ShowMIDI - open source midi visualisation application

I just stumbled on ShowMIDI GitHub - gbevin/ShowMIDI: Multi-platform GUI application to effortlessly visualize MIDI activity which looks very handy.

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Thanks keybits!

Very handy indeed, but mostly when you have LOADS of information. I haven’t had any issue using the plain MIDI monitor app, since you can filter what you want to see, but that is good for notes only. Checking CC values can be hard to track. Going nuts on the expression wheel in multiple synths? It’s a hard job using regular monitoring software where ShowMIDI seems like a must!

BTW, Playing the linnstrument wiggling a finger fast will produce so much data that it can choke devices (my Yamaha MEP4 dies all the time due to it), and I suspect that the linnstrument played with 3 fingers wiggling will produce data faster than the standard MIDI DIN clock. Obviously, the linnstrument is MPE, and fully uses 16 channels if chosen to (that’s a hard thing to track). Using the linnstrument as an example is the best thing the creator could show for the need of such application.

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@Martin @markus.schloesser @oldgearguy @Flyweight @jhh @eusti @studiobischof @Electrolove

This may be a helpful tool. It can be very handy indeed for testing out E1 presets, figuring out how certain devices send out their MPE information (I know there are standards, but sometimes it’s quite hard to have the source and destination of MPE react they way I want it to react :slight_smile: ) or just to check if CC or NRPN info is sent the way the documentation tells us.

I’ve asked Geert Bevin if he could add clock information as well as start/stop/continue data, cause that wrecks my setup as well every now and then.

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If can think of other situations where this might be really helpful:

  • Instruments like the Osmose, the LFEwhen addressing OB-6 or P-6, Hydrasynth in MPE
  • when multiple instuments are being played via DAW or Sequencers
  • to verify which sources are producing clock info (you only want one, right)

With the coming of Polyaftertouch and MPE a tool like that will be a great addition to the regular MIDI-Ox

I’m already on the github, asking for sysex :wink:

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Nice, I’ll give it a try. Thanks @NewIgnis!

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I’ve seen your presets. I wonder how many synths do you have! Do you have an Osmose? and what is LFE? I’ve only heard that on mixing terms.

Way too many. So many, I ended up spending too much time updating and maintaining them. First I wanted a bigger room in the house for my studio, but my wife suggested kindly (but firmly) it was a bad idea. I’m glad I followed her advice, now I’m downsizing again, and making more music instead of more fixes!

Now a considerable chunk of the synths have gone into a ‘visible’ reserve (that means, I see them, so can’t forget them, but they are no longer constantly connected), and another 13 will be sold.

LFE = Low Frequency Expander. it was originally meant to add monophonic modulation to synths (mostly Sequential ), but I convinced (and explained how to) the developer a few years ago to make use of the MPE capabilities in the OB-6 and P6. This thing now sits between a MIDI controller and an OB-6. It still receives mono-channel note info from the keyboard, and converts this to MPE multi-channel info, adding per voice modulation to the OB-6.
A standard OB-6 only has 1 monophonic LFO and 2 polyphonic EG’s. With the LFE in between the OB-6 now deals with 1 monophonic LFO, 3 polyphonic LFO’s, a modulation matrix and 3 polyphonic EG’s !!
Same for the P-6. And now also for the OB-X8 (but that one won’t enter my studio :slight_smile: )

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Thanks for the hint :slight_smile:
I was able to compile it without much hassle for macOS 10.15 locally.

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@Kaltar I’m trying out a similar idea as the LFE on the E1, although monophonically. The idea is to add an additional LFO and EG to for instance a Moog Minitaur.
The code works, but it’s not stable yet.

I can relate. When I married my wife, my apt was full of synths, and the visitor’s bathroom was full of them. There was no space for her, and she kindly asked for more space, so I had to choose between sell them, put them on storage or get a divorce. I’ve been married for 15 years… I choose poorly!

I did downsize A LOT, and do not miss having to maintain old synths. I don’t have stuff from the 70’s or 80’s anymore (outside of a Roland Rhythm 77 and a couple of Yamaha MPE4) and even like that, some stuff still needs maintenance (Reminds me: I have to replace some buttons on my JD-800).

That’s what I was thinking. I’ve done some MPE modulations. You can do so much with the E1!

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