GUIDES / PRO TOOLS
DAW GUIDE

MIDISketch in Pro Tools

MIDISketch runs in Pro Tools as a native AAX plugin on Windows and macOS. It is signed with PACE, so it loads in a normal Pro Tools install, and the synth you host inside it hears every note bend on its own.

Get the AAX build

Download it for Windows or macOS on the Pro Tools page. Same license and same 7-day trial as every other format.

What You Need

Install the AAX

  1. Close Pro Tools before installing.
  2. Windows: unzip the download and copy every .aaxplugin folder into C:\Program Files\Common Files\Avid\Audio\Plug-Ins.
  3. macOS: open the .pkg and click through. It installs MIDISketch and MIDISketch Audio Send into /Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins.
  4. Open Pro Tools. MIDISketch shows up under Instrument in the plugin list.

Both downloads also include MIDISketch Audio Send, an AAX effect listed under Other in the insert menu, not Instrument. It carries a mic track to MIDISketch’s voice tracking over a bus: insert it on the mic track and pick Bus A, then in MIDISketch click MIC, open the voice panel’s INPUT tab and set Bus to A. Every bus message and its fix is in the docs under Audio Send and the Voice Bus.

Set Up a Track

  1. Create an Instrument Track and insert MIDISketch from the Instrument plugins.
  2. Inside MIDISketch, click the Synth button to host an MPE-compatible synth (Serum, Vital, Phase Plant, etc.), or use the built-in one.
  3. Enable MPE in the hosted synth and set pitch bend range to 48 semitones.
    Vital

    On the Advanced tab, turn on MPE (bottom left) and set the bend range (bottom right) to 48.

    Vital's Advanced tab with MPE enabled and the pitch bend range set to 48
    Vital: (1) Advanced, (2) MPE Enabled, (3) bend range 48. Click to see it full size.
    Serum 2

    Serum 2 ships with MPE on and a bend range of 48. To check, open its menu: MPE Enabled should be ticked and the MPE bend range at 48. To keep MPE on in every new Serum 2, tick MPE enabled by default under Global settings › MPE.

    Serum 2's MPE settings: MPE Enabled and the MPE bend range at 48
    Serum 2's MPE settings. Click to see it full size.

    Another synth? Setup for every synth MIDISketch knows →

    Most synths default to a pitch bend range of 2. Bends will sound barely audible until you change this to 48. Alternatively, match MIDISketch's pitch bend range to your synth: settings gear → MIDI Settings... → MPE & PITCH → PITCH BEND (MPE Bend Range in MPE mode, Bend Range in Pitch Wheel mode), or click the MPE: 48st pill in the header, which opens that tab directly.

  4. Not sure of the synth's MPE settings? With it loaded, the strip under the synth shows a green ? with that synth's MPE steps (general tips if there is no guide for it) and Check MPE, which tests a hidden copy of the synth: is MPE on, does its bend range match MIDISketch's, does it react to pressure and slide. If a synth is missing from the browser, Scan for all VSTs... in its menu finds every installed plugin; the scan doesn't run on its own.
  5. Draw notes and pitch curves in MIDISketch's piano roll, then press play in Pro Tools.

Already Using PatchWork?

Blue Cat's PatchWork, a VST3 host that runs inside Pro Tools as AAX, still works if you prefer it. Insert PatchWork on an Instrument Track as an AAX plugin, load MIDISketch (VST3) in an empty slot, then follow the track setup above from step 2.

Parameter automation from Pro Tools to plugins inside PatchWork requires mapping through PatchWork's parameter system.

Good to Know

Pro Tools does not support MPE natively. Standard pitch wheel from MIDISketch will affect all notes on the channel simultaneously.

Confirmed Working With

Guides for Other DAWs

Get MIDISketch for Pro Tools, Free Trial

AAX + VST3 + AU + CLAP · macOS & Windows · Lifetime License