Keyboard (MIDI-to-CV)

Top Row (Instrument)

1. Trig Output Generates a short 10V pulse each time a new note is pressed on a MIDI keyboard.
2. Rel Output Generates a short 10V pulse when the last note is released.
3. Gate Output High output (10V) when at least one note is pressed on a MIDI keyboard.
4. Note Output Voltage that represents the last MIDI note played. 0V is middle C (MIDI 60). 1V/octave.
5. Bend Output Voltage that represents the amount of MIDI pitch bend. 1V/octave. 0V means no pitch bend. Range of this output depends on the Pitch Bend Range setting in the Settings panel.
6. Pitch Output Main pitch output. Voltage that represents the last MIDI note played, with pitch bend. 0V is middle C (MIDI 60). 1V/octave.
7. Mod 1, 2 and 3 Outputs Voltage between 0V and 10V that represents the last value received from Mod 1, 2 or 3 source, as selected from the drop-down menu or as the defined in the Settings panel.
8. Vel Output Voltage between -5V and 5V that represents the MIDI velocity of the last note played. -5V is MIDI velocity 1, 0V is MIDI velocity 64, 5V is MIDI velocity 127.

Overview ⚓︎

This simple MIDI-to-CV module converts incoming MIDI signals into various CV signals, allowing you to control other modules in an instrument patch. It automatically handles the sustain pedal and pitch bend. When multiple notes are pressed in monophonic mode, the module will only play the most recently activated note.

Features such as pitch bend range, modulation sources, or MIDI channel can be configured in the Settings panel, which can be accessed from either the View→Settings menu or the gear icon in the toolbar.

The Keyboard module is always present on the top row of the standalone application and of the instrument plug-in. It cannot be moved or removed.

While the module is called Keyboard, it can be triggered from any MIDI source. For Multiphonics, it makes no difference whether the note source is a traditional keyboard controller, pads, a wind controller or an instrument track in a DAW. However, for simplicity, this documentation describes the module from the perspective of a musician playing notes on a physical keyboard.

Usage ⚓︎

A simple instrument patch will usually connect to the bottom three inputs:

• The Gate output is a gate signal that goes high when a note is pressed on the keyboard. It can be used to control the note duration.
• The Pitch output is a pitch signal that follows the note being played, including pitch bend.
• The Vel output is a velocity signal that converts a MIDI velocity to a bipolar CV signal that can be used to control the dynamics of the instrument.

For example, in an analog synth patch:

• The Gate output will be connected to the Gate input of an ADSR to turn it on or off when notes are played.
• The Pitch output will be connected to the Pitch input of a VCO (such as the Classic VCO).
• The Vel output can be connected to the Vel input of the ADSR to control the note volume, or to a filter’s cutoff frequency modulation input.

Additionally, the Trig output can be connected to the ADSR’s Trig input to retrigger the envelope when a new note is played.

Here is an example of such a basic patch:

In Depth ⚓︎

Note On/Off Section ⚓︎

Gate

The gate signal is low (0V) when no notes are being played and high (10V) for as long as at least one note is playing. It does not retrigger if a second note is played before the first one is released.

If the sustain pedal is pressed while a note is playing, the gate will remain high for as long as the sustain pedal is pressed even if all notes are released.

Trig

The trigger output generates a short 10V pulse every time a new note starts playing, but otherwise remains at 0V. Connect this output to inputs named Trig or Reset to trigger or synchronize modules when a new note is played.

Rel

The release trigger generates a short 10V pulse when the last note is released and the gate goes low. Use this to trigger release effects, such as key-release noises.

Pitch Section ⚓︎

The Pitch and Note outputs are 1V/octave pitch signals, with 0V representing middle C (MIDI 60, 261.63 Hz at concert pitch). Therefore, 1V will be the C one octave above (MIDI 72), -1V will be the C one octave below (MIDI 48), etc.

The full MIDI note range is from -5V (MIDI 0) to 5.5833V (MIDI 127).

Pitch

This is the main pitch output that represents the pitch of the current note with any MIDI pitch bend or MPE glide. This should be used as the main source for pitch tracking. As indicated on the panel, this is the sum of the Note and Bend outputs.

Note

The Note output is a voltage that represents the note that was played on the keyboard, but without MIDI pitch bend or MPE glide.

Since this output does not include pitch bend, it is the best choice to send to a Quantizer module or a Gate + CV Sequencer’s Pitch input. The Bend signal can then be mixed with that module’s output.

Bend

The Bend output is a bipolar signal that represents the current MIDI pitch bend and MPE glide as a voltage. This can be mixed with the pitch output of a sequencer or with a randomly generated pitch to add a human touch when playing with the pitch wheel on the MIDI controller.

The pitch bend depth can be adjusted from the Settings panel.

Modulation Section ⚓︎

Mod 1, 2 and 3

The Mod outputs will convert MIDI controller values to unipolar CV signals; the 0–127 MIDI range is mapped to 0–10V. The MIDI controller mapped to each Mod source can be selected from the drop-down list that appears when clicking on the Mod label or through the settings panel. The MIDI Learn option in that menu lets you assign a MIDI control to the Mod source by moving it on your MIDI controller.

By default, Multiphonics uses the following mapping:

• <Mod 1> MIDI control 1 (modulation wheel)
• <Mod 2> Channel pressure (also called monophonic aftertouch)
• <Mod 3> MIDI control 74 (MPE dimension of control)

The mapping for Mod 1 and 2 will work out of the box on any MIDI controller that has a modulation wheel and that supports channel pressure. If you have a full featured MPE controller, you will also be able to take advantage of Mod 3. Otherwise, if your MIDI controller has control knobs, you can map Mod 3 to one of them, and save your configuration as the default in the Settings panel.

Vel

The Vel output represents the MIDI note-on velocity as a voltage that ranges from -5V to 5V, holding its value until a new note is played.

• -5V → MIDI velocity 1
• 0V → MIDI velocity 64
• 5V → MIDI velocity 127

In many modular synths, both hardware and software, the velocity signal is unipolar, with MIDI velocity 1 at 0V. This is rather annoying when adding velocity modulation to an existing patch: we almost never play notes at MIDI velocity 1, so the velocity output is consistently higher than 0V and the patch has to be re-balanced to accommodate this. With velocity 64 set at 0V, adding velocity has no impact on the overall volume balance of the patch.