MPE MIDI compatible sound generator plugin?

Plugins
#1

I was discussing with a fellow musician about using the LinnStrument with the DUO. He said that the DUO is probably does not have MPE (multidimensional polyphonic expression) MIDI yet.

Would it be possible to have a MPE MIDI sound generator plugin?
Is MPE something that needs to be implemented at the platform level? Or is it a plugin thing? (I’m not a programmer so I have to ask…)

It would be great to be compatible with the new wave of Midi controllers like the LinnStrument, Haken Continuum, Eigenharp, Seaboard, Soundplane, and Keith McMillen K-Board Pro 4.

#2

It’s a plugin thing.

The MOD already sends the midi it receives to the plugins as-is, so there’s nothing that the Duo needs to do differently I think.
I know the ROLI guys, and got a chance to test out the seaboard some time ago.
Sadly I didn’t had enough time to try to do something with it.
But it was enough to know the MIDI device appears and works with the Duo.

There’s an example MPE synth plugin in the Juce library source code, which could be used to test this.
Just needs a little porting first.

2 Likes
#3

Great!

I was thinking that a LinnStrument would be a possible MIDI interface that I would use since I can strap it on and use it like the NS/Stick.

Would a plugin using MPE take up a lot more CPU?

#4

Even though MPE is a new buzzword this idea has been around for a long time, it’s basically midi mode 4 omni off/mono which has been used for years for midi guitar. See http://www.philrees.co.uk/articles/midimode.htm for a very good description of the MIDI channel modes.

A plugin that has each of it’s voices controlled by a different midi channel would not use any more CPU than a plugin that provided the same voice count but is controlled by a single midi channel.

If the plugins voices cannot be controlled by different midi channels the trick is to split the midi channels up and have multiple plugins each listening to a single midi channel, so for a guitar you would need 6 plugins, one each for channels 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, this then uses a load more CPU than just having a single one.

Edit: I have a linnstrument here and it is easily one of the best buys ever, a fantastic piece of kit. Highly recommended.

2 Likes
#5

Sorry for necrobumping, but what is the current state of MPE and midi over bluetooth LE on the MOD? If I understand it right, Felipe had invested quite some effort to pimp the kernel, libmidi, and bluez to improve performance or make it work at all.

https://blog.felipetonello.com/2016/04/01/usb-midi-gadget-improvements-on-linux/
https://blog.felipetonello.com/2017/01/13/midi-over-bluetooth-low-energy-on-linux-finally-accepted/
https://blog.felipetonello.com/2017/05/05/what-is-still-left-for-midi-over-bluetooth-low-energy-on-linux/

Imagine how cool it’d be to wirelessly perform a little solo with the Blocks Seaboard connected to a synth plugin running on the MOD Duo. :wink:

1 Like
#6

Does anyone have experience using the linnstrument with the mod duo/x?

How about attempting MPE with it?

#7

No plugins in the MOD currently support MPE.
We will need to have something in that aspect first.

Is there a desktop tool that is able to generate MPE events?

1 Like
#8

Most DAWs support it at this point.
(Ableton was one of the last holdouts, but they added it in Live 11.)

Generally speaking, the spec is as follows:

  • expect to receive per-voice data on channels 2-16.

  • this means note on/note off, channel aftertouch, pitch bend (ideally with a configurable bend range, typically defaults to +/- 24 steps), and CC#74.

  • note off velocity is often supported, but not required.

  • anything else is generally sent to channel 1, and anything received on channel 1 should be considered global (and distributed to all voices)

But within that, it’s all standard MIDI, backwards compatible to anything which supports those signals.

Note: each voice represents another instance of the same patch. If you’re using a multi-timbral synth, load the same preset on every channel.

2 Likes
#9

Maybe it’s possible to create a pedalboard consisting of midi filtering, xy mapping (controlling for instance cut off filter) and multiple versions of the same plugin with the similar presets. Synchronized control of the multiple plugin could be done through CV plugins I believe. With a functioning “mpe pedalboard template” the synth or combination of synths would be easy to replace. I don’t have time to explore this route in the moment, but I feel inspired to give it a go with my Linnstrument sometime soon.

1 Like
#10

we dont really have limitations when it comes to MPE being sent to plugins.
but still lack plugins that are able to make use of it.

typically there are example plugins with code meant for developers to get a quick start, is that the case here too?

1 Like
#11

https://surge-synthesizer.github.io/formats

Here is an LV2 MPE synth for reference.

Haven’t tried it - but interestingly it looks like they needed to extend the lv2 plug-in format as well.

2 Likes
#12

It would be so cool if we can get a company like Moog to make their app available es a plugin on the MOD…

2 Likes