Audio and MIDI Settings
Orbiter's settings dialog lets you configure audio devices, MIDI routing, and tempo synchronization. Open it by tapping the settings icon (three-slider icon) in the top-left corner of the Orbit view or in the instrument toolbar.
Audio Tab
The Audio tab controls your audio device configuration.
- Output — select which audio output device to use (or leave as System Default)
- Input — select an audio input device for mic excitation features
- Latency — choose a buffer size (32–2048 samples). Lower values reduce latency but increase CPU load. Changing the buffer size fades audio out, reinitializes the audio engine, and fades back in to avoid clicks
Audio settings are persisted across app launches.
MIDI Tab
The MIDI tab controls MIDI input and output routing.
Output Port
Select which MIDI output port to send notes and clock to. On macOS and Linux, you can also enable a Virtual Port that other apps can connect to without needing a physical MIDI interface.
Input Ports
Toggle one or more MIDI input ports to receive notes from external controllers. Incoming MIDI notes are routed to instruments by channel:
| Channel | Instrument |
|---|---|
| 1 (and 4–16) | Handpan |
| 2 | Gong |
| 3 | Singing Bowl |
Per-Instrument Output
Each instrument can be independently enabled or disabled for MIDI output, and assigned to a specific MIDI channel (1–16):
- Handpan — melodic notes on configurable channel (default: ch 1)
- Gong — drum-kit style with configurable note numbers for small, mid, and large gong instances (default: ch 2)
- Bowl — melodic notes on configurable channel (default: ch 3)
Send Taps as MIDI
When enabled, tapping instrument pads in the UI sends MIDI Note On/Off messages to the selected output. This lets you use Orbiter as a MIDI controller. Sequencer-generated notes are always sent to MIDI output regardless of this setting.
Tempo Sync
Orbiter supports three tempo synchronization modes:
- Internal — free-running clock at the selected BPM. Optionally sends MIDI clock (24 ppqn) and transport messages to other devices
- MIDI Clock — follows incoming MIDI clock from an external source. BPM is derived from tick intervals
- Ableton Link — syncs tempo and phase with other Link-enabled apps on the local network
MIDI and sync settings are persisted across app launches.