Midi Virtuoso Piano Edition

Not all musical instruments can produce sound without any special device or speaker attached to it. What’s more, an instrument that’s plugged to a computer can have its capabilities greatly enhanced. One example is Midi Virtuoso Piano Edition, a small application that lets you get more out of MIDI devices, adding effects, and saving songs.

The application is used to grab input from any MIDI device you connect to your computer, and lets you assemble it in various effects or tracks. Unfortunately, you’re directly thrown in the main window, with no initial configuration wizard to set up audio devices.

However, the option can easily be accessed from the Midi menu, which is only fitted with In and Out options. In case no devices are detected, no entry is shown. However, the application can also be used only for output through the system MIDI driver, thus adding to overall flexibility.

A keyboard can be found on the bottom of the main window, with simple looks and effects. the upper part lets you navigate through three configuration options for Midi Instrument, Moused Note Settings, and Computer Keyboard Note Settings. Sadly, options are rather confusing and can take some getting used to.

What’s more, recording isn’t quite done through conventional methods. In fact, there’s no built-in option to make the application save what you’re playing. In terms of effects, you only need to rely on imagination, and combine instruments from the impressive amounts of presets that can be spread on multiple channels.

Although you can’t record in real-time, there’s the possibility to create musical parts. This is the option that fills in the central, empty area. You can work on more at a time and access them through tabs. It’s not your conventional audio rack, with representation being done with note slots and intensity.

Bottom line is that Midi Virtuoso Piano Edition wants to help you turn your personal computer into an audio workstation. However, the overall impression leaves more to be desired, starting with the rather poor visual design, and going on with the shallow set of options and rather limited possibilities.