How MIDI Mapping Works in PolySWAM

PolySWAM has a complete MIDI mapping system that lets you assign your hardware controllers (pedals, mod wheel, faders, knobs, channel aftertouch, pads and switches) to the Conductor and to other important functions.

Ready to play: the default assignments

Many controls are already assigned to standard controllers, so most keyboards work without any setup. You can change every assignment.

The mapping mode

Click MIDI MAPPING in the header to enter the mapping mode. The header shows the title MIDI Controller Mapping, the buttons ASSIGN and TABLE, and CLOSE. Every control that you can assign is covered by a colored frame:

• Magenta, dashed border: the control is assigned.
• Green, solid border: the control is not assigned yet.

In the mapping mode, clicking a control does not move it: it opens its mapping page. Click CLOSE (or press Esc) to leave the mapping mode and return to the page where you started.

The mapping page

The status bar at the top of the page shows UNASSIGNED or MAPPED. The contents of the page depend on the type of control.

Assign a controller

• LEARN: click LEARN (the button changes to LEARNING and its light blinks), then move the pedal, fader, knob or pad that you want to use. PolySWAM records the message type, the channel and the controller number.
• By hand: set Channel (1–16 or ANY), Message Type (Control Change or After Touch, that is channel aftertouch) and MSB (the CC number). Polyphonic aftertouch is not supported yet.
• UNASSIGN removes the assignment. Reset To Default restores the default controller of the table above.

Scope: Global or Local

• Global: the assignment is the same for all the presets and Scenes. This is the normal choice for your setup.
• Local: the assignment is saved in the Scene, together with the other settings of the Scene. When you load that Scene, its assignment is restored.

Mode

For continuous controls (Expression, Macros, Master Volume, Human Touch):

• Jump: the control goes immediately to the value of your hardware controller.
• Pick Up: the control does not change until your hardware controller reaches its current value. This avoids sudden jumps when the position of your fader or knob is different from the value on the screen.

For switches (Action buttons, Link, Polyphony Lock, Sustain):

• Temporary: the switch is on only while you hold the pad or pedal.
• Latch: each press toggles the switch on or off.
• Invert Polarity: inverts on and off, for pedals that work in the opposite way.

Response curve

Continuous controls have a response curve that calibrates how your controller acts. Turn on Enable Curve, then use the four arrows (Input Min / Max, Output Min / Max) and the Shape and Symmetry sliders. Tip: to invert a controller, set Output Max lower than Output Min.

Macros: Link, Auto Unlink and Link Overshoot

The mapping page of a Macro has an extra Expression area:

• Link: links the Macro to Expression, so it follows your main Expression controller. While a Macro is linked, its own controller assignment is not used.
• Auto Unlink: the Macro unlinks automatically as soon as you move the controller assigned to it. This is ideal when you play with a single Expression controller but occasionally want to take direct, detailed control of a Macro.
• Link Overshoot: while the Macro is linked, adds an overshoot to its value when Expression changes: the faster and larger the change, the larger the overshoot. Choose whether it acts while Expression increases (Increment) or decreases (Decrement), and how much; 0 % None turns it off.

The response curve of a Macro depends on its state:

• Linked: the curve remaps the Expression that drives the Macro.
• Unlinked: the curve acts directly on the controller assigned to the Macro.

ASSIGN and TABLE views

• ASSIGN: the main screen with the colored frames, where you click the controls to map them.
• TABLE: a list of all the assignments, in three tabs: CONDUCTOR KNOBS (Expression and Macros), CONDUCTOR ACTIONS (Action buttons) and OTHER (Master Volume, Polyphony Lock, Panic, Sustain, the Link of the Macros, Human Touch). Click a row to open its mapping page.

Note: Sustain and Panic have no control on the main screen: assign them from the OTHER tab of the TABLE.