How To Switch Between Multiple Keyboard Apps On The Fly In Live Performance?

rhaley

@Skyscrapersax said:

@rhaley said:
Yep, midi designer pro 2 (design your own interface), midiflow behind the scenes doing what it needs.
This is my ioad pro 12” with midi designer on the left hand side controlling my synth apps, and onsong on the right with my database of music. I used to use AUM, but wasn’t necassary in the end, and more importantly, midi flow can mute the apps you are not using and NOT send them midi data saving cpu power, AUM just mutes the sound (as far as I can make out)

Thanks - your set up seems to be about what I'm trying to accomplish. I'm a litle confused by the name "MIDI"... designer pro, because my apps are MIDI, audio, or something called IAA. (yep, I'm new to iPad...). Neo Soul shows up as an IAA - but since you said it will work with MDP, I'll get it. I've bought a few apps that turned out to be useless, so I'm trying to avoid that!

BTW, since you sing (I don't; I play saxophone, which is my primary axe), are you running your vocal mic through your iPad? I'm about to buy a sax mic - I don't know of any that are iPad specific. What do you use? Thanks, Jeff

Hi Jeff, all the apps I use run standalone (neo soul, ravenscroft 275, galileo, isymphony, LayR). I assign each a different midi channel. In Midiflow, I set up a channel for each synth app - all with an input midi channel of 1 (my master keyboard), and an output midi channel to match each app (plus further midi mods such as octave +1, adjusted midi velocity curves etc).

Midi Designer is a midi controller- faders, knobs, switches and buttons that you design yourself, so if you look at mine, each fader or button will have a unique midi channel, so fader 1 will output midi volume on channel 2 only, and will therefore only control the volume of either neosoul (rhodes) or ravenscroft 275 (piano) (pending which Button is selected above the fader). Fader 2 sends out midi volume on channel 3 only etc.
The buttons above each volume fader are sending programme changes to each app.
The on/off buttons below the faders are muting midi messages (saving cpu) in midiflow.

I also run latency at 5ms in all apps.

I don’t run my vocals through the ipad.
This set up has replaced my mainstage set up and £1k of vst’s on my mac.
I’m happy to share my files
Hope this helps

Richard

Hmtx

@rhaley nice setup! I’m curious why you would need a mute and an on/off... it seems just turning off the MIDI signal would do the job, without needing a mute button. Also, does your setup handle things properly when you have sustained notes? For example, if you are holding a synth pad + organ chord and you “turn off” the organ from MIDI designer, will the organ mute? Or do notes hang because no note-off message gets sent??

Skyscrapersax

@rhaley said:

@Skyscrapersax said:

@rhaley said:
Yep, midi designer pro 2 (design your own interface), midiflow behind the scenes doing what it needs.
This is my ioad pro 12” with midi designer on the left hand side controlling my synth apps, and onsong on the right with my database of music. I used to use AUM, but wasn’t necassary in the end, and more importantly, midi flow can mute the apps you are not using and NOT send them midi data saving cpu power, AUM just mutes the sound (as far as I can make out)

Thanks - your set up seems to be about what I'm trying to accomplish. I'm a litle confused by the name "MIDI"... designer pro, because my apps are MIDI, audio, or something called IAA. (yep, I'm new to iPad...). Neo Soul shows up as an IAA - but since you said it will work with MDP, I'll get it. I've bought a few apps that turned out to be useless, so I'm trying to avoid that!

BTW, since you sing (I don't; I play saxophone, which is my primary axe), are you running your vocal mic through your iPad? I'm about to buy a sax mic - I don't know of any that are iPad specific. What do you use? Thanks, Jeff

Hi Jeff, all the apps I use run standalone (neo soul, ravenscroft 275, galileo, isymphony, LayR). I assign each a different midi channel. In Midiflow, I set up a channel for each synth app - all with an input midi channel of 1 (my master keyboard), and an output midi channel to match each app (plus further midi mods such as octave +1, adjusted midi velocity curves etc).

Midi Designer is a midi controller- faders, knobs, switches and buttons that you design yourself, so if you look at mine, each fader or button will have a unique midi channel, so fader 1 will output midi volume on channel 2 only, and will therefore only control the volume of either neosoul (rhodes) or ravenscroft 275 (piano) (pending which Button is selected above the fader). Fader 2 sends out midi volume on channel 3 only etc.
The buttons above each volume fader are sending programme changes to each app.
The on/off buttons below the faders are muting midi messages (saving cpu) in midiflow.

I also run latency at 5ms in all apps.

I don’t run my vocals through the ipad.
This set up has replaced my mainstage set up and £1k of vst’s on my mac.
I’m happy to share my files
Hope this helps

Richard

Hey, Richard! Very cool. I will get Midi Designer and Midiflow then. I'm not sure what "share my files" means, but it does look like setting this thing up will be a bit of a challenge, so please let me know. I'm at [email protected].

I'll also check out Ravenscroft 275 - I have Ivory 11 for my windows machine, but their implementation on iPad is via Korg Module. I'd like a great standalone acoustic piano app. Is Ravenscroft 275 the best? I lookat at Collussus, CME and iGrand, and it appears Ravens... appears to be.

That LayR also looks interesting - I have Korg MI and Arp Odyssey.

Since I finally moved to NYC, I have to schlep as little as possible - I have tenor sax + keyboard stuff, including amp, so using an iPad will be great. Thanks again, Jeff.

rhaley

@Hmtx said:
@rhaley nice setup! I’m curious why you would need a mute and an on/off... it seems just turning off the MIDI signal would do the job, without needing a mute button. Also, does your setup handle things properly when you have sustained notes? For example, if you are holding a synth pad + organ chord and you “turn off” the organ from MIDI designer, will the organ mute? Or do notes hang because no note-off message gets sent??

Well spotted - the red mute is actually just a status light not a button this gives me an extra bit of clarity whether things are live or not, but was actually thinking of deleting it and just make the on/off buttons bigger

The beauty of midi bypass in midiflow is that it handles sustained notes and other things, so it never hangs midi notes, or cuts sounds like muting audio does, so in your example of holding a synth pad + organ sustain chord, then turning off the organ from midi designer, the organ's notes will carry on sounding until you release the keys - but no new midi messages get through - this one feature allowed me to create this set up!

Hey, Richard! Very cool. I will get Midi Designer and Midiflow then. I'm not sure what "share my files" means, but it does look like setting this thing up will be a bit of a challenge, so please let me know. I'm at [email protected].

I'll also check out Ravenscroft 275 - I have Ivory 11 for my windows machine, but their implementation on iPad is via Korg Module. I'd like a great standalone acoustic piano app. Is Ravenscroft 275 the best? Thanks again, Jeff.

My personal opinion is that Ravenscroft 275 is the best piano app - I used to use Pianoteq or Ivory on my Mac, but I love the sound, simplicity and reliability of Ravenscroft 275. I'll email you my midiflow file to get you going when you get the app.
R

Skyscrapersax

My personal opinion is that Ravenscroft 275 is the best piano app - I used to use Pianoteq or Ivory on my Mac, but I love the sound, simplicity and reliability of Ravenscroft 275. I'll email you my midiflow file to get you going when you get the app.
R

Coolness. I'm going to purchase Midiflow in the next few minutes.

Hmtx

@rhaley if you are up to learning how to share the MIDI Designer layout and Midiflow preset, I would love to make use of that. Thanks for posting what you already have here, inspiring.

rhaley

@Hmtx said:
@rhaley if you are up to learning how to share the MIDI Designer layout and Midiflow preset, I would love to make use of that. Thanks for posting what you already have here, inspiring.

Hi, I'm trying to attach my midiflow file and midi designer files here, but it says 'file is not allowed' when attaching - any ideas how? By all means send me your email address and I'll send them and instructions on my settings to make it all work

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