Morph Update Version 0.19: iOS USB, 96 Areas, Copy/Paste, Undo/Redo, Keyboard Shortcuts, UI improvements, and Buchla Thunder

Updates
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We are happy to announce the release of Version 0.19 of the Morph Firmware and SenselApp. This update includes a large number of changes to the Morph and SenselApp that we are excited to share with the community. Go to the Sensel Support page to download the latest SenselApp and make sure to update your Morph to the latest firmware.

Let’s jump into the changes.

Simplified iPhone and iPad Connections

Tired of using the powered USB dongle or using a powered hub for iOS? You can now open the SenselApp, go to Morph-XXXX, check “Slow Charge (iOS USB)”, and then press “Send Settings to Morph”. This will prevent the Morph from going into Fast Charge mode, which keeps the Morph power draw low enough to be used with the iOS unpowered USB to lightning dongle (aka “Camera Connection Kit”). This also could add support for other low power USB hosts, but it has only been tested and developed with iOS in mind.

This does mean that the Morph will take longer to charge (even when plugged into a high power USB), but if you ever need to switch back, just switch it back in the Sensel App.

96 Areas in Innovator’s Overlay

We heard your feedback. 48 areas in the Innovator’s Overlay was not enough, so we doubled it to 96 areas. Due to this increase in areas, you may need to flash your Innovator’s Overlay Map again after the firmware update.

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Undo/Redo

Undo and redo changes made to your Maps. These changes are per map so you can switch between maps and keep your Undo/Redo stack. You can either use the buttons or keyboard shortcuts (control/cmd + Z for Undo and control/cmd+Y for Redo).

Copy/Paste

You can now copy and paste settings from one or more areas. Just select the areas you want to copy, press control/cmd+C, select the areas you want to paste into, and press control/cmd+V. Note, you have to select the same number of copied areas to paste into the areas. Additionally, the order you select the areas determines the order of how those areas are pasted. You can also use contro/cmd+A to select all areas on the Overlay. This can be useful for copying to another map, or on the Buchla Overlay, copying data from one set to another.

Keyboard Shortcuts

As mentioned in the last two sections, there are now some keyboard shortcuts. Here is the current list.

  • Copy (Control/Command + C)
  • Paste (Control/Command + V)
  • Select All (Control/Command+A)
  • Undo (Control/Command+Z)
  • Redo (Control/Command+Y)
  • Save (Control/Command+S)
  • Quit (Control/Command+Q)

Buchla Thunder Alpha

In preparation for the Buchla Thunder Overlay release, we are releasing an alpha version of the mapping tool for this Overlay. Included in this Overlay is the ability to set 9 different presets that you can switch between in the SenselApp by pressing “Set 1-9” in the top bar. On the Buchla Thunder Overlay, you will press the top-center button and then press 1-9 to select the preset you want. Switching presets is only on the Buchla Thunder Overlay.

We are excited to show what is possible with this Overlay and look forward to sharing it with the community when it is released.

Relative Sliders

You can now create relative MPE and MIDI XYZ sliders that do not snap back to the center on the next touch. To make use of this function, create an MPE or MIDI XYZ pad and turn off Absolute Y and Recenter CC. Now, each area will have a stored CC value and will move up/down from that point until it hits 0 or 127.

UI

There are a few other UI items spread out between the firmware and SenselApp.

  • There is a color picker available in the Innovator’s Overlay so you don’t need to memorize hex colors.
  • There are ? buttons that will take you to the guide so that you can learn about features or controls.
  • The controls in the dropdown menu have been organized by type (MIDI, keyboard, touchpad, gamepad, etc.)
  • LEDs stay on when playing a MIDI note until the note is released.
  • Vertical MIDI CC sliders are now the correct direction (bottom is 0, top is 127).
  • Hex buttons have correct bounds

Linux Version

You can find an update to the Linux version at the following links. Again, they have only been verified on Ubuntu.
Linux 64bit
Linux 32bit
The Sensel App uses serial communication so the port either needs to be granted permission or you can use this rules file.
We also recommend removing modemmanager if you are not using it using “sudo apt-get purge modemmanager”. If modemmanager is there, it will reach out to the Morph for the first 10-15 seconds so your device may not work until it is done communicating with the Morph.

Other Notes

We no longer provide MIDI feedback in the SenselApp. Grabbing the MIDI port on Windows would prevent other applications from using MIDI and it tended to cause some confusion when a piano would play along with the users DAW. As a result, we disabled this feature. If you need to see feedback, we would recommend MIDI monitor on Mac and MIDI OX on Windows.

Since we are not selling the Art Overlay, it is no longer listed on the Add Overlay screen by default. If you own a Art Overlay, it will appear on this screen if you have an Art Overlay map, you start the SenselApp with the Art Overlay on your Morph, or you plug in your Morph with the Art Overlay on the Morph.

There are a few other items that are enabled by this update and we will be excited to share them when they are complete.

Enjoy the update!

1 Like
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Great!
Many quality of life improvements and a whole bunch of helpful new features!
Will try to get my Continuano overlay (that didn’t work with the previous version) another spin - fingers crossed :slight_smile:
The sets in the Buchla layout are a good thing! I understand that it’s exclusive initially for that layout. In the mid term sets would of course be great as a general feature, too!

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thank you very much for adding more areas !

would you PLEASE add soon MIDI PROGRAM CHANGE ?

this is truly an urgent need and a very basic function to expect

less urgent but still extremely important for me is the need for some way to specify concrete values of any parameter.

this could maybe be done allowing to set groups of “radio” buttons where one specific CC number is assigned to all of the group and where specific values can be assigned to each individual area of that group, avoiding overlap of values if several areas are accidentally pressed at the same time…
this RADIO mode would be added to the TOGGLE and MOMENTARY choices,
and by adding a number (RADIO1, RADIO2, RADIO3, RADIO4…etc) we could have different groups of areas/buttons where “all but one” of the values/areas are active.

then also i really need to have ranges of values for any parameter
so we could set for example: 0to127, 127to0, 0 to 1, 44to56, or more importantly: 0to0, 1to1, 2to2 etc to send specific values like i mentioned earlier…

and then some day perhaps add LAG/SLEW controls for slowing/filtering the times of value changes (i would understand if you preferred to let this to the receiving app to deal with but if this was possible it would be great to have it embedded into the Morph)

thank you

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Thanks for contacting us and for the idea suggestions we have added them to our internal list of potential features.

As for program change, we do have a up/down program change available in the MIDI Morph Modifier selection. Is this the feature you were looking for? We could also see the use of triggering a specific program change so have added that as well.

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Just want to say thanks for making the app stop monopolizing the MIDI. It was extremely discouraging and I had put the Morph in storage because of it. I updated yesterday and have been making music non-stop since then.

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yes, triggering a specific program change is exactly what i need the most

i have absolutelly no use for the up/down program change keys.
i want to jump freely from one program change to any other as i need without being obliged to pass thru all the “in betweens”

thank you

2 Likes
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Thank you for clarifying. We will keep this idea in mind for future releases.

Also, for everyone else, we have updated the post with a link to the Linux version of the app. Please check the post for links to this version

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This is excellent news.

I would like to confirm senselapp0.19.28.deb installs successfully on Debian Stretch and looks to be working perfectly

My hope is that your design team creates a few new overlay designs… ones that appeal to and are aimed at guitarists, and also that would allow for more musical dexterity and expression :wink:

There have been a few design ideas submitted by the Morph users that I would go for if they were part of your pre-built overlay selection.

This animated GIF screenshot from the app in Debian Stretch
overlay

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Great to hear and thank you for your feedback!

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@alex, what are the system requirements & dependencies for the Ubuntu versions of the app?

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I am not sure of the full specs required but we tested with Ubuntu 14, 16 and 18 on VM with 4 cores and 4 GB of RAM and then on desktops that were more powerful. As for dependencies, perhaps OpenGL but I do not believe we had to install anything else to get it working with updated versions of each Ubuntu version. I hope this information helps.

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Okay, I’ll need to try it again. I tried installing the app in my plain Ubuntu 16 VM but it was failing to launch. It was giving me some sort of “OpenGL core profile” sort of error, though I’m not sure if that was the only issue it was having. It may have been looking for a newer version of OpenGL. I’ll need to look into it further and report back.

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Does anyone have more details on the Debian(or any Linux) app. I sort of get it working , but not quite right and can’t help thinking there are some details left out.

Question #1: I was assuming that we are somehow supposed to cat The “rule file” somewhere, but am not sure where? The “/dev/serial/by-id/usb-Sensel_…” file?

I’ll keep experimenting, but I can’t help thinking that someone at Sensel knows and wouldn’t mind posting some documentation.

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Hey Steve,

Have you reviewed the tips on our guide about this? Hoping that helps.

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The guide doesn’t have any info on running the application on Linux, only about connecting and talking to DAW.
Still not able to fully edit using the app on Linux yet. I’m still trying things and will reply to the forum if I find anything.

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I am using USB to connect to my computer
One bug is that I was unable to make the button “Send Map to Morph” appear and so was not able to send changes to the Morph.

I found that if I send the following command:
sudo chmod 777 /dev/serial/by-id/usb-Sensel_Sensel_Morph(…)

It would trigger the “Send Map to Morph” button to appear and I was able to send the setting to the device.
The button would disappear after the send until I sent the command again, but this is not an issue.

I am still having issues being able to change keyboard ranges and send CC74 using vertical slide with the MPE script. Still researching those issue, but the important stuff works.

1 Like
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Thanks for sharing your experience here, Steve. Glad to hear the important stuff is working for you.

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Correct me if I am wrong, but the 3D sensor visualizer uses MIDI for the data? I am pretty sure it would stop workiing if the midi port is used by some other APP. Would be cool if I am wrong, or this is changed later.

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@database thanks for posting! The visualization in SenselApp uses raw serial data from the Morph and renders other connections unusable. So If you have the visualizer active in SenselApp you cant use it anywhere else.

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more areas, please! 96 areas is not enough, maybe 128 or 144 areas. we can make smaller grid linnstrument like controller, Thanks!

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