Tag: MIDI

Samples

Producer launches free MIDI mapping app

Akhil C S, a software developer and music producer, has launched a free online tool designed to solve a common and often frustrating problem faced by electronic drummers and producers: remapping MIDI drum files between different virtual drum instruments. The web app, OnlineMidiRemap.com, allows users to easily convert MIDI drum parts created in one drum library to match the mapping of another — a process that typically requires tedious manual editing or the use of expensive commercial software. “There are many drum libraries out there, and each one uses its own custom MIDI mapping,” Akhil explains. “It can be really time-consuming to manually translate between them.” The MIDI mapping maze For e-drummers and music producers who use virtual instruments (VSTs) […]

Gear, Performance, Recording

More MIDI

digitalDrummer explores a new compact MIDI hub. CME, which revolutionised wireless MIDI with its compact, easy-to-use WIDI products, has stepped up the game with a couple of new router-type devices. digitalDrummer got to test the “host” version – the H4MIDI WC. What’s in the box Like its WIDI siblings, the H4MIDI WC is a compact, fuss-free box. It is significantly larger than the WIDI transmitters and receivers – mostly to accommodate a bunch of input and output jacks ranging from USB to traditional five-pin MIDI. Essentially, the device is a two-in, two-out MIDI router which allows you to connect a number of MIDI devices together. To further enhance connectivity, users are able to easily add a wireless Bluetooth board – […]

Samples, VST

MIDI 2.0 comes a step closer

After three years of intensive prototyping and many virtual and face to face meetings, the Association of Music Electronics Industry and the MIDI Association have just published four significantly updated MIDI 2.0 core specifications and a brand new specification for a MIDI 2.0 SMF Clip File. These are the result of years of volunteer work by members of AMEI and the MIDI Association and consist of over 350 pages of detailed specifications. These core specifications define the architectural foundations for MIDI 2.0 and define minimum requirements for devices to claim MIDI 2.0 compatibility and to apply to use the MIDI Association’s MIDI 2.0 logo. According to its creators, MIDI 2.0 is part of a plan to share tools and source […]

Industry

Mario finds alternative

MIDI controller pioneer Mario DeCiutiis has announced his retirement from the Alternate Mode business he founded. In a letter to customers, DeCiutiis recalls starting working with KAT Inc back in 1985. “In 1996, I took over manufacturing of the KAT controllers and started Alternate Mode with my wife, Connie. Now at age 72, I’ve come to the decision that it’s time for someone young, ambitious and competent to take over the company,” he writes. DeCiutiis has named his nephew, Bryan Hughes, as his successor as president and CEO of Alternate Mode. “All of the folks at Alternate Mode, except Connie, will remain working at our new factory.  We really are a family-orientated company and will remain that way,” he explains, […]

Gear

Mandala V3 is close

Synesthesia Corporation has released details of an upcoming update to its multi-zone Mandala drum trigger. Production of the Mandala V3 will start soon with pricing under $499 and shipping expected in the second half of 2022. According to a company statement, the new model features an upgraded playing surface “to increase an already best-in-class dynamic range”. Synesthesia claims it has applied space program ingenuity to the hardware frame for stability, durability and mounting. Mandala V3 is a multi-trigger standard USB MIDI controller, but the new model gets a new five-pin MIDI output. It now includes presets optimised for popular audio software and a browser-based utility program for advanced output configuration. The V3 product was first flagged on Indiegogo in 2016, […]

Gear

Upgraded Shifter for Zendrum

Zendrum Studio, the manufacturer of accessories for the Zendrum MIDI trigger instrument, has unveiled its latest offering, the ZDS Shifter Pro. Replacing the merge (power) brick, the standard Shifter also does away with the need for MIDI/USB converters. While the original Shifter included two footswitches which could send CC control messages to computers,  the Shifter Pro adds new features such as TRS jacks for attaching external triggers, expression and hi-hat pedals. According to its developer, the Shifter Pro combines five products in one, functioning as a USB MIDI device, a Zendrum power supply, three CC footswitches, a trigger interface capable of handling two dual-zone triggers or four mono triggers, and a MIDI filter, supporting up to 470 “shift” rules. Update: […]

Gear

A smart wireless MIDI solution

CME, which released the ultra-compact WIDI in 2020, has followed up with more wireless Bluetooth solutions. When we reviewed the original WIDI Master in November 2020, we tested the “virtual MIDI cable” in various configurations – using different modules to output MIDI to a MacBook Pro running VSTs and to GarageBand on an iPad. We used it to output MIDI from a range of modules and found it to be almost universally effective. The WIDI Master is a tiny transmitter that plugs into the five-pin MIDI jack on any instrument or audio device. The WIDI is powered by the host device and has a tiny separate receiver unit that plugs into the MIDI In jack of the host. It advances […]