Hello, new user here. I’ve installed zynthian os on a pi5 and would like to connect Bluetooth midi controllers.
Will zynthian pair with widi directly over ble, or make use of one plugged in via usb? Is there any documentation I can start with? With some basic digging I couldn’t find anything. So far I’ve only managed to pair at command line (iPad and widi uhost) but don’t know how paired devices can be seen and configured in zynthian.
I recieved a widi core today, and have just finished installing it into an H4Midi WC.
Zynthian appears to connect to the Widi Core without much issue, you just need to enable bluetooth in admin settings and pair the widi. I’ve obviously not had much use out of it yet, but did connect a Roli Lightblock vias bluetooth yesterday and all seemed ok as well.
I’ve switched on Bluetooth in Admin, checked the box of the widi device (and tried a couple of different ones) but they don’t send midi in (ie don’t play on tracks) and aren’t visible in the midi in options on the tracks either. How did you pair it?
I had to make sure the H4midi WC was in bluetooth pairing mode (blue flashing light) went into admin/bluetooth on Zynthian and when Widi Core appeared in the options, ticked the box. Once its connected you should see a little bluetooth symbol. I think the ticked box just means its been paired. I guess it may take a couple of goes and you may need to reset the widi if it didnt work first time. I think the CME website has a couple of troubleshooting guides.
I’m using a RPI4 btw, I don’t know if there’s any issues with the RPI5 bluetooth which could be causing problems.
I tried pairing my iPad as well (as a peripheral) and it didn’t work, and am used to working with WIDIs so I don’t think it’s that. Does the H4 appear in the MIDI In device list on the track/chain, the same way other MIDI sources do? I haven’t seen that yet on the bluetooth devices I’ve attempted to pair.
Hi! BLE MIDI is new (and still a little experimental) in Oram 2409. I don’t think it is (fully) documented so here is a quick overview. Thanks to @SteveFlesh who has given most of this info.
Bluetooth needs to be enabled in the admin menu. When this is done, any Bluetooth adapters show in the list of that admin submenu. One of these must be enabled. By default there is the Raspberry Pi onboard adapter which tends to have poor performance. (Some of my devices need to be sitting on top of the Z5 to work!!!) It is advised to plug in an external Bluetooth adapter into a USB port, then enable this adapter in this admin menu.
When there is an enabled Bluetooth adapter, the list populates with any Bluetooth devices it detects. It is scanning for devices whilst this admin submenu is open. They appear in the list with a checkbox, by default unchecked. Any unchecked device in the list is known (having been detected at some point but not necessarily in range now) but has not been paired.
Enabling the checkbox for a device will attempt to pair it. If the device pairs successfully, it will show a Bluetooth icon next to the checkbox. This can be done for BLE MIDI and other Bluetooth peripherals such as keyboards, mice, etc. If a device has been successfully paired then it will reconnect when it is in range, even if the admin submenu is not shown. (Of course we want devices to auto connect!) Unchecking a device will remove its pairing but leave it in the list. Bold press a device whilst it is not checked will remove it from the list. Use this to remove stale devices that were once detected but no longer of interest.
If a BLE MIDI device is paried (shows with Bluetooth symbol in the admin submenu) then its MIDI input and output ports should appear in the MIDI input and ouput menus. You can access these menus from the admin menu or the chain menu. When accessed from the admin menu, you can enable/disable ports globally. This is mostly used for network MIDI but some other services are also enabled here.
In the chain menu’s MIDI input/output submenu you can enable/disable MIDI for each device (including BLE MIDI) for that chain. By default MIDI inputs are enabled and MIDI outputs are disabled. (MIDI output is only shown for MIDI chains, not instrument chains.)
In summary:
Thanks @riban for the details, that’s very helpful. So I’ll stay away from native bluetooth and bluetoothctl altogether, given the poor performance you mention, and focus on connecting a bluetooth adapter, namely the CME WIDI Uhost, which has been reliable elsewhere. When plugging that into a USB port (or any other bluetooth usb adapter), should it ‘just work’ or is anything needed to enable it?
It should just work! And it should be hot-plug, i.e. within a few seconds, appear within the menu.
BTW - a warm welcome to the fun house.
It Is plug And play. I write about this solution somewhere ať this forum
Thank you - I’ll report back!
Yes there are several topics in the forum about MIDI over Bluetooth. It is worth searching and reading those.
@ToFF does CME WIDI Uhost present as a standard USB MIDI rather than BLE MIDI? I suspect it does so the instructions would be different.
Yes. MIDI over Bluetooth - #50 by ToFF
Report about present of Widi in oram I send at night.
Thanks @ToFF.
So for clarity, BLE MIDI requires the steps I described but CME WIDI Uhost does not present to the OS as BLE MIDI so it appears as a standard USB MIDI device.
Yes, so the Uhost does the bluetooth bit and interfaces with Zynthian via USB. So I need to ensure that Zynthian shows the Uhost via USB and ignore the OS BLE MIDI.
I checked nothing was paired with bluetoothctl and plugged a uhost into USB, then a quick test and it did work, essentially plug and play. Excellent, thanks all!
Update: CME U6MIDI Pro (their 3-in 3-out DIN - USB device) works too, at least for the incoming DIN ports - haven’t tried the DIN out yet.
I’ve put together a brief summary about CME WIDI devices that can be used with Zynthian:
DIN MIDI:
WIDI Master – This device connects to a standard MIDI DIN interface. I haven’t tested it personally. I must admit that I don’t own an official Zynthian kit, and none of my three Zynthians have a standard DIN MIDI interface. They do have MIDI on their soundcards, but that’s a different story.
WIDI Jack + 25DIN5 cables - I assume the same behavior as WIDI Master.
WIDI Thru6 BT + DIN/DIN cables - I assume the same behavior as WIDI Master.
USB MIDI:
WIDI Uhost – This device connects to Zynthian via a USB-C to USB-A cable (USB-A on the Zynthian side).
WIDI Bud Pro – direct connection to a USB port.
As @riban wrote, the BLE connection built into the raspberry pi is not used in connection with Zynthian and WIDI devices. I personally have it turned off, as you can see in the picture. BLE connections are handled by chips in WIDI devices. You can build your own widi device, just buy a WIDI Core and connect it via RX/TR to a microcontroller.
From the CME WIDI group, I own WIDI Master, WIDI Thru6 BT, WIDI Uhost and WIDI Bud Pro devices. I can connect the ARTinoise RE.CORDER and Genki Wave Ring to them. The connection is made using the CME app on my mobile phone, which sometimes frustrates me. But once you get it set up, the connection is made without any problems.
EDIT: Should I make a note of this in the wiki?
EDIT2: Maybe the next official kit will have holes for soldering WIDI Core? 
