DM48
DIGITAL CHROMATIC HARMONICA
USER MANUAL

Firmware version 1.56
© 2020 Lekholm Instruments AB

Contents
Important general notes .................................................................................................. 3
Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 4
Overview of the DM48................................................................................................................. 4
Simple quick start guide ........................................................................................................... 4

Configuration guide ........................................................................................................... 5
Introduction to MIDI and the DM48 ...................................................................................... 5
Setting up your DM48 ................................................................................................................. 6
Changing and restoring default settings ........................................................................... 7
Adjustable parameters ............................................................................................................... 7
Global preset ................................................................................................................................................7
Breath sens ....................................................................................................................................................8
Breath curve .................................................................................................................................................8
Trig level ..........................................................................................................................................................8
Velocity sens .................................................................................................................................................8
Bend trig level .............................................................................................................................................9
Bend sens .......................................................................................................................................................9
Bend direction ............................................................................................................................................9
Modltn trig lvl ..............................................................................................................................................9
Modltn sens...................................................................................................................................................9
Mono/poly ......................................................................................................................................................9
Octave transp ........................................................................................................................................... 10
Key transp ................................................................................................................................................... 10
Slider interval ............................................................................................................................................ 10
Slider delay ................................................................................................................................................. 10
2nd slider intv ........................................................................................................................................... 10
3rd slider intv ............................................................................................................................................ 10
2nd/3rd slider ........................................................................................................................................... 10
Tuning............................................................................................................................................................ 10
Tuning editor ............................................................................................................................................ 11
Breath CC # ................................................................................................................................................ 11
MIDI channel ............................................................................................................................................. 11
MIDI program ............................................................................................................................................ 12
Keys CC # .................................................................................................................................................... 12
Keys CC value ............................................................................................................................................ 12
Double notes ............................................................................................................................................. 12
Gain skew .................................................................................................................................................... 13
Display ........................................................................................................................................................... 13
Firmware version and serial number check ................................................................... 13

Setup examples and guidelines ................................................................................. 14
GarageBand or Logic ................................................................................................................. 14
Reason and Acoustic Electro Waves .................................................................................. 14
Multichannel setup with ThumbJam ................................................................................ 15
Multichannel setup in Reason............................................................................................... 15
Yamaha VL70-m and other hardware synthesizers .................................................... 16
Untethered playing using a smartphone ......................................................................... 16

Lid removal and breathing resistance adjustment ........................................... 18
2

Important general notes

Please read these notes carefully before using the DM48 chromatic
harmonica MIDI controller.
•

The DM48 it designed to be played in the same pressure range as afine acoustic chromatic harmonica. When properly setup, it should
respond swiftly to gentle blowing force. While the pressure sensors
are rated to handle pressures beyond what can be experienced
during normal play, in no way must they be exposed to unnatural
excessive air pressure, such as pressurized air from compressors or“canned air” containers.

•

Do not expose the slider button to unnecessary force.

•

Similar to a normal chromatic harmonica, the DM48 should be
handled with care and not be exposed to falls or strong forces. Storeand transport it in its protective case. Be careful not to scratch theprotective black anodized surface on mouthpiece.

•

The mouthpiece can be cleaned using a damp cloth. We recommend
cleaning it before first use. Cotton swabs can be used for cleaninginside the channels. The mouthpiece can be detached using ascrewdriver, although this is generally not needed or recommended.
When reattaching the mouthpiece, do not over-tighten the screws.
Pull it just enough to ensure it sits airtight against the chassis (testthis by blocking each hole with a finger on the back of the
instrument).

•

Make sure the USB cable is properly connected: a distinct “click”
should be felt when connecting the mini-USB connector. Do not
expose the USB connector to mechanical forces. A hole in the chassis
at the backside of the instrument allows the USB cable to be secured
using a cable tie (supplied) for safer live playing.

3

Introduction
Overview of the DM48
The DM48 is a MIDI controller without sound synthesis. From the point-ofview of a music production application or synthesizer, it behaves like a MIDI
controller keyboard. However, rather than keys, it makes use of twelvepressure sensors to present the user with a chromatic harmonica-like
control interface. Similar to a MIDI controller keyboard, knowledge of MIDI,
synthesizers, and computer-based sound synthesis/production is useful tomake good use of it.
A single USB cable supplies both communication (using the so called “classcompliant USB MIDI” standard) and power. The supplied USB cable allows
the DM48 to be connected to a Mac or PC, and using a suitable converter
such as the Apple Lightning to USB adapter, it can also be connected toportable devices such as iPads/iPhones. A suitable software or hardware
synthesizer is needed for sound synthesis, and examples and affordable
suggestions are given below (see Setup examples and guidelines). A
smartphone cannot only be used for sound synthesis, but also to route the
MIDI data further over Wi-Fi to enable untethered playing (see Untetheredplaying using a smartphone).

Simple quick start guide
Connect your DM48 via USB to a computer (Mac or Windows) or
iPad/iPhone (a suitable Apple USB adapter is needed). Start your music
software (e.g. GarageBand or similar) and select an instrument of choice.
The DM48 is usually recognized immediately, and if not, check the MIDI
settings in your software and choose DM48 as your input device.
Upon startup, the DM48 will show the Global preset page. Press the roundbutton to enable toggling between presets using the arrows. Use the Wind
preset when playing wind instruments sounds such as saxophone. Use theKeyboard preset if playing piano-type sounds. That’s it!
The DM48 is way more advanced than this, but in most situations thisshould get you started. Detailed information about configuration andrelevant MIDI concepts is found in the pages that follow.

4Configuration guideIntroduction to MIDI and the DM48
Even if you are familiar with MIDI – and even MIDI wind controllers – werecommend reading the following notes. There are two main types of MIDI
messages: note on/off events and “Controller Change” (CC) events. A MIDI
controller keyboard can work well using only the former, which is enoughto trigger notes at different velocities (depending on the force applied to
the key) and stop notes when keys are released. While MIDI wind controllers
also sends note on/off messages, sometimes with variable velocity
depending on configuration, they primarily make use of MIDI CC events tomodulate the intensity/volume of the sound. Such messages aretransmitted continuously at a high rate also after a note has been triggered.
This allows the intensity of the sound to be modulated during the full
duration of the note, as the player changes the applied air pressure. MIDI
pitch bend messages are likewise transmitted continuously during theduration of the note.
By default (the Wind global preset loaded at startup), the DM48 is set tomonophonic mode (see Mono/poly below), meaning that no more than one
note is ever triggered at a time. Velocity is set to a fixed static value (seeVelocity sens below), while breath MIDI CC data will be transmitted
continuously (see Breath sens below). Most users will find that this gives
good playability with wind instrument sounds. A second preset is provided(Keyboard), where velocity is dynamically determined depending on breath
force, breath MIDI CC data is turned off, and polyphonic mode is active.
These settings are suitable for piano-type sounds, where sound intensity
modulation occurs only at note triggering. It is often not desirable tocombine dynamic velocity and breath MIDI CC data, an exception being
patches/sounds specifically adapted for wind controllers, which may
sometimes accurately handle both types of information simultaneously.
MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) patches/synths is another case wherecombined dynamic velocity and breath pressure data is highly beneficial.
These are sounds meant to be controlled by expressive controllers such as
ROLI Seaboard or the Linnstrument. An appealing property of these sounds
are that they are designed to be modulated by a continuous pressure signal,much like wind controller patches, and may therefore be interesting to
explore with the DM48. A third preset (Mpe) provides settings suitable for
MPE sounds, which are further discussed below.
In polyphonic mode, when multiple notes can be triggered simultaneously,
there are some additional considerations. An important property of the MIDI
standard is that MIDI CC and pitch bend messages affect all triggered notes
on a given MIDI channel. For a saxophone-type MIDI controller this is not alimitation, since the instrument is monophonic. In the case of a MIDI
harmonica, this means that notes in a chord will be played at the same
breath intensity, and that bending affects all triggered notes equally. If
5neighboring holes are triggered by mistake, these will be played at the same
intensity as the target note (there is also more advice in Setting up yourDM48 below). Velocity does not have this problem, as velocity values aresent for each note individually.
The limitation described above applies when the DM48 is set to Polyphonicmode and transmits all data on a single MIDI channel (1 by default). The
issue can be overcome by instead using multichannel mode (see MIDI
channel below). In this configuration, each hole transmits MIDI data on a
separate MIDI channel (1-12). With proper setup on the synthesizer side, theholes can then be modulated completely independently of each other, as
on an acoustic harmonica. This is not complicated in principle, but does
require a more complex setup on the receiving end. Some synthesizers (seeMultichannel setup with ThumbJam below) will work immediately with theDM48 in multichannel mode, while others require a more complicatedconfiguration, sometimes involving multiple instances of a synthesizer on
multiple tracks where each one is set to only receives on a single MIDI
channel (see Multichannel setup in Reason below). “Reduced” multichannel
configurations are also possible, such that for example four channels areused (the twelve holes will in this case transmit on channels 1-2-3-4-1-2-34-1-2-3-4 or 2-3-4-5-2-3-4-5-2-3-4-5). This reduces the number of required
synths/tracks.
One simple way of achieving true polyphonic “per hole” pressure
modulation is to use some of the above mentioned MPE synths and patches,as these are normally designed to receive polyphonic pressure data on
multiple channels. Using an MPE sound source, proper polyphonic pressure
modulation can often be achieved simply by selecting the Mpe preset on
the DM48.
With C solo tuning (and many other tunings) and using polyphonic mode,
it is possible to trigger two identical notes (typically “C”) simultaneously –something that cannot be achieved with a keyboard. Many synths willhandle this correctly and will play double notes, including standard wind
instruments in GarageBand or Logic. However, some, including mostmonophonic synths, are not prepared for this. When two notes are triggered
and one of them is released, this may cause the second one to go silent, too.
By default, the DM48 is therefore set to block double triggering of the samenote. This is controlled by Double notes parameter (see below). However,when using a synthesizer that correctly handles double notes, or whenusing a multichannel configuration, it is more appropriate to allow double
note triggering.

Setting up your DM48
By connecting the USB cable, the DM48 should immediately become
selectable as an input MIDI device in your favorite music software without
any special drivers. The default settings on the DM48 give a good starting
point and few changes should be needed for an initial setup. Parameters
will return to default as soon as you turn it off and on again, so there is no6

need to be afraid to explore different settings.
The most important parameter that may need to be changed is Breath CC#, which determines what MIDI CC number is used to transmit breathpressure data to the receiving synthesizer. This parameter defaults to 11(Expression), which works for many standard instruments, for example in
Logic or GarageBand. However, some synths may instead expect 2 (Breath
Controller) or a specialized message called Channel pressure (also called
aftertouch), which is also supported by the DM48.

Breath sens determines the pressure sensor gain. Less force is required
during playing when this parameter is increased, but this will also make iteasier to saturate the intensity of the sound, resulting in loss ofexpressiveness/dynamics. Many times it is rather the playback volume on
your amplifier that needs to be increased – try that first! Trig level
determines the amount of pressure required to trigger a note. Lowering it
makes the DM48 more responsive, but also increases the risk of triggering anote by mistake. Velocity sens should normally be off and set to a static
value around 100-127 but this depends on the type of sound being played,
as discussed above. Asstd poly (assisted polyphonic mode) makes it easierto play clean solo tunes by actively suppressing triggering of neighboring
holes, while still allowing chords. This feature is accessible from theMono/poly menu page, as is also monophonic mode (default), which isusually preferable if only single notes are to be played. Many sounds are
more interesting outside of the default note range – try Octave transp to
shift down an octave or two.

Changing and restoring default settingsOnce you have found settings that you like, you can make these your newdefaults such that they will be loaded every time you power up thecontroller. Go to the Global preset menu page and hold down the roundbutton for two seconds. Select one of twelve possible “slots” and press theround button. The name of the slot will now be editable using the arrows,
slider and round button. To save without changing the name, keep pressing
the round button several times until a confirmation message is shown.
The DM48 can be restored to factory default settings by holding down all
three menu buttons during power-up. Release when a confirmatory
message is seen on the display. Note that custom tunings will still bemaintained. A full restore, including tunings, will be achieved if the threebuttons are kept pressed even longer, until a confirmation about restored
tunings is shown.

Adjustable parameters
This section lists all parameters on the DM48, each one accessible througha separate menu page on the screen.
Global preset
The DM48 provides ten “slots” for storing global settings. By holding down
7the round button for two seconds, this page will also allow the current
settings to be saved to one of the available slots. Note that the first slot
(Wind) is always loaded at startup. A Keyboard preset is also provided for
Keyboard-type instruments, as well as an Mpe preset for MPE (MIDI
Polyphonic Expression) synths/patches (see Introduction to MIDI and theDM48 above). A Geoswam preset is also provided, containing settings
suitable for SWAM instruments in the GeoShred iOS app. Stored settings arerecalled immediately when selected on this menu page, and corresponding
tunings will also be loaded. Additionally, MIDI program change messages
will be sent in cases when loading a preset causes this parameter to change.
After a slot is selected, the name of this slot can be edited. The arrows areused to change the character at the cursor, and the round and slider
buttons are used to move to the next and previous character, respectively.
A shortcut key combination is available to quickly reach this page as well
as 2nd/3rd slider: press the slider and round button simultaneously andkeep holding to toggle between the two pages.
Breath sens
Controls dynamics and volume depending on how hard and soft you play.
Specifically, this is the sensitivity/gain for controller (MIDI CC) messages that
determine sound volume/intensity. Controller messages are sent at a highrate, such that the volume/intensity can be modulated post triggering anote based on the applied pressure. When set to a lower (less sensitive)
setting, more pressure needs to be applied to reach maximum soundintensity. If set too high, the instrument becomes less dynamic as maximum
intensity is quickly reached. Set Breath sens to off to completely turn off
breath MIDI CC data. Note that many times it is the playback volume thatneeds changing rather than Breath sens – try this first.
Breath curve
Response curve for volume/intensity MIDI CC messages. A non-linear curvethat reaches higher intensities sooner may provide a more harmonica-likefeel/response. However, it should be noted that this also depends on thecharacteristics of the downstream synthesizer. Sensitivity (above) may need
to be reduced to compensate for a more aggressive response curve.
Trig level
Pressure threshold for triggering MIDI “note on” messages. Lower values
makes the instrument more sensitive, but increases involuntary triggeringof neighboring holes.
Velocity sens
Sensitivity for velocity (essentially the force with which a note is triggered).
By turning the sensitivity down to off, velocity becomes static rather than
dynamic, and a fixed value (adjustable using the arrows) is transmitted withevery note trig event. Note that latency is slightly increased when dynamic
velocity is active. Set to off when not needed, for maximum responsiveness.
8

Bend trig level
The DM48 provides a pressure-activated bending feature: by blowing harderthan a certain threshold value, bending occurs through transmission of MIDI
pitch bend messages. This parameter determines how hard you have to
blow/draw before bending kicks in. Increase it if involuntary bending
happens.
Bend sens
Once you reach the bending threshold (see above), this parameter
determines how aggressively the instrument will bend. Bending is pressure
controlled in a continuous way, and this is simply the “gain”. Negative values
mean that bends will happen in the downward direction (as on a regularharmonica), will positive values will result in upward bending. When values
are close to zero, more pressure is required for bending. Set it to off todisable bending.
Bend direction
When this menu page is activated (by pressing the round button), the rightarrow key is transformed into a real-time control button that allows
bending direction to be switched while playing. In contrast to the othermenu pages, this is thus not a parameter. Although undocumented in themenu graphics, the right arrow will act as an extra slider button (see 3rd
slider intv below) when this mode is active.
Modltn trig lvl
The DM48 can send “modulation” MIDI CC messages (controller 1), which on
most synths will result in a vibrato effect. This parameter determines how
hard you need to blow/draw before modulation is activated.
Modltn sens
Once you reach the modulation trigger threshold (see above), thisparameter determines how aggressively the instrument will increase themodulation intensity. When values are close to zero, more pressure isrequired. Set it to off to disable modulation.
Mono/poly
When this parameter is set to Monophonic, only a single note is triggered ata time, and the hole with the highest pressure will determine what note is
to be played. This is often the mode of choice. When set to Polyphonic,
multiple holes/notes can be played simultaneously. In this mode and whenusing a standard single MIDI channel setup (the default), the DM48 is moresensitive to mis-triggering of neighbor holes compared to an acoustic
harmonica. This is due to a limitation in the MIDI standard (see Notes on
MIDI and wind controllers above). Continue stepping through the options
and Asstd poly (assisted polyphonic mode) will appear on the screen. Thisfeature attempts to aid in playing clean solo tunes by suppressing triggering
neighbor holes, once a note has been triggered. The strength of this effectcan be adjusted gradually from 1 to 10.
9Octave transp
Transposition in whole octave steps.
Key transp
Transposition in semitone steps. Also shows the current key, based on theassumption that the tuning has been entered in the key of C.
Slider interval
When pressing the slider, all notes will be transposed by this many
semitones. With the default tuning (Solo), this transposition is already built
into the tuning scheme, so it should therefore normally be set to 0. With
Richter tuning, for example, this setting allows the slider to be used for
instant transposition: a setting of +5 would make it possible to shift from C
to F at any time.
Slider delay
Introduces a time delay when releasing the main slider button. For players
not yet adapted to the short stroke-length of the DM48 slider, thisparameter may help in compensating for the quicker response timecompared to a mechanical slider.
2nd slider intv
On the DM48, it is possible to use to use the arrow keys as a extra slider
buttons (see 2nd/3rd slider below). This setting determines the interval, insemitones, by which the second slider (left arrow) will shift the current
tuning.
3rd slider intv
On the DM48, it is possible to use to use the arrow keys as a extra slider
buttons (see 2nd/3rd slider below). This setting determines the interval, insemitones, by which the third slider (right arrow) will shift the current
tuning.
2nd/3rd slider
When this menu page is activated (by pressing the round button), the left
and right arrows are transformed into real-time control buttons that acts as
extra sliders (see above). In contrast to the other menu pages, this is thus
not a parameter.
A shortcut key combination is available to quickly reach this page as well
as Global preset: press the slider and round button simultaneously and keep
holding to toggle between the two pages.
TuningShows the current tuning scheme. Ten “slots” are available, all of themcustomizable using the tuning editor (see below). By default, the two firstslots are called Solo (standard chromatic tuning) and Richter (typical tuningfor diatonic/blues harmonicas), but all of them can be edited. By holding
down the round button for two seconds seconds, this page will also allow
10the current tuning to be saved to one of the available slots. After a slot isselected, the name of this slot can be edited. The arrows are used to change
the character at the cursor, and the round and slider buttons are used tomove to the next and previous character, respectively.
Tuning editor
Use this to modify the current tuning. Simply use the arrows to select hole,
blow/draw and slider position, and press the round button to edit the
selected note. Select Quit to step out of the editor by using the arrows. Allchanges are effective immediately and can be played without saving
anything, while still editing. By stepping past the last hole, a screen willappear with options for transposing the current tuning up or down.
Additionally, functions for exporting and importing tunings is available on
this screen: Send tuning will send the current tuning as MIDI notes, to berecorded and saved for example as a MIDI file that can be shared withothers. After selecting Receive tuning, the DM48 is ready to receive a tuning
which will replace the current one. Simply choose DM48 as your output MIDI
device in your sequencer and then play back a previously recorded tuning.
Remember to save (see Tuning above) it if you want to keep it permanently
in your DM48.
Navigation in the tuning editor is “circular” – step past the last option on thelast page to return to the first page.
Breath CC #This is a critical parameter that determines what type of MIDI CC message
is used to modulate sound intensity. By default this parameter is set to 11(Expression), and many synthesizers will respond to this controller message
and adjust the volume/intensity accordingly. However, some synths instead
expect it to be set to 2 (Breath). A last resort is to use 7 (Volume). This is
usually not desirable, as this can also affect the volume of added effects
such as reverb, but it is still better than no volume modulation. On thisscreen, you can also set the DM48 to transmit “channel pressure” messages(Aftertouch) rather than MIDI CC, which is expected by some synthesizers.
Furthermore, the DM48 is capable of transmitting polyphonic aftertouch(Poly aftertch) data. With compatible synthesizers and patches, and whencombined with Polyphonic mode, this makes it possible to achieve
polyphonic pressure modulation on a single MIDI channel. When Polyaftertch is active, Double notes is automatically set to Block, regardless of
the actual setting for that parameter (see below). This is because polyphonicaftertouch data is tied to specific notes, making it incompatible with asituation where multiple holes are triggering the same note (as can happen
with standard Solo tuning).
MIDI channel
Channel used for sending MIDI messages (normally 1). This setting also
allows the DM48 to be set to multichannel mode. In this configuration, theholes will transmit MIDI data on different channels. The number of channels
11can be selected, with for example Multich. 1-12 indicating that twelve
separate channels will be used, one for each hole. Multich. 1-4 indicates thatfour channels will be used, such that the holes will transmit MIDI data onchannels 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4. “Base 2” multichannel ranges are alsoavailable, for example Multich. 2-5 or Multich. 2-13, which can be useful
together with synthesizers that support the MPE (MIDI Polyphonic
Expression) standard, as channel 1 is then not to be used for note triggering.
Note that Double notes (see below) should typically be set to Allow in
multichannel mode. This allows, for example, double C notes to be playedwhen using Solo tuning.
MIDI program
Can be used to remotely select patch (sound) on the downstream
synthesizer. Note that not all synths will respond to MIDI program change
messages.
Keys CC #When this feature is activated and any of the real-time control modes areactive (Bend direction or 2nd/3rd slider, see above), the arrow buttons will
send MIDI CC messages when pressed. Optionally, the slider can alsotransmit MIDI CC data, and this will then happen regardless of what modeis active. CC numbers (consecutive only) are selectable on this screen.
Increase this parameter starting from the Off position to activate and selectCC numbers for both arrows, and decrease it to enable CC data for left arrow
only. Continue increasing/decreasing the value to the very end of the range
to also enable CC data for the slider (always CC #119). MIDI CC values will
toggle between 0 and a user-selectable value (default 127; see Keys CC value
below) when buttons are held. Setting any of the slider intervals to zero
allows the corresponding button to be used purely as a MIDI controller key.
The Keys CC # feature allows the buttons to be used to control specificparameters in your music production software or software synthesizer
plugins. A video is available on our homepage to demonstrate this. Notethat by setting the left arrow to send CC #1, it can be used to activate
modulation, while at the same time leaving the right arrow to be used as
an extra slider. In this case, be sure to inactivate breath-controlled
modulation (see Modltn sens above).
Keys CC value
When MIDI CC messages are sent by pressing the buttons (see Keys CC #above), this parameter determines the parameter value to be sent with the
CC messages. The value is always 0 when keys are not pressed, and will
toggle to the value selected here when pressed.
Double notes
Many tuning schemes allow double simultaneous triggering of the samenote (e.g. C in Solo tuning), but not all synthesizers can handle this on asingle MIDI channel (see Important notes on MIDI and wind instruments
above). This setting controls whether double triggering of the same note is12allowed (Allow) or blocked (Block). This parameter has no relevance inMonophonic mode (see Mono/poly above).
Gain skew
By opening the DM48, it is possible to adjust the breathing resistance suchthat lower holes have less resistance, similar to an acoustic harmonica (see
Lid removal and breathing resistance adjustment below). This will however
reduce the pressure in the lower chambers (or vice versa should theresistance be increased on higher notes). This parameter makes it is possible
to compensate for the effect, by applying a higher gain to lower notes andvice versa. Should normally be in the neutral position as indicated by ahorizontal line.
Display
Allows the display to be set to automatically dim or turn off after 4
seconds of inactivity.

Firmware version and serial number check

By holding down the slider during power-up, the version of the currently
installed firmware as well as the electronic serial number of your DM48 will
be shown on the screen. Keep holding the slider a little longer and the DM48
will enter “update mode”, meaning it is ready to receive a firmware update
via USB. Further information about this is provided in the firmware update
files that are distributed through the Lekholm Instruments homepage,
where the latest version is always available for download.

13

Setup examples and guidelines

The DM48 does not synthesize sounds and is thus not a musical instrument,
but rather an instrument controller. The synthesizer to which it is connected
is therefor a critical part of the setup. This section contains a few examples
and step-by-step guides to complete setups, including affordable software
synthesizers that are suitable for a wind controller like the DM48.

GarageBand or Logic
The DM48 will likely become usable as an input device directly afterconnecting it – if not check the settings in Preferences, Audio/MIDI. Some ofthe sampled wind instruments in Garageband or Logic on MacOS aredecent, and there are plenty of synthesizers and patches that can beadapted to work with a wind controller. GarageBand on iOS works too, butoffers a less impressive selection of instruments. GarageBand instruments
expect Breath CC # on the DM48 to be set to 11 (Expression). They can also
correctly handle double triggering of the same note, meaning that Double
notes should preferably be set to Allow (see Introduction to MIDI and theDM48 above).
Remember that there is no “decay”, as on a piano tone, on blown
instruments – the tone can be kept alive as long as there is still air in thelungs. When adapting non-wind instrument patches for playing with theDM48, try thus to change the “decay” parameter that is available on mostsoftware synthesizers. The Sculpture modeling synth, included in Logic, isgood for wind instruments. To enable polyphonic playing (chords), increase
the polyphony parameter on the upper part of the Sculpture panel.

Reason and Acoustic Electro Waves
EWI Reason Sounds provides an excellent set of software synthesizers forwind controllers in the form of plugins (refills) for Reason, including one
called Acoustic Electro Waves. We found these to be excellent together with
the DM48, on both MacOS and Windows machines. Together with Reason
in demo mode (song loading disabled, but otherwise full functionality at nocost) it is a bargain at $13. These instruments expect Breath CC # on the
DM48 to be set to 2 (Breath). They do not correctly handle double triggeringof the same note, meaning that Double notes should be set to Block (seeIntroduction to MIDI and the DM48 above).
1. Download
thefullversionhttps://www.propellerheads.se/download/of

Reasonat

2. Connect the DM48 if disconnected.
3. Set Breath CC # to 2 on the DM48.
4. Follow Reason installation instructions closely and start Reason.
Select Demo mode.
5. When asked about attached control surfaces, select Manufacturer:
Other, Model: MIDI Keyboard (No controls), In Port: DM48. For audio
14

output, the default settings should work fine.
6. Purchase and download the Acoustic Electric Waves synth plugin at
http://www.ewireasonsounds.com/reason-refills.html
7. In Reason, there is a Browser window to the left. Navigate to the
Acoustic Electro Waves file you just downloaded. Clicking it should
give you a selection of patches ending in “.cmb”. Double-click one ofthese to add it to the rack.

Multichannel setup with ThumbJam

The ThumbJam app is a nice low-budget option for getting started on iOS
devices (iPhone/iPad) and it works immediately with the DM48 without any
additional settings. Even better, it will respond correctly to multichannel
data right from the start. You only need to activate this on the DM48 by
setting MIDI channel to Multich. 1-12 and Mono/poly to Polyphonic. You canalso set Double notes to Allow (see Introduction to MIDI and the DM48
above), to allow triggering of double identical notes (e.g. adjacent C notes
in solo tuning).

Multichannel setup in Reason

For multichannel mode (see MIDI channel and Introduction to MIDI and theDM48) to work correctly, the downstream synthesizer(s) should be setup toreceive MIDI data on several separate MIDI channels. In some cases, such as
ThumbJam (see above), this is easy, but many times it requires some moreadvanced MIDI skills and knowledge, and there is no universal fix as thesolution will be specific to your downstream synthesizer setup. We provide
one example here on how to achieve this in Reason, using four synths. In
theory, twelve synths/channels is optimal, as this will make the holes
completely independent of each other, similar to an acoustic harmonica.
However, this may put a lot of load on the computer, in addition to being
more time consuming to set up.
1. Set Mono/poly to Polyphonic and MIDI channel on the DM48 toMultich. 1-4. The holes will now transmit data on four different MIDI
channels.
2. For best playability, also set Double notes to Allow (see Introduction
to MIDI and the DM48 above).
3. In Reason, go to Preferences, Control surfaces and remove the single
control surface (input device) that is probably installed already (theDM48). Go to Sync and set Bus A to DM48.
4. Add four synthesizers to the rack by dragging from the browser
window. Note that these should be wind-controller-adapted synths
such as Acoustic Electro Waves (see above).
5. On the top rack unit (Hardware interface), click Advanced MIDI. Assign
Channel 1 to the first synth (if using Acoustic Electro Waves, pick thefirst Combinator > In in the list). Assign Channel 2 to the next synth,
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etc.
Note that changing patch now involves changing it on four separate
synthesizers in the rack.

Yamaha VL70-m and other hardware synthesizers
Due to the DM48 being a class-compliant USB MIDI device, it cannot directly
control a hardware synthesizer with a typical 5-pin MIDI connector.
However, most music production software can be used to route the DM48
MIDI signals to an external synthesizer. A USB MIDI interface will be
required, but these are available at low cost. Additionally, using a so called“USB host to MIDI” device, manufactured for example by Kenton (MIDI USB
Host MkII) or Mode Machines (Cerebel USB), it is possible to eliminate thePC altogether. We have tested the DM48 together with the Kenton device
and the acclaimed Yamaha VL70-m hardware modeling synthesizer, whichsounds great, but one should keep in mind that this is a monophonic synthand chords are thus not possible. Breath CC # needs to be set to 2 (Breath)for the VL70-m. Monophonic mode (see Mono/poly above) may be
preferable. If polyphonic mode is used, some degree of Asstd poly isrecommended (see Mono/poly above). In this case, the VL70-m will notcorrectly handle double triggering of the same note, meaning that Double
notes should be set to Block (see Introduction to MIDI and the DM48 above).

Untethered playing using a smartphone
Although the DM48 can be used with a long USB cable to enable live
performances, there is a simple way to become even more mobile. Built into
Apple’s ecosystem is support for network MIDI, which means you canconnect the DM48 to an iOS device (iPhone or iPad) using the AppleLightning-to-USB adapter, and then route the MIDI signals over Wi-Fi toother devices. As a bonus, the iOS device acts as a mobile power source forthe DM48. Windows-based machines should also be able to receive thesesignals if the correct driver is installed (see https://www.tobiaserichsen.de/software/rtpmidi.html). The approach described here is thus
not a feature of the DM48 per se, but it becomes very useful with a small
handheld instrument.
We used an iOS app called MIDIflow to control Reason running on MacOS
from a DM48 connected to an iPhone with excellent results. The setup isrelatively easy.
1. On your Mac, create a computer-to-computer network (click network
icon in top status bar and select Create network…). Join this networkon your iOS device.
2. In MIDIflow, select DM48 as input device (top + icon) and Network
Session 1 as destination device (bottom + icon).
3. On the Mac, start Audio MIDI Setup (use Spotlight search to find thisapplication), click Window, Show MIDI window and click Network.
Add a new session (+) and tick the box for this session. In the Directory16list, choose your iOS device and click Connect. There should now be a
MIDI device called Network Session 1 available to any of your music
applications in MacOS. This device behaves just like a locallyconnected DM48.

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Lid removal and breathing resistance adjustment

We generally do NOT recommend removing the lid, and we cannot takeresponsibility for any possible harm caused during this procedure. However,advanced users do have the possibility of adjusting the breathing resistanceindividually for each hole by means of 12 screws inside the DM48. By
adjusting these screws, one can mimic the uneven resistance patternencountered on a regular harmonica (less resistance on the lower holes).
Changing the breathing resistance will also influence the pressure in thechambers. Thus, lessening the resistance will make it possible to blow ordraw more strongly without saturating the sensors. Conversely, theinstrument can be made very sensitive by tightening the screws, to allowpressure to build up more easily. The Gain skew setting (see above) can beused to compensate for the loss of signal that would result from opening
up screws on lower-numbered holes or tightening high-numbered holes.
By default, all holes have been calibrated for equal response, and in mostcases there should be no need to alter the screw settings. Breathing
resistance adjustment is an advanced feature that requires opening up the
instrument:
1. Remove the two bottom screws using a torx driver.
2. Gently slide the lid backwards away from the mouthpiece, while atthe same time lifting it a few mm upwards to avoid damaging thedisplay. If necessary, a screwdriver or similar may be inserted in
between the mouthpiece and the lid to help gently wiggle it
backwards a few mm. All maneuvers should be done with great careto avoid damaging any of the parts and components.
3. Having slid it away ~5 mm from the mouthpiece, lift up the lid at thefront end (facing the mouthpiece), tilt it backwards a little bit, andslide it backward away from the instrument. Do this very gently toensure that components come free from the lid.
4. The individual holes can be adjusted using a hex key (a torx driverworks too).
5. Reverse the procedure above when replacing the lid, again taking
great care not to damage the display. Do not over-tighten the screws,
as this can damage the plastic chassis.

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