How to set 1 to 4 group connection for WIDIs

[@oz.faemine]

Hello. My band uses automatic preset changes on our guitar and bass modelers (the 2 guitar players use a Fractal FM3 each, and the bass player uses 1 Line6 HX Stomp). We also have midi programmed lights for the entire concert via the Stairville DMX-Master I lighting control desk. Each of these devices operates on a different midi channel from the others. The brain of this operation is the Cymatic Audio Utrack 24, which allows us to send a midi signal to any of the devices, but it has only one midi output (does not have midi in). The Fractal FM3 and the Line6 HX Stomp have midi in and midi out, but the Stairville DMX-Master I lighting control desk only has 1 midi input port (does not have midi out). We want to know if with the CME Widi Master (maybe 5 of them in a group) we can connect all 4 devices to the single midi output of the Cymatic Audio Utrack 24, bearing in mind that the Stairville DMX-Master I lighting control desk only has 1 midi input port and does not have midi out. Thanks in advance.

[@CMEPro]

Thanks for reaching out. Basically the compatibility with WIDI Master has one rule. Your device has to deliver power via the 5-Pin Din MIDI Out port. If you are not sure this is the case, or your device only has MIDI IN, your solution is WIDI Jack. WIDI Jack has an external power option. It will always work. You can check the buyer’s guide via www.cme-pro.com/widi-which-device-will-you-connect/ And join our community via facebook.com/groups/cmeprofans The shared knowledge of the community delivers more details about all those different MIDI devices. Hope this helps 🙏

[@porchstringmusic]

I just bought two of these and my question is similar to Mulldruff’s below...I want to set things up right so asking before I start. 3 items for me: iPad (Needs only to send PCs to other two items from an app); Synth (receive PCs from iPad AND send note data only to VoiceLive3); VoiceLive 3 (receive PC from iPad AND note data from synth). (With old school cables this little love triangle requires both a splitter and a merger.) I understand I’ll need a routing app. The question is, do I set each of these up individually to pair with my iPad FIRST or do I let them connect to each other first and then connect each or the pair as a unit to my iPad? If the latter, will I see both units in iPad for routing purposes, or will I see only one unit in the iPad? Since basically I need THRU and MERGE functionality I’m thinking I will need to see each individually in the routing app? EDIT: The fine folks that makes these answered my support request. Solution for me: Yes, I needed to pair each unit one at a time instead of letting them automatically pair to each other. They then suggested MIDIMTTR for routing. BUT I find MIDIFLOW to be the answer to getting the routing connected. There are 3 simple connections in MIDIFLOW: (1) from OnSong to MIDI Master #1 (connected to keyboard), then (2) OnSong to Midi Master #2 (connected to VoiceLive3), and lastly (3) MIDI Master #1 to MIDI Master #2 (to send note data from keyboard to VoiceLive). All works great. I did NOT do any channel filtering in MIDIFLOW, I just set up the connections. I determine the channel to send on from within OnSong. Very happy here. I will practice with this to put it through paces, but so far, no problems after quick testing.

[@CMEPro]

Thanks for sharing this. Very informative!!

[@stevesheroan4131]

When I attempt to follow these steps, I keep getting requests from each device to to pair from my phone, which messes this process up immensely. If I ignore the request, then I can’t configure the device, and if I accept the request it just becomes a never ending guessing game as to what order to do things in and when to tell my phone to “Forget This Device” to get a green light on one device and a blue on the other. I gave up on setting up a central-to-two-peripherals because I just can’t follow the instructions as described above without having my phone interrupting the process with pairing requests. Why is the phone in this video not being interrupted with requests to pair?!

[@CMEPro]

Thanks for reaching out and sorry to hear you encounter these challenges. I assume you use a mobile device running iOS 16 (or higher). Apple introduced auto-connect after initial pairing as per iOS16. This can indeed be confusing. After setting your your group via WIDI App and downloading the group settings to your central device, you will need to delete your WIDI devices from your general Bluetooth listing and/or turn Bluetooth off entirely on your iOS device. After this, you can power on your WIDI devices and the group will automatically connect as you’ve set it up. The central device will turn turquoise and the peripherals will stay blue. Hope this helps: www.cme-pro.com/widi-master-start-guide-bluetooth-midi/#tve-jump-1834add1fd2

[@stevesheroan4131]

@@CMEPro Excellent, I think I understand the procedure better now, with that explanation. One more question, can I remove a WIDI device from a group without using the “remove group settings” feature? I understand that I will have to have it plugged in to put it back into the “undefined” column, but is that all I need to do, or do I need to redownload that group after “moving” the device into that column? Asking because I have one device that I was unsuccessful in adding to a group (as described in my initial query), but it is still showing up as a peripheral in that group. I’d like to remove it from that group without messing up that device’s functionality in another preexisting group where I’ve already been using it. I hope that’s not too confusing, my apologies.

[@CMEPro]

@@stevesheroan4131 group settings are only saved in your central device. That is why you will need to delete the group and configure a new one if you want to change peripherals.

[@dogmatronic]

Simple question - I have 2 Widi masters. I want 1 to send messages from a hardware device Helix HX to the input of another hardware device Boss SY1000 and then the other to go from the midi out of the Boss SY1000 to the Bluetooth midi in on an iPad. Q1 if the two Widi’s are paired on the helix and the boss would that disable the possibility of the Bluetooth connection on the iPad? Q2 if it is possible how would the I differentiate between the the two Widi’s on the ipad?

[@CMEPro]

It is not that simple. If you pair two WIDI devices, they will no longer advertise for the connection with your iPad. There are two options: 1. Add WIDI Uhost or WIDI Bud Pro to your iPad and create a WIDI group consisting out of three WIDI devices. 2. Create multiple connections with your iPad by forcing both WIDI devices to the peripheral mode. Next you can route the MIDI messages via an advanced MIdI routing app on your iPad. Feel welcome to join our community. There are many people who can assist you in setting it up: facebook.com/groups/cmeprofans

[@HansAlbers10000]

Hi want to connect my Qunexus (Uhost) to my IPAD and Polyend Tracker (WIdi Jack) at the same time. Is this possible and how do I need to configure it?

[@CMEPro]

You can get yourself a MIDI routing app and force each WIDI device to peripheral mode via WIDI app. Next you can manually pair each WIDI device with your iPad. Another option is to add a WIDI Uhost to your iPad and create a WIDI group of three devices. Hope this helps: www.cme-pro.com/bluetooth-midi-basics-central-peripheral/

[@WaynePryce]

I dont have an ipad but i have 3 widi connectors and need help

[@CMEPro]

You can refer to the online start guide: www.cme-pro.com/widi-master-start-guide-bluetooth-midi/ You can drop a post in the Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/cmeprofans You can reach out to support: www.cme-pro.com/support

[@mulldruff]

Sorry, but this leaves more questions than answers. I have an Ipad App called Songbook+. I play midi-files within that app. My Sound engine is a Ketron SD2. As a Guitarist and Singer, I use Voicelive 3 as a Midi Pedal. I need to send the Midi Notes to the Ketron and the Midi Cc and PC to the Voicelive. I can only adress one Bluetooth device from the Ipad app . When I use "Group", will I be able to adress both Devices over a single connection? Is the " Group-Name" displayed as the Bluetooth device? The user manual leaves me alone with my questions. By the way, the recognizian of the bluetooth device is very slow and needs a lot of reboots on my Ipad. The creation of the group does not work at all on the ipad and I had to do it on my android device!

[@CMEPro]

WIDI groups are strictly for WIDI devices. When you create a group, you create one central device and multiple peripherals. If you want to create a group with your iOS device as the central device, you will need a MIDI routing app. This has nothing to do with WIDI. There are a few things you can do upfront: - Update the firmware of your WIDI devices www.cme-pro.com/press-release-cme-introduces-new-firmware-ios-android/ - Ensure you understand the difference between a WIDI group and connecting multiple Bluetooth device to your iPad www.cme-pro.com/public-beta-test-ios-widi-app/ - Read the WIDI app manual www.cme-pro.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/WIDI-App-user-manual_v05_en.pdf If you still have questions, try to locate answers via our support: www.cme-pro.com/support/ Or our community: facebook.com/groups/cmeprofans Also, if you desire direct support on your specific use case, it might be best to reach out to us via the form on our support page. I am pretty sure we can sort this out with you on short notice. Hope this helps 🙏

[@mulldruff]

@@CMEPro Thanks a lot for your detailed answer. I will work through that homework you gave me! 😀

[@mulldruff]

@@CMEPro Just to tell you, that I solved this challenge with the App "Midiflow" on the Ipad. I created a virtual input device routing to both WIDI-Master outputs. Your tip was the solution. Thanks a lot. 😀

[@porchstringmusic]

@@mulldruff Hi there - Did you pair your WIDI Masters together first, or did you pair each to your iPad first???? I’m in similar boat and want to know where to start.

[@mulldruff]

@@porchstringmusic Hi, when I received the CME-MidiMaster I had to update the firmware first. This was not succesful with the ipad app. I did id later on on my, android phone. Songbbok+ could not root to two different midi-devices. So I downloaded the app midiflow to the ipad. Next I paired both cme adapters with the ipad bluetooth under bluetooth settings. Now you have to create a "virtual bluetooth device" with "midiflow" i. e. VMIDI routing to the two bluetooth midi adapter. Midiflow has to run in background to make the virtual port available. In songbook+ under settings - Media-Player you than select VMIDI as your Midi-output-device. You need to give the voicelive 3 a different midi channel addres. I used ch16. But to be honest, this configuration was not very reliable and the sound jitterd sometimes! I changed my mind, and converted all midi-files to mp3. Now I connect my ipad with usb only to the voicelive 3. This works almost perfect for me without a hassle! Songbook+ is able to play a mp3 in sync with the midi-file. I invested almost half a year to find out how to create perfect midi-files that switches the effects on the vl3 automatically. I used a shareware daw from yamaha. I wrote a detailed handout for that, but in german. I could translate it to english, but I ask 10€ for it, because you cannot find this info on the internet.

[@robertobellomo9078]

Hello i want to connect my Kemper with Morningstar MC8 so not sure to understand if i have to use 2 midi master or 1 midi master and 1 widi jack.thanks!

[@CMEPro]

WIDI Master requires power from your hardware device via MIDI Out. WIDI Jack adds an external power option. If you are not sure about your devices, you can check out the compatibility list as created by the community: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1L6D2lUkcX0NEHpzp0vw5aAtAIsHANeUOCCH_fXtwyKI/edit?usp=sharing If your devices are not listed, you can go for the mix option to ensure you are more flexible. Hope this helps too: www.cme-pro.com/widi-which-device-will-you-connect/ 😀

[@AaronMcClintock]

Drag and drop isn't working for me on either the Android or iOS apps. Do I need to hook up a mouse to do this?

[@AaronMcClintock]

Nevermind, I figured it out! You have to tap and hold for it to select the WIDI adapter from the list and drag it.

[@keilcorcoran5037]

@@AaronMcClintock gahhh thank you!!!

[@glenesis]

Hi. I have a WIDI Bud Pro and 4 WIDI Jacks. Would I set them up exactly as you did using WIDI Masters?

[@CMEPro]

Yes. Please update all firmware and do a factory reset one after another via WIDI app. Next, force them to peripheral mode one by one. After this power them on all at once and create the group with 1 central WIDI device and 4 peripherals Please refer to page 14: www.cme-pro.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/WIDI-App-user-manual_V06_release_en.pdf And if you need support, we are here to assist via www.cme-pro.com/support/#request_support_section

[@glenesis]

@@CMEPro Thanks! I needed the support page.

[@RadekPilich]

@@CMEPro Guys, it's very difficult to find any documentation on how the routing / patching is done. How do I configure, which outs go into which ins and vice versa?

[@CMEPro]

@@RadekPilich communication is bi-directional between 1 central WIDI and its max 4 peripherals. This means you can go 1-to-multiple or multiple-to-1 with a maximum of 4 peripherals.

[@cornsockgabz]

I am trying to connect 6 WIDI jacks two my MacBook which is running Monterey and have them WIDI jacks set to "force peripheral". I can see that my MacBook is recognising all 6 units when they are plugged in, but it is only allowing 2 WIDIJacks to connect simultaneously. As I cannot use the WIDI app for my MacBook, is there anyway I can have these all sending MIDI signals to my laptop at one time as this is essential for the reason I purchased these. Is it possible to have the WIDI jacks sending signal to each other in 2 groups or more so I can get the signal to be recognised on my MacBook as 2 separate groups, which are in fact sending the MIDI out from 3 WIDI jacks in each group together?

[@cornsockgabz]

Essentially I want to know how I can get the signal from 6 WIDI jacks, plugged into 6 separate units to send to my MacBook.

[@CMEPro]

@@cornsockgabz normally, a MacBook with Bluetooth 5 can process up to 7 connections. If that is not the case, maybe try to remove other Bluetooth devices from your general Bluetooth listing and check if your Mac has Bluetooth 5. WIDI Bud Pro can bypass the built-in Bluetooth of your mac. It can handle up to 4 connections via WIDI groups. This blog explains it in more detail: www.cme-pro.com/public-beta-test-ios-widi-app/ Hope this helps

[@cornsockgabz]

@@CMEPro The only devices I have ever connected to my macbook via bluetooth are the WIDI jacks. It recognises them all if switched on simultaneously but only allows me to connect any 2 at one time. When trying to connect via the MIDI studio or via the MIDImttr app it just tries to connect and then can’t ad infinitum when using a third. My macbook pro is 2022 using the M2 chip and uses bluetooth 5.0, so it seems there may be a software update needed on your end for the M2 as I am running the fully updated (ver 1.3.7 I think) firmware on all WIDI jacks, and encountering this issue whichever way I try it. Is there no other solution to get them to connect besides getting 2 WIDI hosts to run 2 separate groups at all as this will be quite expensive given that they should be able to run them all without these?

[@CMEPro]

@@cornsockgabz thanks for sharing. It is hard to say from here, but I guess it is a Bluetooth connection cache issue on your macOS side. You can find instructions to clear it via the quick start guide: www.cme-pro.com/widi-jack-start-guide-bluetooth-midi/#tve-jump-1834a9b7eee If this does not work, reach out to us via www.cme-pro.com/support so we can investigate your M2 issue and find the solution together. Adding two WIDI Uhosts or WIDI Bud Pros can be a solution, but your mac will not be able to name the devices differently. Another option might be to work wired on one side and add WIDI Thru6 BT and MIDI Thru5 WC in a daisy chain and wirelessly transmit the incoming signals via the WIDI Thru6 BT. Hope this helps 🙏

[@cornsockgabz]

@@CMEPro Have cleared the cache and its now working perfectly 😁, thanks for the speedy response