Consider Herald to be open source. There isn't anything proprietary or technically special here. Making music is one of the greatest joys of life, so I am happy to freely share any tool that is part of that process. And I am always open to collaborate on any projects, apps, or forks based on this. I'd love to see what you make! james@jameslewis.io
Herald is a control station for your MIDI-equipped guitar pedals. Pick a device, nudge some sliders, fire a program change, and save the whole setup locally as a preset for next time.
At its core, the app is built around blocks: small modules that do a thing. Blocks can send CC messages, which are often used to change individual parameters or settings, or PC messages, which are usually used for more 'advanced' things like saving and recalling presets.
- Send CC and PC messages to your favorite MIDI gear.
- Customize the label and background color of each block.
- Drag to reorder your blocks.
- Switch between tile and strip layouts for the entire grid.
- Save and load presets, which contain ALL of your blocks!
- Connect a MIDI device.
- Start Herald and choose a device from the MIDI Device menu.
- Add CC or PC blocks as needed.
- Set each block's MIDI channel and CC/program number.
- Move CC sliders or click Send on a PC block.
- Name and save the preset when the setup feels right.
CC blocks send MIDI Control Change messages.
- Channel selects MIDI channels 1-16.
- MIDI CC selects CC numbers 0-127.
- Value sends values 0-127 as the slider moves.
- Click or focus the block's title to rename it.
- The color swatch opens a picker for a custom background.
- Refer to your pedal or device's MIDI documentation for what CC message corresponds to what setting.
PC blocks send MIDI Program Change messages.
- Channel chooses MIDI channels 1-16.
- MIDI PC chooses PC numbers 0-127.
- Send fires the selected program change.
- Titles and colors work the same way as they do for CC blocks.
- Refer to your pedal or device's MIDI documentation for what PC message corresponds to what setting.
Use the layout button to switch between:
- Tile: a grid of blocks. Think cards, thumbnails, etc.
- Strip: a more compact row-style layout. Helpful for fitting a lot on your screen, especially at larger screen widths.
On narrow screens, the app keeps things stacked so controls stay usable. You can have up to 128 blocks in total. This is probably too many blocks. But, hey, I'm not a cop.
Presets are saved as JSON files. A preset includes:
- Preset name.
- Timestamp.
- CC block data.
- PC block data.
- Block order.
Load saved files with Load Preset. The loader validates the shape of the preset file before applying it, so that you can't just load anything.
Built-in presets are scraped monthly from openMIDI, a community project driven by the good folks at Morningstar Engineering. See latest here: https://www.openmidi.com/
The 'Advanced' title is, admittedly, a slight misnomer. Advanced is an experimental section for the weird and the quirky. It currently comprises three modulators that randomize or gently shift block CC values.
No devices appear
Make sure the MIDI device or virtual port is connected before loading the app, then refresh the page. Also check that the browser has permission to use MIDI.
Web MIDI is generally supported, but check caniuse for information on your browser: https://caniuse.com/midi
^ Notably, Safari is excluded from this. A native iOS app may be a thing in the future.
Anything else
Contact me at james@jameslewis.io if anything is funky, and I will try to fix it ASAP. I have done my best to keep things smooth, but stuff happens. 🤷♂️😗 Thanks and enjoy.