To use the standalone Unify app like a classic multi-timbral MIDI sound-module, where different MIDI channels play different sounds, the basic approach is to set up multiple layers and assign them to different MIDI channels.

This page considers the more advanced case, where each layer is an embedded Unify instance, capable of responding to MIDI expression and MIDI bank/patch select messages independently from all other layers. This is not supported in Unify at the time of writing, but will be supported in the next v1.2.x update.

You will first need to create a master patch consisting of up to sixteen INST layers, each assigned a different MIDI channel number, and each with an embedded Unify instance in the instrument slot, like this (only four layers shown for simplicity):

A quick recipe to prepare such patches is this:

• Create the first layer manually, making sure to set its MIDI channel to 1
• From the layer “ops menu” (concentric-circles icon at far right), choose any of the “Dup next MIDI ch” items

See Changing patches with MIDI for details.

In Unify v1.2.x, the group of checkboxes which controls MIDI expression and bank/patch select will look something like this:

The first checkbox is new. When checked, it ensures that MIDI expression and bank/patch select messages will NOT be interpreted by the top-level Unify app, but rather passed to the embedded Unify instances and interpreted there.

Check ALL the boxes (except possibly “Bank/Prog error messages”, which is optional) for a multi-channel, multi-timbral setup.