Troubleshooting
If something goes wrong.
Controller not detected
If the right-hand end of the help line - the strip along the bottom of the window - names your pad, then MIDIpad is reading it. If it says No controller detected instead, work down the list.
- Check it's a supported pad: a DualShock 4, DualSense, an Xbox pad over Bluetooth, a Switch Pro Controller, or any other gamepad the system recognises. See Controllers.
- Confirm the system sees it. Check the system's Bluetooth menu, and check the USB cable actually carries data and isn't a charge-only one. If the system doesn't list the pad then MIDIpad can't either, so re-pair it or charge it and try again.
- Xbox pads: use Bluetooth. Wired Xbox controllers don't turn up as standard input devices on macOS. They work when paired over Bluetooth. Ask Microsoft as to why.
- Reconnect while MIDIpad is running. MIDIpad detects new connections while it's running. Unplugging and replugging, or switching the pad off and on, usually fixes the connection.
- Restart MIDIpad. Quit it fully - tray icon → Quit MIDIpad - and relaunch.
If none of that works, Help → Send Feedback… sends me a diagnostics snapshot and I'll take a look.
MIDI output failed
If the bottom strip says MIDI engine not responding or MIDI output failed, MIDIpad's MIDI ports have stopped working. Quit and reopen MIDIpad. If it keeps happening, let me know with Help → Send Feedback….
No sound in your DAW
MIDIpad makes no sound of its own. First check the instrument is reacting at all: play, and watch the stage. If the chord wheel or the dial doesn't move, the problem is the controller - see Controller not detected. If it moves, the problem is between MIDIpad and your DAW. Continue below.
Routing checks
- Is the right input enabled in the DAW? Chords arrives on MIDIpad Chords and drums on MIDIpad Drums, which are two separate ports. Most DAWs list MIDI devices in their settings with a switch per port, and some want the port enabled and assigned per track.
- Is the track armed or monitoring? A track can receive MIDI and still make no sound unless it's record-armed or input-monitoring. Watch the track's input meter - if it flickers when you play then MIDI is arriving and the problem is in the instrument or patch.
- Was the DAW open before MIDIpad? Some DAWs only scan for new MIDI ports at launch. Restart the DAW with MIDIpad already running.
- Check the channel filter. Where Chords arrives depends on Chords channels: the strings are on channels 2-7 under MPE, 1-6 under Multi-channel, and everything is on channel 1 under Poly aftertouch, Single channel and in Demo Mode. Drums arrives on channel 1 in Demo Mode and in single-channel mode, on channels 2 to 4 - one per drum - with MPE, and on 1 to 3 with Multi-channel. Set the track to "all channels" to test.
- Is the synth listening to what MIDIpad sends? Notes have velocity, and Chords sends its decay as channel pressure, so a patch that ignores velocity and maps no pressure can come out near-silent on soft strums. Flick hard as a test, then try a plucky, velocity-sensitive patch. For Drums, use a GM-mapped kit, or check where the notes are pointed in Drum notes and channel.
Channel filters in Demo Mode
Demo Mode sends everything on channel 1, so a track filtered to channels 2-7 for the per-string setup won't receive anything from MIDIpad. This also happens when the demo's 20 minutes of the full version run out partway through playing.
It makes sound, but it sounds wrong
If Chords comes through but every note sounds half-open or permanently bright, your patch is almost certainly treating CC74 as an offset. MIDIpad sends CC74 as an absolute value that starts at 64, which is what MPE synths expect. Map it as a position, or filter CC74 out of the track in your DAW.
Stuck notes
Long notes are usually normal. A string's Note Off is only sent when its energy has drained, and a low string played fast takes longest, more so with String sustain up or with a patch that has a long release of its own.
Test it first: pull L2 all the way in. If that silences the note then nothing was stuck.
Panic! At the MIDIpad
Instrument → All Notes Off (⌘.) releases everything MIDIpad has sounding and sends All Notes Off on every channel it's touched, across both ports. It works as a MIDI panic for everything connected to MIDIpad.
Genuinely stuck notes
On quit or any output change the app releases everything it sent and then sends All Notes Off.
If a note does hang in your DAW:
- Use the DAW's panic, or MIDIpad's, above. Most DAWs have a MIDI-panic button or menu item that sends All Notes Off to their instruments.
- Check the synth's own holds. A sustain-pedal CC from another device, your synth's arpeggiator or latch mode, or a long effects tail can all look exactly like a stuck note.
- Report it. If you can reproduce a stuck note caused by MIDIpad, use Help → Send Feedback… and tell me what you were playing. Help → Copy Diagnostics puts the same snapshot on the clipboard, and Help → Reveal Log opens the log file. If I can reproduce it I can fix it.