Thanks, would appreciate any help! I have the two devices hooked together with midi cables but there's not any noticeable interaction.
I haven’t used the X-Touch Compact (XTC) lately so I am going from memory and also copy and pasting somethings that I already wrote about it. On the XR18 in the setup page the Audio/Midi tab you need to have the DIN Rx and DIN Tx selected (checked). As was mentioned already.
I have played with the XTC and the XR18 a couple of years ago and I think the way it works is very similar to the M32 that I have used the XTC with. That is why some of the text below refers to the M32.
What I have written below refers to having the XR18 hooked up to a Windows PC and running X-TOUCH Editor to set up the XTC. I think you need to be connected using the USB port on the XR18 and I think you need to not have the Midi cables connected when doing the configuration in the X-TOUCH Editor. When you are done with the configuration and have loaded it from the editor to the XR18 you will need to disconnect the USB cable from the XR18 and hook up the MIDI cables.
I assume that you have already figured it out but I just wanted to mention. As it comes from the factory the X-Touch Compact (XTC) doesn’t play too nice with the M32 (edit to add - and I assume also the XR18). I think it is set to control a DAW from the factory.
I did a factory reset to be sure I hadn’t set something wrong when I discovered that the main issue is the global channel needs to not be on 1 or 2. I turned it to off and that seems to work fine. If you set it to 1 you get a midi loop that drives the M32 and XTC crazy. If you set it to 2 then as you bring up a fader about halfway up the mute comes on. Because the mute function is on channel Midi global CH-2. I assume that you have also discovered that the factory default settings for the midi CC number for the channels is off by 1. All of the preset CC# for the faders are off by 1. Channel one should start with CC0 not CC1. So as it comes from the factory fader 1 on the XTC controls fader 2 on the M32. And so on down the line. That is because 1 is actually 0.
Some of this may be able to be set using the buttons on the XTC but I have always used the X-TOUCH Editor. On the XTC there are a bunch of different modes that it can be put in I suggest reading the manual that came with it.
The Midi implementation in the X32/M32/XR18 mixers is limited. The X-Touch Compact can do A LOT more with Midi then the mixers can. The limitation is the mixers not the X-Touch compact. I don’t have any experience using the MC (Mackie Control mode). That is another option with the XTC.
I hope this is of some help.