External¶

The external sound engine can be used to sequence and control external devices using MIDI and/or MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression). Parameters on MIDI devices can be morphed and modulated by the PolyPulse, and slides and microtuning are supported using MIDI pitch bend messages.

Sequencing¶

Similar to the Quad engine engine each of the four pulses can be separately configured. The middle numpad column sets the output mode and the right numpad column sets the channel:

output sets what protocol is used to transmit note data to the external device: MIDI or MPE.
channel sets to what MIDI channels notes and pitch bend messages are sent.

Numpad mapping:¶
`shift`	`-`	`output_1`	`channel_1`	`files`
`edit`	`-`	`output_2`	`channel_2`	`samples`
`no`	`-`	`output_3`	`channel_3`	`FX`
`yes`	`-`	`output_4`	`channel_4`	`settings`
`pattern`	`note_list`	`cue`	`morph`	`clock`

Custom tunings and slides¶

To support custom tunings and slides in Note lists the PolyPulse sends pitch bend messages to retune notes to the correct pitch. If output is set to MIDI this is only supported if polyphony is 1.

pitch bend slides sets if pitch bend messages are sent to create slides.
pitch bend range needs to match the pitch bend range as set on the device that will be sequenced by the PolyPulse. Ideally this is set to 48 to support slides over the full range of human hearing. In MPE mode the range is fixed at 48.

Velocity¶

As the loudness of notes in a note list is set in decibels it needs to be converted to a velocity (0-127) when sequencing MIDI devices:

min velocity (0) sets the decibel value that maps to velocity of 0. If notes are triggered with a loudness softer than this value a velocity of 0 is sent.
max velocity (127) sets the decibel value that maps to velocity of 127. If notes are triggered with a loudness louder than this value a velocity of 127 is sent.

MPE¶

In MPE mode each note is transmitted on a separate MIDI channel. This allows for polyphonic slides and polyphonic custom tunings but comes with the downside of using more MIDI channels.

The amount of channels used in MPE mode is set by the tracks’ polyphony parameter. If the MPE zone is set to low and polyphony is 4, this means channel 1 is the main control channel and notes are sent on channel 2-6. If however the MPE zone is set to high, channel 16 is the main control channel and notes are sent on channel 11-15.

Note

Using both MIDI and MPE modes on a single track is not thoroughly tested and might result in unintended behavior. Consider using either MIDI or MPE on a single track.

Controlling parameters¶

Up to 12 parameters (that can be morphed and modulated) can be used to control parameters on external synthesizers using MIDI control change messages. For each parameter the following can be set:

MIDI channel: 1-16 or 0 to disable.
MIDI control change: 0-127.
a label to indicate what parameter it controls on the external device.

On the screen the parameter name is adjusted to show the channel, CC number and the label.

Note

Modulators assigned to the external sound engine parameters can currently not be triggered by note or reset.