Android - MIDI Commander

Started by admin, September 20, 2017, 12:34:08 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

admin




http://www.bordero.it/Apps/MidiCommander/

Midi Commander is an Android app that lets you send MIDI messages through an usb-connected MIDI interface. Define the MIDI messages (control change, program change, short sysex message) associated with each button, drawbar or knob, and use them to change patches and control a midi keyboard or similar midi equipment.

It can be freely downloaded from the Google Play:

Midi Commander on Google Play Store
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.bordero.midicontroller


Note: If you are experiencing trouble installing the Midi Commander from Google Play, you can download the latest .apk also here.

Important notes: Midi Commander works on Android devices featuring USB host mode, and can be installed on devices running at least Android 3.2. Some devices support Usb host mode via USB OTG adapters (sometimes root access may be required). Furthermore, the MIDI device connected to the Android device must be class-compliant: in short, the only requirement to the MIDI device is that it can run without specific drivers on the major desktop OSs.

Midi Commander on Google Groups
http://www.bordero.it/Apps/MidiCommander/GoogleGroup.html

Detecting the connected Midi device

With Midi Commander installed, when you connect a MIDI device, you will see a system dialog pop up, asking if you want to use Midi Commander to open the Midi device. Select Midi Commander, the app will open, and the name of the connected Midi Device will be displayed on top of the main page of Midi Commander: you are now ready to start!
Screenshots

Midi Commander Midi Commander Midi Commander Midi Commander
Midi Commander Little Help

Midi Commander is quite straightforward to use. Anyway, here it is a little help on how to use it.
Overview

In Midi Commander you can handle Setups, a set of midi commands that can be issued to any compatible midi device connected to the Android device via USB. A Setup is composed by Buttons, Drawbars, and Knobs.
Tabs

From the main page of Midi Commander you can access two main tabs: Buttons, Drawbars, and Knobs. From this tabs, you can access your buttons' setup. By clicking on a button, you can send to the connected midi device the following midi commands:
Control Change #1
Control Change #2
Program Change
Note On
Short SYSEX message
NRPN/RPN
The two control changes are predefined on types 00 and 32, corresponding to MSB and LSB midi commands, used to change banks in midi devices. However, you are free to set them to any control change type you might need. You can set the midi commands to issue by first activating the Edit Toggle Switch, and then by long-clicking on the button you want to edit (choose the Modify option). You can edit the following parameters:
Name. This is the label to assign to the button.
Midi Channel. The midi channel where to send the midi command (values: 0-15).
Sysex Message. From here, it is possible to define a short sysex message to be issued before the Control Changes #1, #2, and the Program Change. You should use the Send Sysex option from the Main Menu for sending long Sysex messages.
Important Note: Every SYSEX message starts with F0 and ends with F7. You DO NOT NEED to specify these values, that are automatically inserted by the app. Also, the app does not check the validity of the Sysex Message: please, read the Midi implementation chart of the connected midi device to set a correct message. If this field is left empty, then no Sysex message will be issued. More information are reported in the help page of the configuration page of the Button.
Control Change Type and Value, #1 and #2. The first and second control change to issue (values: 0-127). These controls can be enabled on not, by clicking on the corresponding check boxes.
Program Change. The program change to issue (values: 0-127). Also this field can be enabled on not, by clicking on the corresponding check box.
Note On. The Note On message to send. You need to select both the note value (from A to G#), and the octave (from 0 to 8). When not in Edit mode, the Note On message is issued when the button is pressed, and a Note Off message is sent when the button is depressed.
NPRN/PRN. From here, you can decide whether a NRPN or a RPN has to be send. You need to select the values to be issued for CC 99, 98, 6 and 38 for the NRPN message, and for CC 101, 100, 6 and 38 for the RPN message.
Color. The color to be assigned to the button.
Finally, a DPB can be recalled via midi (using an external physical controller). In particular, the first Button is activated (i.e., all the midi messages stored within the button are sent) when a Program Change 20 on midi channel 0 is received; the second Button is activated when a Program Change 21 on midi channel 0 is received; and so on. Remember to put the Midi-In-Mode to either ON or THRU in the Global Settings to activate this functionality.
The Drawbars Tab

This tab has been designed having in mind the Drawbars that can be found on an Hammond organ; therefore, by default, they can be operated top-down (however, you can change its operation mode in the Drawbar configuration page). The Drawbars can be setup similarly to the buttons of the Button Tab to meet your needs. In particular, above the Drawbars you can find a set of 9 Drawbar Configuration Buttons (DCB), and below the Drawbars a set of 4 Toggle Buttons (TB) and a set of 8 Drawbar Preset Buttons (DPB).
By clicking on a DCB you can configure the corresponding Drawbar (the Drawbar right below the button). In particular, the following values can be edited:
Name. The name of the Drawbar. At the current stage of development, this values is stored, but not actively used.
Organ Mode. By checking this box, the Drawbar will operate top-down (min value on top position); by unchecking it, you will have a standard slider that will operate bottom-up (min value on bottom position).
Midi Channel. The midi channel where to send the midi command associated to the Drawbar (values: 0-15).
Max Value. The maximum value the Drawbar can reach (values: 0-127).
Sysex Message. From here, it is possible to define a short sysex message to be issued before the Control Change #1. More information are reported in the help of the configuration page accessed when clicking on a DCB.
Control Change Type and Value #1. The control change to issue when the Drawbar is moved (values: 0-127). This control can be enabled on not, by clicking on the corresponding check box.
NPRN/PRN. From here, you can decide whether a NRPN or a RPN has to be send when the Drawbar is moved. You need to select the values to be issued for CC 99, 98 for the NRPN message, and for CC 101, 100 for the RPN message. Note that the Drawbar controls the value for CC 6 (for both NRPN and RPN), and no values is sent for CC 38.
Color. The color to be assigned to the Drawbar.
The label of a DCB is composed by two parts: the first one is the Control Change number assigned to the Drawbar; the second one is the current value of the Drawbar (this value is shown only if different from zero).

If no message is assigned to a Drawbar, its corresponding DCB will colored black.
By clicking on a TB, you can send to the connected midi device the midi commands associated to the TB; by long-clicking on a TB you can configure it. In particular, the following values can be edited:
Name. The name of the toggle button.
Momentary-Latch. Sets the way the TB will work.
Midi Channel. The midi channel where to send the midi command associated to the toggle button (values: 0-15).
Sysex Message. From here, it is possible to define a short sysex message to be issued before the Control Changes #1. More information are reported in the help of the configuration page of the TB.
Control Change #1 Type and Value On. The control change to issue when the toggle button is pressed (values: 0-127). This control can be enabled on not, by clicking on the corresponding check box. Value On is the value of the CC that is sent when the toggle button is ON; when the toggle is OFF a value of 0 is sent.
Color. The color to be assigned to the TB.
By clicking on a DPB you can recall a particular configuration of Drawbars: The midi messages associated with the Drawbars will be issued all at once (this mimics the behavior of presets on an Hammond organ). In order to store a particular Drawbars configuration in a DPB, do the following:
Choose a configuration for the Drawbars.
Long press on a DPB and choose the Store option. At this point, the button will be colored RED, meaning that the configuration has been stored.

To reset a DPB, just long press on it and choose the Reset option. Note that in this case the Drawbars are all set to 0, but no midi command is issued.
The Knobs Tab

Knobs are quite similar to Drawbars: The main difference is that a Knob can also be pushed, transmitting a Program Change command. To operate a knob, just perform a vertical movement starting from its center.

To configure a Knob, just long-click on it; please, refer also to the help in the knob configuration page.

Similarly to Buttons, a preset can be recalled via midi (using an external physical controller). In particular, the first Preset is recalled when a Program Change 0 on midi channel 0 is received; the second Preset is activated when a Program Change 1 on midi channel 0 is received; and so on. Remember to put the Midi-In-Mode to either ON or THRU in the Global Settings to activate this functionality.
Main Menu

From the menu' button on the top-right portion of the screen, you can access the following functions:
Global Settings. From here, you can set the following parameters:
ID cable. Usually this value can be set to zero. However, If your device is correctly recognized, but the midi messages are not executed, try with different values here (see also Known Issues below).
Midi Thru. This option activates Midi Thru functionality. However, since no midi input activity has been implemented yet, this value is not actively used at this stage.
Display messages. By actyvating this option, you will receive a feedback messages from the app (i.e., when you issue a midi message by clicking on a button in the Button Tab).
Size of buttons' labels. You can set three different sizes for the label of the buttons: Small, Medium, and Large.
Test mode. This option is used for development purposes; leave it always set to OFF.
Handle Setups. From here, you can set the following parameters:
Load Setup. By selecting this option, you can load any previously saved setup.
Create Setup. By selecting this option, you can create a new empty setup. From here, you can decide the number of buttons of the new setup (default: 20 buttons).
Rename Setup. By selecting this option, you can change the name of the current setup.
Duplicate Setup. By selecting this option, you can duplicate the current setup; you will be asked to input a name for the new setup.
Delete Setup. By selecting this option, you can delete any previously saved setup.
Send Sysex Dump. From here it is possible to send a sysex file to the connected device. WARNING The app does not perform any kind of validity test on the content of the file
Backup and Restore. This option allows the Backup (on the external storage) and the Restore (from the external storage) of all the created setups. The backups are stored in a folder name "Midi Commander". To avoid accidental deleting, old backups are labelled with the current date. The Restore option load the backup file named "MidiCommander.backup". Thus, if you want to load an old backup, just change its suffix.
Compatibility

Here, you can find a list of Android Devices and USB-Midi devices that have been successfully tested with Midi Commander. If you tested the app with other devices, please send us an email!!!!
Known Issues

The class-compliant firmware in some MIDI interfaces may have issues (see comment on Clavia keyboard below). This is more likely the case with interfaces that are primarily thought to run on dedicated drivers.
If the connected MIDI device is correctly recognized (its name is correctly displayed on top of the window of Midi Commander), but the midi commands are not executed by the Midi device, try with a different ID cable number in the Global Settings (so far, we experienced this only with a Korg Microkorg XL keyboard). We plan to have the correct ID cable automatically set.
We experienced issues with Clavia Nord Keyboards: sometimes the midi commands are not executed by the keyboard.
Change Log

v3.0 (2013-11-26)
Added Midi Monitoring functionality
Automatic setting of Cable ID
You can now assign to a button a sequence of real-time recorded MIDI messages
You can issue midi commands while configuring a button, for testing purposes (no need to save first)
Now with Android Change Log!
v2.2 (2013-11)
When a new setup is created, you can set the number of buttons (default: 20 buttons)
The current setup can be renamed and duplicated
Added Edit Switch in the Button Tab (now, to edit a button you need to set Edit to ON, and then long-click on the button to modify)
Improved speed for sending Sysex dump files
Added Toggle Buttons in the Drawbar Tab
Buttons can now send NRPN/RPN and Note ON/OFF messages (OFF sent when button is released)
Drawbars can now send NRPN/RPN messages
The operation mode of a drawbar can now be set as a standard slider (min value at the bottom position)
You can set the size of the buttons' label (global settings)
v2.1 (2013-10)
It is now possible to send Sysex Dump (WARNING: the app does not perform any kind of check on the validity of the Sysex file)
v2.0 (2013-10)
It is now possible to send also SYSEX message
Added Drawbars Tab
General restyling of buttons
v1.0 (2013-09)
First Release of Midi Commander

slajgaj

Best Application, i like it!
But i dont know what does mean in setting: "Next chain" ? I linked this with next button, but nothink to do....
What is it?