🎹Biotron MIDI and CC
Receive plant MIDI, test experimental incoming CC, connect Reaper or iPad, and power a hardware-synth setup.
Biotron to your DAW
Biotron sends standard MIDI over USB:
- Note on/off triggers instruments and samplers.
- CC90 follows plant-sensor intensity in the MIDI range 0–127.
- Channel 1 carries plant data.
- Channel 2 carries light-sensor notes or the configured light behaviour.
Enable Biotron as a MIDI input, arm an instrument track, and choose all channels for the first test. MIDI carries control data, not sound; the track still needs a synth or sampler.
💡 CC90 is useful for filter, expression, or effect modulation. Check the range in a MIDI monitor. It is musical sensor data, not calibrated biological data.
Your DAW to Biotron
Biotron also recognises incoming CC messages that change its stored musical settings.
⚠️ Incoming control is experimental. Use occasional values while testing. Do not send automation, LFOs, or rapid fader sweeps until a firmware release passes physical burst and persistence testing.
Incoming CC map
| CC | Setting | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Input filter percentage | Global |
| 9 | Maximum note velocity | Channel-specific |
| 14 | Plant tempo / light tempo division | Channel-specific |
| 15 | Random-note mode | Global |
| 20 | Minimum repeated-note distance | Channel-specific |
| 21 | Note-off fraction | Global |
| 22 | Sequence exponent | Global |
| 23 | Sequence first value | Global |
| 24 | Scale index | Global |
| 25 | Minimum note velocity | Channel-specific |
| 26 | Random-velocity mode | Channel-specific |
| 27 | Light pitch-bend mode | Global |
| 28 | Light-note range | Global |
| 30 | Performance mode | Global |
| 31 | Mute note output | Channel-specific |
| 85 | Centre plant note | Global |
| 86 | First-note swing percentage | Global |
| 87 | Button mute mode | Global |
For channel-specific commands, MIDI channel 1 selects the plant setting and channel 2 selects the light setting. Global commands ignore the channel. Value mappings differ by command; this source-derived table is a test map, not a finished live-control specification.
Test one command in Reaper
- Close Settings. On Windows, another app may still own the Biotron MIDI port.
- Enable Biotron under MIDI outputs in Options → Preferences → Audio → MIDI Devices.
- Route one track to Biotron under MIDI Hardware Output.
- Send one reversible value. Start with CC31 mute/unmute, then stop and confirm normal notes return.
If Reaper says Failed to open device, close every Chrome, Edge, and Playtronica Settings window. Reconnect Biotron, then enable the output again.
If Biotron disappears from both Reaper and MIDI-OX, stop sending CC immediately. Close every MIDI app, disconnect USB, and check Device Manager → Sound, video and game controllers before reconnecting once with a known data cable. Green LEDs prove power only. Do not reflash firmware from this symptom alone.
MIDI Clock changes Biotron's timing
Biotron listens for MIDI Start, Stop, and Clock. Turn off Send clock to this device in Reaper if you want Biotron to keep its own timing. MIDI Clock is not required for CC.
A synth holds a note
Use Panic or All Notes Off first. If the problem returns, save a short raw MIDI log with the synth name and version. Do not assume the synth is at fault while dense-message firmware testing remains open.
Use an iPad
You can play Biotron from an iPad, but mobile Safari cannot open the Web MIDI Settings page. Configure Biotron once on a desktop computer; the configuration stays on the device.
- Connect an Apple USB adapter or a compatible USB-C hub.
- Plug Biotron into the adapter with its USB data cable.
- Open GarageBand and choose an instrument.
- Touch the plant. GarageBand should receive Biotron's notes.
If Biotron lights up but GarageBand is silent, check the external MIDI input for the track. If notes were muted in Settings, reconnect Biotron to a desktop computer and restore them there.
Use a hardware synth
The TRS MIDI cable carries MIDI data but does not power Biotron.
- Connect Biotron's TRS output to the synth's MIDI input.
- Power Biotron from a standard 5 V USB adapter or battery pack.
- Power on the synth, then touch the plant.
Biotron uses TRS MIDI Type A. If the synth expects Type B, use a Type A to Type B adapter.
Quick self-test
Press the fingerprint button and watch a MIDI monitor. If the monitor receives the preset-change note burst, the USB route works and the remaining issue is likely routing, mute state, or the instrument track.
Need Settings without internet? The offline Windows guide links to one downloadable field-test file. Firmware downloads remain online-only.
Still stuck
Email support@playtronica.com with:
- a short video of the complete connection;
- your operating system and DAW;
- the MIDI input and output names;
- whether the fingerprint self-test appears in a MIDI monitor.
We aim for 24 hours, but a reply may take up to 3 business days.