MIDI Noodle · Other Macs
The synth is on the other Mac. Play it anyway.
With MIDI Noodle running on two Macs, the devices plugged into one show up as outputs on the other. Draw a cable to them as if they were on your desk.
Devices by their real names
Connect the two Macs' network sessions, and Add Output › Other Macs lists what's plugged into the other one. The sidebar shows each Mac's devices with their maker logos, how they're connected and the channels they listen on; a device with several ports folds them under one entry.
Pick one and it becomes its own output card, like "MPC Key 37 on Studio Mac mini".
The other Mac says yes first
The first time, the Mac with the device asks whether to let yours play it. Always Allow remembers that Mac, so it won't ask again.
Every message crosses addressed to its device, on the channel you send it on. Cables into one card reach only that device, however many devices from that Mac are in your patch, and every channel stays free.
Set up step by step
Network MIDI sessions are made in macOS's Audio MIDI Setup. The Connect two Macs wizard walks you through it: turn on network MIDI, a session on each Mac, connect them, then it checks that MIDI gets through both ways.
Play over the network does the same for an iPad or iPhone: it waits for the session, then routes a device to and from it.
Drops out, comes back
If the other Mac drops out of the session, say its Wi-Fi blips, MIDI Noodle invites it back as soon as it's on the network again. No trip to Audio MIDI Setup to reconnect.
A Mac that's on the network but not connected gets a Connect button in the Network panel. Right-click a connected one and choose Disconnect to drop it on purpose: it stays dropped until you connect it again. Reconnect to Macs automatically, in Settings › Devices, turns the whole thing off.
See the delay
Next to each connected Mac running MIDI Noodle, the Network panel shows how long a note takes to get there, measured every couple of seconds. Hover it for the average and the worst.
Clock arriving over the network comes in bursts, so routes even it out into steady ticks before it reaches your gear.
Wi-Fi
Usually under 10 ms, with the odd hold-up. Fine for playing; keep sequencers on the Mac with the synths.
Ethernet
The steadiest link. Plug in whichever Mac can.
Keep exploring
MIDI Noodle is coming soon for Mac.
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