Quick Links
The MKey User Interface
The MKey User Interface sports only two options. On the left hand side of the plugin, there are two icons: a diskette, and a cross.
The diskette button is used to load in the key map files that define what function has been assigned to each key on your keyboard. When you click it, you will be presented with a file requestor. Simply open the key map file that you wish to use.
Tip: By default MKey will attempt to use a key map called 'default.kmp' in the directory that the MKey.dll resides in. If MKey does not find a default.kmp file, it will use a built in key map designed for UK keyboards. To have MKey always load your preferred key map, simply save it as 'default.kmp' in the MKey directory.
The button with the cross on it is a 'panic' button. This will cause MKey to stop strapping keyboard events when it is toggled. The panic button is different to the Caps Lock in that the Caps Lock button merely tells MKey how to handle incoming keystrokes. The panic button disables MKey. If things seem to be misbehaving, try clicking the panic button. When MKey is in panic mode, the button will be highlighted. Click it once more to re-enable MKey.
Using MKey
When the Caps Lock button is off, keys you press on your keyboard will behave as normal. Wen you toggle the Caps Lock key to on, MKey will convert your key presses into MIDI notes.
It is unlikely that all of the keys on your keyboard will act as piano keys, some may have no function whatsoever, and others may have other purposes. This very much depends on the key map you are using. Some keys have special functions that cannot be changed by the user. Obviously the Caps Lock key is one of these, but in addition the CTRL, ALT, and Num Lock keys are all reserved. In the case of the Num Lock key, it is simply a dead key and cannot be used by MKey. The CTRL, and ALT keys however can be used to adjust the MIDI velocity of your playing.
Tip: To play notes with a soft MIDI velocity, hold down the CTRL key. To play notes with a hard MIDI velocity, hold down the ALT key. To play notes with a medium velocity, release both keys.
Recording MKey
Not all hosts allow for recording MIDI output from VST Plugins. I am working on adding a record buffer to MKey so that it can record MIDI events so that you can export your playing to your host. In the mean time, ModuLR suggested a cool workaround (the explanation is for Tracktion, but this would be equally relevant for most sequencers) - over to ModuLR:
- Install MidiYoke
- Download and place Thalamus in your plugins folder
- When you get Tracktion loaded, go to your settings menu. Insure that you have enabled the midi input and output for MidiYoke. As you probably know, MidiYoke can provide up to 8 midi ins and outs. I only use one, "MidiYoke NT: 1" -- both the in and out must be enabled.
- Load your project.. and insure you see the MidiYoke Midi-In floating around on the left side of the screen (disconnected).
- Create a new empty track in Traction.
- Select your new track, and set it's destination output to your MidiYoke device. In my case it's labeled "Midi Yoke NT: 1"
- Place MKey as the first filter on that track.
- Place Thalamus as the second filter on that track (behind MKey). You shouldn't have to adjust Thalamus at all, but you can check the input and output tab in Thalamus to make sure the sendmiditohost/receivemidifromhost boxes are checked. I believe it's the default though.. so no worries.
- Now grab the MidiYoke Midi-In and drag it towards the track you want to record on (you'll see the arrow stick to the track). DO NOT DRAG IT TO THE TRACK WITH MKEY.. as it will cause a feedback loop in all likelihood (although I can't verify that).
- Make sure your Caps Lock is on, and press the record button using your mouse.. play your melody on the keyboard... and it'll record it on the track you've selected. BTW, End-to-end is enable in the control panel for the MidiYoke Midi-In.
Known Issues
There are a few problems with MKey, some of which I'm working on solutions for, and others which I cannot fix. The current list of known problems are:
- Some key combinations do not work, such as 'r', 't', 'y'. This makes playing chords difficult. I think this is unresolvable, as it seems to be a low level keyboard thing. My only suggestion is to use MChord.
- Holding down a key, and tweaking the UI on some plugins causes temporary lock ups. This is not an MKey bug, but I may be able to work around this issue.
- You can't load more than one MKey at the same time. This is obvious really, but I am working on a version that will allow multiple MKeys to be used.
- It is a bad idea to load the Keymapper whilst you have an MKey active in your sequencer.