Some strange MIDI input behavior regarding octaves

Help, Support & Bugs
1

I haven’t gotten very deep into this yet, but Renoise seems to mishandle octave of its midi input.

One way to replicate and visualize:

  • Install loopMIDI
  • start a new song, so you know the table is clear, no transpositions or routings present
  • route the first instrument’s MIDI output to a loopMIDI virtual MIDI wire, no sound sources needed
  • route the second instrument to receive from that same virtual MIDI wire, no sound sources needed
  • make sure Renoise listens to your MIDI keyboard and play the first instrument - note how Renoise’s MIDI monitor and the virtual keyboard shows the note you’re playing and the note an octave down

You can further extend the chain to the third instrument, just set the second one to send to another loopMIDI port and the third one to receive from that same port. Now you’re playing three octaves at once. You may now load a sound source that follows MIDI note pitch to the third instrument, set its input to the second loopMIDI port and play three different octaves by changing the instrument you’re playing with the same MIDI keyboard key.

I’ve noticed before that I have to transpose an octave up to get the same octave than in another MIDI host. Somehow it’s as if Renoise would transpose all its MIDI note input an octave down. F.ex. Reaper plays a drum synth with my keyboard’s pads straight away, where in Renoise I need to set transpose to +12st. This breaks all MIDI interoperability regarding noteons between Renoise and other gear where noteon pitch is relevant.

Anyone noticed anything like this before?

2

Read to the end of this thread:

3

I think this doesn’t really explain this behavior. The midi note number is the same regardless how Renoise displays it.

4

Above you have an octave corrector “Oct” that also affects MIDI input, apart from the alphanumeric keyboard. Just change the number.

5

Oh great, thanks, I didn’t realize that affects MIDI!

I’m still confused about how this all works - the MIDI note is the same, but that represents different pitch in Renoise than in every other daw, so apparently internally DAWs don’t work with MIDI note numbers with VSTs.

I get it that the devs wanted to avoid minus octaves, even though any other sign (like S for sub or something) could be used and those octaves are rarely used anyway. Having MIDI note input behave like any other software by default would clear up the confusion. But yes, that setting on the top bar does make this a lot easier than setting this up in all VSTs separately.

I bet a lot of people get baffled about this, hopefully they find this thread if they do. Thanks again, Raul, you’ve been very helpful!

6

The same thing happened to me a long time ago! :grinning:

Ultimately it all comes down to changing that value.