QuickStarts
Learn everything you need to know about using our apps in our QuickStarts.
Includes all features, controls, along with helpful tips and tricks.
FAQs
Find answers to common questions on MIDIPlayer X, REXPlayer, and the Mac's Audio MIDI Setup utility below.
Every Mac includes Apple’s utility application Audio MIDI Setup (AMS) for configuring MIDI hardware and its connections to your Mac. AMS has two windows, Audio Devices, and MIDI Studio, which is the one we’re concerned with here. By default, the MIDI Studio will include Apple’s IAC, Network, and (as of OSX Yosemite) Bluetooth drivers for MIDI communication (not to be confused with the general Network and Bluetooth settings in System Preferences).
If you have a MIDI interface connected, and any required drivers properly installed, those ports will also be available to connect any external hardware MIDI devices. Simply drag between hardware ports to represent any external MIDI cables you have connecting your devices.
IAC Driver: allows MIDI communication between applications. This should be enabled if you want MIDIPlayer to play to a software destination in the same Mac that does not create its own MIDI connection. Using IAC Driver, MIDIPlayer could play to a stand-alone virtual instrument, or a track in your DAW with your favorite plug-in instrument.
Network: allows MIDI communication over a wired or wireless network to another device, such as another Mac, iPhone, or iPad.
Bluetooth: allows MIDI communication to a Bluetooth device, such as an iPhone or iPad.
Audio MIDI Setup will be located in /Macintosh HD/Applications/Utilities, unless, of course, you have moved or deleted it.
If you're using MIDIPlayer X, use the Window>Audio MIDI Setup shortcut!
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As many as your computer’s RAM will hold. We stopped testing at 1,000!
REXPlayer listens in OMNI mode – it will receive any channel on the selected MIDI input.
REXPlayer assigns the first slice to note number 36 (C2) and goes up chromatically from there.
REX is an audio file format developed by Propellerhead Software, now known as Reason Studios.
REX files can be created and edited only with ReCycle from Propellerhead Software.
Since REXPlayer assigns MIDI notes to the slices, and there are only 128 notes in the MIDI specification (for a single MIDI channel), REXPlayer will only load slices for the notes it has available. At this time, that is a maximum of 92 slices per file.
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Yes! MIDIPlayer X is built upon the Mac’s CoreMIDI technology, so it is compatible with virtually all commercial MIDI hardware and software you might use with your Mac. Simply select your desired MIDI output in the Output popup menu to play to the desired device.
Whereas MIDIPlayer X uses Audio MIDI Setup (AMS) for configured hardware, AMS does not show virtual MIDI connections created by specific software applications.
To play to another MIDI software application, check the application’s MIDI settings to make sure it is enabled to receive MIDI either through the 1) IAC Driver, and/or 2) its own MIDI input.
- Apple’s IAC Driver will send and receive MIDI communication from the vast majority of music software, provided that said software has the ability to send and/or receive MIDI outside of itself. If you select IAC Driver in MIDIPlayer X’s menu, any and ALL applications set to receive on the IAC bus will receive MIDI from MIDIPlayer X.
- Some music software may have a setting for creating/enabling its own MIDI connection separate from Apple’s IAC driver. If such a connection is available, it is often the preferred choice as it will be specific to that application, separate from the “public” IAC bus.
A Standard MIDI File is a file format for exchanging MIDI files between devices. Standard MIDI files typically use the .mid file extension; some applications export them with .midi file extension. Much like .txt or .jpg for text and images, it is a common file format to save MIDI data so that it can be opened by another device or application.
Learn more about Standard MIDI Files at midi.org.
General MIDI, GM, and GM2 are specific feature sets for instruments that bear these marks.
General MIDI 1, or GM, was the original specification; General MIDI 2, GM2, represents an enhanced specification for additional functionality. Though both GM and GM2 have additional feature sets, General MIDI often refers to a common mapping of sounds that provides compatibility between different instruments, such that Acoustic Piano is always program change 1, drums are always on channel 10, etc., such that GM-compatible MIDI files played on any GM instrument should have the correct instrumentation.
MIDIPlayer’s built-in Core Audio synthesizer is GM compatible.
Learn more about General MIDI at midi.org.
One use case for MIDIPlayer X is to reload patch data, stored in System Exclusive (SysEx) format, to synthesizers. This may be to load a specific set of sounds supporting a specific performance, or maybe because the synth had lost its patch data due to a failed battery or similar data corruption.
Short answer is yes, though it depends.
SysEx patch data is often stored in one of two common file types:
- Standard MIDI File (.mid)
- SysEx Librarian (.syx)
MIDIPlayer X will play SysEx data stored in a Standard MIDI File, and can be used to reload data into your desired synth, as referenced by this user and his Roland U-20.
However, MIDIPlayer X does not currently support .syx files.
With MIDIPlayer X v2.3 and later, users of MiX16 PRO v9.5 can remote control key features of MIDIPlayer X from within MiX16 PRO.
- select a MIDI file from your Mac, assign it to a MIDI cue, and play the cue via MIDIPlayer X
- select which MIDI output MIDIPlayer X will play your cue to
- control MIDIPlayer X’s transport controls: start, stop, and reset
- Once a remote message has been received from MiX16 PRO, MIDIPlayer X will turn off AutoPlay and start / stop commands should be made manually, either from MiX16 PRO or in MIDIPlayer X.
As of v3.0, yes. Prior to v3.0, MIDIPlayer X did not have a random or shuffle mode.
It depends. All previous versions of MIDIPlayer X remain available for download in the App Store. However, there seems to be a distinction between downloading and purchasing.
The App Store does allow owners who previously purchased the app to download older versions of the app to run on older versions of macOS.
However, the App Store does not seem to allow a first time purchase of an older version of the app.
So what to do?
- If you do not already own MIDIPlayer X, start at Step 1 below.
- If you already own MIDIPlayer X, start at Step 2 below.
- If you don't yet own MIDIPlayer X, and would like to purchase it to run on an older macOS:
- You can purchase MIDIPlayer X through the App Store on any Mac running macOS 14.0 or later.
- On that Mac, open the App Store app and sign-in with your AppleID. Note you may need to sign out of any other user's AppleID first.
- Purchase MIDIPlayer X. Note you may now want to sign out of the App Store on that Mac.
- Follow the steps below, as you now have "previously purchased MIDIPlayer X".
- If you have previously purchased MIDIPlayer X, and would like to run it on an older macOS:
- On your Mac running the older macOS, open the App Store app.
- Sign-in with the same AppleID through which you originally purchased MIDIPlayer X.
- In the App Store app, go to Account>Purchases.
- If previously purchased, MIDIPlayer X should show in the list.
- Click the download icon and follow the instructions to download the version of MIDIPlayer X compatible with the older macOS that is running.
View System Requirements and Release history here or in the Mac App Store.
This is actually a somewhat complicated multi-part question.
The short answer is that sounds are determined by program changes in the MIDI file and the MIDI device you have selected to play the file to; MIDIPlayer X itself does not play a role in selecting sounds. Read on if you’d like a bit more explanation.
As MIDI files do not contain actual audio data, the “sounds” are determined by:
- Which MIDI device / output is the file playing to? MIDIPlayer X allows you to select any available MIDI device / output to play the file to using the drop down menu. The choices in MIDIPlayer’s menu will be determined by:
a) how you have configured any MIDI hardware in your Mac’s Audio MIDI Setup utility;
b) any MIDI software that publishes a MIDI connection (known as a virtual connection) for you to play to; and
c) MIDIPlayer’s own built-in General MIDI (GM) compatible synthesizer. By default, MIDIPlayer will launch playing to its own synth, but you can change this at any time. - Which sounds is that device using to voice the MIDI data? Once you have selected a hardware or software device, it is up to that device to voice the MIDI data that is in the MIDI file being played. Actual sound selection can be done with MIDI Program Change messages sent by the file, if the author included them in the file, or by manually selecting a sound or set of sounds on the device that you are playing to if the device offers that feature. For MIDIPlayer X’s built-in GM synth, the file must include program changes to select the appropriate sound for each MIDI channel.
Please refer to the instructions for your particular device for information on how to select sounds and/or how it responds to program changes.
MIDIPlayer X’s Built-In GM Synth has the default reverb level set by Apple.
At this time, MIDIPlayer X does not provide any controls to edit the built-in synth. However, the synth can be edited by MIDI CCs sent from any .mid file.
Download the file below, and play it to the Built-In GM Synth to set reverb level 0 for all 16 MIDI channels. Any following files will not have reverb – unless, of course, those files also contain CCs to set their reverb send level.
At each launch, a brand new Built-In GM Synth is created, so the reverb will return next time you open MIDIPlayer X. Keep this file handy any time you wish to set the reverb level to 0.
MIDIPlayer X is a stand-alone application. There is no current plan to make it available in plug-in format.
A Standard MIDI File’s title should be set by the author. The title is a specific MIDI meta message, but setting it properly is sometimes confusing:
- Not all DAWs make it clear where the MIDI file title should be set
- The title can be, but is not necessarily, the same as the filename saved to disk
If not specified properly in the DAW, a Standard MIDI File will look to the first track/region for a name to use as the title. This will often be an instrument name, like Piano or Strings, a default name like Track 1, or whatever the author used as a name for that first track.
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