How to: Use an external keyboard with INSERT

[Watchful]

Let's get the bad out of the way first: Waveform's documentation doesn't seem to really cover using external MIDI equipment with the DAW. But it's actually super-easy to do.

Here's the scenario: you just bought the latest Korglandaha D9D383 61-key subtractowavetable FM ubersizer, and you've got its USB connection connected to your computer. You can see it in your MIDI devices, and you can get is audio to play in a track.

If all you did was follow the usual directions, you have an audio track to hear the output and a MIDI track to send information to the keyboard. Two tracks for one device.

But you can actually do this in one track.

Under the Waveform utility plugins, drag the Insert plug in onto your track of choice.

Clipboard02.jpg

Under "Name," call it whatever you want. In my photo, I've got a Montage so that's what I named the instance of this track.

Under Send Device, click the name of your keyboard.

Under Return Device, put in your audio interface (mine shows up as Input 1+2).

Now, you can put MIDI in the same track, and it will output like a software plugin--right out the same track.

If your keyboard's driver allows separate audio channels, you might see them listed in the Return Device section. If so, you can drag this insert to other tracks and pull out the audio for just those, allowing customized effects plugin to affect just those channels.

It's a really capable plugin, and probably most of us have no idea it's even there since it isn't documented anywhere.

It also works with hardware effects processors, stomp boxes, and more, letting Waveform control all of your physical hardware.

And yeah, you can load up numerous instances of it on different tracks to control different hardware devices simultaneously. Just change the Name (to be organized!) and the Send Device.

If you have a vintage MIDI 5-pin-only piece of hardware, remember that you're not getting audio over that. You can sure still use this, but your Send Device will be your MIDI interface, and the audio interface will receive the audio back. This is probably instinctive, but thought I'd mention it.

[vitocorleone123]

I use the insert for my fx chain. Insert had a lot of issues during the dev of the new engine (I kept posting about it), but they seemed to have worked it out and I’ve had no issues with the release version.