From my computer, how do I send MIDI out of my controller’s MIDI out port, or out of the USB MIDI out? For example, if I plug my launchpad into my computer and fire up Ableton Live, I can select “Launchpad Pro Output” as the MIDI device and send notes from Live out through that launchpad’s out port. If I try the same with my Yaeltex controller, no MIDI comes out. I use this in my own code, to send my sequenced notes out the Launchpad’s MIDI output.
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Hello @mike !
I am not totally sure I understand what you mean but if I got it right you want to route MIDI coming out of your computer through the USB port to your controller, and send it unchanged to your MIDI OUT port?
If this is the case, hopefully the MIDI MERGE section of Kilowhat’s preferences can help you achieve this.
You can route USB incoming messages to the USB OUT or MIDI OUT ports, and the same with the messages coming in through the MIDI IN port, you can send them out via USB or MIDI OUT. Just toggle your desired merging options in Kilowhat’s preferences and send the configuration to the controller 
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I don’t think the merge would do it. I’m sending MIDI to the controller to turn the lights on and off, and I don’t want to echo all that to my synths.
You can think of Hachi as having three components: the controller (Launchpad or Yaeltex), the computer (Raspberry Pi or my dev Mac), and the midi interface. this is pretty much the same as a typical Live setup, where I’m just replacing Live with my code.
The Launchpad is a controller, but it’s also a MIDI interface: you can address the MIDI out directly and send separate messages from what you send TO the launchpad. When you use it with Live, you can use it as a controller, but you can plug the MIDI out into your Bass Station or whatever and play it from Live. Same thing with Hachi – I don’t need a separate MIDI interface, I can just use the Launchpad’s out.
It sounds like you haven’t put that option in your controllers. Which is fine – I can use a separate MIDI interface, but it makes the setup more portable if I don’t need to. Consider this a feature request especially since my Yaeltex has such nice DIN5 ports – the Launchpad has those crappy 1/8" MIDI ports and the cables always fall out.
Another workaround is I guess I could use the merge function and send controller messages on ch 1 and 2, and then put the synths on other channels and address those there.
While we’re talking MIDI DIN outs, is the THRU hardwired to the IN? if not, it’d be a little bonus if I could use it as a second out.
Yeah!
The idea with Kilowhat is that it can be a bit tedious (for now) but we think it’s quite powerful.
You have the option to set each control to send and receive messages to USB and/or MIDI OUT (port routing), to whatever MIDI channel (channel routing).
You can set any port and channel you want for the lights to listen to as well, they can even be different to the port/channel combination for the buttons, if you wanted to.
So I see two main roads:
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Without a MIDI interface, using the MIDI MERGE feature routing USB IN -> MIDI OUT, I guess the only way would be channel routing, so the synth ignores the USB messages meant for the lights of the controller, because they’re on a different channel.
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With an interface, you could use the MIDI IN to MIDI OUT merge option in your controller to pass data from the computer to the synths, and also control the synth with the controller, and set the lights to listen only to USB messages. All of this, by port routing the controller.
Routing channels and/or ports give you different ways to implement this.
MIDI THROUGH is hardwired to the MIDI IN port.
Please tell me if I’m being clear!
Yes, I understand. I got it working using the thru function, preserving channels 1 and 2 for the controller and the others for output to synths.
Please consider it a feature request, to have the MIDI outs directly addressable and visible as separate USB midi ports/devices. I’m sure others would find it useful too, considering it’s fairly common on midi controllers.
thanks!
I actually never thought of it as a possibility but it might not be that hard, depending on if the MIDI library allows me to make two instances using USB.
I’ll move this post to feature request then!
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