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Record MIDI data from Midimux into Reason DAW
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I've put this in off-topic, but it's sort of iOS related I guess.
I've managed to get Midimux setup on the Mac and iPad, and can trigger my laptop synths via Steppolyarp, for example.
This is great, but what would be really useful is if I could trigger VST's hosted in Reason, and record the MIDI data, but I've tried setting this up but can't get it working, and can't find any help online or via the documentation on how to do this.
I've tried using the External MIDI Instrument in Reason, and while this allows me to select my iPad as a input device, that's as far as it goes - I'm not able to connect synths or anything else to it.
Any help from clever Reason heads welcome!
Comments
What version of iOS and macOS are you running?
If you are on the latest ones you could just connect your iPad via lightning and Enable the iPad in your Midi Setup tool and see if this simplifies things. The IDAM protocol introduced in iOS 11 and macOS 10.13 might simplify things for you.
Just do a search on YouTube for “IDAM ipad” and learn about it.
Thanks for the reply.
I’ll check the Mac version, but the iPads on 11.
Connecting it up via USB and Midimux is working fine, I think it’s just the Reason bit I can’t work out. I think the External MIDI Instrument is more used for MIDI out than in.
Frustrating that Reason strips out the VST connectivity options. They work fine in standalone, but hosted as VST’s Reason takes over.
Ok cool. Wish i knew Reason better, but i use Ableton on desktop.
Just did a search on “External Midi sequencing with reason” on YouTube and some good results showed up. Might help to start there as your iPad is now an external device.
I should be sleeping now
Thanks, appreciate your help.
I’ve looked through a lot of these though, and they all seem to cover sending MIDI out from the Reason sequencer to an external device, then recording the audio from that. I’m wanting to do the opposite really - record from an external sequencer onto the Reason timeline.
It must be possible, it’s just a step up from recording notes hit on a MIDI keyboard.
I really like using Reason, but some stuff seems more complicated than it could be.
First time posting on here but I got this working in Reason with midimux and the remote codec on this link:
https://koshdukaimusicreason.blogspot.com/2015/09/generic-midi-channel-aware-remote.html?m=1
Theres a tutorial on the link, it involves adding generic virtual controllers (you need to add one for each midi channel) and then locking each virtual controller to a device for recording. It’s a bit of a faff to setup but seemed to work ok. The external midi device just seems to be for sending midi out from Reason.
There’s also some useful stuff on the reasontalk forum.
Ah that looks good thanks, I’ll give it a try. And welcome to the forum!
Got a step closer - managed to get SPA to trigger VST’s inside Reason, but it’s still not recording the MIDI data. Workable, as I’ve managed to get it to control several VST’s at once, which I can then record to audio tracks, but MIDI data recording would be ideal.
Actually it's exactly the same, except that you rather select the Midimux port as the input instead of the MIDI keyboard device.
Glad it's started working, it records midi input for me, you need to add the controller manually and select the virtual port for input (I've created a port in midimux called iphonemidi) then it records to the selected device (I've not tried VST's yet), to record multi-channel midi you can right click on another device in the sequencer and select Lock Generic Controller on midi channel 2 to this device.
Tops been looking for a answer for this in reason two days ago, thanks.
Then what though? To get the VST to be triggered by Midimux, I have to assign the input to a VST track via the master control thing. When I do that it plays the VST, but nothing is recorded in the Reason sequencer.
There’s a step here I’m missing somewhere - how to get the VST track to record the incoming MIDI notes.
Plug a keyboard in and it just works, this doesn’t.
Thanks for your help. My screens are different to those though, I don’t get some of the options you have there. I’ve got the latest full version.
I’m going to give up on this now, I’ve wasted a day on it. Reason has slipped down a few notches in my estimation today, and their documentation hasn’t helped.
Let me know if you get it working!
Reason could be a lot easier for multichannel midi input, I’m on Reason 10 Intro so would have thought you’d get the same options on the full version.
tbh I’m spending more time with ApeMatrix and AUs at the moment - plus I keep getting the “computer too slow” message.
Yeah it’s a bit weird you have more options than I do with the full version.
I had that message using Logic on my laptop, Reason ran ok though. I bought an external SSD a few weeks back and use that for music stuff - runs much faster than the old internal drive.
Had another go this morning, tried a few more options, scanned again through the 1000+ page documentation - ziltch.
Be good to hear from anyone who's got this working with Steppolyarp or another iOS beatmaker/sequencer, but for now I'm filing this under 'can't be done'.
Am at work but will try and have a play with this tonight if I remember. Have thought previously that it would be good to get thumbjam hooked up to Reason on my mac. An episode involving a Raspberry Magnum and a cup of coffee has rendered my mac a little difficult to use at the moment though. Upgrade time might be looming..
I like a Raspberry Magnum.
I finally got around to updating mine - but chickend out and used an external SSD rather than an internal one - ramped the seed up immensely.
Haven't tried Thumbjam, but I can use the iPad as a keyboard controller for Reason, and I can get Steppolyarp to trigger multiple VST's - the bit I'm stuck on is recording the notes as MIDI in the Reason sequencer. It just won't have it, and I've exhausted all the menu options - even the one's they try and hide.
I’ll have another look later this evening to see if I’ve changed something in settings. Its been working ok for me so far, I’m using Reason on a Windows 10 laptop with midimux, so that could be the difference if you’re on mac.
Thank you, be interested to hear if you can record from a sequencer/arp/beatbox.
Haven't tried it on Windows, might give that a go later.
Yes me too but me mac less so, especially when combined with coffee. Great random character generator now but less useful for typing in passwords etc..
Yeah the SSD resurrected my mac a couple of years ago. Shame that I tried to kill it but it is 10 years old now.
I'm pretty sure that this MIDI thing isn't a Reason issue. It should work exactly like having a MIDI keyboard plugged in. Seem to remember I have to faff about with the Audio MIDI Setup utility, in the MIDI window. It was a bit of an arse and kept crashing but think that it remained setup once the ipad was connected in there.
I don't use Reason (Ableton instead) but I record midi from iPad all the time.
SPA, Rozetta, Modstep, etc, without problem.
My main workflow is use Modstep as a central MIDI brain, so everything that I play on iPad are routed to Modstep via AUM.
The fact is only use Studiomux sometimes, when not, I use IDAM instead.
I ran into the same issue last week, so also interested in success stories. It was easy to set up and to play synths etc., but it wouldn’t record the MIDI note data. I gave up troubleshooting after reading this thread:
https://forum.reasontalk.com/viewtopic.php?p=248796&sid=eded6ab1bafa6dcdaee772199a4540df#p248796
For now I’m working with a well-organised Dropbox ‘MIDI clips’ folder instead, which solves nothing as far as live play goes, but it works.
Following this thread closely as I've been trying to get a good workflow between my iPad Pro (12.9 - 1st gen with 11.4) and Reason 10.1 on my iMac (High Sierra). I've been fooling around with StudioMux, but it sounds like IDAM is pretty much all I need for Reason to send MIDI to the iPad and return the audio to Reason.
I'm assuming you need two channels in Reason: one for the outgoing MIDI and another to capture the returning audio, right?
Thanks for the link.
Yeah, the problem seems to be with recording the actual MIDI data, even though the VST's are being triggered.
Not the end of the world, I can still capture stuff as audio with a bit of routing, seems a shame though.
Been playing around with this again, it's a bit temperamental with recognising midi inputs but is still recording midi data for me once it's connected.
After downloading the codec on this link I copied it to the remote folder listed in the readme.
https://koshdukaimusicreason.blogspot.com/2015/09/generic-midi-channel-aware-remote.html?m=1
_To install this codec, please copy the included folders "Codec" and "Maps"
to the following directory:
Mac OSX:
Library:Application Support:Propellerhead Software:Remote
Windows:
%ProgramData%\Propellerhead Software\Remote
or
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Propellerhead Software\Remote
or
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Propellerhead Software\Remote
_
Then under Edit - Preferences on the control surfaces tab I selected Add, then Other then Generic Midi Controller. For the In Port the drop down menu gives a list of currently active midi ports on the iPhone, before running Reason I've got both studiomux running on the PC and midimux running on my phone.
Hope this helps a bit in getting it working, it's odd that you can trigger VST's but not record midi, maybe Reason has a different way of setting up midi ports on the mac version.
I had a play last night @MonzoPro but couldn't get it working. Really surprising as I plug in a keyboard and don't have to change anything. The best I could get was the MIDI recognised by the stuff revealed by that Advanced MIDI button at the top of the rack. But even though it would play notes from Different Drummer on the iPhone nothing would record. Rubbish.
Yep, that’s how far I got after a whole day of messing with it, it triggered the instruments but wouldn’t record the MIDI notes. Thanks for trying.
It really is poor though. I was planning to try and get some of these iOS sequencers hooked up to Reason that way. Really doesn't make any sense that it wouldn't work.
Yeah, I wonder if it’s part of their ‘closed system’ things, forcing us to use ‘official’ plugins. Very annoying, but at least I can record the audio.
When I get a chance I’ll see if it works with Logic or Maschine.
Hmm, not trying to think that there is some kind of forced limitation on the Props part. I just don't get why it is different from plugging in a MIDI keyboard. I would have thought that MIDI is MIDI and Reason would just get what it is given, but this suggests otherwise. I will give Ableton a try late tonight too.
OK so it works in Ableton. I did have to connect again in the MIDI window of the Audio MIDI setup utility but after that it was a doddle. Helped by the fact that Ableton and Diff Drummer both have Link.