MIDI and MPE
It might not make sound, but it talks a lot.
Chords sends everything it plays on the MIDIpad Chords port, open from the moment the app runs.
Energy and brightness
- Energy, how much each string has right now, goes out as channel pressure. It rises when you play the string, holds under a finger, climbs under a shake and falls as the string drains.
- Brightness goes out as CC74, the brightness control most MPE synths listen for. It rests at 64 and rises from there. Where you strike and where your finger moves sets it.
Both are sent just before each note, so a pluck arrives with its level and brightness already set.
MIDI outputs
Chords channels, in Settings → MIDI and in the Instrument menu, picks which type of MIDI output MIDIpad Chords sends. MPE is the default.
| Mode | Channels | Energy | Brightness |
|---|---|---|---|
| MPE | Master on 1, one string per channel on 2-7 | Channel pressure, per string | CC74, per string |
| Multi-channel | One channel per string | Channel pressure, per channel | CC74, per channel |
| Poly aftertouch | Everything on channel 1 | Poly key pressure, per note | One CC74 |
| Single channel | Everything on channel 1 | One channel pressure | One CC74 |
MPE
MPE sends each string on its own channel alongside a master channel. The zone announcement and the message-by-message account are in the MIDI reference.
Multi-channel
Multi-channel sends one string per channel on channels 1 to 6, with no master channel and no MPE announcement. Use it for one synth per string, with six tracks each filtered to one channel, or for gear that reads channels but has no MPE support. Leave the port's MPE switch off in your DAW for this one, or the DAW may treat channel 1 as a master channel and lose the low string.
Six String channels rows appear under the setting when Multi-channel is picked, one per string from the low string up. Each string can go out on any channel from 1 to 16. Strings on the same channel arrive as one instrument, the way Single channel works, with one pressure following the loudest and one CC74 following the brightest. Put the low three strings on channel 1 and the high three on channel 2 to get a bass track and a chord track from one chord.
Poly aftertouch
Poly aftertouch keeps the per-string energy, as polyphonic key pressure keyed to each note. A synth that reads poly aftertouch gets each string's energy without MPE. Brightness becomes one CC74 for the whole instrument, following the brightest string.
Single channel
Single channel sends what a plain MIDI keyboard sends. One channel pressure follows the loudest string and one CC74 follows the brightest. Pick it when in doubt, or Poly aftertouch when the synth supports it.