When connecting the VR-09, VR-09B, or VR-730 to an external MIDI controller, or when using the with a sequencer, the "MIDI In Mode" setting determines how the keyboard will respond. There are three options:
MODE 1: This set all 16 MIDI channels to be a General MIDI (GM) sound source, so it is most useful for using with a sequencer and Standard MIDI Files (SMFs). You are not able to access the main Organ / Piano / Synth sounds that you play from the keyboard of the VR-09/09B/730 in this mode.
MODE 2: Channels 5-10, 12, 14, and 15 will be sent to the General MIDI (GM) sound source, and the other channels will be assigned as follows:
MIDI Channel 1: Piano Dual. This is used only if you have a dual sound selected and a Piano sound is assigned to part 2.
MIDI Channel 2: Pedal. This is for playing the organ pedal part.
MIDI Channel 3: Lower part.
MIDI Channel 4: Upper part.
MIDI Channel 11: Drum part
MIDI Channel 13: Reserved (not currently used).
MIDI Channel 16: Control (this is used for transmitting only).
This mode is most useful for sequencing when you wish to use all of the sounds in the VR-09/09B/730.
For MSB, LSB, and PC (program change) values of each tone, please refer to the "Tone List" in the VR-09 VR-730 MIDI Implementation.
Keyboard (Mode 3): This mode ignores the MIDI channel you are transmitting on and assigns any incoming MIDI to the Lower part. It is most useful when connecting a second keyboard to the VR-09/09B/730 as it makes setup very simple - just connect the external keyboard via MIDI and activate the Lower part by pressing the SPLIT button. When this is done, the "Upper" part will play on the VR-09 keyboard, and the "Lower" part will play on the external MIDI keyboard.