Use Cases

The first steps

Perform these steps to set up Konfyt and get going:

  1. Specify paths in Settings and let your instrument directories be scanned to fill the library.

  2. In the Ports and Busses screen, assign a client to the MIDI input port. Access to ALSA hardware can be gained by using the command a2jmidid -e -u It is also useful to add this command to the External Applications list so it can easily be run next time.

  3. Test MIDI input by watching the MIDI receive indicator at the top right or by selecting Show MIDI Messages at the console and watching the console.

  4. In the Ports and Busses screen, connect the audio bus(es) to system output or JACK clients.

  5. Add a SFZ or soundfont layer to the patch and test your audio.

  6. Remember to enter a project name and save often!

Example with ZynAddSubFX and Ardour

Konfyt doesn’t attempt to do everything itself but works in harmony with other JACK aware applications. This example shows how Konfyt can be used in combination with a stand-alone synth application and a plugin host.

  1. Create a new Konfyt project, connect the MIDI input port, verify that you receive MIDI and save the project.

    Take note of the project path. If you forgot, you can quickly find it by clicking the Project Directory button in the Filesystem tab on the left-hand side of the Konfyt window.

  2. Launch ZynAddSubFX and select or create a desired preset.

  3. Save your ZynAddSubFX session (File->Save All Parameters…) to your Konfyt project directory as “zyn_lead.xmz” for example.

  4. In Konfyt, navigate to the saved file in the Filesystem tab, right-click on it and select Add Path To External App Box (Relative to Project).

    The External Applications text box should now contain something like “$PROJ_DIR$/zyn_lead.xmz”.

  5. Add “zynaddsubfx -l ” to the beginning of the text. The -l argument tells Zyn you want to load the file.

  6. Now, in the event that you might use another instance of ZynAddSubFX, you want the JACK port names of this instance to be uniquely identifiable and remain the same across sessions. To ensure this, add ” -N zyn_lead” at the end of the command. This makes ZynAddSubFX append the “zyn_lead” string to its port names.

    The command should now look like this: zynaddsubfx -l "$PROJ_DIR$/zyn_lead.xmz" -N zyn_lead

  7. Click Add to add it to the list.

  8. Close ZynAddSubFX. Then double-click on the newly added entry in the External Applications list to test it. ZynAddSubFX should start up with the appropriate settings loaded from the file.

  9. In the Ports and Busses screen, add a new MIDI output port, name it “zyn lead send” and connect it to the ZynAddSubFX midi_input port.

  10. Add an audio input port, name it “zyn lead return” and connect it to the ZynAddSubFX out_1 and out_2 ports.

  11. Create a new patch and add the newly created MIDI output port and audio input port as layers. When you play notes, MIDI is now sent to Zyn and the audio is returned to Konfyt. The audio is routed to the output bus specified in the audio input port layer.

  12. Now, we might want to apply some effects like reverb and EQ to the Zyn audio. Open a plugin host, for example Ardour. Create a new project, saving it to the Konfyt project directory and adding it as an external application command like before. (Note that the -l and -N arguments that were used above are specific to Zyn and not applicable to Ardour.)

  13. In Ardour, create an audio bus and add reverb and/or other effects plugins to it.

  14. In Konfyt, in the Ports and Busses screen, add a bus, naming it “Ardour Effects” for example and selecting the Ardour audio bus/track as its clients to connect to.

  15. In the patch, on the audio input port layer, click the Bus button on the right hand side and select the newly created bus. Now, the audio from Zyn will be routed to Ardour for some cool effects.

Remember to save your Konfyt project regularly.

When done, close Konfyt, Ardour and Zyn, re-open Konfyt, launch Ardour and Zyn from the External Applications list and test that everything still works. If everything was set up correctly, the JACK port connections should automatically be connected and everything should work as before.

More ideas

Some applications that might augment your workflow with Konfyt are:

  • Carla, Ardour and other plugin hosts.

  • mididings, QMidiRoute for more advanced MIDI filtering and routing.

  • a2jmidid with the -e argument to get access to ALSA hardware and software MIDI ports and the -u argument to remove ALSA port numbers from port names.