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MIDI Morph 2 — a MIDI shape lab
MIDI Morph 2 turns sound and ideas into playable MIDI. Drop in audio and it transcribes the notes; then you morph, transpose, scale-lock and arpeggiate them, and route the result to any instrument — or back into your DAW.
Plugin or standalone
MIDI Morph 2 is a VST3 / AU plugin plus a Standalone app. In a DAW it loads on an instrument or MIDI track; on its own it runs as an app. Formats: VST3, AU, Standalone — macOS 11+ (Universal: Apple Silicon + Intel) and Windows 10+.
Orientation
The layout
Across the top: the loaded key, host tempo, loop length. Below it, the transcription controls and the morph dice; in the middle, the piano roll; along the bottom, audio input, scale lock, MIDI out and transport.
Key · Tempo · Length
Reads your detected key, the host tempo MIDI Morph follows, and the loop length in bars.
The orb
The status face — it sleeps when idle and wakes while listening or generating.
Min Note Length · Onset Distance · Pitch Bend Threshold
The transcription knobs — how short a note can be, how close two onsets can sit, and how much pitch movement becomes a bend.
Notes · Time · Velocity dice
The morph amounts — how much the dice reshapes pitch, timing and dynamics each roll.
Audio in, MIDI out
Audio → MIDI
Drop an audio file onto the roll, or record from an input, and MIDI Morph transcribes it into editable notes — melodies, chords and basslines.
Audio In source
Pick the input device for live recording. On Mac the standalone asks for microphone permission the first time.
Record Audio
Captures from the selected input, then transcribes it. Use Live / Trigger to arm capture from playback.
Min Note Length
Filters out ultra-short blips so the transcription stays clean.
Onset Distance
How close in time two note starts can be before they're treated as one.
Pitch Bend Threshold
How much pitch glide is captured as a bend rather than a new note.
Edit & perform
The piano roll
A full piano roll you can draw on, drag, and morph. Zoom, snap to grid, and switch editing modes to sculpt the part.
Select · Draw · Extend
Selection, pencil drawing, and extend tools for editing notes directly.
Zoom · Fit
Zoom the roll in and out, or Fit the whole part to the view.
Snap to grid
Quantizes edits to the grid (1/4, etc.) so notes land in time.
Mode Normal · Random · Extend
Sets which notes the morph dice acts on and whether the score doubles — see Morph & randomize.
The core move
Morph & randomize
The dice reshapes your part while keeping it musical — and it only ever touches the selected notes, so you decide exactly what changes. Set how far it moves pitch, timing and velocity, choose a mode, then roll for variations.
Notes
How much the dice re-pitches notes — small for subtle variation, large for bold reshaping.
Time
How much note timing shifts — adds groove and human feel.
Velocity
How much dynamics vary — life and accent across the phrase.
Modes — what gets randomized
Morph only ever affects the selected notes. The mode beneath the roll decides which notes those are — and whether your score grows:
Normal
Reshapes the notes you've selected and leaves the rest alone. Your score keeps its length — nothing is doubled.
Random Select
Picks a random set of notes each pass, so every roll reshapes a different part of the phrase.
Extend Mode
Automatically doubles the length of the part: it duplicates what you've added, then morphs the copy so the second half becomes a fresh, unique continuation of your score.
Never a wrong note
Scale lock
Lock every note to a key and scale. Drag and morph freely — nothing lands out of key.
Lock Scale
Snaps incoming, drawn and morphed notes to the current key + scale.
Key · Scale
Choose the tonic and scale type the lock enforces.
Snap to Scale
One click conforms the existing part to the chosen key/scale.
Instant grooves
Hi-hat engine
A dedicated hi-hat fragment generator builds rhythmic patterns that lock to your tempo — pick a style, dial density and swing, and generate.
Style
Choose a rhythmic character (e.g. Alien) to seed the pattern.
Bars · Offset
How long the fragment runs and where it begins.
Density & variation
How busy the pattern is and how much it varies across repeats.
Generate · Crop to Box
Generate a fresh fragment, then crop it to the selected box. Snap → C conforms it.
Send it anywhere
MIDI out & routing
Play the morphed MIDI through any synth, or use the built-in virtual port to feed it straight back into your DAW.
MIDI Out device
Send to any hardware or software MIDI device, or pick MIDI Morph 2 (virtual port) to route back into your DAW.
Route into the DAW macOS
On Mac the plugin publishes a virtual port automatically — set a DAW track's input to "MIDI Morph 2" to receive it. On Windows, pick an external/virtual port.
DAW Ch
The MIDI channel the part streams on — match it on your receiving track.
Live · Trigger
Play the engine live or trigger phrases from incoming notes.
Take it with you
Export
Drag the finished part straight out as a MIDI file, or open the files folder.
Drag .MID
Drag the current part out as a standard MIDI file — straight onto a DAW track or your desktop.
Show Files
Opens the folder where MIDI Morph stores its working files.
License
Activation & updates
Sign in with the email you purchased with to activate. One license activates on up to 5 machines. Updates are free — install over the top and your settings carry over.