9. MPH Presets

Introduction to presets

There are 3 preset types in the MPH:

• Single Host presets

• Multi Host presets 

• MPH Link presets

In general, all preset types hold the links to the hosted third party plugin parameters. Therefore, you need to load an MPH Preset in order to use prelinked-to-encoder parameters. Loading a plugin from the plugin list, will not load the linked parameters. Loading a plugin from the plugins list will allow you to link parameters, but in order to recall it you need to save it first and then open it as a Preset.

The Single MPH presets are saved in .xml format. The MPH single presets include (save):

the reference to the hosted plugin, the mappings, background images and of course the state of the hosted plugin when you save the single preset. These are saved from the Main controller screen

There are 2 ways to load a preset. The first method would be from the top left corner of the main window to use the Open Button.

The other method is by Right clicking on the background area of the MPH and select Presets and it will show you the Preset structure as it is on your hard drive, the main category being a folder and in the folder you will see the plugin list which corresponds to the preset xml files saved. Each preset xml must be saved in a folder to be seen by the right click menu of MPH. This is very handy because you can categorize your presets as you like and this reflects the folder structure as it is on your hard drive.

To remove the loaded plugin, right click on the background area of the MPH and select Remove Plugin. It will remove the hosted plugin, background image and all mappings and load the default.xml. 

The Multi Host presets are saved in .mxmli for instrument and .mxmlf for audio effects.

These presets save whatever is loaded at the given time in a multi MPH. It’s like saving a chain of multiple plugins (or multiple single MPH). These are saved from the Multi small window.

Additionally, while using the Multihost, the controller window that displays plugins, provides the same menu to save MPH single .xml presets. This is because the multihost is a collection of multiple single MPH (or a chain of multiple single MPH). This means that, from within the Multihost, you can also open Single Host presets (from the menu on the controller window - not the menu of the Multihost window).

Compatibility across OS

Both Single and Multi presets that host VST2 or VST3 plugins can be opened on Mac and Windows. If you have created a preset on a Mac you can open it on Windows and the opposite, with the condition that both systems have the same third party plugins installed. The version of the third party plugin does not matter, as long as the plugin is seen as the same plugin by the DAW and MPH.

Both the single and multi-host auto save the current state as a preset in the presets folder.

Opening Single MPH Presets

The Single MPH plugin can generate presets in .xml format. You can open these presets from any MPH plugin even if the DAW is different and it supports the plugin format (AU/VST2/VST3).

Preset Categories

There is an option to create a Preset and have it listed in the MPH Preset Menu. Go to Presets again and select New Category. A Category is a folder in the Presets folder. The MPH will read items that exist in the folder and list them on the menu. 

Therefore,if you create a category and a preset, it will be placed in that folder and be listed in the MPH Menu.

MPH Link Presets

The 3rd type of preset in the MP Host (introduced in version v16-a91f8a59--H2022-08-10--B2022-08-11) is a new, additional type of preset with extension mphlink. These presets carry the

• Link to encoders

• Colors of encoders

• Pages images

But do not save the state of the plugin or reference to the plugin (unlike MPH Presets).

The presets can be loaded after a plugin is hosted in the MP Host, without affecting the state of the hosted plugin and has no path reference to the hosted plugin. This makes these presets cross platform (Mac/PC) and cross plugin type (VST/2/3/AU) compatible that can be easily shared and used. For example, if you have created an mphlink preset on an AU plugin on a Mac, you can use this preset on a VST in Windows. This will give us more flexibility to create presets for many plugins and share them with users. The mphlink presets are saved in a folder under the MP Host folder at  

Windows: C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\MP\Link Presets

Mac: ~/MP/Host/Link Presets

If the folder has not been automatically generated. Open the right click menu and choose Save

The MPH will generate the folder.

The MPH Link presets can be Opened and Saved from the right click menu in the big window of the MP Host plugin. After you load an MPH LINK preset on your plugin, save it as an MPH preset so that then next time you want to use that plugin, you will load the MPH preset which will automatically load the plugin as well.

See the video here on how to copy and use the mphlink presets.

You can download the MPH Link presets from your account.

 Here is the up to date list of MPH Link presets.

Open By Name 

This option uses an alternative method to match plugin parameters with encoders using the name of the parameter instead of the parameter id. This is useful because some plugin developers don’t use the same IDs on different plugin types. For example, VST2 ids may be different from AU ids. Loading the MPH Link Presets using this method, solves this problem.

Changing 3rd party hosted plugin presets

When you change or load up a new preset on any hosted third party plugin in MPH, the hosted plugin sends the new loaded values in its parameters to the host plugin and the controller. There are some exceptions though to this rule. Some VST2 plugins do not send a notification to their DAW automatically when they change via a preset change. Such an example is our beloved Reveal Audio Spire Synthesizer. Although this is not often found in third party plugins, if you notice the MPH encoders not being updated then hit the Sync button to receive the current parameter values from the hosted plugin. This is the only purpose of the Sync button and should only be used on such occasions. If you have changed a preset in such a hosted third party plugin and have not clicked on Sync and you Saved or Save As, the MPH encoders will automatically sync with the hosted plugin and be saved properly in your preset. 

Updating MPH Presets when new 3rd party plugin versions are released

If a new version of the hosted plugin is released by a third party vendor, depending on the update there is a possibility that the updated version will cause the MPH (and perhaps your DAW) to see this update as a totally new plugin. Install the update of your plugin as you would normally do and load up the MPH xml preset you have created. If the hosted 3rd party plugin is not showing up in the main window, choose it again from the plugin list. All the linked encoders should work and there is no need to link them again. Now, Save the MPH Preset again. In the case you have created M- file plugins on the Mac, choose Create Plugin to replace your M- file with an updated one.

Autosave

The MP Host plugins, single and multi host, autosave the current working instance as autosave.xml every few seconds.