Genos & Montage combo setup

[George B]

Hi all

Noob here. Thanks for any assistance upfront. I have a Genos for arrangement and Montage 8 for sound design. What's the best way of connecting the two devices to get the most out of it? I've read some stuff about MIDI between the Genos and ModX but is been 20 years since I last used MIDI and it's almost Greek to me. I'm specifically talking about setting up the channels etc and what it means. Sorry - and thanks.

Genos - 71 key
Montage - 81 key

George

[Bachus]

Hi all

Noob here. Thanks for any assistance upfront. I have a Genos for arrangement and Montage 8 for sound design. What's the best way of connecting the two devices to get the most out of it? I've read some stuff about MIDI between the Genos and ModX but is been 20 years since I last used MIDI and it's almost Greek to me. I'm specifically talking about setting up the channels etc and what it means. Sorry - and thanks.

Genos - 71 key
Montage - 81 key

George

Montage under.. Genos upper position..

Both genos and Montage connected to the PC over USB ..
Then use your daw to send the midi out of the montage to midi in of the Genos, so you can controll the chords of the arranger from the montage ( i use midi channel 15)

If you want to controll chords from the montage all you need to do is create a channel that sends midi out on channel 15..

The Montage functions as an audio interface for your daw.....
Connect the montage audio out to the genos audio in
Connect the speakers to your Genos..

[George B]

Thanks. I'll try that. 👍

[EB5AGV]

Montage under.. Genos upper position..

Both genos and Montage connected to the PC over USB ..
Then use your daw to send the midi out of the montage to midi in of the Genos, so you can controll the chords of the arranger from the montage ( i use midi channel 15)

If you want to controll chords from the montage all you need to do is create a channel that sends midi out on channel 15..

The Montage functions as an audio interface for your daw.....
Connect the montage audio out to the genos audio in
Connect the speakers to your Genos..

Great info!. Just a couple weeks ago I put my Montage 6 WH on the bottom tier and my Genos on the upper one, as my original Genos location is now filled with a Kawai VPC1, because my main goal right now is to learn to play piano.

I connected them by standard MIDI cables, but will try the other way (USB) also. The advantage of using MIDI cables is that you don't need the PC / DAW to be running. But I see the benefits of that combo also. As I have them also connected by USB, it is a matter of software configuration to switch among the two options.

Here you have some pictures of my current setup:





Stay safe!

Jose

[Lee Batchelor]

Oooo, a white Montage. She's a beauty! Thanks for sharing. Was it a special order?

[EB5AGV]

Oooo, a white Montage. She's a beauty! Thanks for sharing. Was it a special order?

No, the Montage (6, 7 or can be bought, since about October 2019, in white or black. Curiously enough, the white uses to be more expensive on most dealers, even if the Yamaha pricelist shows the same amount for both.

I got this one barely used (due to the COVID-19, as it was a rig from a pro keyboardist who used it only once live), at 50% of its cost new. I was extremely lucky! 

BTW, I have also a black one, on another studio setup, and they are exactly the same except for the color.

[Lee Batchelor]

Great info EB5AGV, thanks!

[Bachus]

No, the Montage (6, 7 or can be bought, since about October 2019, in white or black. Curiously enough, the white uses to be more expensive on most dealers, even if the Yamaha pricelist shows the same amount for both.

I got this one barely used (due to the COVID-19, as it was a rig from a pro keyboardist who used it only once live), at 50% of its cost new. I was extremely lucky! 

BTW, I have also a black one, on another studio setup, and they are exactly the same except for the color.

Lovely..

But wouldnt it be wiser to put the genos in the lower position?

Vpc1, genos on top of it, and montage above that?

[EB5AGV]

Lovely..

But wouldnt it be wiser to put the genos in the lower position?

Vpc1, genos on top of it, and montage above that?

Hmmmm.... you said exactly: Montage under.. Genos upper position... Is now that reversed?

All in all, my reasoning is that I am now working more on the Montage, learning to use / program it. That is easier if it is in bottom position. Anyway, swapping those is easy. I will see what happens in some time.

Putting all three in a three-keyboard stack is not practical for me, I enjoy the 27" 4K monitors on top of them and, three stacked units would put them too high. Also, when playing the piano, I usually don't need anything else. And this way I can have an analog (i.e. paper) music sheet on the VPC1 music stand and a digital one on the PC monitor, along the VSTs and DAW control. That is really convenient.

The good thing is that everything could be changed, as my learning and use evolves. But, right now, for me this setup is nice and operational this way 

Jose