MIDI Integration — Windows

MetaGrid Pro sends MIDI messages to software instruments and DAWs on your PC through the virtual ports MetaServer creates. The plumbing — port creation, port naming, the toggle for each DAW — lives in MetaServer's MIDI Ports page. This page covers how to drive those ports from your iPad on Windows: which actions, which objects, and what's different from Mac.

How Ports Get Created

MetaServer 6 and later creates every enabled Metasystem - … virtual port automatically via the modern Windows MIDI Services API. No additional software is required when the underlying Windows MIDI Services components are already in place. On most Windows 11 installs they are; if the native ports don't show up after installing MetaServer 6, see Native Windows MIDI Services Setup for the manual install steps to enable them.

MetaServer 5 and earlier depends on LoopMIDI to provide virtual MIDI cables; you create the ports in LoopMIDI and pair them with MetaServer in the MIDI Ports tab. The walkthrough lives in the legacy section of MIDI Ports.

If a port you expect is missing in your DAW, check the MIDI Ports tab in MetaServer's Setup window first; on legacy LoopMIDI installs, also confirm LoopMIDI is running and the autostart toggle is on.

MIDI Actions

A button macro can fire any of the standard MIDI message types:

• Send CC — Control Change on a specific channel and CC number
• Send Note — Note On / Off, optionally with a sustain duration
• Send Program Change — Program Change for instrument selection
• Send Pitch Bend — Pitch Bend value
• Send Aftertouch — Channel pressure

Each action picks a target port from the list of enabled Metasystem ports. Combine multiple MIDI actions in a single macro to send chord-style or layered messages.

MIDI-Specific Objects

Some grid objects are MIDI-native and don't need explicit Send-MIDI actions:

• MIDI Faders stream CC values continuously as you drag
• Pads send Note On / Off
• XY Pads drive two CCs simultaneously from a 2D surface

These objects bind to a port + channel + CC pair (or note number) directly in their inspector — no macro action setup needed.

Windows-Specific Notes

• Digital Performer requires the port to be named exactly METASYSTEM - DP - IN (uppercase, exact spaces and hyphens). The DP .dpkeybind file references this name verbatim. With MetaServer 6 the port is created with the correct name automatically; on LoopMIDI you must enter it manually.
• Apple iTunes must be installed for the iPad's USB transport to work — it provides the iOS device drivers. MIDI traffic from MetaGrid Pro can still travel over Wi-Fi without iTunes, but USB connections will fail without it.
• Some Windows DAWs (older Cubase versions especially) cache MIDI port names in the project file; if you switch from LoopMIDI to MetaServer 6's auto-created ports, you may need to reassign the MIDI input in the project once.

Hardware MIDI

Coming soon. Direct MIDI output to hardware controllers and external instruments is on the roadmap. Today MetaGrid Pro talks only to the software ports MetaServer manages; a hardware-MIDI bridge is in development.