if you set the pedals up directly in gp5 you should be able to route them separately to each instrument without having to create any ports.
if you prefer to keep the pedals running through mg3 then follow @Vaultnaemsae 's notes if you are on mac:
or if on windows try one of these:
@kimyo Any hint on how I would set the pedals in GP5? It did cross my mindā¦ And Iāll explore going the IAC driver way.
sorry, i donāt know anything about gp5. but it must be a very common arrangement.
on the morningstar you may want to change cc1 to cc64.
on your software instruments there are often multiple hold options, sometimes called sustain/sostenuto. you may need to experiment. also some instruments fade notes out as they reach a note limit, reducing the number of voices can address this.
You have both the IAC driver way and where to look for your pedal in my post above, but here is where to find any connected MIDI controllers in GP5:
Just click and connect with a wire to whatever you want to control.
@LoFiLeiF So, I tried to go the IAC driver way, but Iām still at a loss to have work.
Here are some screenshots. I created a driver named CC64 and assigned it in MG3 to the MIDI Output of the Sustainer. In GP5 I created a second MIDI In block for the IAC driver and connected it to a brass instrument that Iād like to sustain. The MIDI Monitor of the MC6 editor shows that my second expression pedal assigned to CC64 is receiving MIDI. On the other hand, if I open the MIDI Monitor block of GP5 and put it between the IAC MIDI In and the brass instrument, it doesnāt show any activity. So somethingās not right.
IMHO, this is a rather confusing naming convention, but do whatever works for you. I named the IAC drivers I created āMG3 Chain 1ā and āMG3 Chain 2.ā I actually stopped using the IAC drivers in recent days and started using my audio-MIDI interfaceās MIDI routing capabilities ā but thatās another story.
So youāre more or less on the right trackā¦
Expression pedals are a one-way street ā they donāt receive MIDI, they transmit MIDI. Or, in your case, the pedal transmits MIDI via the MC6.
This is mentioned in a few other posts. The MIDI modules only pass MIDI CC data when thereās a note event occurring.
This all seems like a very confused approach to a rather simple problem.
I made a video recently that shows how to create a freeze/hold layer and switch chains so that you can have two independent layers. Itās a long video but you can use the index points to find the relevant information. Though I didnāt do it in GP5, the information leads the way to setting up switchable layers in any DAW/host.
Thereās also a LoFiLeif video on the topic you can search up.
instead of devoting an exp pedal to sustain, why not use a momentary switch? seems like a bit of a waste.
The reason why this setup isnāt working is primarly because you are feeding your NEO BRASS two (both) MIDI OUT chains from MG3.
If you want to use the Freeze function with NEO Brass here, just remove the cable from the GP5 āMIDI Inā. And let MIDI come in via the āMIDI In(CC#64 Bus 1)ā only.
The setup (renaming) in MIDI studio is completely unnessasary, as far as I can see. But if it helps you keep track of things, there is no need to change anything.
@LoFiLeiF When I looked again at the screenshot of MG3 you shared earlier, I saw what you did and I understand that, from that point of view, āThe reason why this setup isnāt working is primarly because you are feeding your NEO BRASS two (both) MIDI OUT chains from MG3.ā
But the thing is that I need to have all the software instruments connected to the MIDI In block (linked to MG3 and CC11) in order to control their expression/volume. First and foremost. Having the ability to sustain or freeze them (those that can be) is a secondary and useful function Iād like to have. Soā¦ So, I donāt know if thereās a way to do that in MG3. To have both expression and freeze works for all instruments.
If there isnāt, then the only 2 possibilities I can think of are to separate those 2 between MG3 and GigPerformer. That is, assign CC11 expression/volume in MG3 and CC64 sustain/freeze/hold in GigPerformer, or vice versa. If thatās a working possibility.
@kimyo Youāre right. And once I found a solution (if ever) to this current issue, Iām planning to get a single momentary switch and free that second expression pedal which could clearly be used in a more productive way.
@Vaultnaemsae āThis all seems like a very confused approach to a rather simple problem.ā Well, truth is that I am confused, and that Iām spending an inordinate amount of hours flying blind and getting nowhere a lot. So be it.
It definitely isnāt a simple problem for me, although something tells me that it is, that getting sounds to simply sustain has to be a simple thing.
āI made a videoā¦ā Link ?
Yes it is! Just cut off any further (new) MIDI note-on/note-off input to any synth once you have the sound ongoing. That is what you do when you use the SUSTAINER module with the FREEZE function in MG3. First you send a Note-on message to a synth (instructing it to start sounding) and after that you presse the SUSTAINER pedal to make sure it wonāt get any new information to stop that already ongoing sound.
You can use the MIDI Filter in GP5 to the same effect. Instead of using a channel for CC 64 in MG3 you can probably connect your Morningstar expression pedal directly to bypass a MIDI Filter in GP5. Set the filter to cut out everything (necessary), or at a minimum ānote-onā and ānote-offā.
But if you learn how to do this you can just as easy set up a expression pedal in GP5 itself connected to the other output of the Morningstar, and you donāt have to go the extra mile with the double chains MIDI OUTs in MG3.
But how you are going to get to the pairing of these two simple functionalities to each and every instrument you have in your rack independent of each other is beyond me.
You havenāt told us how you activate or select these in GP5 yet.
Link to @Vaultnaemsae video:
@LoFiLeiF First, thanks for your generous response. Iāll look into all you shared and experiment.
As for how I activate each instrument in GP, either a single one or any combination of themā¦ Each of them is mapped to a switch of the MC6 (12 in total over 2 banks). As you can see in a screenshot I posted earlier, theyāre all in a bypassed state to begin with (indicated by the orange bar across them), and I simply activated any of them by pressing its corresponding switch, which desactivate its bypass state. That way I can have a single one play or any number of them simultaneously. And it works well.
āā¦ how you are going to get to the pairing of these two simple functionalities to each and every instrument you have in your rack independent of each otherā¦ā. Well, thatās the puzzle. Since I can get either (expression or sustain) functioning in MG3, depending on which I choose Iāll start by looking into setting up the other in GP.
Maybeājust maybeāif I first take care of not creating any conflict in the choice of CCs and MIDI channel, I can set up a second MIDI In block and also connect it to all instruments, the way MG3 is coming through a MIDI In block connected to all instruments. I figure that this would separate those 2 functions in a way that makes both of them work independently of one another. Or not. Iāll see.
Hereās a screenshot of what one of the MC6 banks look likeāfollowing the visuals in GP, I created a toggle with an orange bar for each switch, which tells me which instrument(s) is bypassed or active (when itās active, the bar disappears).
@LoFiLeiF @Vaultnaemsae @kimyo Updateā¦
@LoFiLeiF, looks like you were right when you wrote āBut how you are going to get to the pairing of these two simple functionalities to each and every instrument you have in your rack independent of each other is beyond me.ā
I tried a bunch of things, including what you and others suggested, to have those 2 (volume and sustain) operate independently in my GP5 second instance that holds all my software instruments, and couldnāt get any to work. That said, I found a workaround. Itās a compromiseāand I still wish there was a way to have those 2 work for all instruments in the same spaceābut it works.
While I kept my first expression pedal assigned in MG3 to the volume of all instruments in the second GP5 instance, what I did about the sustain or freeze function is, first, to identify which instruments would lend themselves to be sustained or frozen in a way that was interesting to me. Then, in the first or main GP5 instance (which also holds in its Global rackspace Helix Native and the 5 guitar presets I use), I created as many separate rackspaces as needed with each holding a MG3 instance with the Sustainer (mapped to a second expression pedal) and one of those software instruments.
So now I can have one of those instruments sustained (or more then one if I put more, which so far I did in one rackspace) while I can solo with any of the instruments in the second instance whose sound lends itself to soloing, either by itself or blended with a Helix Native guitar preset. So, great. This is what I wanted to achieve all along with this part of my work-in-progress of a setup.
Now, to the next piece of this puzzleā¦ Iāve used hardware loopers for quite some time and I want to see if I can integrate a digital one in this setup. I browsed around, a few come up, mainly SooperLooper, Enso and Mobius. The catch is that, for all I see, there isnāt much detailed information on how to integrate them with GP and the Morningstar. In any case, so far Mobius seems to most promising, but letās see how this part unfolds.
PS: Thanks to all those who had the kindness, the generosity and the patience to support me in this (ad)venture until now. I couldnāt have made it this far without it.
before you go down the software road, why not incorporate your favorite hardware looper into your gp setup?
the rme is low latency enough to send audio out to the looper and bring it back in without introducing too much of a delay.
going with a hardware solution would save you the time reqād to learn and configure a software looper. your morningstar pedals could be reserved for other uses.
@kimyo Good point. Iāll see. Someone in the GP forum shared a GP rackspace of Mobius and all the CC# to map its functions. I imported it and it looks interesting. So Iāll experiment and take it from there.
If you do go down the software route, maybe take a look at Circa by Audio Damage. Itās a new item, kind of Enso on steroids. I havenāt had time to dig deep into it yet but it looks quite promising.
Mobius is very capable but I found it rather difficult to navigate the software ā maybe it was just me! 
Itās not really an official release at this moment, but it does function, once you figure it out.
i only gave mobius a brief tryout, but itās logic/methodology did not work for me.
i use ableton for live looping today. long ago i started with a lexicon jamman, also had an electrix repeater for a while. if i were going with a hw solution today iād want 24bit captures, unfortunately thereās not many of those.
on circa, it looks like a capable product, but the how-to videos iāve found so far are uniformly terrible.
Ableton Live is a pretty compelling software option for live looping. I only mentioned Audio Damageās Circa because @Bernard is primarily using GP5 for his rig these days and I think it was released somewhat under the radar, so not everybody is aware of it.
And yeah, totally agreed on the quality of instructional videos for Circa. Iād like to make some vids on using Circa, least of all to teach myself and keep a record of how to use it (for when I forget), but thereās plenty of other stuff on my to-do list at this moment. Anyway, I think itās a worthy addition to the multi-track software looper tools currently available and it will surely get updates for the foreseeable future.
I have a couple hardware loopers and, in the end, I might have to settle with using one of them with my digital setup. Iād rather not, but Iāll see. At this point Iām looking at all the plugin ones, and one thing I wish is that more detailed, step-by-step information was available on how to set them up with a MIDI foot-controller. If and when itās addressed, there are a lot of gaps that a beginner like me simply canāt fill.
which is your favorite hardware looper?
what is its biggest flaw?
are you an ambient/drone looper or a rhythmic one?
the answers may help others suggest the best software option.
