Midiflow dev Johannes Doerr - anyone know what's up? Forum seems abandoned, can't reach him.

[Reezekeys]

I was liking this program a lot but ran into what could be a bug - something that complicates my workflow to the point where I may need to look elsewhere or give up - but I don't know of any other iOS midi routing & processing apps with the power this one has.

 

I was able to register at support.midiflow.com, where the most recent post I see is from August 2021! And my attempt to post gets an "SQL error" (on multiple browsers) and a link to "email the administrator", which I did... and got an automated reply "We do not provide support via email. Instead, please visit our support forum at support.midiflow.com in order to get help, request a feature, or provide feedback. Thanks!"

 

Kind of a shame because this program, along with Streambyter and AUM, gives an iOS midiot like me a ton of very powerful routing and processing abilities. I've already replaced my laptop rig with an iPad for local gigs, and was working on doing the same with my touring setup, which has more specialized stuff like multiple presets and percussion loops, among other things. I'm really hoping I can make Midiflow work but seeing as the dev appears to be MIA doesn't fill me with confidence. Anyone here know Johannes? I hope nothing bad happened to him.

[Stokely]

This is always my fear using these apps from one-person (or few-people) outfits.

I'm on the verge of incorporating midiflow into my rig (mainly for program changes to an ipad and two hardware keyboards) so I'm pretty interested in this.

[Reezekeys]

So far it's been great, except for this one issue. I've searched FB for Johannes. I think he's on Twitter - I'm not, but was able to see his profile and the latest entry is a retweet in 2018!

 

I think I can get a refund from Apple - but I'm gonna plow on and try to find a workaround to my particular issue (which might be a feature, not bug - still investigating). It's a shame, because this app is making it possible to recreate my touring laptop rig on my iPad (and maybe even my old iPhone SE 2016!).

[Reezekeys]

I found a workaround to my issue using StreamByter, a fantastic (but quite complicated to an amateur programmer like myself) i-app.

 

There does seem to be a genuine bug in Midiflow. A few of the app store reviews mention the lack of support and radio silence from the dev, so this app does appears to be abandoned. Well, he did take my money for it and all three of the in-app purchases too. It's a real shame because Midiflow is totally making it possible for me to put together as involved an iPad & iPhone virtual instrument rig as I want - processor power permitting of course. The feature set is fantastic for midi manglers like me.

 

What sucks is that I'll be nervous updating iOS now, assuming I get everything working smoothly with my present system version. In my view, an app like Midiflow – whose last update was a year ago – is more likely to break with a system update than one that's being supported today. I'm pretty sure you can't roll back an iOS or iPadOS system update either.

 

In case anyone is curious, the bug I saw involved using multiple midi sources for a routing's "restrict to conditions" feature. I can only enable & mute a routing if I have one midi source. I needed to be able to use two (until I worked up a StreamByter script allowing me to use it as the only source).

[Stokely]

IOS updates are one reason I'm a bit leery of an ipad/iphone based rig.  I use an ipad but I always have a backup plan for those sounds.

Not sure it's still being updated either, but there is another app named Midifire that does a lot of the same things (or so I heard, I also went with Midiflow and one in-app purchase.)

[Reezekeys]

Wouldn't you know it - Midifire is from the same company as StreamByter! I wish I knew this a week ago. I have many hours invested in Midiflow and things are working well for now, but might grab Midifire at some point if things get janky with Midiflow. I'm just not into climbing another learning curve right now. Thanks!

 

I hear ya on the backup plan – I'm used to not having one. I do carry a lot of backup doodads in case of cable & interface failures - extra midi, audio, USB, a powerbank & extra wall warts for my A800 Pro, etc... just not an extra laptop or keyboard!

 

Once I get this rig set up correctly, I plan to stress-test it at home, playing along with mp3s of our shows. I also take a few days where I leave everything set up and on all day, playing it at various points for extended periods of time.

 

The idea - and hope - is that this iPad rig will also work on my iPhone. There's a backup solution!! 🙂