Rodgers C-505 Midi question

[saudade]

Anyone know on what channel the pistons are sending? I want them to control external equipment (ahlborn archive presets) and can't figure it out. The manuals/pedals are ch. 12-14. Thanks for any info.

[M1994]

The MIDI implementation of the stops is very bizarre on that organ. Our church has a C-440 (which is just a slightly smaller version of the C-505, with internal speakers, only one expression pedal, and 1/4 of the available pistons, having only 5 with no second memory).

Anyhow, I've tested this out, and it doesn't simply send out note on/off signals on one stop, but a very complicated set of instructions (that somebody more computer/MIDI savvy should be able to tell you). On my computer hooked up to MIDI-OX (which tells you exactly what signals it's sending) it's a lot of words that flash across the screen. From what I've been told by people who are knowledgable in this department, these organs send a unique signal for every single possible combination of stops being on and off that the organ has. I don't think it's anything that would be reasonable to use with any MIDI equipment unfortunately. The pistons themselves don't seem to send any additional signal, they simply activate the saved stops, which causes the organ to send the signal for that combination.

The only other thing I will say about that is that the manuals and pedals send channels 12-14, but send channels 1-3 as well with the MIDI tabs activated (which is good to know if you're in a situation where you want to be able to shut off the MIDI).

[saudade]

Thanks for the info, it's good to know.