MIDIplanes



What is MIDIplanes ?

MIDIplanes offers six 2D-planes to easily send MIDI messages with the mouse. Each plane allows you to send two MIDI messages simultaneously, one for the X axis and one for the Y axis. The types of messages generated, as well as the MIDI out port and the MIDI out channel are entirely configurable.


How does it work ?

To generate MIDI messages, simply click on a plane and start moving your mouse. If you hold the Control key at the same time, the Y axis will be locked. In the same way, holding the Shift key will lock the X axis. MIDIplanes also offers a lot of keyboard shortcuts to set or to move the axes.

You can open the settings window by clicking on a plane with the right mouse button. There, you will be able to define the appearance of the plane, as well as the MIDI messages that it will generate. Each plane, and even each axis, can send MIDI messages to its own MIDI port and its own MIDI channel. Four types of MIDI messages can be sent: aftertouch, polyphonic aftertouch, control change and pitch bend.

MIDIplanes also offers 8 slots for snapshots. A snapshot memorizes the position of the axes in the 6 planes.


How to use MIDIplanes ?

Directly with a MIDI synthesizer
MIDIplanes lets you select the MIDI ports to which the messages are sent. You can connect a synthesizer directly to these MIDI ports. For example, I have been using MIDIplanes with the Nord Modular from Clavia. Its modular architecture allows you to create elaborated patches that will evolve in time, and every parameter can be assigned to a MIDI controller.

Through a virtual MIDI device
You can also route the MIDI out ports selected in MIDIplanes to the MIDI in ports of any other MIDI program (sequencer, softsynth, etc...). A way to do that is to use a virtual MIDI device such as Hubi Loopback Device. For example, I use MIDIplanes to drive the parameters of Granulator. Granulator is a real-time, fully MIDI-controllable, granular synthesizer. I use a plane for the density / duration parameters, one for the filter cutoff / resonance parameters, etc...


Download

Click here to download MIDIplanes. You just need to unzip the file and the program is ready. Make sure you read the documentation (the MIDIplanes_doc.txt file).


What's new ?

New in version 1.1

  • added "Center" button to center the axes in all planes.

  • added "Random" button to set the axes to random positions.

  • added the possibility to take and recall snapshots of the planes.



    • What is next ?

    This is the version 1.1 of MIDIplanes. Here are some features that could or could not appear in the next versions:

  • mode to use the 2D planes for 4 controls as for a vector synthesis joystick

  • user-definable increments for the axes

  • add automatic moves for the axes