Midi Integrator 1.0 released

Introducing a radical new midi-utility concept: table-driven midi integration software for faster, flexible instrument building. All inputs on a PC can become midi inputs, as needed, with easy reconfiguration.

Midi Integrator 1.0 is fully tested and works as soon as unzipped.

The online description can be found here: http://www.altkeyboards.com/integrator and you can download the Max/MSP source, executable and manual here: http://www.altkeyboards.com/file-cabinet. Midi Integrator is copyrighted and released under GPL3.

A few highlights of Integrator:

· Adds sustain, pitch-bend and modulation controls, via one or more touch-pads or a mouse, to any midi system with a Win/Mac PC .

· Can trigger any note, control command, pitch-bend, or preset action at the touch of a key;

- Converts your PC-keyboard into an auxiliary midi-input controller and keyboard.

· Works especially well with 2-dimensional instruments like the Axis-49 and -64.

· Enables features that are normally considered “high-end”, such as keyboard splitting (parts of a keyboard playing other instrumental sounds), key-modulation or octave-shifting at the touch of an assigned key.

· Extensible with a Max/MSP development system. For example, it can be made fully micro-tonal.

I discovered the need for a midi integration system when building my then-experimental jammer keyboard. I found that programming key-reassignment was an absolute pain, and so I made the configuration table-driven. This proved to be very significantly faster and much more convenient.

Next, I envisioned a host of features needed to push a midi system well beyond the ordinary: mulitple-sustain controls, mouse-controlled pitch bend, key-modulation, and more. I guessed that with a little bit of extra work I could create a system useful to many, and so I put sustained effort into creating a package that could be easily customized according to your needs.  I also created a variety of annotated configuration tables to help get started.

Well, the "little bit of work" turned out to be a "fair bit of work", so I hope many musicians and developers find my system useful. If you think Midi Integrator has merit, please post about it!

MusicScienceGuy

 

Comments

[Ken Rushton]

Hi Michael.

-Axis to play a chromatic B-system layout?
No problem, just code the translation rules into a .Txt file using any editor. I lay this all out in my manual.

-What is the latency like?
It's about zip. The Cycling'74 people have been at this a loooong time. Latency due to bugs in Window's battery-monitoring routine, that's a different story.

- And it looks like this is only for PC.
I have been told that it works fine for the Mac, provided you set up your Mac with the right, free stuff from C'74 gang. Someone said he was having trouble, and I never heard back.

I've grown tired of the interface - it's too busy. I plan to simplify it.
:)

[Michael Sintros]

This looks really interesting! So if I understand correctly, this could be used to allow the Axis to play a chromatic B-system layout? What is the latancy like? And it looks like this is only for PC. Do you know of or are you developing a Mac program to do the same?

[MusicScienceGuy]

Oh, you thanked me - letting me know you were using the tool successfully is thanks enough.
Ken

[Wilba]

Great work, Ken!

I've been playing with Wicki-Hayden layouts using my own utility to map PC keys to MIDI Out... it serviced my jammer needs but was lacking velocity and range. So I finally bought an Axis-49 a few months ago and have been jamming using your previous utility (Axis Tweaker). Then more recently, I rearranged the button caps to what you might categorize as "Strong Piano and Subtle Minor Thirds Colour Scheme" (i.e. Eb,C,A,F# are light/dark blue). I visited your website to check where you put C keys and discovered Midi Integrator was released... great timing for me, as I was almost about to write my own quick hack to get the full range out of the Axis-49 via selfless mode.

Thanks again!

Regards,
Wilba