👐TouchMe — deep dive
MIDI mapping, custom scales, hardware tuning, and performance tips.
Parent page: TouchMe — complete guide. Start there if you have not set up the device.
⚠️ Handle only the parts shown in the main TouchMe guide. Touching solder joints, exposed chips, or the underside of the PCB can damage the device permanently — even when the device is unplugged.
This page is for musicians and developers who already have TouchMe playing and want more control over the device.
Custom scales and tunings
TouchMe ships with a default chromatic-scale mapping. You can change the scale at settings.playtronica.com/#/touchme (open in Brave or Chrome).
Common presets:
- Major and minor — for predictable melodic playing.
- Pentatonic — every touch sounds good. Useful for live demos.
- Chromatic — the full keyboard range. Requires more skill.
- Custom — pick the MIDI note for each gold pad.
After picking a preset, click Send to push the mapping to the device. The choice is stored on the device. You do not need to set it again on another computer.
Per-pad MIDI mapping
Each TouchMe pad sends a Note On message on MIDI channel 1 by default. In the web settings you can change:
- Channel per pad (1–16). Useful for routing pads to different instruments in a DAW.
- Note number (0–127). Overrides the default scale.
- Velocity — a fixed value or derived from pressure. Pressure-derived velocity is the natural choice for expressive playing.
Use TouchMe in a DAW
TouchMe is a class-compliant MIDI device. No drivers are needed. Select TouchMe as a MIDI input in your DAW, arm a track to record, and play.
See the DAW setup pages:
Performance tips
- Two players, one TouchMe. Each player holds one gold pad. Touch the other player on bare skin. The circuit completes through both bodies. This is the workshop demo that gets the loudest reaction.
- Increase room humidity if the pads feel less responsive. Dry skin and dry air both reduce the signal.
- Clean the gold pads with a dry cotton cloth after sessions. Skin oil dampens conductivity over weeks of use.
Firmware
Update the firmware at settings.playtronica.com/#/touchme in Brave or Chrome. The full firmware update flow and the Nuke recovery procedure are on the main guide and the Firmware reset page.
Want more?
We expand this deep-dive page based on real questions. If you have a use case that is not covered, email support@playtronica.com with the subject TouchMe deep-dive suggestion. We will add it.
Ask the community
🤝 Other Playtronica users have probably hit this before. The Playtronica Friends Facebook group has 4,400 members and is the fastest source of creative and technical help. Search the group's history first (use the magnifying glass at the top — try
playtron mobile no sound,all leds lit,touchme biotron no sound,koala sampler midi, or whatever fits your problem). If your question is not already answered, post a new one with a[Device]prefix in the title. See the community page for what to ask there and what to email instead.
Still stuck
Email support@playtronica.com. We aim for 24 hours, but a reply may take up to 3 business days.