correctly with controllers on my keyboard. It's either all on or all off. Works fine for individual instruments (thought it lumps them all together) but not for main volume output on concert. Thanks for any help.

Question

I can't get volume on Main Output to work correctly with controllers on my keyboard. It's either all on or all off. Works fine for individual instruments (thought it lumps them all together) but not for main volume output on concert. Thanks for any help.

Answer 1

Hi
frodojon wrote:
I either didn't do the correct mapping sequence before or I'm starting to wonder if it has something to do with my keyboard which has the expression pedal set to the same volume control as the mod wheel.
All this sounds like you are confused about the general nature of MIDI Continuous Controllers (MIDI CC). The MIDI specification allows for 128 different CC's: CC0 to CC127. Some are typically "preallocated" to 'standard functions: CC1= Modulation, CC7=Volume, CC10+Pan, CC11= 'Expression'. Some act as switches such as 'Sustain' CC64.
frodojon wrote:
Everything appears to be scaled from -63 to +64 if that's what you mean by scaling?  What do you mean by MIDI CC7?
Mainstage works with MIDI CC's generally in a number of ways:
Some standard ones are automatically passed through to all MIDI/Instrument channels unless you specifically block them. Others are not passed through unless you specifically map them to something.
This mapping can be done basically two ways (with MS 2.2):
a) Make a Screen Control in Layout mode, and assign it to a particular incoming MIDI CC message. Then, you can map this Screeen Control to a variety of parameters such as the volume of a particular channel strip.
b) With MS 2.2, you can do the above Assign and Mapping directly, without the need for Screen Controls as an 'intermediary'.
frodojon wrote:
something to do with my keyboard which has the expression pedal set to the same volume control as the mod wheel.  I
Yes.
It sounds to me like you have an issue where you have several hardware controls on your Keyboard set up to transmit the same MIDI CC. This is probably not a good idea, and it would be much better if you assigned them to transmit different CC messages (CC1 for Modulation and probably CC11 for the Expression (though you may want to set the pedal to some other number instead.
Once you are transmitting different CC messages, you will be able to Assign and Map much more flexibly:
for example, you could one to control the overall output volume at Concert Level in MS, whilst the other controls the volume of a specific channel within a Patch.
Your issue of layered patches is one of "Scaling": one Screen Control (assigned to an incoming MIDI CC message) needs to alter the ranges of different channel strips to different amounts. You can set this up by using multiple mappings for one Control, each set to work over a particular range (for example a goes from -20 to 0 whilst b goes from -30 to -20 etc.).
hth
CCT