MIDI Maestro App Beta Thread: BEAST-MODE=ON

Midi Maestro MIDI Maestro Reviews and Feedback
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Just kidding – let’s keep it constructive!

:slight_smile:

Hi and welcome to the thread intended for MIDI Maestro App Beta testers – it’s about time we all got together to talk!

I’ve been having an offline conversation with the Singular guys about (my humble opinion on) what the Maestro has right, what it has wrong, and what it needs to live up to the name and the hype. They’ve been really receptive to my ongoing bitching (it’s kind of my superpower), so now I’m going to share my thoughts here.

And I hope you’ll do the same.

Okay, first, what you already know:

PRO: The MM app supports coding commands and then assigning them – and calling them – by natural language names. So you can build a command that starts the Aeros recording, call it “Start Recording,” and then stack that code onto a command stack on a given switch just by adding the English command, “Start Recording.” Commands are reusable and are part of a library. This is brilliant

PRO: The hardware is “vintage-Apple” spectacular, as good as or better than anything else out there.

CON: There doesn’t seem to be a facility to import command libraries – which is something I’m sure I heard SS talk about at one point.

BIGGEST CON: The MM app ONLY does CCs, nothing else. So it will in no way be of interest the rest of the (non-SS) MIDI world, much less resolve all of my use cases.

Okay, here is a digest of the rest of my thoughts…

If I was directing traffic for the market (not for me, my needs would want a different order of execution), I’d want:

  • Program changes: This is the basic building block of ALL MIDI pedals. Without it, the pedal is a glorified outboard switch for the SS products, and will never catch on outside of our group.

  • 12-16 commands per preset on both step and release: The best pedals do more. The MM should be (and really could be) among the best pedals out there.

  • Sequences: The ability to define a list of commands, and then have the programming step through them when you press a given button. That’s going to require some level of persistence in the programming, I suspect.

  • Notes: You gotta be able to send notes, right? I would suggest start with sending a Note-On on press and a Note-Off (Or Note-x Velocity=0, which is what the BB does right now) on release. It’s simple and flexible, it’s not uncommon, and it’s probably the easiest thing to implement, so it’s relatively low-investment and high return.

  • Command Library Import: If the app supported importing command lists, SS and us users could create/market/share command/control packages for other products, fulfilling the promise they made when they said the MM would come with commands for other products included.

Okay, let’s get a discussion going…

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First thread: What non-SS products would you want to control with your MM?

I would like:

  • Hughes & Kettner MIDI-driven amps (I have a Grandmeister – mix of PCs and CCs)
  • Rack gear: Marshall JMP-1, Rocktron Intellipitch (all PCs)
  • Lexicon reverbs (PCs and CCs)
  • DMX gear (Notes)
  • Atomic Amplifire (PCs, CCs and more)

What’s on your stage that you’d want to control with the MM?

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+1 on the JMP1, and for me, the Rocktron Intellifex.
Pigtronix midi compatible pedals (echolution, Infinity, etc.)
PC commands, definite yes.

And @JoeInOttawa, I thought it already sent note on. Isn’t that how it triggers the accent hits? (see attached, re: Screen #2)

Midi Maestro BB Commands.pdf (33.4 KB)

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I believe the accent hit trigger is CC110, @Phil_Flood. And I had no idea you were a JMP-head!

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When I MIDI sniffered it, it was sending Note ons, because it was set to trigger a variety of accent hits. It’s not triggering the wav within the .sng file. It’s triggering a note in the drum kit.

And, yeah, you know, Texas, Billy Gibbons, JMP.

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Interesting: Were you sniffing the MM, or the BB?

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The MM.

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Undocumented feature! Do you know what note it’s sending?

For the sake of standardization, I consider that implementation a bug. But its interesting that it’s sending a note.

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It’s all on the document I attached to the first reply. In the Accent hits screen, it send C1, D1, D#1, F#2, F#1.

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It looks like they are not calling for the accent associated with the current pattern, they’re calling for the specific instrument. That is deeply weird, given, for example, a Kick is not C1 in the BB itself (I believe it is actually C2 – Note-36). If the MM is going down that low and calling notes directly, it could be a problem, because I’m using C0 through F0 to call custom things like lighting.

At any rate, the app does not support Notes currently, even if they’ve baked them into the provided programming.

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Yes. I thought it was weird to call up a note in the drumkit rather than the Accent hit in the sng, but that is how it came from the factory. And yeah, we are just using different numbering systems, I call midi zero, C minus 2, so midi 36 is C1. But, at least we know the device can call up notes, so that shouldn’t require much programming to allow us to do that on our own.

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Agreed, but it’s not in the app – yet.

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The device has always been able to send note on, note off, and others.

The BB Mode allows a selection of accent hits (clap, tambourine, hi-hat closed, snare, kick) to be played; thus it makes sense to send a Note On command instead of another type of command.

In this sense the BB is behaving like an instrument, which is alright; you could have a Custom Mode that invokes the CC 110 if you want to do a “standard” or “normal” accent hit.

We’re working in PC, Note on, Note off, and Pitch Bend commands into the App.

This and more is coming in a new app version to a phone near you later this week.

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Fantastic! Will there be a list of new functionality? Or are you hoping it’ll be more or less self-explanatory?

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Roland GR-55
Boss GP-10
looping apps

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How can I get the Maestro app for beta testing ?
I own the whole family (Aeros,BB and Maestro) and can’t wait to
unlock their full potention…

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What kind of MIDI commands do they require? Please ad what you know to your part of this list:

  • Atomic Amplifire (PCs, CCs)
  • Boss GP-10
  • DMX gear (Notes)
  • Hughes & Kettner MIDI-driven amps (I have a Grandmeister – mix of PCs and CCs)
  • Lexicon reverbs (PCs and CCs)
  • Marshall JMP-1, Rocktron Intellipitch/Intellifex (all PCs)
  • Pigtronix midi compatible pedals (echolution, Infinity, etc.)
  • Roland GR-55
  • SS Beat Buddy (CCs, MIDI-START, MIDI-STOP)

@Phil_Flood, can you please add what you know about your devices?

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Pigtronix, CCs with values.
Roland GR-55, GR-33 and VG-99 receive PC, CC, and clock
Roncktron Intellifex receives CC, and PC.

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How do you get the app. Anthony indicated I would be on the list

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I would love to test out the app as well… I’m hoping to make MM the heart of my new MIDI rig!