MidiFire

by Audeonic Apps

Free-form, modular CoreMIDI signal processing environment for iOS and macOS

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Overview

MidiFire is a powerful tool for routing and manipulating CoreMIDI on your iOS device or Mac. It encompasses nearly all the features of our iOS apps (MidiBridge, MidiBus and MidiVision) into one flexible package (and now for Mac too). Use MidiFire to:

Route MIDI data visually from any CoreMIDI hardware, network, bluetooth, virtual and USB source to any destination quickly and intuitively.
Remap channels, transpose notes and convert poly to mono anywhere along the signal path.
Monitor MIDI events anywhere in the signal chain.
Filter MIDI events at any point in your workflow.
Create your own custom processing modules that you can re-use.
Save, Load and Share your setups in (MIDI) recallable scenes.
Generate and distribute a highly accurate (courtesy of MidiBus) MIDI clock signal.
And much, much more!

All done using a modular user interface where you simply drop and connect MIDI ports and processing modules. Connect them up with a touch of your finger/mouse and then configure how they operate.

Connect in series, parallel, cascade them, split them, merge them and arrange them however you like on the free-form canvas.

MidiFire Canvas with ports and modules

Download

Both applications are available via Apple's iOS and Mac App Stores. Just click on the download buttons below to be taken there right now.

Features

Let's explore some of the features of MidiFire in a little more detail.

Managing Blocks

A 'block' is a rectangular element on the canvas that represents a MIDI port or a processing module. You add blocks to the canvas using the 'Block Menu' which is expanded by pressing the '+' button at top left.

Block Menu

MidiFire Block

Once your blocks are on the canvas, you arrange them according to your preference by touch-holding and dragging them. You can pan and zoom the entire canvas if you wish using two fingers.

Routing

MIDI data is routed between connected blocks, which have a curved green line going between them. To connect up two blocks, you touch/drag from the arrowed 'connector' on each block to a corresponding connector on another block. You must connect the input of one block to the output of another (possibly the same) block, but a block can be connected to more than one block for merging or cloning.

Connected Blocks

To 'break' a connection, just touch-drag between the relevant connected connectors and the line will disappear.

You can also bypass a block using the 'power' bypass button. When bypassed, the block will become more transparent and pass through any events it receives.

When MIDI data is received by a block, it flashes yellow briefly to show data is coming through. A block can also flash red, which means it has blocked an event. You can turn off the flashing if you don't like it.

You delete a block by pressing it's red 'X' button.

If a block can be configured it sports a 'cog' icon. Touch the cog to expand the configuration panel for that module.

Channel Manipulation

The 'Channel Strip' module handles the most common things you would want to do with a stream of MIDI data. Insert this module into the workflow and use the cog button to set the allowed incoming channel, remapped outgoing channel, transpose notes and convert a polyphonic MIDI source to mono.

Monitoring

Drop an 'Event Monitor' onto the canvas and connect it to the output of any port or module. A small viewing window on the block itself shows you the last few events received in concise format.

Press the 'cog' to view all events received in more detail. You can clear the main event list using the 'Clear' button.

Scenes

Snapshots of the current canvas can be saved into recallable scenes. These can be recalled from MidiFire, or remotely via MIDI program change.

Scenes can also be 'merged' into the canvas, so it is possible to build up a library of 'scene snippets' and then re-use them by merging them back when you need them.

Scenes can be shared via email, iTunes File Sharing (iOS), services such as Dropbox or Airdrop. Scenes can be exchanged between iOS and macOS.

Audeonic also provides a 'Scenes Club' where you can browse and install pre-made scenes that we have produced directly within MidiFire.

Clocking

MidiFire includes an implementation of the MidiBus clock generator that can be used as a rock solid MIDI clock source that you can distribute to hardware and other apps.

The clock transport can be remote controlled using MIDI start/stop/continue messages. The clock tempo can be controlled remotely via MIDI messages also: coarse/fine tempo adjust, increment/decrement current tempo and set absolute tempo value.

Stream Byter II

Originally from MidiBridge, the Stream Byter lets you write your own custom MIDI processing modules using textual rulesets. In MidiFire, the original Stream Byter has been extended (hence the II moniker) with oft-requested features like IF/THEN, maths, timing and variable memory.

Stream Byter II Rules

We can only just scrape the surface of the Stream Byter here. The full reference to the rule syntax and semantics is available in the manual.

We're always happy to help you with Stream Byter rules (or write them for you) and MidiFire makes it much easier to share these with you. You can always post/email Stream Byter questions/requirements to us (see 'Support Resources' below)

But wait, there's more!

This resource is just limited to the core fundamentals. You'll find that MidiFire is a very deep application with many details and features that are not mentioned here. Please consult the manual for everything MidiFire can do, or if you want to know if MidiFire can handle a particular job, please do contact us; chances are it can do what you want.

Support Resources

You can examine the full built-in app manual to get the complete picture on the feature set and usage, starting with the fundamentals and working up to the full detail. PDF Version
Tim Webb (@discchord) has kindly produced a tutorial video that takes you through the basics:
We maintain a Development Roadmap and Issue Log - check here for known issues and fixes.
Join us over at the Audeonic Soapbox Forum to post questions (or see if your question has already been answered?) or take part in the friendly discourse.
On twitter - Follow @audeonic
Or you can use good old fashioned email to contact the development team at apps@audeonic.com directly.
Version 1.10 Video - new features
Guitar Sculpting Video - using a MIDI guitar pickup to shape the sound of the instrument
Blue Velvet - a free module for expanding the gestures of a BlueBoard

As more videos, guides and the like come into circulation, they will be added to this section.