Layout mode- using 2 controllers thru 2 USB ports

What I'm trying to do seems like it should be easy, but I have been struggling to get it to work.

I want to build, in layout mode, to replicate my physical setup, which is a "top keyboard" (axiom 61) and a "bottom keyboard" (axiom 61)

Before I have done anything, I went to MIDI setup, and labeled each of my devices Axiom TOP and Axiom BOTTOM.

now, this brings me to some questions.

1) When editing and labeling my devices in MIDI setup should I designate each controller to a port? Or, should I just leave that alone? Ideally, I would like to designate TOP to USB port 1, and BOTTOM to USB port 2, but I can't really figure out how to do that, neither am I sure that this is what I should be doing.

2) When editing each device it says below "ports" but I can't really change any of this info. Is this where I would designate each controller to a certain MIDI channel?

Not sure if I should even be editing the settings in MIDI setup, but this is what I do next:

Layout Mode.

1) drag a keyboard to the top region of the layout screen.

2) plug my "top" keyboard into USB port 1 on my MBP.

3) Click "learn" and play my top Axiom controller. The keys on my virtual controller in layout mode recognize that this is my top Axiom... so, I assume I am halfway there...

4)Drag another controller into my layout mode, which represents my bottom keyboard.

5) It recognizes this as my Axiom BOTTOM, BUT, when I play on only the bottom Axiom, in layout mode, both controllers are playing, top and bottom.

Layout mode in mainstage now thinks both of my virtual keyboards are the Axion BOTTOM

I try to change the MIDI channel but this doesn't help... Should I be designating each top and bottom controllers to a certain MIDI channel?

I'm not sure if I am approaching this in the right way, but I have tried everything. Anybody have any insight?

thanks!

I'm not sure if I am approaching this in the right way, but I have tried everything. Anybody have any insight?

Launch Audio/MIDI Setup and give these two keyboards different names. Any name is fine, that helps you (and MainStage) differentiate them.

I didn't read everything, but set one keyboard as Midi channel 1 and the other as midi channel 2.

The names aren't really all that important as long as the channel strips play from the controller you assigned them from.

thanks for the help guys.

What I did, that worked, is change the set the top keyboard to MIDI channel 1 and the bottom to MIDI channel 2.

The easiest way for me to do this was change the global setting on the Axiom controller itself.

Thanks again!

I see.

Aside from setting the midi channels and assigning things in the layout mode, each channel strip has its own midi assignment area where you can assign a channel strip to a specific keyboard. You click the specific channel strip and then look at the Software Instr. Channel Inspector. That section will let you select your keyboard sounds and the midi input to select which keyboard will play.

Another neat thing is letting Mainstage do the keyboard splits when you layer sounds. For example, your bottom keys could be layered/split to play piano, organ and clav while the upper one could be split/layered for horns and strings.