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MIDI Sketch (formerly MIDI Editor) - Music Sketchpad (by Nikolozi Meladze)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/midi-editor-music-sketchpad/id718065823?mt=8
($4.99 U.S.; 1 MB download size; universal; last update 09/16/14)
I'm not sure what, exactly, prompted me to take a chance on this primitive-looking MIDI app, which currently sits with a 3-star rating on the App Store. But I have to say, I'm a little confused by the hate for it, because the thing just seems to work for me. Moreover, it does a few key things that are (a) very useful to me; and (b) don't appear to be done by many (any?) other apps. Certainly not a small standalone app outside of a DAW.
There's a screenshot. It isn't a visual stunner, but this is MIDI data - it has as much in common with binary code as it does with "musical notation". The app itself makes no internal sounds. I shouldn't have to explain that, but guaranteed that at least one reviewer will one-star it because they couldn't hear it out of their speaker. It hooks to your apps via VirtualMIDI and I believe to external hardware via CoreMIDI, though I didn't try that.
While note immediately obvious, all of the basic piano roll functionality is there - cut/copy/paste, preview of notes using the piano roll on the left, moving notes, and shorten/lengthen. It IS polyphonic (which not all MIDI sequencers) are. Has a universal transposition feature, or you could window-drag a bunch of notes up and down. It has velocity control per note, which I think is represented by the white bar inside each purple note box (And possibly also the darkness of the purple color). And the the thing is a freakin' 1MB download, so it won't crowd either your iPhone or iPad (nor will the stored MIDI files, which are quite small).
But my favorite feature is that it both IMPORTS (with "Open In"!) and exports raw MIDI data. The ability to export MIDI data is important because some DAW's (like MultiTrackStudio) allow you to paste in MIDI data, so you could sketch something pretty simple on your phone or iPad, tweak a few notes, and then keep it in AudioShare for later use in a DAW. What's cool about the import feature is that there are MIDI files everywhere online. So, one of the things I like to do is rearrange old TV/movie themes using modern synths and drumboxes (for my own amusement, nothing commercial). Except programming raw MIDI data, or recording it with a touchscreen synth can be a real beast of a task. Now I have the option of finding MIDI data to use as a starting point, and tweaking to my needs. Pretty cool.
CONS: The grid is kind of "married" to 4/4 time. You CAN adjust the loop length, so you could limit a loop to 12 steps and simulate 3/4, for example, though the markers may be off. I know that's a dealbreaker for many. The Piano roll and grid do work, but it isn't always graceful. I think the key to is zoom in more when you want to edit notes. Touching to the left of the note moves it, while press and hold on the right side adjusts length. I'm pretty sure that you can only play one "clip" at a time, so I'm not sure you could send out different clips to different MIDI channels. However, this is generally above my skill level, and the CPU capability of my devices, anyway. Finally, MIDI import is limited to 32 bars "for now" (per developer). Kind of a bummer if your plan is to import entire songs, but not an issue for grabbing a few loops or passage of a song.
Anyway, feel free to mock and ridicule (okay, maybe not really), but I find the app somewhat useful. It's nowhere near the sophistication of MidiSequencer, Thesys, or Xynthesizer, but then again it does a few things that even those great apps don't do.
Comments
Great approach. Thanks a lot for this long review.
I've been using a certain other app that can sequence midi tracks this last week. Let's just say it's a f*cking PITA to produce anything on iOS outside a closed environment (Gadget, Caustic, TT, etc). So a smaller app might be something I could use for smaller tasks..
Two questions...Can it do any kind of automation? Is this a 1 track/channel thing, or can it have multiple tracks on multiple channels running?
This app got Open In only recently. That is a great function. I'm baffled by the 32 bar limit, though. Otherwise, it's something I could really use. All my MIDI files pass through Caustic, but it doesn't have MIDI Out.
@ChrisG said:
Yeah, exactly. The light bulb that went on for me was when I realized that it was almost like an "AudioShare" for MIDI files, instead of audio. By which I mean you can use it as a storage locker (with basic editing capabilities) to bring MIDI clips in from outside of an iOS environment, and then ship them out somewhere using MIDI control. It controls synths via VirtualMIDI just fine, though it doesn't have AudioBus, so no mini controls. It DOES have background audio though, so you can close the app and tweak your synth.
I'm not great with MIDI in general, but as far as I can tell, I don't think it has automation of any kind. Not sure what that be even, though, since it is a "sketchpad" in name - it's basically note editing for pitch, duration, and velocity. However, that information can be exported to a DAW (or any other app that can "open" or "read" MIDI), so I imagine you could apply effects/automation elsewhere.
@bixnood said:
Amateur that I was (am), I understood what MIDI "information" was before I fully grasped that you could all that information in a MIDI "file". So it didn't occur to me that you could just have all that information in a MIDI track (or a small loop/excerpt), and just copy that into a DAW, and it's like importing a musical "score". Even if had occurred to me, it might not have mattered, since none of my apps really did anything with that anyway.
I love Caustic, but the lack of MIDI out is the one thing that it is still missing. (Well, that and Audio Tracks. We can dream). I did notice as I was importing MIDI files from AudioShare that Caustic will do "Open In". But since there is no MIDI out, I assume that means you can play synths or other machines only within Caustic using that MIDI data.
So, yes, "Open In" for MIDI files is a huge benefit, though a 32 bar limit (which is, what, 1-2 minutes at most speeds?) is a big drawback. Could be a memory limitation, I dunno.
I will note that it does open up multi-track MIDI files (or whatever different parts are called in MIDI files). So, for example, I found a file online that had like 10 parts...MIDI Editor brings them all up and gave me a checklist of which to import (you can do them all at once). These are then separated into "clips", and I think they can only be played one at a time. But, of course, if you have a MIDI friendly DAW (like MultiTrackStudio definitely is, though I would imagine Cubasis and perhaps BM2, also), you can just copy and paste the clips into a DAW.
@StormJH1 said:
Audioshare is like Audioshare for midi files too ...
it does have midi out. I've been using it for ages as a sketch tool. MIDI channel is selectable in settings.
Edit: just woke up properly and reread the above. Already been stated.
@BiancaNeve said:
Right, it stores MIDI files, but it does not have a note editor similar to how AudioShare allows you to trim audio files with the snap feature. Bad analogy perhaps but my point is that a combination of MIDI Editor and AudioShare have that "toolkit" ability to store and make basic changes to MIDI files.
@thinds... which app has Midi out, please? Are you referring to Caustic?
MIDI editor. I really should open my eyes before posting!
Thing is, if that 32 bar limit was removed, this app could do some of what BM2 does... taking 1 MB of storage space.
The bpm goes down to 40, so 32 bars can go a long way. I grabbed all the midi arps from Z3TA, stuck them in AudioShare. From there it's just "open in", have AniMoog or whatever running in the background while I edit the midi. Copy the pattern, transpose, alter velocity until I get something useable.
Thanks @StormJH1 ! Gonna keep an eye on this one.
Certainly interesting @StormJH1. We need to batter the dev to get that 32 up to 64 or beyond....
Thanks for the deep dive @stormjh1.
Universal and 1MB are interesting for sure but I'm not sure I see the benefits over beatmaker or genome (if you already have them, that is).
@syrupcore said:
I don't have either. But Genome (from what I've heard) has some issues where it doesn't work a lot of the time. And BM2, while it's great, is a full-featured DAW with a lot of bloat. It's great if you want to use all that, but if you want just this specific MIDI capability, this is a lighter-weight option. Not without issues, but better than I expected it to be.