devices · Nano Cortex · reference · MIDI
MIDI
Two strategies work live. Build four presets that cover a whole set (Neural DSP staff argue the limit makes you rely on your dynamics), or add a MIDI controller and treat the Nano as a sound module. Don't plan to reach for the BANK button mid-song: it cycles capture banks, not presets, and it is a hand control.
1. tip = data
This is MIDI Type A wiring. Type B swaps tip and ring, so a Type B cable into this jack does nothing at all and shows no error. If your controller is silent, check your cable type first.
2. ring = voltage reference
The ring is the current-loop return. Together with the tip it carries the whole MIDI signal.
3. sleeve = shield
The sleeve is ground and screen, with nothing to set. Don't use a TS cable: it has no ring at all.
4. input only, and set the port mode first
The EXP/MIDI jack is either an expression input or a MIDI input, chosen in the Cortex Cloud app. It defaults to expression, so set it to MIDI before connecting a controller. MIDI output exists only over USB-C.
Reserved CC messages
what a controller can reach
Without these you can change presets and nothing else. With them every slot has a bypass toggle, and the tuner and tap tempo come off the pedal entirely. Put a controller in front of a Nano Cortex for exactly this.
- CC#1
Expression pedal position
0 = heel, 127 = toe
- CC#34
INPUT GATE slot bypass
0–63 off · 64–127 on
- CC#35
CAPTURE slot bypass
0–63 off · 64–127 on
- CC#36
CAB/IR slot bypass
0–63 off · 64–127 on
- CC#37
FX slot 1 bypass
0–63 off · 64–127 on
- CC#38
FX slot 2 bypass
0–63 off · 64–127 on
- CC#39
FX slot 3 bypass
0–63 off · 64–127 on
- CC#40
FX slot 4 bypass
0–63 off · 64–127 on
- CC#41
FX slot 5 bypass
0–63 off · 64–127 on
- CC#42
Tap tempo
Any value taps
- CC#43
Tuner
0–63 off · 64–127 on
- MIDI THRU
Forwards messages arriving on the TRS MIDI input straight to the USB MIDI output.
- MIDI CLOCK SOURCE
OFF, USB or TRS MIDI. If your delays aren't following the song tempo, check this setting.
- MIDI CHANNEL
Sets the base channel the Nano Cortex listens on.
How it works
- ports
EXP/MIDI is a 1/4" TRS jack carrying MIDI Type A, input only. MIDI output is available over USB-C only.
Using MIDI on Nano Cortex · Andertons spec sheet- port mode
The EXP/MIDI jack is either an expression input or a MIDI input, set in the Cortex Cloud app. Set it before wondering why your controller does nothing.
Using MIDI on Nano Cortex · Nano Cortex User Manual 2.2.0- TRS Type A wiring
Tip = data, ring = voltage reference, sleeve = shield
Nano Cortex User Manual 2.2.0- Program Change
All 64 presets map automatically to PC 0–63. The number belongs to the slot, not the preset—reordering presets doesn't move their PC number.
Nano Cortex User Manual 2.2.0 · NanOS 2.2.0 release notes- Control Change
Since NanOS 2.1.0, incoming CC can bypass effect slots, set expression position, drive tap tempo and open the tuner.
NanOS 2.1.0 release notes- MIDI Thru
Added in NanOS 2.1.0—messages arriving on the TRS input are forwarded to the USB MIDI output.
NanOS 2.1.0 release notes- Outgoing MIDI
Each footswitch can send up to 12 MIDI messages, and each preset can send up to 12 when it loads. CC or PC, channels 1–16, over USB.
Using MIDI on Nano Cortex- MIDI clock
Tap tempo can lock to incoming MIDI clock. The Footswitch I LED turns blue when it does.
Nano Cortex User Manual 2.2.0 · NanOS 2.1.0 release notes
There is a confirmed bug with MIDI over the TRS port: the cab and capture blocks mishandle certain incoming CCs, and the CAB/IR block can randomly disengage mid-rehearsal. Neural DSP support has acknowledged it as a known issue with a fix planned and no date. The workaround is to drive MIDI over USB-C instead, which costs you the audio-interface use of that port.
Controllers
what owners use
Neural DSP staff have said it works with any controller using TRS MIDI Type A. These are the ones named specifically.
Nektar Pacer
Named by Neural DSPNamed by Neural DSP staff.
Using MIDI on Nano Cortex · Forum: just 4 presets on a live show?Morningstar MC6 MKII
Named by Neural DSPNamed by staff, and Morningstar publish a Nano Cortex MIDI dictionary plus a dedicated setup video.
Using MIDI on Nano Cortex · Forum: just 4 presets on a live show?Behringer FCB1010
Named by Neural DSPNamed by staff. Cheap and large, and it takes some setup.
Using MIDI on Nano Cortex · Forum: just 4 presets on a live show?Harley Benton MP-100
Named by Neural DSPNamed by staff. The budget option.
Using MIDI on Nano Cortex · Forum: just 4 presets on a live show?Fortin Hydra
Named by Neural DSPNamed by staff.
Using MIDI on Nano Cortex · Forum: just 4 presets on a live show?Luminite Graviton M1 / M2
Battery-powered, common in gigging rigs.
Forum: just 4 presets on a live show?Undocumented but working: a plain latching footswitch on a TS cable into the EXP port is recognized. It can toggle an effect globally, and the toggle persists across preset changes, like a true always-on stomp. It isn't in the manual, so treat it as unsupported. Firmware could change it.
- measured
- Read off the hardware by us, not taken from a document.
- official
- From the manufacturer's manual, FAQ, guides or release notes.
- retail spec
- From an authorized dealer's published specification.
- review
- Observed and published by a professional reviewer.
- community
- Reported by owners and used to corroborate, not as a primary spec.
- our reading
- Our interpretation, not something the manufacturer states.
- unverified
- We could not confirm this, or sources disagree.