Vindor

a MIDI wind controller http://vindormusic.com I bought an ES2 in 2021 and did nothing with it.

Aug'2023: start with simplest possible setup: connect to MacBookPro, which plays sample sounds. (For extra credit, simultaneously play a loop.)

• I don't think I even got started

Will Apple's Audio MIDI Setup be key? https://support.apple.com/guide/audio-midi-setup/welcome/mac

Jan20'2025 start over

• help pages online: https://vindormusic.com/help-2/
• charge (if light doesn't turn red, you might not have the cable pushed in enough); wait until light goes off again.

Jan25

• turn on: light should be green
• blow - makes sound from its little speaker, though still rather quiet
• going to try this old article (2018-11-21) How To Connect Midi Keyboard Into Garageband
• connect vindor to mac - both are usb-c
• launch GarageBand - won't start! Go into Mac-AppStore, install update. Now it launches, starts downloading sounds/etc, takes me to Project page
• go into GB's Settings then Audio/MIDI: it says 2 MIDI inputs detected?!? And the 'MIDI Controller' pulldown gives me 'None' choices.
  • but up in the Devices menus, 'Vindor' is available as an Input Device, pick that. Pick MBP Speakers as output.
• blow - no sound.
• article section says to create an Instrument Track. Unclear to me what it means.
• I click the New Project button, not picking a template. It gives me a prompt about type, and I pick Electronic.
• There's a Library of sounds on the left, I pick "Bright Synth Brass". I blow, hear nothing, but there's a little input indicator/slider that wobbles when I do. I can also drag it to the right, but when I blow it goes back to 0 and wobbles there.
• I launch the "musical typing keyboard" and hit some letters - they light up on the keyboard, but I hear no sound still.
• if I drag that earlier slider to the right, and bring back the typing keyboard, and hit keys, now I hear them.
• more noodling -> ah, I wasn't blowing hard enough!
• I also search the library of sounds and find 1 Saxophone, so I pick that. Blowing has new sound now.
• a reddit thread links to a Rotary sound set from OrchestralTools, which seems to be free (and includes a Baritone Sax voice). I create an account. It looks like I can't just download a sound, I need to download their Sine player app, then use that to download the sounds.... is it a plug-in for GarageBand?
• download it, launch it, hit the Licenses window, Rotary (and other free instruments) is there, hit the Download button. It asks me for a destination for downloads, and I pick the Content folder down within "Application Support". Maybe I end up copying the files from there directly, or is there an Import function in GarageBand that I use to import from that folder?
• update/meta: mucking with an new voice is a tangent, but since that a big motivator, I figure that if I can get that in the system easy/early, it will add motivation when I hit bumps....

Feb03

• open the SinePlayer content/samples folder, the Bari sax... there's a folder for each of Close/Spot/Tree, those are explained here, I'll pick Tree; the 2 file extensions are .otmeta and .otarc
• the GarageBand sounds are in /Library/Application Support/... (not in ~/Library/) - aif, wav
• I can't find any way to convert SinePlayer otarc sounds to GarageBand, or anything else like that.
• it smells like there's only a controlled set of patches/etc available
• actually, Audio Units seem to be the path
• also, found the "Sound Packs" pane in GB, and found a "Jazz Hustle Sax 01" Loop - this isn't a voice, but a loop which people just paste into a song? Ewwww.
• so giving up on this tangent, returning to the existing sax voice.

Feb04

• back on the voice tangent, because had idea - try SinePlayer along, no GarageBand
• it works! except super quiet.....
• it smells like the Vindor is the issue, because even when I blow steady/hard, the little meter in SinePlayer only goes up to ~20%
• went into Vindor config, calibrated volume to +60 (the easiest), now the SinePlayer meter goes up to ~70%
• not crazy about the voice, feels too high and choppy. Need to play with more SinePlayer settings (range slider? Main-vs-Dyn?)
• (Feb05) ah, yes, it's because I had the staccato "articulation" selected - the "marcato/long" is much better. (I was just using the screen-keyboard to test this, not the Vindor.)

Feb17

• Vindor+SinePlayer. Too soft again. Finally Restart the Vindor. Now better (and getting the marcato/long voice). So success-milestone!
• Switching Vindor between 4-octave and 2-octave.
• I can't seem to play the couple notes below low-D either way (the Vindor fingering chart goes down to B). (Which involves the 2 right-pinky keys. The upper one works fine for D#.
• Is it the Vindor, or the voice, or what?
• Heh, it's been so long I can't even remember the bari range at the very bottom, I remember having multiple right-pinky keys, but I can't remember the detail!
• this page says the normal bottom is C, though some have a 2nd left-thumb key to go down to A. I don't think my horn had that.
• unplug Vindor from laptop, so using its own speaker. Still can't play the bottom notes, so smells like maybe the key....
• ask on an old Facebook post of theirs
• start again after waiting awhile - had to restart (reset) Vindor again, set Air/volume back up. Playing weirdly wrong notes.
  • launch Mac Vindor app
    • Firmware = "5"
    • System -> Update firmware -> pick file I had downloaded -> (wow easy) -> firmware = 7
    • Apply, Quit; in SinePlayer turn Vindor driver back on (under Options).
• now getting the low notes
• play Vindor while iMusic is playing a song - works - milestone2!
• launch GarageBand - when I blow it plays both the bari sound and whatever voice is selected, together! I'm always lost in GarageBand I can't find those loops I found last week....
  • ah, View/ShowLoopBrowser, pick one
  • ah, pick Audio Track instead of MIDI Track, then View/ShowLoopBrowser, pick one. Adjust its volume down at the bottom of the Loop pane.... now can play the Vindor/bari over that - milestone3!
  • there are infinite loops in there (not really) - the filters on the list are handy, but I can't see how anyone (a) finds something other than by name, or (b) remembers it (other than saving to the 'Heart' list....)