Nord stage 4 MIDI help

[Lola D]

I am really struggling to get the stage 4 MIDI to do much of anything. ANY cogent ideas welcome.
Here's what I have:
Logic Pro X
Nord Stage 4
Nektar LX88+

Here's what I want to do:
Connect the Nectar MIDI out to the Nord MIDI in and use the Nektar to play and/or control the Nord.

Here's what I have tried:
Connect the MIDI OUT (5 pin din) of the Nektar to the MIDI IN (5 pin din) of the Nord.
Per Nord manual, pp 54-55, I've tried the 3 ways to do this.
1. AUX KB
- Connect the MIDI cable. (I can verify the MIDI ch and signal using MIDI Monitor and Pocket MIDI)
- Set 'Aux KB Enable' ion the Nord to ON
- Pull up a clean Organ layer, turn on layer B
- Set 'Aux KB' page 2, 'Organ' to -B
- Set 'Aux KB MIDI channel' (default on Nord is 16) to match that of the Nektar. Confirmed that the ch out is 16.
- Result: nothing. No flicker of the MIDI LED on the Nord; no response from the Nord when a key on the Nectar is pressed.
2. Layer MIDI control
- Connect the MIDI cable. (I can verify the MIDI ch and signal using MIDI Monitor and Pocket MIDI)
- On the Nord, with a clean layer (I have doing a Layer Init, All, at each of these tests), Piano A in this case, Set the Piano A MIDI Chanel to 16 (bathing the Nektar MIDI out)
- Result: nothing.
3. Global MIDI
- Layer Init All on the Nord
- on Nord, MIDI, Local Control on, Global Channel1, Organ/Piano chi OFF, Synth A, B, C to 13,14,15 (I think this was the default)
- On Nord, CC Mode, Send & Receive, PC Mode Send & Receive
- result: Nothing.

What am I missing here?

[Lola D]

Swap the MIDI cable. Whatever you are setting, the MIDI LED should light up for incoming commands even with non matching settings.

[changearound]

I've had a look at the LX88+ manual and on page 23 there's a bit about configuring the midi out to do different things - 'Midi Out from USB A#2'

It's not clear, but if this is set to 'on' then perhaps the LX won't send it's own midi messages via the Midi out but will just route any messages received via it's usb connection - of which there will be none in your particular case.

As FZiegler says, the Midi led on the nord should be lighting up if any message on any channel is received. So either no message is being sent or the cable is broken.

[dansnord]

This kind of has me worried. I'm about to buy a Numa X Piano GT (with the supposedly excellent TP/400Wood keybed--it's getting rave reviews) as a controller for my Stage 4 HA73. I want 88 keys at home, but the weight of the HA73 for travel is awesome. I *assumed* I would be able to simply midi these two together and use the Numa to play the Stage 4. Will it be more complex than that?

[Valpurgis]

No, no problem playing the NS4 from a midi keyboard. Several ways to do it but in your case it is just to match the midi controller sending channel with the global midi channel of the NS4. For more advanced setups see page 53 of the manual rev H.

[vojtech-h]

Whatever you are setting, the MIDI LED should light up for incoming commands even with non matching settings.

Check the settings for MIDI OUT on the Nektar LX88+.

For piano sounds I use NS4 (sw 0.98) together with Kawai VPC-1. Satisfaction. Even the triple pedal delivered together with the VPC-1 works via MIDI.

[Lola D]

Thank you thank you!

- I swapped out the midi cable with a brand new one - no change (i.e. no MIDI LED flash - thank FZeigler for that tip - it was not at all apparent).
- Found and read the LX88 p23 bit (which I've read too many times, perhaps?) and set that to OFF and...

Presto. It works. (and it turns out the old MIDI cable is fine).

Now to move forward a bit. Lessons learned.

[Albanks]

Does anyone know what/how the THRU midi setting setting works? I have multiple keyboards, 2 of which only have an IN and OUT midi. So I was hoping to use the THRU connection setting on the NS4 to daisy chain together but what ever I try in the NS4 settings I am unable to confirm the OUT port as THRU. Any ideas besides using a MIDI patch bay? Latest SW version installed 9/21/2023.

[maxpiano]

Does anyone know what/how the THRU midi setting setting works? I have multiple keyboards, 2 of which only have an IN and OUT midi. So I was hoping to use the THRU connection setting on the NS4 to daisy chain together but what ever I try in the NS4 settings I am unable to confirm the OUT port as THRU. Any ideas besides using a MIDI patch bay? Latest SW version installed 9/21/2023.

On NS4 manual you can read:

EXTERN SECTION AND MIDI SOFT-THRU
When an external device transmits MIDI notes to the Stage 4 and the Extern section is active, incoming MIDI notes can be re-routed to the MIDI Output of the Stage 4, on the active Extern MIDI channels.
This allows you to control one external device from another external device. the incoming notes must be on the same MIDI channels as set in the Stage 4 for the Synth A, B or C MIDI channels, or the Global MIDI channel setting.


this means that Nord Stage implements a selective SoftTHRU via Extern Section, limited to notes and matching channels; if you need a proper=full MIDI Thru you need an external MIDI Thru box (unless you can put the Stage at the beginning or the end of the MIDI chain, where the other keyboards have a THRU)

[Albanks]

Thank-you for some other ideas. The culprit I have is a Tyros 5 that is the end IN connection, all the other keyboards are being channeled THRU correctly to a StageA organ. I suspect that the complex Midi settings in the Tyros are preventing their notes and channel data to go through. The NS4 is an in-line replacement to a Yamaha motif XS6 where I had everything working as needed(it had a THRU), the insertion of the NS is not as clean as I had hoped. If this does not work I have a couple of midi patch units I can hook up.