Hi Paul. I have a Yamaha Montage 8 keyboard that is connected to an Apple Macbook Air (2024) in order to use Logic Pro. It works, however when I play more than one note on the keyboard (ie a chord) not all of the notes sound. Is this something you can help resolve? I’ve looked at Google/forums/YouTube and tried things out but nothing has worked. – T
I recieved the above message from a new client via my website enquiry form and replied to let them know that yes, this was exactly the sort of problem I could help them resolve. I sent them my booking link and we set up a remote support appointment for later that day.
The Problem
Once my client and I were speaking via Whatsapp and we had our screens connected via Anydesk he explained the problem in more detail.
He opened me a very simple Logic Pro project with a single software instrument track. His only connected MIDI device was a Yamaha Montage 8 keyboard. When he tried to play chords into this software instrument the MIDI notes would behave strangely. Notes would be missing and sometimes notes would start playing but wouldn’t stop.
Investigation
I started my checking over my client’s Audio MIDI Setup window but I could see nothing unusual. I then opened up Logic’s Environment window and opened the Clicks and Ports page to monitor the raw MIDI data that was being sent from the keyboard into Logic.
Immediately I could see the problem in the Input View monitor object:
My client was pressing a single note on the keyboard but the same note was being sent over five MIDI channels. Logic’s software instruments were attempting to play all five channels at once and becoming overwhelmed by the MIDI data.
I set up a quick Channel Splitter object inside Logic’s environment to test my theory:
By routing MIDI channels 2-4 out of the Sequencer Input this should temporarily fix the problem. My client went back to the arrange window and played a software instrument from his keyboard. I was pleased to hear him report that all the MIDI was now being played correctly.
This solution was only temporary however. If my client loaded a new Logic project the environment settings would be reset and the problem would return. We needed to stop the Montage sending over five channels.
We pulled up the Yamaha Montage manual online and I skimmed through to find the relevent sections:
I explained to my client how to deactivate Parts inside a Performance. After experimenting with the Montage 8 keyboard’s settings we found the easiest way for him to deactivate the parts was to select an Init (initial) performance with just one active Part.
Additional Support
Solving this problem took about twenty minutes and my client had paid for an hour of my time so we spent the rest of the session looking at some of the features of Logic Pro and how it relates to his Montage 8 keyboard.
I showed my client:
- How to load Drummer tracks into his project
- How to use Logic’s Library window to select Software Instrument sounds
- Where to find Bus Send controls to set the amount of reverb used in the software instruments
- How to record the audio output of his keyboard to allow him to use the Montage’s sounds as well as Logic’s sounds in his projects
Conclusion
At the end of the hour’s remote support session my client was pleased that we had:
- Resolved the MIDI recording problem
- Learnt new ways of using Logic Pro
Review
After the session my client was kind enough to send me this nice review via Whatsapp:
I was at the point of throwing my laptop and money away as I was so frustrated that I could even get my Yamaha montag 8 and pro logic to sync properly. My partner found Paul. At first I was skeptical as paying out money for something that might get fixed is a concern. However I took the leap and contacted. Paul was able to go through a few ideas of what the problem might be and within 15 minutes we had found the problem. We found a quick solution but Paul pushed on to see what issues were wrong on my keyboard side. Thankfully we found an easy solution and I have been able to continue my music. Thank you Paul. Highly recommended for his calm approach. Keep doing what you do. Will pass onto friends who use the software