Setup

Set up the MTG MIDI Harmonizer plugin (version 1.3.0) in Ableton Live or Logic Pro. Pick your DAW and follow the steps. It takes about ten minutes.

Want to start straight away? Download our ready-made templates for Ableton Live and Logic Pro. Open the one for your DAW and everything's already set up. Get the templates →

• Before you start
• Ableton Live
• Logic Pro
• Troubleshooting

Before you start

Which computers and DAWs?

• Mac: Ableton Live and Logic Pro. The plugin comes as AU and VST3.
• Windows: Ableton Live only. VST3, 64-bit. Windows is a beta and the installer isn't signed yet.

We've only tested Ableton Live and Logic Pro, so those are the two we support.

Get ready

1. Get your mic and audio interface working in your DAW first. You should see the input meter move when you play.
2. Have your licence key ready. It's in your order email and looks like XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX.
3. If you have the MacroPad, set it to MTG mode: hold the knob for half a second, scroll to Mode, press until it shows MTG, then choose Save Presets.

Any MIDI controller works too. Use LEARN in the plugin to link a key or pad to a chord: set the knobs to a chord, click LEARN, then press a key or pad on your controller.

Ableton Live

Mac and Windows. The plugin goes on an audio track with your mic on it. A MIDI track sends your MacroPad's messages to that audio track. This is the same on Mac and Windows.

MIDI tells the plugin which harmony to play. Your mic never goes through the MIDI track.

1. Install on a Mac

1. Quit Ableton Live.
2. Double-click the .pkg installer and follow the steps. It's signed by MTG Music Ltd, so macOS won't complain.
3. It puts the plugin in /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3 (and the AU version in /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components).

1. Install on Windows (beta)

Windows will warn you. The installer isn't code-signed yet, so you'll see a blue box saying Windows protected your PC. That's expected. Click More info, then Run anyway.

1. Quit Ableton Live.
2. Run the Windows setup .exe. Get past SmartScreen as above.
3. Click Yes when Windows asks for admin permission.
4. Click Next, Install, Finish.
5. It puts MTG MIDI Harmonizer.vst3 in C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3. Don't move it.

2. Let Live find the plugin

1. Open Live. Go to Settings → Plug-Ins. (Older versions call it Preferences. On Windows it's under the Options menu.)
2. Turn on Use VST3 Plug-In System Folders.
3. Click Rescan.

3. Set up the audio track

1. Create an audio track. Not a MIDI track.
2. Set Audio From to your interface, and pick the input your mic is on (for example 1).
3. Set Monitor to In. Play and check the track meter moves.
4. In the browser, open Plug-Ins → VST3 → MTG and drag MTG MIDI Harmonizer onto this track.
5. The first time, the plugin asks for your licence key. Type it in and click ACTIVATE. You need to be online for this.

4. Set up the MIDI track

1. Create a MIDI track.
2. Set MIDI From to your MacroPad (it shows as something like MacroPad RP2040).
3. Set MIDI To to your audio track. A second box appears underneath: pick MTG MIDI Harmonizer.
4. Set Monitor to In.
5. Record-arm the MIDI track as well, so the MacroPad's messages always reach the plugin.

5. Switch on the MacroPad's MIDI port

1. Go to Settings → Link, Tempo & MIDI.
2. Find the MacroPad in the input list. Set Track and Remote to On.

6. Try it

1. Press a key on the MacroPad. The MIDI IN chip at the top of the plugin goes lime and shows what it received.
2. Play. You should hear the harmony, and the HARMONY chip shows how many voices are live.
3. Use DRY / WET to balance your own sound against the harmony.

Save it. Once it works, save the set and open it next time. You won't need to do this setup again.

Windows tips

• Use your interface's ASIO driver in Settings → Audio. It keeps the delay between playing and hearing low.
• If Live can't hear your mic, check Windows Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone and allow desktop apps.
• Windows is a beta. If something odd happens, tell us. It really helps.

An Ableton template is coming soon.

Logic Pro

Mac only. In Logic the harmonizer is a MIDI-controlled effect. It lives in the Instrument slot of a Software Instrument track, and your mic reaches it through Side Chain. The MacroPad's MIDI comes in through the record-armed track.

Don't put it in an Audio FX slot. You won't find it there, and forcing it onto an audio track gives Error -50. That's how Logic handles this type of plugin. It isn't a fault.

1. Install

1. Quit Logic.
2. Double-click the .pkg installer and follow the steps. It's signed by MTG Music Ltd.
3. Open Logic. It checks new plugins as it starts. This can take a minute.

2. Add the plugin

1. Create a new Software Instrument track.
2. Click the Instrument slot on that track.
3. Choose AU MIDI-controlled Effects → MTG → MTG MIDI Harmonizer.
4. The first time, the plugin asks for your licence key. Type it in and click ACTIVATE. You need to be online for this.

3. Send your mic in with Side Chain

1. At the top of the plugin window, find the Side Chain menu.
2. Pick your mic input, for example Input 1.
3. Play. The plugin should now be getting audio.

4. Get the MIDI in

1. Record-arm the Software Instrument track (the R button). Without this, the MacroPad's messages won't reach the plugin.
2. Press a key on the MacroPad. The MIDI IN chip at the top of the plugin goes lime.
3. Play. You should hear the harmony. Use DRY / WET to balance it.

5. Recording the harmony

The harmony comes out of the instrument track. To record it as audio:

1. Set the instrument track's Output to a spare bus, for example Bus 10.
2. Create a new audio track. Set its Input to Bus 10.
3. Arm that audio track and record.

Troubleshooting

Find what you see, then work down the steps. Stop as soon as it works.

• No MIDI received
• No audio coming in
• It's silent
• I hear myself but no harmony
• Plugin not showing in my DAW
• Licence activation

No MIDI received

You press a key and the MIDI IN chip stays amber with No MIDI received. Open Setup for steps.

Check the MacroPad

1. Is it in MTG mode? Hold the knob, go to Mode, set it to MTG, then Save Presets.
2. Try another USB-C cable. Some cables only charge and don't carry data.
3. Try another USB port.
4. Mac: open Audio MIDI Setup (Applications → Utilities) and check the MacroPad is listed.

Ableton Live

1. Settings → Link, Tempo & MIDI: the MacroPad input has Track and Remote on.
2. MIDI track: MIDI From = MacroPad, MIDI To = your audio track, then MTG MIDI Harmonizer in the box below.
3. MIDI track Monitor = In and the track is record-armed.

Logic Pro

1. The Software Instrument track is record-armed.
2. The plugin is in the Instrument slot, not an Audio FX slot.
3. Logic Pro → Settings → MIDI: the MacroPad is listed as an input.

In the plugin

1. Is the licence active? Without one the plugin ignores MIDI. See Licence activation.
2. An amber message near LEARN saying A mapping overrides a MacroPad CC. Open Maps to review it, or Reset to restore. means one of your own mappings is covering a MacroPad key. Click MAPS and delete it, or click RESET.
3. Click SETUP in the plugin for step-by-step setup with a live check of licence, MIDI and audio.

No audio coming in

The AUDIO ENGINE chip is amber and says No audio coming in. Check the track input.

1. Check your interface is chosen in your DAW's audio settings, for both input and output.
2. Check the mic is plugged into the input you picked, and phantom power is on if your mic needs it.
3. Mac: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone. Make sure Ableton Live or Logic Pro is switched on.
4. Windows: Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone. Allow desktop apps.

Ableton Live

1. The plugin is on an audio track.
2. Audio From = your interface and the right input number.
3. Monitor = In. The track meter moves when you play.

Logic Pro

1. The Side Chain menu at the top of the plugin is set to your mic input (for example Input 1). If it says None, the plugin gets nothing.

It's silent

Nothing at all comes out, not even your own sound.

1. Work through No audio coming in first.
2. Check the track isn't muted and its volume fader is up.
3. Check the track's output goes to your main output (Ableton: Audio To = Main. Logic: Output = Stereo Out, unless you're recording through a bus).
4. Check your speakers or headphones are plugged into the interface and turned up.
5. Close and reopen the plugin window. If it's still silent, save, quit and reopen the DAW.

I hear myself but no harmony

1. Press a key. If the MIDI IN chip doesn't go lime, go to No MIDI received.
2. If the HARMONY chip says Bypassed. Turn a voice up to hear it., every voice is at 0 or muted, so the plugin just passes your sound through. That's on purpose. Pick a key with a real chord.
3. Turn DRY / WET towards wet.
4. Check the licence. Without one the plugin passes your sound through with no harmony. See Licence activation.

Plugin not showing in my DAW

Mac

1. Run the installer again and make sure it says it finished.
2. Check the VST3 is there: /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/MTG MIDI Harmonizer.vst3
3. Check the AU is there: /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/MTG MIDI Harmonizer.component
4. Ableton: Settings → Plug-Ins, turn on Use VST3 Plug-In System Folders, click Rescan.
5. Logic: look under AU MIDI-controlled Effects → MTG in the Instrument slot. It won't be in Audio FX.
6. Logic: Logic Pro → Settings → Plug-in Manager. Find MTG MIDI Harmonizer. If it failed, select it and click Reset & Rescan Selection.
7. Still missing in Logic? Quit Logic, restart the Mac, and open Logic again.

Windows (beta)

1. Run the installer again. SmartScreen will warn you: click More info then Run anyway. Click Yes for admin.
2. Check this folder exists: C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\MTG MIDI Harmonizer.vst3
3. In Live: Options → Settings → Plug-Ins. Turn on Use VST3 Plug-In System Folders. Click Rescan.
4. The plugin is 64-bit VST3 only. It's for Ableton Live on Windows.

Licence activation

The first time you open the plugin, it shows ACTIVATE YOUR PLUGIN and asks for your key. Until it's activated, the plugin passes your sound through with no harmony and ignores MIDI.

1. Type the key exactly as it is in your order email: XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX. Copy and paste is safest.
2. Be online for the first activation.
3. Use a plugin key or a bundle key. A key for the hardware on its own won't work in the plugin.
4. Each key works on two computers. To move it, open the plugin on the old computer, click LICENCE at the bottom, then DEACTIVATE THIS MACHINE. Then activate on the new one.
5. Using the same key in MTG Manager on the same Mac doesn't use up a second computer.
6. Offline? The plugin keeps working for 7 days. After that, connect to the internet and open the plugin once.
7. If a firewall app blocks your DAW from going online, allow it, then try again.

What the messages mean

• Licence activated. Welcome! You're done.
• That doesn't look like a licence key (format: XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX). Check the key for typos, or paste it from your order email.
• Invalid licence key The key isn't one we know. Paste it again from your order email.
• This key is for … and cannot activate plugin It's a hardware-only key. You need a plugin or bundle key.
• Activation limit reached The key is already on two computers. Deactivate one of them first.
• Can't reach the licence server. Check your internet connection and try again. Get online, check your firewall, then try again.
• Offline — licence valid for 3 more days. (or however many days are left) Everything still works. Connect to the internet before the days run out.
• Licence couldn't be verified for over 7 days. Connect to the internet to continue. Get online and open the plugin once.
• LICENCE REQUIRED The key can no longer be checked on this computer. Enter a valid key, or free a seat by deactivating another computer.

Lost access to an old computer, or it says you've used both computers? Email support@miditrumpetguy.com with your order number. Don't send the key itself.

Still stuck? Email support@miditrumpetguy.com with your order number, your computer (Mac or Windows), your DAW and version, and what you see. Don't send your licence key by email.