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Topic starter
September 5, 2023 9:20 am
It would be great to have a feature in the midibox to be able to export the midi file to a piano roll and retrieve the new file back without using a DAW.
September 5, 2023 1:59 pm
I'm not quite sure I understand what you mean by "export the MIDI file to a piano roll ... without using a DAW". You can already drag/drop MIDI data out of MIDIBox to a track in your DAW; see this section on the relevant Unify manual page.
After you have loaded a MIDI file, you can drag a copy of the MIDI sequence to your DAW using the file-load button. Just click the button and drag to your DAW. Most DAWs will respond by adding the MIDI data to an existing track or to a newly-created track.
You can also drag the MIDI data to a folder (or your desktop), and a new MIDI file will be created. Furthermore, on most systems, you can also drag .mid files from the Finder/Explorer into MIDIBox; this is basically a shortcut to clicking the file-load button and navigating to the file location. Both of these operations can be done in Unify stand-alone; no DAW needed.
Does this address your concern, or am I missing something?
Topic starter
September 6, 2023 7:21 am
Yes, you can drag a midi file from the midibox to the DAW and then modify it. But this requires that the daw be permanently open with all its functionalities while we only need the piano roll to modify the midi file. In addition, you must load Unify in the Daw with the same sound to hear the modifications you make (or never use Unify in Standalone). Thirdly, when you save the new midi file, you must indicate the entire path on the hard drive so that Midibox finds the new file (since the Daw does not know this one) and finally load the new file into Midibox. Not to mention that you have to mute the Unify Midibox while you are modifying in the Daw otherwise you will hear both sounds at the same time.
It would be so much simpler in the midibox to have a button accessing a piano roll in which we could make all the modifications in real time and with which we could save (or not) the new file with a new name since Unify already knows its location.
September 6, 2023 11:44 am
It would be so much simpler in the midibox to have a button accessing a piano roll
Ah, now I understand. You confused me by talking about dragging. I think what you're asking is "can I add a piano-roll editor to MIDIBox itself, so MIDI sequences can be edited entirely within Unify?"
That has been on the to-do list for some time. I hope to add it eventually.
Topic starter
September 6, 2023 2:06 pm
Perhaps there already exists a piano roll developed in free software, which could simply be interfaced with Midibox.
September 6, 2023 2:49 pm
Perhaps there already exists a piano roll developed in free software, which could simply be interfaced with Midibox.
If you find one, based on a recent version of JUCE, please let me know. I already have something partially built, but please understand that I have MUCH higher-priority problems to worry about first.
Topic starter
September 9, 2023 9:08 am
I found a program that does the job quite well (MidiEditor, Windows-only), it even keeps the path to the file that you drag and drop from midibox and what's more, the sources are available in C++.
The only problem is that you cannot hear the sound in Unify while modifying the midi file in MidiEditor.
This post was modified 2 weeks ago by tjeri24
September 9, 2023 2:58 pm
I edited your post above slightly, to make the link work, and also to point out that MidiEditor is Windows-only. I use it all the time on my Windows PC. It's a shame no one seems to have built it for Mac.
If anyone knows of any similar program for Mac, please share.
September 9, 2023 4:52 pm
If anyone knows of any similar program for Mac, please share.
I don't know of any free app - I'd suggest "Maschine software for hardware" (£59) available here:
https://www.native-instruments.com/en/pricing/maschine-essentials/
This example shows my MIDI workflow with Maschine and Unify:
P.S. It also works well with audio loops and VST instruments:
This post was modified 2 weeks ago by Robert.P
getdunne reacted
Topic starter
September 10, 2023 7:17 am
@getdunne MidiEditor sources are available in C++. Isn't it possible to compile it on Mac to make it an executable?
I'm a PC user, I don't know Mac.
September 10, 2023 12:48 pm
MidiEditor sources are available in C++. Isn't it possible to compile it on Mac to make it an executable?
Possible? Probably. Easy? Probably not. If it were easy, someone would already have done it.
September 10, 2023 12:54 pm
The workflow you want is easy to do in a DAW, by dragging MIDI from MIDIBox to the DAW track, and bypassing the MIDIBox so the DAW can play, loop, and edit the MIDI sequence. When finished, save the edited sequence as a new MIDI file, return to Unify, un-bypass MIDIBox, and load the new MIDI file into it.
This is exactly why we made Unify work inside a DAW as well as stand-alone, so I would not have to re-create all the advanced editing features that DAWs already have.
