VeloScaler - Free MIDI Velocity Controller VST Plugin!

VeloScaler is a freeware MIDI utility in VST plugin format, released by CodeFN42. The plugin is designed for controlling and modifying the velocity value of incoming MIDI notes.

The incoming MIDI notes can be filtered by velocity or by note number. If you choose to filter the incoming notes by velocity, you can then define 5 different velocity ranges and process the velocity values for each range. The velocity of incoming MIDI notes can be scaled by a static value, or randomized within a certain threshold. In note number mode, the functionality is pretty much the same except that the value selection method is different.

If you’re wondering what this tool could be used for, try connecting it to a velocity sensitive virtual instrument which is being triggered by your host application’s piano roll. By slightly increasing the RANDOM value for a certain range, you can add a bit of “humanization” to the otherwise linear performance (providing that the sequence is programmed as opposed to recorded, since a recorded performance will already have a “human” feel to it). This is just one example of what the plugin could be used for, but it’s a fairly practical one, especially if you often program acoustic drum tracks by hand.

Several months ago, the same developer has released an entire suite of freeware VST plugins for controlling various MIDI parameters. There are some real gems in that plugin collection, so you should definitely take a look at it if you enjoy using VST plugins for processing MIDI data. My favorite one of the bunch is CCStepper, a fantastic freeware step sequencer for Windows. Using it to sequence your virtual instruments is a great way to come up with new musical ideas and sketches (and here are even more freeware step sequencers just for fun).