MXD User Manual

MXD is a modern editor, controller and automation bridge for the Korg Minilogue XD synthesizer. It gives you a large, clearer interface for shaping sounds, managing the current program and integrating supported hardware controls with your DAW.

MXD is available as a standalone application and as plugin formats for use inside a host. In every case, it is designed to work with a connected Minilogue XD hardware synthesizer.

What MXD Is For

MXD is designed for musicians who want faster access to the Minilogue XD than the hardware panel alone can provide. It keeps the synth at the center of the experience while adding a bigger editing surface, clearer parameter feedback and a stronger workflow for saving, restoring and automating changes.

With MXD you can:

  • Connect directly to a Minilogue XD over MIDI.
  • Edit the current program from a large desktop interface.
  • Use named automation parameters inside a DAW.
  • Import and export program SysEx files.
  • Adjust advanced settings such as micro tuning, CV assignments and VPM
    parameters.
  • Activate and manage your Fiction Loom license without leaving the app.

MXD is not a software synthesizer. It controls and edits the connected Minilogue XD hardware.

Available Formats

  • Standalone: ideal for direct editing, sound design sessions and
    working away from a DAW.
  • VST3: ideal for automation, project recall and hardware
    integration inside your DAW.
  • AU: the Audio Unit version for compatible hosts on macOS.

What You Need

To use MXD properly, you need:

  • A Korg Minilogue XD.
  • A working MIDI connection between the computer and the synth (USB from the device to your computer is best).
  • A valid Fiction Loom MXD license.

For plugin use, you also need a host that supports VST3 or AU and a correct MIDI routing setup between the host, MXD and the Minilogue XD.

Installation and Activation

Install MXD

Install MXD using the installer for your platform.

On macOS, the standard installer places:

  • MXD.app in /Applications
  • MXD.vst3 in /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3
  • MXD.component in /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components

Activate Your License

  1. Open MXD.
  2. Click License.
  3. Enter the email address used for purchase.
  4. Enter your license key.
  5. Click the activation button.

Once activated, MXD stores a local entitlement file and periodically refreshes the activation state with the Fiction Loom licensing service. You must connect your computer to the Internet at least once every 60 days to validate the license.

First Launch Checklist

  1. Connect the Minilogue XD and power it on.
  2. Select the correct MIDI IN and MIDI OUT ports.
  3. If you are using a separate controller keyboard, select it in the
    CONTROLLER field.
  4. If you are using the standalone app, open the audio settings and
    confirm your audio device.
  5. Load the current program from the synth so MXD reflects the real
    hardware state.
  6. If using a DAW, confirm that the plugin is receiving MIDI and the
    hardware is responding correctly.

If your devices do not appear correctly, use the Refresh MIDI control and reselect the ports.

Standalone vs Plugin

Standalone

The standalone app is the simplest way to work with MXD. It is especially useful for:

  • Direct editing without a DAW.
  • Sound design sessions.
  • Importing and exporting SysEx files.
  • Accessing deeper hardware settings from one place.

The standalone build includes a Settings button that opens JUCE’s audio device settings panel.

Plugin

The plugin versions are intended for DAW work. They are the better choice when you want:

  • Project recall.
  • Named automation parameters.
  • Hardware editing directly inside a session.

Plugin builds default to MXD RELAY mode because it is the more stable and automation-friendly routing mode in a DAW. The routing button is therefore designed so that the untoggled state is MXD RELAY, while the toggled override state is DIRECT MIDI ON.

Main Interface Overview

MXD follows the Minilogue XD signal flow, but presents it as a larger, more readable control surface. The main window includes:

  • MIDI input and output selection.
  • Program selection and current slot display.
  • Load and reset behaviour for the current program state.
  • Oscillator, mixer, filter, envelope, LFO and effects sections.
  • Performance controls for pitch, mod and expression.
  • SysEx import and export buttons.
  • Access to Settings, License, Advanced and About windows.

You can collapse or expand the MIDI I/O area using the MIDI I/O toggle.

MIDI Setup

MIDI IN

MIDI IN is the incoming port MXD listens to for data from the Minilogue XD.

MIDI OUT

MIDI OUT is the outgoing port MXD uses to send changes back to the Minilogue XD.

External Controller Input

MXD can also listen to a separate external controller input. This is useful if you want to perform or automate from a controller while still communicating with the Minilogue XD hardware.

MXD reports device and routing activity in its status text, including whether external MIDI is being forwarded or blocked.

Important: use MXD’s own MIDI IN and MIDI OUT selectors for the Minilogue XD hardware connection. In standalone mode, avoid also enabling the same Minilogue input in JUCE’s MIDI input list.

Program Selection and Program State

MXD uses a 1 to 500 slot numbering system for Minilogue XD programs.

You can:

  • Step through program slots with the previous and next controls.
  • Click the program number display and type a slot number directly.
  • Load the current program from the device.
  • Reset to the stored snapshot if you have made unsaved changes in the
    current session.

MXD keeps a cached snapshot of the current edit buffer so it can detect whether the loaded program has been modified during the session.

In practical use:

  • Load refreshes the current program from the hardware.
  • Reset restores the stored snapshot of the current program state
    within MXD.

When MXD detects that the current snapshot has been modified, the load/reset button changes behaviour to reflect that reset is available.

DIRECT MIDI and MXD RELAY

MXD RELAY is the default routing state. In that state, MXD routes supported synth controls through its own parameter system first, then manages communication with the hardware. The practical result is that MXD RELAY reduces control jitter caused by MIDI feedback in a DAW and allows automation to be recorded and edited using MXD’s named parameters instead of generic MIDI CC numbers.

When you turn DIRECT MIDI ON, MXD behaves more like a raw MIDI path between your controller, DAW and the hardware. When you move a supported control, the MIDI message goes straight to the Minilogue XD more directly. This can be useful, but inside a DAW it may lead to visible parameter jitter because the hardware, plugin UI and host automation are all reacting to raw MIDI at the same time.

In MXD RELAY mode, MXD intercepts supported automatable synth-control messages before they are sent directly to the hardware. MXD converts them into its own internal parameters first, keeping the plugin state, on-screen controls and host automation in sync. MXD then manages what is sent on to the hardware. This is why MXD RELAY is generally the better choice in a DAW.

MXD RELAY does not block all MIDI traffic. It mainly changes how supported synth-edit controls are handled. Performance data such as notes and pitch bend can still pass through normally.

Recommendation: leave MXD in its default MXD RELAY state in a DAW unless you specifically need to turn DIRECT MIDI ON for a raw direct MIDI path.

Oscillator and Mixer Sections

VCO 1 and VCO 2

Each analogue oscillator provides:

  • Wave
  • Octave
  • Pitch
  • Shape
  • Level

Oscillator Interaction

MXD also includes controls for:

  • Sync
  • Ring
  • Cross Mod

Multi Engine

The Multi Engine section includes:

  • Multi Level
  • Multi Type
  • Multi Sub Type
  • Multi Shape

The available Multi Type choices are:

  • Noise
  • VPM
  • User

The subtype menu changes according to the selected Multi Type.

Filter and Envelope Sections

Filter

  • Cutoff
  • Resonance
  • Drive
  • Key Track

AMP EG

  • Attack
  • Decay
  • Sustain
  • Release

EG

  • Attack
  • Decay
  • Intensity
  • Target

MXD presents envelope intensity in a centered, musically readable form even though the underlying hardware uses raw Minilogue XD data values.

Voice, Portamento and Performance

Voice Mode

MXD includes the Minilogue XD voice mode selector and depth control. The available voice mode choices are:

  • ARP LATCH
  • ARP
  • CHORD
  • UNISON
  • POLY

Voice Mode Depth changes meaning depending on the selected mode. For example:

  • In arpeggiator modes it selects the arp pattern.
  • In chord mode it selects the chord type.
  • In unison mode it sets detune.
  • In poly mode it moves between poly and duo behaviour.

Portamento

  • Portamento amount
  • Portamento Mode
  • Portamento Sync

Performance Mapping

  • Bend Plus
  • Bend Minus
  • Mod Target and Mod Range
  • Exp Target, Exp Range and Exp CC source

Mod Target and Exp Target choose the performance destination. These menus cover a wide range of destinations including oscillator pitch and shape, filter, envelope, LFO and effects parameters.

Mod Range and Exp Range define the active span for the full travel of the mod wheel or expression source. Drag normally to set the upper end of the span. Hold Shift while dragging to set the lower end of the span.

For example, you can map the full travel of a wheel or expression controller to only a narrow part of the filter cutoff range, making performance gestures much easier to control precisely.

Performance Wheels

MXD includes onscreen wheel controls for:

  • Pitch
  • Mod
  • Expression

The expression lane can be driven from a selectable incoming controller source using the Exp CC menu on the main page. If you manually move a parameter that is currently mapped to MOD or EXP, MXD respects your manual edit and only re-engages the mapped span when that MOD or EXP controller moves again.

LFO and Effects

LFO

  • Wave
  • Mode
  • Rate
  • Intensity
  • Target

Mod FX

The modulation effects section includes:

  • On/Off
  • Type
  • Sub Type
  • Time
  • Depth

Mod FX types are:

  • Chorus
  • Ensemble
  • Phaser
  • Flanger
  • User

Delay

The delay section includes:

  • On/Off
  • Type
  • Delay Time
  • Delay Depth
  • Dry/Wet

Reverb

The reverb section includes:

  • On/Off
  • Type
  • Reverb Time
  • Reverb Depth
  • Dry/Wet

Delay and reverb type selections follow the Minilogue XD’s available effect subtype structure, including built-in and user slots.

Importing and Exporting Programs

Export a Program

  1. Make sure MXD has a valid current program snapshot.
  2. Click the export button.
  3. Choose a file location.
  4. Save the file as a .syx file.

If MXD does not yet have a valid program dump available, it will warn you to request or restore a program before exporting.

Import a Program

  1. Click the import button.
  2. Select a valid .syx file.
  3. Confirm the overwrite warning.

MXD imports the file into the current edit buffer. If a MIDI output is selected, MXD will also schedule the imported snapshot to be restored to the connected hardware.

Important: importing a program into MXD does not automatically store it permanently in the Minilogue XD. To keep the imported program in the hardware, use the Minilogue XD’s own WRITE process.

Advanced Settings

The Advanced window provides access to deeper settings that are less convenient to keep on the main page.

Tuning

  • Scale Key
  • Program Tune
  • Micro Tuning

Pitch Behaviour

  • Pitch Bend Glide Speed / Pitch Return

External and CV Settings

  • CV In Mode
  • CV In 1 Assign
  • CV In 1 Range
  • CV In 2 Assign
  • CV In 2 Range
  • Aftertouch assignment

Aftertouch and Controller Input

The Advanced window still contains the Minilogue XD aftertouch assignment setting, but MXD’s expression-performance lane now uses the main-page Exp CC selector for its incoming source.

The available Exp CC choices are:

  • MOD CC 1
  • BRTH CC 2
  • EXP CC 11
  • MONO AT

VPM Parameters

For VPM-oriented Multi Engine work, MXD exposes six signed percentage controls:

  • VP1 Feedback
  • VP2 Depth
  • VP3 M Int
  • VP4 Attack
  • VP5 Decay
  • VP6 K Track

Automation in a DAW

One of MXD’s biggest strengths is that the plugin versions expose supported Minilogue XD controls as named plugin parameters. This means your DAW can show automation lanes such as Cutoff, Resonance, VCO 1 Shape or LFO Rate instead of forcing you to work only with generic MIDI controller numbers.

For best results:

  • Use MXD RELAY.
  • Record or draw automation using MXD’s named parameters.
  • Let MXD keep the plugin state and hardware state aligned.

DIRECT MIDI can still be useful, but it is the more raw and less automation-friendly mode inside a DAW.

Theme and Interface Behaviour

MXD includes an alternate highlight theme toggle. This changes the accent colour used throughout the interface while keeping the overall design consistent.

Auxiliary windows such as License, Advanced and About open as separate top-level windows.

About Window

The About window shows:

  • The Fiction Loom branding
  • Website link
  • Version number
  • Build number
  • UI attribution note

The current UI attribution reads:

The dials and sliders in our UI are used under a CC BY 4.0 license for a Figma design called SeaSynth by DryWest.

Troubleshooting

MXD cannot find my synth

  • Confirm that the Minilogue XD is powered on.
  • Check that the correct MIDI ports are selected.
  • Use the MIDI refresh button.
  • Make sure another application is not already holding the same ports
    open.

The UI does not reflect the current hardware state

  • Load the current program from the device.
  • Confirm that MXD is receiving data on the selected MIDI input.
  • Verify that the edit buffer or selected program has actually been
    refreshed.

Automation feels unstable in my DAW

  • Switch to MXD RELAY.
  • Avoid DIRECT MIDI unless you specifically need the raw path.
  • Confirm that your DAW is automating MXD parameters rather than sending
    overlapping raw CC data.

Imported sounds are not permanently saved on the hardware

  • Use the Minilogue XD’s own WRITE procedure after importing.

Licensing fails or refresh is pending

  • Check your internet connection.
  • Reopen the License window and confirm the email address and license
    key.
  • If MXD reports an annual activation or deactivation limit issue,
    contact Fiction Loom support.