PatternBridge User Guide

1. Purpose and current status

PatternBridge converts and edits Akai MPC patterns (.mpcpattern) and Standard MIDI files (.mid/.midi) on your Windows computer.

PatternBridge is developed and published by NOISE & GRIT.

Four modules let you convert and edit files. Review and change sound names, target notes and target pads, then export separately, split by sound or as multiple tracks, where supported by the selected module.

Installation

PatternBridge requires Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. Download the customer ZIP through your official order access and extract it fully. Open PatternBridge Installer and run the setup file inside. The other folder contains third-party licence notices and component sources; it does not need to be installed to use PatternBridge. Allow sufficient space for the ZIP, extracted files and installation. For the current package, about 500 MB of temporary free space is a practical allowance, not a measured minimum. Internet access is required for licence activation.

2. Interface and common controls

Select one of the four modules on the left. Switch between English and German in the top-right corner; changing language keeps loaded files and the active module. The footer contains the version, About, Help and the Website, Support, License and Update links. Website opens the official PatternBridge product page at https://noiseandgrit.com/producer-tools/patternbridge/.

Open About > Legal information for information about included third-party components, their original licence texts and access to their source code. The licence texts can be searched.

2.1 Loading files

• Choose files… opens a multi-file picker.
• Files and folders can be dragged into the list. Folders are searched recursively and only file types accepted by the current module are loaded.
• Discovery and analysis show progress in a dialog and the list status line.
• Unsupported or malformed files are reported and never deleted.
• For duplicate names choose Replace loaded entry, Add as copy or Skip. The choice can be applied to all remaining duplicates.

2.2 Working with lists

• Click a column heading to sort by that column.
• Column widths adapt to their contents after loading.
• Use Ctrl or Shift for multiple selection.
• Delete or Remove selected only removes entries from the session; originals remain untouched.
• Clear list removes every entry from the current module.
• Double-click a row to open its relevant editor.
• The right-click menu only offers actions that make sense for the module and current export mode; unavailable actions are disabled.
• Loaded, selected and issue counts are shown below the list.

2.3 Information buttons

Click a round i button for an explanation of its current section. The popup closes when you click elsewhere. Topics include list fields, export modes, pitch behavior and editor rules.

2.4 Export scope and destination

Choose All loaded files or Selected files only. The active choice is highlighted in gold. You may set an output folder in advance; otherwise PatternBridge asks when the export starts. Reset returns to “ask every time”.

Export mode and its related options are stored separately for every loaded file. Selecting one file shows its current settings. Changing an option applies it to the selected file or files. Apply to all files copies the currently displayed export settings to every loaded entry.

Existing targets are never silently overwritten. Conflict choices are Replace, an editable copy name, Skip and apply-to-all. Preparation and writing have visible progress. The final report lists written, skipped and failed outputs with their paths.

2.5 Common editor behavior

Editors show the pattern rhythmically. Melodic material shows higher notes above lower notes; drum material is ordered by source note or pad. Bar width represents note duration and brighter gold represents higher velocity. Select 2 or 4 Bars per view and use Go to bars, Previous bars and Next bars for longer patterns.

Previous file and Next file switch between loaded files without closing the editor. If the current file has unsaved changes, PatternBridge asks whether to save, discard or cancel before switching. Save keeps the editor open. Save & Close saves and closes it. Cancel or closing the window does not silently discard unsaved changes.

3. “mpcpattern → MIDI” module

3.1 Analysis

The list shows file name, detected MPC version, notes, bars, pattern type, non-note data, export mode, multitrack group, pitch, sound names, target-note overrides and ratchets/probability. PatternBridge recognizes both flat and nested .mpcpattern variants.

MPC Firmware 2.x identifies the older flat event schema. MPC Firmware 3.x identifies the newer nested event schema. This column describes the file structure, not the firmware currently installed on the computer or MPC.

Drum and Melodic are automatic estimates. Note distribution, duration, rhythm and filename hints are evaluated together. Instrument or key names support a melodic classification; words such as kit, drum or kick support drum classification. Unusual material may be estimated incorrectly. Review and correct the assigned sound names and target notes in the editor when needed. Pattern type itself is an automatic estimate, not a manually selectable instrument type.

The Non-note data column separates recognized MIDI CC events, which are included in the MIDI output, from not exported events, which PatternBridge does not currently translate to MIDI. These counts describe control or automation data, not missing notes or unreadable files. Hover over a cell for details. Dense automation can produce many events even in a pattern containing only a few notes. Unsupported automation can affect the musical result; compare important exports with the source in the intended instrument. The original file is unchanged. In Edit mpcpattern, keeping the source firmware version retains these events; changing firmware generations keeps only supported note data.

Recognized MIDI CC automation is preserved where translatable. Untranslated MPC events are explained before export. Standard MIDI cannot represent probability below 100%, so such notes always play. Timing, velocity, pitch and ratchet hits remain intact. If the same pitch starts again before its preceding note ends, PatternBridge shortens the preceding note to the new attack. This prevents DAWs from swapping note lengths because Standard MIDI cannot uniquely identify overlapping voices of one pitch. PatternBridge reports these adjustments before export.

3.2 Export modes

• Separate (default): one MIDI file per loaded pattern.
• Split by sound: one MIDI file per source note/sound inside a pattern folder.
• Multitrack: patterns sharing a multitrack group become separate tracks in one combined MIDI file.

Only controls relevant to the selected mode are shown. Multitrack group belongs only to Multitrack. Keep original pitch belongs only to Split by sound: enabled keeps pitch; disabled normalizes to MIDI note 60 (Middle C).

3.3 Sound names and target notes

Edit sound names & target notes… is available in all three modes:

• A target note changes the exported MIDI note and applies to every mode.
• The sound name mainly controls filenames and matching for Split by sound and sound-based target-pad copy/paste.
• Choose a sound from the complete preset list or enter any text. For dependable copy/paste use the same canonical value, for example kick, snare, closed_hh or open_hh. unknown is not transferred by sound matching.

Each editor row contains source note/pad, target note, sound name, pattern and detection status. Bar width represents note duration; brighter gold represents higher velocity. Melodic material follows piano-roll order: high notes at the top, low notes at the bottom.

Go to bars offers ranges that match the selected view, such as 1-4 and 5-8 or 1-2 and 3-4.

4. “MIDI → mpcpattern” module

4.1 Analysis and output

The list shows file, tracks containing notes, bars, pattern type, detected tempo and target pads. Tempo is informational because .mpcpattern does not store tempo. Timing is scaled musically from the source PPQ to 960 PPQ. Every MIDI track containing notes creates its own MPC pattern.

4.2 MPC output version

This module always writes the compatible MPC Firmware 2.x flat event format. MIDI does not contain MPC Firmware 3.x-specific pattern automation or other 3.x-only event features, so choosing a 3.x target would preserve no additional musical information. Firmware 2.x output loads on MPC Firmware 2.x and is also accepted by Firmware 3.x. No target-version control is therefore needed in this module.

4.3 Target-pad editor

Track selection is inside the editor. Every track keeps independent sound names and pad mappings. Enter a pad such as B01 directly or use Choose pad…. Its corresponding MIDI note is displayed next to it.

MPC banks A through H are shown for orientation. In the current event format A01 through F12 have valid MIDI counterparts; later pads display “N/A” and cannot be stored as MIDI note events.

4.4 Sound-based copy/paste

Target pads are not copied blindly by source note number. PatternBridge builds a sound name → target pad mapping from the source. Paste only changes a target sound that was recognized or manually assigned the same name. Unrecognized sounds and unknown remain unchanged. The clipboard is shared with Edit mpcpattern.

5. “Edit MIDI” module

This module reads and writes MIDI. Target notes and sound names remain independent for each track in a multitrack file. Track selection is inside the editor.

5.1 Export modes and multitrack options

• Separate: one output per loaded MIDI file. Multitrack files can enable Export every track as a separate MIDI file.
• Split by sound: individual sound files. For multitrack input, Create one folder per MIDI track controls whether each track receives a folder named from that track or all sounds share the file folder.
• Multitrack: loaded patterns/tracks are combined as separate tracks.

Multitrack-only options are visibly disabled for single-track files. Outputs from multitrack files use meaningful embedded track names; generic names such as Track 1 are replaced by an appropriate source filename.

5.2 Pitch and editor precedence

Keep original pitch is only shown for Split by sound. When normalization to note 60 is active, individual target notes are locked in the editor and the normalization is explained there. This prevents contradictory priorities between export settings and editor values.

The editor also provides Apply target notes to all tracks. Only mappings whose source notes occur in each destination track are copied.

6. “Edit mpcpattern” module

This module writes .mpcpattern again and changes only explicit pad mappings or sound names. Unknown and untouched MPC fields are preserved when retaining the source firmware version. The restrictions below apply when changing firmware versions.

6.1 Detected version and export target

The list identifies each source as MPC Firmware 2.x or MPC Firmware 3.x. When files of one version are loaded, that version is selected automatically as the export target. With mixed 2.x and 3.x input, Keep original version keeps every file in its own detected format. You can deliberately choose Firmware 2.x or Firmware 3.x to convert all exported files to that target.

Keeping the source version is lossless for unknown and untouched MPC fields. A change between Firmware generations is different: PatternBridge builds a clean document in the selected target schema. It preserves the portable musical note data, including pitch or MPC pad, start position, note length, velocity, probability and ratchets. Firmware-specific automation and other non-note events that cannot be translated safely are removed. Copying those opaque events unchanged would make the destination file invalid or unreadable.

Firmware 2.x output can also be loaded by Firmware 3.x. Firmware 3.x output requires Firmware 3.x. Therefore, choose 2.x for widest compatibility and choose 3.x only when the destination is known to run Firmware 3.x.

Navigation, bars, saving and pattern display match the other editors, without an artificial track selector. Target pads can be entered directly or chosen from the pad picker. Editable sound names power the shared sound-based copy/paste clipboard.

7. Safety and data integrity

• Source files are never deleted by loading, removing or exporting.
• Outputs are written atomically so a write error does not leave a partial target.
• Malformed files are isolated and reported; one failure need not stop the batch.
• .mpcpattern editing preserves unknown fields unless explicitly changed when retaining the source firmware version. See section 6.1 for restrictions when changing firmware versions.
• Check important results in your MPC or DAW before using them further and retain backups of your original files.

7.1 Support reports and diagnostic logging

The Support link opens the support-report window. Describe the problem and the steps that caused it. The prepared email draft is addressed to support@noiseandgrit.com. PatternBridge creates a ZIP containing that description, the application version, basic system information and diagnostic logs. Logs record technical workflow events, results and errors so a problem can be reproduced. A fresh session starts with every program launch. After a normal shutdown, the session logs are deleted automatically. If PatternBridge or Windows crashes, the normal cleanup cannot run and the remaining log can be included after the next start.

Diagnostic text is filtered to help protect personal information. This does not guarantee that the report contains no personal information. Review the ZIP before sending it and do not include passwords or complete license keys. One or more problem files are included only if you explicitly enable the option and select them. These files, including their filenames, are copied unchanged into the problem-files folder inside the ZIP. Only share files you are permitted to send.

Choose Bug, Licence question, Release licence activation, Feature request, or General question. PatternBridge inserts a matching email subject and a structured text template that you can edit freely.

Use Release licence activation when you can no longer deactivate an existing activation yourself, for example after a computer failure or uninstalling without deactivating first. Send the request from the email address used for the purchase and include the order number if available. Never include the complete licence key. The activation is only released after the purchase has been verified in the shop system.

Save support ZIP creates the report and lets you choose its location without opening an email. Prepare email creates the same ZIP and asks the installed Windows mail program to open a draft with the ZIP attached. PatternBridge never sends the message itself. Check its recipient, text and attachment and click Send yourself. If your mail program cannot attach the ZIP automatically, PatternBridge opens a normal email draft and selects the ZIP in Explorer so you can attach it manually.

8. Frequently asked questions

Why was a drum sound detected incorrectly?

Detection is an estimate based on musical data and the filename. Open the editor and choose the appropriate canonical sound name or enter your own.

Why did copy/paste not change a sound?

Source and target need the same detected or manually assigned sound name. closed_hh and open_hh are distinct canonical values. unknown is never transferred.

Why are target notes locked?

“Normalize to note 60” is probably active in Edit MIDI. That export rule deliberately takes precedence over contradictory per-note values.

Why does an MPC pad show “N/A”?

The pad is outside MIDI notes 0-127 and therefore has no storable MIDI counterpart in the current .mpcpattern note model.

Why was an overlapping note shortened during MIDI export?

Standard MIDI Note Off messages do not identify which of two simultaneous notes of the same pitch and channel they close. DAWs can therefore swap their lengths. PatternBridge ends the older note at the next attack of the same pitch and reports this before export.

How does licensing work?

Open License or click the license status in the footer. Enter the license key from your purchase and the email address used to buy PatternBridge. Activate requires internet access. One license allows two activated computers. Buy a license opens the official checkout in your browser.

PatternBridge automatically checks the saved activation at every startup and hourly while running when the licensing service is reachable. Validate online checks immediately. After successful activation, this installation can be used offline without a time limit. Connection failures and temporary service errors do not disable it. A confirmed online licence rejection still blocks access, including offline, until successful online validation restores it. Reinstallation, loss of saved activation data or moving to another computer may require activation again.

Green indicates an active licence, including offline use; yellow indicates a check in progress. When access is unavailable, a notice appears above the workspace. You can close the license window; help, the website and support remain accessible. Closing the window does not unlock editing or export.

Deactivate this device requires internet and frees its activation slot. Activate another computer with the same purchase key. If the previous computer is no longer accessible, use the Release licence activation support topic.

A license rejection received online also blocks offline access. After the key is re-enabled, validate the same activation again without restarting, re-entering the key or reserving another device slot.

Are automatic updates available?

Published updates within version 1.x are included at no additional charge for PatternBridge 1.0 buyers. This does not promise future features, a release schedule or free future major versions. Statutory rights to necessary updates are unaffected.

PatternBridge checks for updates in the background at startup, at most once every 24 hours. Check for updates checks immediately at any time. When a newer version is available, its version and release notes are displayed in the selected language, with English as the fallback. Automatic checks are silent when there is no update. A manual check confirms when your version is current.

Download update opens your orders in your browser. Sign in using your purchase email and download the current PatternBridge package. If it is a ZIP, extract it fully and open the setup file in PatternBridge Installer. Close PatternBridge and install over the existing version. Your saved license is retained; updating does not consume another device activation. You install the update yourself; PatternBridge never installs it automatically during your work. Later dismisses the update notice.

Automatic checks stay silent on connection failures. Manual checks display an error and can be retried. Update checking does not determine offline licence access. No license keys, purchase emails or device identifiers are sent to the update endpoint.

Why does a fresh installation show “Activation limit reached”?

A license allows two simultaneously activated computers. If you uninstall without deactivating first, the old activation remains occupied. This can cause “Activation limit reached” even on the same computer. Deactivate another accessible device or contact support using Support → Release licence activation and your purchase email address. Installing again does not free the old activation slot.

Why does Windows show a security warning for the installer?

The installer is currently not digitally signed. Windows may therefore display an unknown-publisher warning. Download PatternBridge only through your official order access. If you are unsure about a file, contact support@noiseandgrit.com before running it.

How do I install an update or reinstall the same version?

Close PatternBridge and run the current installer. Use the same installation folder as before. The installer replaces application files and removes known obsolete application files. Your license, settings and locally saved support reports are retained. You do not need to uninstall the previous version first. This also applies when reinstalling the same version. If a program file is still in use, close PatternBridge and click Retry. The installer never forcibly terminates the application. Choosing Cancel at the running-app warning closes the installer.

If the same version is already installed, the installer tells you at startup. Choose OK to reinstall it or Cancel to leave the existing installation unchanged. Reinstalling neither frees an activation slot nor consumes an extra slot.

How do I uninstall PatternBridge completely?

1. Connect to the internet and open License in PatternBridge.
2. Select Deactivate this device and wait for confirmation. This frees the activation slot for another computer.
3. Close PatternBridge and uninstall it through Windows Installed apps or the uninstall entry in the Start menu.
4. Read and confirm the warning. If you have not deactivated the license yet, choose Cancel and complete step 2 first.

If PatternBridge is still open, close it and select Retry. Cancel at this warning closes the uninstaller and leaves the application and data in place. The uninstaller does not automatically deactivate your license online.

Important: Uninstalling alone does not free an activation slot. Removing local license data does not deactivate the license either. If you can no longer use the computer, contact support using Release licence activation from your purchase email address.

Uninstallation removes application files and this Windows user's local PatternBridge data, including license data, settings, logs, update data and automatically saved support reports with any included problem-file copies. These data are permanently deleted. Uninstall using the Windows account you used to run PatternBridge.

Your original files, exported MIDI/MPC files and chosen export folders are not deleted. Support ZIPs you manually saved elsewhere and your own backups must be removed manually if you no longer need them. Unrelated files you placed in the application folder are also retained.