Hi MIDI wizards,
Przemek here. I’m excited to show you two small pieces of the MetaGrid Pro 2 interface: three MIDI I/O switches and the destination picker for a Note On / Off action. Between them, they show the biggest change: you’ll be able to choose the device and MIDI port for each action, and address multiple computers, iPad apps and hardware from the same grid.
Here’s what that opens up.
1. Multiple computers on one grid
MetaGrid Pro 2’s simultaneous connections to multiple computers extend to MIDI. With MetaServer running on each computer, one action can address a port on your DAW machine and the next can address a port on your instrument host. Both controls can sit on the same grid. You won’t have to switch the grid’s active computer to use them.
2. Access to the computer’s MIDI ports
The port picker will include MIDI destinations available on the selected computer beyond the ports created by MetaServer. That includes individual outputs on a hardware MIDI interface and virtual destinations exposed by music software.
The selection is per computer and per port. If your synth is wired to Output 2 of an interface on your second computer, that’s the output you can assign to the action.
3. Virtual MIDI input and output on iPad
Enable MetaGrid Pro Input / Output and other MIDI apps on the iPad can use MetaGrid’s virtual ports in either direction:
- MetaGrid Pro Output: choose this as an input in your synth or other receiving app to get MIDI from MetaGrid Pro.
- MetaGrid Pro Input: choose this as a destination in another app to send MIDI into MetaGrid Pro.
There’s a direct route as well. If an app exposes its own receiving port, open the app, refresh the port list and select it under Receiving Apps.
4. USB MIDI hardware connected to the iPad
Hardware MIDI Input / Output (USB) gives MetaGrid Pro direct access to compatible MIDI hardware connected to the iPad. You can receive from a USB MIDI controller or send to a hardware synth. With a multi-port interface, you can select the individual output you need under Hardware Ports.
5. Apple Network MIDI without MetaServer
With Apple Network MIDI Input / Output enabled, you’ll be able to exchange MIDI with compatible devices over your local Wi-Fi network. Multiple devices can join the same session. The destination you select in MetaGrid Pro is the session: outgoing MIDI reaches its connected peers, and incoming MIDI arrives through the session input.
That’s a useful distinction between the two network routes. With MetaServer, you choose a particular computer and one of its ports. With Apple Network MIDI, you choose a network MIDI session. Virtual ports, USB MIDI and Apple Network MIDI all work directly on the iPad without MetaServer.
One detail I like in the second screenshot: Network Session 1 is listed, but the checkmark is next to MetaGrid Pro Output. You can see exactly where that C♯3 on channel 1 is going.
And I haven’t even got to the new and improved MIDI-enabled grid objects yet. More on those in a future Devs’ Lab. 
Have a great day!
— Przemek