Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Using the Montage 8 as a Master Keyboard

I just got the Montage 8 WH and it's an amazing keyboard. I really love the keybed coming from an S90.

I'll be using it as my master keyboard. I have a lot of orchestral libraries, Spitfire, Vienna Symphonic, etc... I'd like to use the 8 faders on the Montage to control CC# 20 to 28.

Is there an easy way to achieve this?

Thanks!

Hi DlPro,

I use my Montage8 as a controller. I don't actually have my sliders configured via the Montage, but I am positive you can. I just assign them as required via Logic Pro on my Mac, and store the config with each file.
I agree, the balanced hammer action is a nice keyboard to play as a controller, though like some other Yamaha keybeds, I find the velocity curves to MIDI out, a bit lacking in sensitivity, and have to offset them in my DAW.
I use my Montage as a surround Audio Device. With the multichannel USB, it puts my orchestral libraries in amazing surround concert hall environments!

The orchestral libraries in surround concert hall environment must be amazing. I notice you also have a MP11SE. I do too, but find the Montage better when playing percussive and orchestral instruments.

Regarding the sliders, where would I start with that? I need to assign CC# 21 to 28.

Thanks!

I have to confess, I haven't spent too much time with cc controlling these days. I take the lazy way out. That is, by right clicking on a particular control in a vst for instance, you have the MIDI learn menu, when I just move the slider and it registers that controller and ties it to the parameter. I used to delve deeply into MIDI control many years ago with my earlier synths, but spend more time playing my pieces in realtime now, so don't do as much programming. It's a bit of a dilemma with all my keybeds. I like the attributes of each in different ways. I find my muscle memory benefits from varying my playing between each. The Montage has a very quiet soft bottoming out, and is nicely weighted for most instruments, has aftertouch, but DOESN'T have release velocity, which I like for piano. The MP11SE is in my view the nicest for piano, has great velocity curves, release velocity and great sensitivity with 3 sensors, but no aftertouch for use as my general controller.....and I'd still have to use the Montage USB audio. I still like my Kronos RH3, it's nicely weighted, has release velocity and aftertouch, but it's feeling a bit dated in it's clunky noisyness.

My surround setup via the Montage USB is spectacular, but is limited to vst's in the DAW, because as far as I can tell, you can't route the sound engine in the Montage simultaneously via effects out of the 4 line outs, unless you double up the voices, and lose polyphony, which means a lot of performance editing on existing sounds.

I forgot to mention though, you can assign the rotary knobs to cc numbers. Go into Utilities/MIDI-IO and controllers, you will find these. I don't see any assignments for the sliders though. You'd be best to ask this question on the YamahaMusicians forum of Montage Forum I guess.

Deltajockey,

Thanks for the information. As far as I can tell, you can't assign CC numbers for the sliders. I would prefer the sliders over the knobs, but if I had to bite the bullet, I could use the knobs.

The MP11SE is great for piano. No better IMO, but for everything else, the Montage is awesome, especially for you need a quick key return for percussive instruments or when playing solo's.

Yamahasynth.com is where you'll get official answers from yamaha. Not just official, but also correct.

Yes I meant to include that also! When I said the Montage Forum the "of" in my statement was supposed to be the "or" Yamahasynth

Great, I figured out how to do it. I can use the Montage sliders to send CC# to Kontakt, in this case to the Spitfire library.

On the Montage, go to Remote and press the Plugin button on the display. To change the CC# for each slider, click on the Edit button on the right corner of the display. 👍

Well done! That's good news, I'll keep the tip for when I need it