Rane MPE MIDI Programmable Equalizer - Manual (Page 13)

13 Rane MPE Users Guide
2. Enter the desired MIDI channel number using the
0-9, or UP and DOWN keys.
3. Press the MIDI CHANNEL key again to return
to the Normal Operating mode. The MIDI
CHANNEL LED turns off.
If you scroll past channel 16 (using the UP or
DOWN keys) you encounter an option called off off.
Selecting off off severs the MPE from the MIDI
system.
Setting The MIDI Channel
MIDI supports 16 separate channels of communi-
cation in one cable. This is accomplished by tagging
certain MIDI messages with a MIDI channel num-
ber, and requiring MIDI receivers to verify that this
channel number matches their own MIDI channel
assignment for valid reception. If a MIDI message’s
MIDI channel number does not match that of a
potential receiver, the receiver ignores it. Messages
generated and transmitted by the MPE are tagged
with the MIDI channel number you assign to the
MPE. Therefore, if you want two or more MPE’s to
talk to each other, or to other MIDI devices, they
must have the same MIDI channel assignment
(unless the receivers are in Omni mode, but more on
that later).
To assign a MIDI channel number to your MPE:
1. Make sure you’re in the Normal Operating mode,
and then enter the Set MIDI Channel function by
pressing the MIDI CHANNEL key. Do not get
this key confused with the CHANNEL 1 or
CHANNEL 2 keys on the MPE 14 . The MIDI
CHANNEL key is way over on the right side of
the front panel, next to the MEMORY key (see
the figure below). The MIDI CHANNEL LED
lights (and flashes if Omni mode is on, but that’s
getting ahead of ourselves…), and the current
MIDI channel number appears in the SYSTEM
display.
MIDI Operation
The MPE has very powerful MIDI capabilities. If
you are not exactly bursting with MIDI knowledge,
you might find it beneficial to take a break from the
MPE at this time and read a few of the MIDI refer-
ences listed in Appendix C.
The MPE uses MIDI system exclusive messages
(SYSEX) to transmit information—lots of it. To
harness this power, without nuking your MIDI
system with loads of MIDI data, you should be
aware of which MPE SYSEX functions are neces-
sary for your particular need. The big rule here is
this: do not configure the MPE to output SYSEX
data that is not needed . Repeat, do not configure
the MPE to output SYSEX data that is not
needed. If you break this rule, your MIDI sequencer
will get very mad at you and just clog up.
Before we go into SYSEX details, we need to
assign the MPE to a MIDI channel; decide whether
we want to operate in Omni mode; and whether we
want to transmit MIDI program change commands.
Let’s take a look at each in detail.