Tap tempo & DAW triggers from your Stream Deck

A Stream Deck key can send a real MIDI note — and that's a surprisingly handy signal. With MIDIRover's free Note action you can tap a delay's tempo in time, fire a clip, scene or transport command in your DAW, or drive any parameter that MIDI-Learns to a note. It works with Neural DSP and any MIDI-enabled software, on Windows or macOS, for free.

What you'll need

• Any Stream Deck and the free Stream Deck app.
• MIDIRover — this plugin.
• Windows: a virtual MIDI port (the free loopMIDI). macOS: nothing — MIDIRover makes its own port.
• A plugin or DAW that can MIDI-Learn the thing you want to trigger.

If you haven't set up the MIDI port yet, the Neural DSP setup guide walks through it: add MIDIRover, create one loopMIDI port on Windows (macOS makes its own), pick that port on the action, then point your plugin or DAW's MIDI input at the same port. The port choice is shared by every key.

The Note action modes, at a glance

Drop a Note action on a key and pick a Mode for how the press behaves:

• Tap — sends note-on then note-off on each press. This is the mode for tap-tempo and one-shot triggers.
• Hold — holds the note down for as long as you press the key, and releases it when you let go.
• Toggle — alternates on and off with each press, and lights the key while the note is on.
• Note On only — sends a note-on that keeps sounding; you end it later with a separate Tap set to the same note and channel.

The Note field takes a number 0–127 and shows its musical name next to it — for example 60 · C4 — so you're never guessing which note a value maps to.

Tap tempo (if your delay can learn it)

Some delays and time-based effects can MIDI-Learn their tempo from a stream of note taps — you feed them a few notes in time and they lock to that BPM. If yours supports this (check your plugin's manual — not every effect does), it's a two-minute setup:

• Add a Note action and set Mode → Tap.
• Arm the tempo control's MIDI-Learn in your plugin, then press the key a couple of times to bind it to that note.
• Now tap the key in time with the music — each Tap is a fresh note-on, and the plugin averages your taps into a tempo, exactly as it would from a hardware footswitch.

Because this depends entirely on the receiving plugin, MIDIRover just supplies clean, repeatable note taps — it doesn't assume any particular device behaviour. If your effect can't learn tempo from notes, drive its tempo parameter instead from a dial or Sweep key (see the expression / ride-a-parameter guide).

Trigger a DAW clip, scene, or transport

Most DAWs let you MIDI-Learn an incoming note to almost any control — launching a clip, firing a scene, or hitting play / stop / record on the transport. Route MIDIRover's MIDI port into your DAW's MIDI input, then use the DAW's own MIDI-mapping mode: arm it, press a Tap-mode Note key once, and the DAW binds that note to the highlighted control. From then on, one press fires it.

The exact menu names differ between DAWs, so follow your DAW's MIDI-mapping documentation for where its learn mode lives — the workflow is the same everywhere: arm learn → press the key → it's mapped. There are no fixed clip or scene numbers to memorise; you're teaching your DAW, not reading a chart.

Hold vs Toggle for sustained triggers

When you need something to stay on rather than fire once, the mode you pick decides how it ends:

• Hold is momentary — the note is on only while your finger is down. Good for a gate, a held pad, or a talk-over-style trigger you release the instant you're done.
• Toggle is press-on / press-again-off, and the key light shows whether the note is currently on — handy when the sustain needs to outlast your finger and you want a clear visual of its state.
• Note On only sends a note that keeps sounding with no automatic release. To stop it, add a second key set to Tap on the same note and channel — pressing it sends the matching note-off. This split is useful when the "start" and "stop" live on different keys or pages.

Velocity and off-velocity

Velocity (0–127) is how hard the note is struck — it matters for velocity-sensitive instruments and for any parameter that reads note velocity. Off velocity is the release velocity sent with the note-off; it defaults to 0 because most gear ignores it, so leave it there unless your instrument specifically responds to release velocity.

Channel and Learning Mode

The Channel (1–16) on the key must match the channel your plugin or DAW is listening on — most setups sit on channel 1. To skip looking up note numbers entirely, use Learning Mode: on the Note action open the Learn row, press Learn, and play a note (or move a control) on any connected MIDI controller — MIDIRover fills in the channel and note for you. The input stays open only while you're learning, and closes after about twelve seconds if nothing arrives.

For every mode and setting, see the MIDIRover user manual. To combine notes with stomp toggles and preset switching, follow the Neural DSP setup guide.