Looking for help programming microtonal Midi plugin

[Khyam Allami]

Hello all,

I'm looking for someone to help me programme/create a Midi plugin that will allow the use of microtonal scales - and more specifically have the ability to change the scales or alter their tuning on the fly (midi mapping etc...).

MIDI is preferred over Max because I'd like to be able to run it in any DAW and apply it to any VST Instrument. But particularly for use in Ableton Live for live performances.

Can anyone here help? Or refer me to someone who can?

I'm a musician/composer, recording engineer/mixer and record label owner/manager. Working on/with contemporary Arabic music.

I've been trying to solve this problem with software (not hardware) for 10 years to no avail. Figured it's time to take the plunge and try to create the solution instead of searching endlessly for workarounds.

Any and all suggestions would be much appreciated.

Much respect to all on this forum who are pushing the boundaries of music making!
Khyam

[zeropoint]

alt-tuner ?

does that not do what you want ?

http://www.tallkite.com/alt-tuner.html#buy

[auto-lock]

dont forget to post here https://cycling74.com/forums/

[Khyam Allami]

alt-tuner ?

does that not do what you want ?

http://www.tallkite.com/alt-tuner.html#buy

It only works in Reaper. Not practical for live performance unfortunately. Need something that's just plain and simple MIDI, if it's possible.

[Khyam Allami]

dont forget to post here https://cycling74.com/forums/

Thanks for the tip!

[zeropoint]

alt-tuner ?

does that not do what you want ?

http://www.tallkite.com/alt-tuner.html#buy

It only works in Reaper. Not practical for live performance unfortunately. Need something that's just plain and simple MIDI, if it's possible.

OK....I don't know enough about it but there appears to be a VST wrapper available for it now for Windows or you can run it in a VST host and pipe the midi via the IAC bus. But you have probably looked into it more deeply than I.....

There are some extremely knowledgeable, experimental cats on this forum who might be able to help... if you haven't visited it before:

http://electro-music.com/forum/forum-147.html

good luck !

[Sevish]

Dear Khyam, I've been making microtonal music in Ableton Live for a few years now.

You are asking for a MIDI plugin that can retune any VST to a microtonal scale (presumably through pitch bends). I'm afraid you will run into some issues this way. The problem is that pitch bend is per-channel monophonic, so if you need to tune 2 notes at the same time on the same instrument, then it won't work. It is possible to make it work for monophonic lines only, but for my usage that would be unacceptable.

There is a Max for Live MIDI plugin called "Retune for Live" which will do what you want. You might give that a try.

Otherwise, you might try another approach entirely, by using VST plugins that have built-in support for microtonal scales. That way, you can tune each synth up to whichever tuning you prefer. I have been curating a list of such plugins, and you might find it useful:

http://xenharmonic.wikispaces.com/List+ ... re+Plugins

When you have found a VST that you like, it will probably need .scl or .tun files with the tuning data. You can find lots of these online, or produce your own with Scala (free software). I even have a small selection of Arabic and Turkish maqam tuning files on my website, and I can send you a link if you're interested.

Best wishes,
Sevish

[Tagor]

if you want o learn about maqam, i can suggest this one
https://dubsahara.wordpress.com/maqam/d ... tun-files/