Custom filter movement with MIDI triggering

By hooking MIDI notes up to a filter’s input, we get the ability to control filter modulation rates at will, which is great for getting creative!

Following on from our previous three-step tutorial, where we used an external audio signal to trigger filter modulation, we’re now going to branch out and use MIDI notes to instigate modulation change.

As long as your filter plugin accepts MIDI, it’s pretty easy to set this routing up in your DAW: create an empty MIDI track, then route its output into your filter’s input. Then it’s simply a case of assigning this MIDI to affect one or more filter parameters, then playing or drawing MIDI notes on this empty trigger channel as your track plays. In this example, we’ll again use Cytomic’s The Drop to demonstrate, using our basic track sketch to audition the effect in a real-world scenario.

Here’s our final MIDI pattern, which is cleverly modulating the rate of both f ilters in time with the riff and beat. We’ve also raised LFO 2’s Spread knob a little, which moves the modulator’s left and right channels for stereo interest.

In this example, LFO 2 is modulating both filters. In Ableton Live, we’ve routed an empty MIDI channel’s output into The Drop’s external input. Source is set to MIDI in the LFO 2 section, and we’ve engaged MIDI input in the bottom-right MIDI section.

Also in the MIDI section, we’ve toggled LFO 2 TRK. Playing MIDI notes on our trigger channel now alters the second LFO’s rate – the higher the note, the faster the wobble. We jam on a MIDI keyboard as the track plays to generate inspiring LFO rate...