KLANG MIDI Integration for Allen & Heath

This guide explains how to integrate KLANG:app with Allen & Heath dLive and Avantis consoles for remote control and mix switching using MIDI. It’s written for engineers and users familiar with Allen & Heath consoles but new to MIDI. Step-by-step instructions and a MIDI command table are included to make the process clear and simple.

Mandatory Steps

• Install MIDI Control
• Setup MIDI Channel in Console
• Setup MIDI Integration in KLANG:app
• Setup SoftKey to Switch KLANG Mixes

Optional Steps

Pick and choose which features you want to set up and use:

• Setup SoftKeys for KLANG Snapshot Control
• Setup 32 Channel Fader Control
• Setup Advanced SoftKeys
  • Change KLANG:app views
  • MIDI Bank swap for up to 128 Channel Fader Control

Available Controls

These are the MIDI remote features available between the Allen & Heath console and KLANG:

• Mix Selection via SoftKeys → Changes active KLANG mix
• SoftKeys 
  • Recalling snapshots (First, previous, next, current, …)
  • Change to specific KLANG:app views and menus
• 32 bidirectional MIDI Channels for active KLANG Mix
  • Faders (dB gain) ↔ KLANG faders (exactly the same dB gain)
  • *Pan rotary (0..63..127) ↔ Azimuth / Pan (-180°..0°..+180°)
  • *Sends rotary (0..63..1277) ↔ Elevation (-90°..0°..+90°)
  • *Gain rotary (0..63..127) ↔ Tone Filter (-11..0..+11)
  • *Custom 1 rotary (0..63..127) ↔ Stereo Width (-100% to 0% to +100%)
  • Mute button (w/ LED) ↔ Mute in KLANG
  • Solo button (w/ LED) ↔ Solo in KLANG
  • Mix button (w/LED) ↔ Opens STAGE view with channel focus

We will install the MIDI Control driver that connects to your Allen & Heath console on the same computer as KLANG:app. This requires either a Windows PC or a Mac.

1. Install Allen&Heath MIDI Control driver (Currently: Version 2.2 2025-07-28)
2. Open MIDI Control
3. Choose Mixer type, e.g. dLive MixRack, Avantis, …
4. Protocol: MIDI Thru
5. Enter IP address of the dLive MixRack or the Avantis console. Use 127.0.0.1 if using offline software director on the same computer
6. Click on Connect

Go to Utility > MIDI > MIDI Controls > MIDI Channel and set to 12-16

Enable MIDI Integration

1. Open KLANG:app in Admin mode.
2. Go to KLANG:app > CONFIG > EXT CONTROL > MIDI INTEGRATION.
3. Your MIDI Control device should appear, e.g. MIDI Control 1
4. Select MIDI_Allen_Heath_MIDI_Faders.

Create MIDI Fader Mapping in KLANG:app

1. Go to KLANG:app > CONFIG > CHANNEL
2. Click into the Channel Mapping Dropdown for KLANG channel 1
3. Choose MIDI fader 1.
4. Click into the dropdown again and choose RIPPLE DOWN ALL to assign all the next MIDI faders to the next KLANG channels.

There are two different methods to switch KLANG mixes from the console’s SoftKeys:

• Method 1: via Scene Recalls
  • Import Ready-Made Scenes to dLive, Pre-defined example SoftKeys
  • Manually create Scenes
• Method 2: via Custom MIDI SoftKeys

Method 1: KLANG Mix Switch via Scenes Recall

To switch between KLANG mixes using SoftKeys, we can use scene recalls, since each recall sends out the scene number as a MIDI message. The last 16 of 500 scenes are mapped to KLANG Mix 1 to Mix 16.

Firing a KLANG mix switch scene via SoftKeys does not affect the usual scene workflow, e.g. when you move through songs in a setlist.

STEP 1a: Quick Start: Import Ready-Made Scenes

1. Download this archive with the dLive and Avantis show file
2. ONLY on dLive > Scenes > Select Show > Select: User Show > Load KLANGsnapshots.
3. Select Range > Select All > Drag highlighted scenes on the right and drop to scene 481 on the left.

Pre-Defined Example SoftKeys

STEP 1b: Manual Setup: Create the Scenes Yourself

1. Go to Scenes.
2. Label scenes 485 to 500 as KLANG Mix 1 to KLANG Mix 16.
3. Store each scene.
4. To ensure these scenes don’t affect console settings:
   • Select a scene
   • Go to Recall Filter
   • Choose Block All and click Apply (These scene recall should not change anything but just send out a MIDI message)

STEP 2: Define Softkeys for Mixes

There are generally two different workflows:

1. KLANG Mixes are additional/completely separate to your console stereo auxes
2. KLANG is integrated into your stereo aux mixing

KLANG Mixes are separate from console Aux

1. Go to Setup > Control > SoftKeys
2. Assign Function: Scene Controls
3. Scene Function: Specific Scene Recall
4. Scene: Choose the KLANG Mix scene that we have created before.

Change KLANG Mix alongside Stereo Auxes

1. Go to Setup > Control > SoftKeys
2. Assign PAFL Mix Sel Scene (on Avantis, might be called differently on other consoles)
3. Channel Type: Stereo Aux
4. Channel Number: Match the target mix.
5. Scene: Choose the previously stored scene (485–500).

Method 2: KLANG Mix Switch via SoftKey MIDI

Alternatively, we can also switch Mixes directly with custom MIDI messages.

• Go to Setup > Control > SoftKeys.
• Select a SoftKey, e.g. Soft 1 and assign Function: Custom MIDI.
• Enter a hex MIDI command for the button press: 95, 00, 01 to switch to the first mix. 95, 00, 02 for the second mix, etc.

Via SoftKeys

• Go to Setup > Control > SoftKeys.
• Select a SoftKey, e.g. Soft 1 and assign Function: Custom MIDI.
• Enter a hex MIDI command for the button press, e.g. 95, 65, 7F to fire the first KLANG Snapshot in the list. See the following table for all snapshot related commands.

dLive Scene Recall with Custom MIDI

On dLive edit your scene and specify Custom MIDI to be recalled when firing the scene. Use 95, 6A, <SnapshotIndexInList> where the last digits represent the position in the KLANG snapshot list in hexadecimal notation. In the example we enter 95, 6A, 01 for the first snapshot in the KLANG snapshot list here labelled “Scene 1”. Click here to convert to hexadecimal numbers.

Drag & Drop MIDI Faders into Banks

1. Go to Setup > Control > Strip Assign > MIDI
2. Enable Block Select
3. Go to Strips and Choose the target Bank, i.e. A, B, C …
4. Drag & Drop MIDI Faders into the desired strip.

Get Familiar with the Bidirectional Control

• Move a MIDI fader — the corresponding fader value in KLANG:app will follow.
• Go to KLANG:app > FADERS and click on Solo and the PAFL button will light on the console.
• Click on Mute on the console MIDI fader and KLANG:app and the mute button will follow.
• A muted channel will automatically be unmuted if the faders is moved from -INF upwards. If a channel is invisible in KLANG it will be shown as muted on the console. When it is unmuted on the console it will be automatically set to visible in KLANG.
• Click on the Mix Button on the console to open that channel in isolated STAGE view in KLANG:app.
• Change the rotary function to Pan and use the encoder to change the azimuth of a channel.

This step is optional and only required if more the 32 MIDI faders on the console are not enough to remote control all channels in KLANG. In the same way as for the 16 KLANG mixes, we need to create 4 scenes for the MIDI Fader Banks. The first bank MIDI faders 1-32 (default) is recalled when scene 481 is recalled.

Manual Creation of MIDI Bank Swap Scenes

1. Go to Scenes > Scene Manager and enter a name such as MIDI BANK 1-32
2. Now, label and color the 32 MIDI faders accordingly to the channels that they control in KLANG.
3. Make sure to Store this scene.

Go to Scenes > select the scene > Recall Filter > Block all > Apply.

Go to MIDI > Name & Colour and allow this.

Proceed with the scenes 482, 483 and 484 for MIDI fader bank 33-64, 65-96 and 97-128.

Assign a SoftKey as explained before to recall one of these scenes and switch to different MIDI fader banks including proper color and naming on the console.

Table of available MIDI Control Messages

• Always test MIDI faders and SoftKeys with KLANG:app connected to confirm mapping.
• Use scene recall to create a seamless workflow between console mix selection and KLANG.
• You can expand the MIDI setup to external foot controllers or pads using the same messages.

Example: SoftKeys to Switch KLANG:app Views

As an example, we define SoftKey 16 to activate KLANG:app STAGE view (elevation) with MIDI command 95, 04, 7F on button press and hold, and STAGE view (top) with MIDI command 95, 03, 7F on button release. Hence, if the button is pressed shortly, KLANG:app lands in the STAGE view (top).

Direct Outs to KLANG

Go to I/O > Output and select the I/O Port that connects to a KLANG processor. In this example we have a Dante expansion card in I/O Port 1 and route 32 channels of audio from Avantis to Dante. In Dante controller these 32 channels from the Allen & Heath Dante card are patched to KLANG:vokal.

Go to I/O > Input > Mix Ext In and choose the Port where your KLANG mixes are returned to the console. In this example we route the 12 mixes from KLANG:vokal back to the Dante network and patch them to the Allen & Heath Dante card in Port 1.

KLANG Mix Returns