Standalone MIDI help, please

So I mainly use my MPC One recording live instruments and resampling, including a Reface CP and Novation Mininova. Im just beginning the midi journey, but to be clear I have an mpk controller, and am trying to get it out of the chain. SO before I hooked up the mininova, I could record all midi notes and trigger the reface just like a controller. But as soon as I hook up the mininova and even change the midi channel, I get nothing. It’s not even showing up in my sync preferences tab. All machine firmwares are up to date. Any guidance or help is greatly appreciated.
JB