Hi y’all,
The Morningstar Editor (and related tools) is great, but didn’t fit the way I like to work. So I wrote a tool that let me keep the config in a file (still JSON, but human readable) and use that instead. This is the first version. I’ve pasted the README.md below. If you are interested in trying it, drop me a message and I will send you a link to the repo.
It is written in Python, so you should be comfortable with running python scripts, and looking at JSON files.
John
MC6ProIntuitive
Configuring the Morningstar MC6Pro via an intuitive config file
- Human editable configuration file
- Named messages allow easy reuse
- Named banks
- Navigator mode: Bank 1 is a roadmap/index bank, and navigating is easy
- Navigator mode allows more than 32 presets per bank
Overview
The Morningstar Editor is great software, but presents a brittle experience. Instead, this package defines a JSON based configuation file. The configuration file is converted to a MC6Pro backup format, and can be restored to the device.
Instead of editing directly through the editor, you edit the configuration file via any editor capable of handling JSON.
You start by backing up your config and converting that into into an Intuitive config.
Human editable Configuration file
The MC6Pro backup files are JSON, but are not human editable. They are large (over 11MB) and all fields and elements are present, even if empty or not used.
The Intuitive format only requires values for non-empty fields and elements. Banks, for example, would only have banks actually in use instead of all banks.
In addition, the format is more intuitive: the top level includes device configuration, messages (which appear deeply nested in the backup format), MIDI channels, and banks.
Messages, MIDI channels, and banks are referred to by name, instead of relying on position or a number.
Named messages allow easy reuse
Named messages deserve special mention: messages are named and defined at top level.
When a preset refers to a message, it only refers to the name. This allows easy reuse of a message.
"presets": [
{
"short_name": "Enabled",
...
"messages": [
{
"trigger": "Press",
"toggle": "one",
"midi_message": "Iridium Disable"
},
{
"trigger": "Press",
"toggle": "two",
"midi_message": "Iridium Enable"
}
]
}, ...
Named banks
With named banks, the bank’s position in the bank list doesn’t matter. It is referred to by name.
This is primarily for Bank Jump messages, and is used in Navigator mode.
Navigator mode
Navigator mode has two aspects:
- it is easy to navigate between banks
- it is easy to navigate between pages in a bank
In navigator mode, bank 1 is a roadmap. The presets for bank 1 are named after banks, and pressing the preset takes you to that bank. Preset C on each bank is set to return you to the roadmap.
In addition, all banks (including the roadmap) bank use the two rightmost presets (e.g. C and F on page 1) for page navigation - page up and page down.
If you define a bank (in an Intuitive conf file) that has more than 24 presets, that bank is broken into two MC6Pro banks, and the page up/page down presets navigate between the two banks and pages seamlessly. This may happen even with less than 24 presets, as the page navigation presets inserted by Navigator Mode count against the total.
Use
Everything is done via the python app mc6pro.py and the Controller Backup tab on the Morningstar Editor. You also have the following resources:
Features.json
This contains all implemented features as a backup file. Convert it to an intuitive config to see the syntax:
python3 -b Features.json Features-Intuitive.json
Demo.json
This is a sample Intuitive config file
Initial Use
- Create a backup of your current configuration in the
Controller Backuptab, usingAll banks (including Controller Settings), say it is namedbackup.json python3 mc6pro.py -b backup.json intuitive.json
The names chosen for the messages are not intuitive, so you should rename them. Also, add the Navigator Mode element if you want:
"navigator": true,
Later use
Now, edit your Intuitive.json file, and make any changes or additions. Then convert it to a backup file:
python3 intuitive.json intuitive-base.json
And load that file via the Controller Backup tab in the editor using Restore your controller presets Note that the MC6Pro will state the file has been modified.
Theory and Development
The heart of the app is a grammar tool. The grammar tool handles JSON grammars. It can parse a grammar into a model (python object representing the meaning), or generate a JSON string from a model.
The backup files (aka base files) have a grammar that is complete. This means all elements must appear, even if they are default values.
The intuitive files have a grammar that is minimal: only non-default values appear.
The backup grammar is defensive: elements that are not yet implemented are coded in the grammar as constants. Getting a value that doesn’t match the constant will cause an error. This happens when someone is using a feature that is not yet supported.
Grammars consist of atoms (int, str, boolean), enums, lists, dictionaries, and switch dictionaries (which allow a little variation in the structure).
There is a pretty comprehensive set of tests. They can be run via:
python3 tests.py
In addition, the tests produce a few base config files, named:
tmp\Empty.jsontmp\Features.jsontmp\Demo.jsontmp\NavigatorTest_Base_Script.json- These should be loaded and spot-checked after changes.
…… I’ve historically worked in the video game industry until we had a mass layoff, recently…… right around that time, I had picked up an MC6 Pro and it was/is my first foray into the world of using MIDI specifically for FX pedals (as opposed to MIDI keyboards and the likes that I’ve used to create songs in DAWs).
)…. So I was thinking, maybe I could just write my own file to upload, without realizing it (at least from what I’ve gathered here) is a lot more complex than that…… point being, I’d love to take a stab at using your tool to try and program my MC6 Pro MIDI controller the way I’d like!
