mbira

I am trying to hard code the device that I'm using with midiout. I need to use the device name and not port as the ports change in my system. I am just trying to use one called Max 1. I also tried to write "from Max 1" but that just turned the midiout object orange. Not sure what I'm doing worng and I didn't see any examples using device (as opposed to port). Any help would be appreciated!

Hi folks,
I am trying to hard code the device that I'm using with midiout.  I need to use the device name and not port as the ports change in my system.  I am just trying to use one called Max 1.  I also tried to write "from Max 1" but that just turned the midiout object orange.  Not sure what I'm doing worng and I didn't see any examples using device (as opposed to port). Any help would be appreciated!


how-to-hardcode-midiout-device

Did you use quotation marks (necessary for any port name that is more than one word)?

Being on mac, I would rather use IAC bus instead of "from Max 1".

Also if You want to communicate with other software which store

midi ports in preferences, it makes more sense as IAC driver is allways there.

from/to Max ports get created onla when Max starts...

You can write a port name as argument in midiout but as Christopher said,

names having space must be quoted like "IAC buss 1", "from Max 2"

Being on mac, I would rather use IAC bus instead of "from Max  1".
For me it has been unreliable.
Also if You want to communicate with other software which store
midi ports in preferences, it makes more sense as IAC driver is allways there.
from/to  Max ports get created onla when Max starts...
You can write a port name as argument in midiout but as Christopher said,
names having space must be quoted like  "IAC buss 1", "from Max 2"


Thanks folks! The quotation marks worked great. Also-thanks for the tip on using the IAC buss. I am sending about 10 channels of MIDI from Max 1 and I was having some issues of dropouts where there was a lot of data going in to the DAW. I will try the IAC and see if that gives me better performance.

Thanks folks!  The quotation marks worked great.  Also-thanks for the tip on using the IAC buss.  I am sending about 10 channels of MIDI from Max 1 and I was having some issues of dropouts where there was a lot of data going in to the DAW.  I will try the IAC and see if that gives me better performance.


If you have a lot of traffic, instead of using IAC Buses you may consider to create your own virtual MIDI Ports in Max.

Just put one of the following messages in a message object.

Don't connect it to anything, just click or bang the object.

(again, use quotation marks for names with spaces)

You can create as many virtual ports as you like and name them as you like.

You can create only in or out ports to avoid the "automatic echo" of the IAC buses (= less traffic).

You can also delete the default "from" and "to" Max ports if you want.

You find a description in the Max manual under "Using Max with Other Applications"

Your Max application must get started before all others, otherwise the virtual ports would not be available system-wide. Or re-scan the system if an application allows it.

Just put one of the following messages in a message object.
Don't connect it to anything, just click or bang the object.

; #SM createoutport "My Port 1" CoreMidi
; #SM deleteoutport "My Port 1" CoreMidi
; #SM createinport "My Port 1" CoreMidi
; #SM deleteinport "My Port 1" CoreMidi
(again, use quotation marks for names with spaces)

You can create as many virtual ports as you like and name them as you like.
You can create only in or out ports to avoid the "automatic echo" of the IAC buses (= less traffic).
You can also delete the default "from" and "to" Max ports if you want.

Note:
Your Max application must get started before all others, otherwise the virtual ports would not be available system-wide. Or re-scan the system if an application allows it.


Hey guys I'm in need of help here. I am completely new to the whole max thing and my college has a module on it. I have decided to make a guitar effects processor controlled by a wii remote (dated I know). All the tutorials I have found are outdated and I'm really really stuck. I have managed to connect the wii controller to the computer via osculator and I have routed the button values and acceleration values to max but thats as far as it goes. PLEASE PLEASE can someone save me here? ps I am willing to pay you like $20.

Thanks for the tip, Peter. Can you tell me: what is the difference between using the "from Max 1" and creating a new coreMIDI output? Are they different technology or drivers or something?

Fern-I recommend starting your own forum post so that others will see your specific question since it is totally unrelated to my original question.

Thanks for the tip, Peter.  Can you tell me: what is the difference between using the "from Max 1" and creating a new coreMIDI output?  Are they different technology or drivers or something?

Fern-I recommend starting your own forum post so that others will see your specific question since it is totally unrelated to my original question.


Can you tell me: what is the difference between using the "from Max 1" and creating a new coreMIDI output?

The difference is just the name. "from Max 1" is as good as "MBIRA 1". If you need a lot of virtual ports you may prefer to give them meaningful names (you don't need "to ..." and "from ...") and you don't always need in- and out-ports.

There is a technical difference to the IAC bus. With each IAC you automatically get an input and an output. Under certain circumstances this can increase the MIDI traffic in your computer. That's why I like to call the IAC a "MIDI Echo".

Thanks for the clarification, Peter. Is there a way to monitor the throughput of the MIDI stream being sent from "from Max 1"? I know I can monitor the MIDI itself, but is there a way to see how much bandwidth is being used? I don't know enough about the bandwidth limits of MIDI on one channel to know whether I should be splitting my output into multiple ports or not....So I suppose my questions are: what is the bandwidth limit that we want with the midi virtual port, and how can I monitor that to see how close I am to that limit?

Thanks for the clarification, Peter.  Is there a way to monitor the throughput of the MIDI stream being sent from "from Max 1"?  I know I can monitor the MIDI itself, but is there a way to see how much bandwidth is being used?  I don't know enough about the bandwidth limits of MIDI on one channel to know whether I should be splitting my output into multiple ports or not....So I suppose my questions are: what is the bandwidth limit that we want with the midi virtual port, and how can I monitor that to see how close I am to that limit?


MIDI channels don't play a role for bandwith, they are just different numbers sent over the same line.

Wikipedia tells me, that the MIDI 1.0 standard works at a fixed rate of 31,250 baud and that we can send a maximum of 3,125 bytes per second. But this is for hardware only. In software (virtual ports) you can send as fast as you can, the limit is the point where your computer or your MIDI target freaks out.

I made a short test on a MacBook (mid 2012) and the current Max version:

An [uzi] object sent Program Changes to an IAC-in Port and at the IAC-out the number of messages and the time from start to end got measured. I could reliably send 17,000 messages at [uzi] speed, which is the fastest we can do in Max (apart from multiple [uzi]s ) Travelling time was between 100 and 130 ms. When I started a new shot before the previous one was finished, the stream got damaged. Interesting: I could not do the test with the default virtual Max ports. There seems to be a kind of MIDI loop protection implemented, which is a good thing. Have not tried with custom virtual ports.

Taking about a third of my test speed, I think 5,000 messages at constant rate during 100 ms should be safe. 500 messages in 10 ms. I would not go much higher, just to make sure that an additional sweep on a pedal doesn't spoil my whole stream.

In your case I suggest to start with one or only a few virtual ports, whatever makes sense for your application. If you experience unacceptable delay or see too many fast messages on the target side, you may think of additional ports.

I made a short test on a MacBook (mid 2012) and the current Max version:
An [uzi] object sent Program Changes to an IAC-in Port and at the IAC-out the number of messages and the time from start to end got measured. I could reliably send 17,000 messages at [uzi] speed, which is the fastest we can do in Max (apart from multiple [uzi]s ) Travelling time was between 100 and 130 ms. When I started a new shot before the previous one was finished, the stream got damaged. Interesting: I could not do the test with the default virtual Max ports. There seems to be a kind of MIDI loop protection implemented, which is a good thing. Have not tried with custom virtual ports.

Taking about a third of my test speed, I think 5,000 messages at constant rate during 100 ms should be safe. 500 messages in 10 ms. I would not go much higher, just to make sure that an additional sweep on a pedal doesn't spoil my whole stream. 

In your case I suggest to start with one or only a few virtual ports, whatever makes sense for your application. If you experience unacceptable delay or see too many fast messages on the target side, you may think of additional ports.


How to hardcode midiout device