Seeking some environment help

Question

Sorry to bother you all, and be so dumb about this, but I'm in over my head. I don't quite get the environment and how it relates to what I want to do. I'm reading that whole section in the manual, but I could sure use some guidance to get me further along the way.
Up to now, I've had one Midi keyboard that has shown up as a GM instrument (even tho it's a QS8...I guess I've never added it as an instrument). And, I have a motu Micro lite 5 in 5 out midi interface. I haven't had to do anything with the environment, since I could easily record tracks and discreetly assign them to each midi channel in the QS8's mix patch. I've never even looked at the environment window, since everything has been working fine...however, now.....
I have just now acquired another midi keyboard that I want to be the master. It does not have the multi midi channel capabilities of the QS8, only one midi channel in for it's piano samples, although you can set that to be 1 thru 16. (it's an Nord piano).
What I'd like to do is have the Nord trigger a patch in the QS8, as well as have it trigger it's own patch, thus achieving a layered sound that has piano and a pad behind it. That same basic configuration would continue to serve as a having the Nord trigger other sounds in a QS8 mix patch, responding to their own midi channel, as I continue to add track layers to the song.
So far, I can only get the Nord to, either, play it's own sound, or play a sound on the QS8, as I try all the optional port and channel settings. Oddly enough, I can get the QS8 to trigger it's sounds and the Nord, but that's definitely not how I need this to happen.
Under the Port setting I see off, all, QS8, micro lite port 2 thru 5. I have no idea how I got the micro lite's port 1 titled QS8, but there it is.
Anyway....would greatly appreciate some direction with this...I want to avoid messing up the set up I've been using for all my tunes so far, and not be able to return it to working........thanks

Answer 1

The Layered sound is easy, all you have to do is "record enable" the tracks you want layered. Logic will record on both tracks and play back the layered sounds.
To add the Nord.
Go to the MIDI portion of the Environment, the same place that your GM Multi-instrument is located. Use the "NEW" drop down menu and select New Instrument. Since Nord is a basically a single channel instrument you don't need to create a Multi-instrument. You also don't need to worry about changing output channels on the Nord as Logic will re-channel incoming data.
Use the text tool to rename the new instrument..  Nord Piano or whatever.
In the instrument inspector on the left select the MIDI Port you're going to be using and also the channel you have the Nord set to receive on.
Back in the Arrange Window, select Create New Track/External MIDI, check "Open Library" when the library window open Select Nord.
At this point, to record the Nord Piano without doubling the notes you can either set "Local Off" on the Nord OR... go to Settings/MIDI and select the NORD under "Instrument Without MIDI Thru Function".
Settings are on a Per Song basis.
pancenter-
Message was edited by: Pancenter typos corrected..