Keys editor's "Channel" selection

[Mattilo]

What the hell is the "Channel" selection in the keys editor's info line?
Can anybody answer??
Thanks.

[Parrotspain]

It's MIDI channel, for example when you have multi timbral VSTs in the Instrument rack.

[Mattilo]

Hi Parrotspain, thank you for your answer, but, could you make me an example... I am a little ignorant.
What does "multi timbral" means?
Thanks again.

[Parrotspain]

Multitimbral means an instrument capable of producing different sounds on different MIDI channels . EG. Piano on channel 1, bass channel 2, drums channel 3 etc. All of the sounds come from the instrument, but are controlled by different MIDI channels and then often separated into separate audio outputs.

[Mattilo]

Multitimbral like Halion Sonic SE 2, for example, the one I'm using. But it doesn't seem to work like you're telling... Different MIDI channels, OK, but not different "channel" in the Keys Editor's Info Line. I've got a synth (HSSE2 Trip) on slot 2, MIDI channel 2, but in the Keys Editor I can select any "channel" I want (from 1 to 16), nothing different happens, I still hear my notes playing, nothing seems to change.
Could you explain me this also?

[Parrotspain]

You'll have to read manuals, but my guess is that the Channel might not apply when using VST Instruments, only when using the RACK Instruments option (F11 on Windows), which is kind of a legacy system which predates dedicated Instrument tracks.

It does have the advantage that it can use just one instance of the instrument to play many parts and can therefore be CPU efficient, if that's a factor

[raino]

It is a bit confusing because there are 2 places you can set a MIDI Channel number. The first is the one you've been discussing where it is an attribute of a MIDI Note. And this works like Parrotspain explained. If your multi-timbral VSTi has a piano loaded on channel 1 & a bass on channel 2 then the piano will play the channel 1 notes and the bass channel 2 notes.

However there is a second MIDI Channel setting which can override the above behavior. On both MIDI and Instrument Tracks you can set the MIDI Channel in the Track's Inspector. If you set this for example to Channel 5 then all of the notes will be converted to channel 5 on playback independent of what channel the note itself is assigned. So all of the channel 1 & 2 notes above will now play on channel 5. But you can also set this value in the Inspector to "Any" in which case the notes will play with their channels intact.