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MIDI Bindings learn one control at a time from the Command Palette. Controller Profiles are the other way in: a guided wizard maps a whole controller in a single pass and saves the result as a named, per-device profile that activates automatically whenever that controller is connected. Any class-compliant MIDI controller works — no vendor scripts, no config files.

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Bindings or a profile?

MIDI BindingsController Profiles
SetupOne control at a time, from the paletteThe whole controller in one guided pass
Knobs controlThe exact parameter you learnedThe focused track’s mixer controls — follows your selection
Buttons runAny single command you pickA fixed set of transport / edit / navigation commands
Stored asCommand bindings (global) + parameter bindings (per project)One named profile per device
Turns onAlwaysWhenever that device is connected
Use bindings for a one-off (“this knob drives that plugin’s cutoff”). Use a profile to set a controller up once and have it drive whatever track you’re working on.

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Creating a profile

1

Open Settings ▸ MIDI

Every connected controller is listed under Connected MIDI Devices.
2

Click “Create Profile for <device>…”

The wizard opens. Only touch the controller you’re mapping — while the window is open, input from all MIDI devices is captured, so nothing you press leaks through to instruments or existing bindings.
3

Work through the steps

For each control, do what the instruction says — press the button, or slowly turn the knob or encoder. The step captures the first control it sees, marks it with a green check, and moves on.
4

Skip what you don't have

Skip passes on a single control; once you reach the optional extras, Skip Rest jumps straight to the end. A two-knob controller isn’t forced to click through fourteen optional steps. Back redoes the previous step.
5

Name it and Save Profile

The summary shows how many controls were mapped. Give the profile a name (defaults to the device name) and save. It’s pinned to that device right away.
The wizard watches each turning control and tells an endless encoder (relative) from a fixed-range knob (absolute) on its own, labelling each as it’s captured. Either kind works — if a device fools the detector, press Back and redo the step.

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What the wizard maps

The flow covers the essentials first, then an optional block of extras. Everything acts on the focused track — whichever track you have selected (or, in Focus Mode, the focused clip’s track).

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Buttons → commands

ControlCommand
EssentialPlay / Stop, Record, Loop, UndoTransport & edit
OptionalMute, Solo, Quantize, Redo, Metronome, Octave up / downFocused track & edit
OptionalBrowse open / confirm, Browse back / close, Connect automation trackNavigation (see below)
OptionalCursor forward / backwardMove the edit cursor by one grid step

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Knobs → the focused track’s mixer

Knob role
EssentialVolume, Pan
OptionalMid gain, Side gain, Mono-below cutoff, Ceiling, Clip-mode selector
Because these are roles, not fixed parameters, the same volume knob always rides the track you’re currently on — select a different track and the knob follows.

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Encoders → navigation

The main encoder is context-aware:
  • With nothing open, turning it selects tracks — right for next, left for previous.
  • With the Command Palette or a picker open, it scrolls that list.
  • The Browse: open / confirm button opens the palette and confirms the highlighted entry; Browse: back / close steps back a level or closes it.
  • Connect automation track opens the automation picker for the last-touched parameter — browse it with the encoder, confirm to bind.
Together these let you select a track, open the palette, scroll to a command, and run it without touching the keyboard. An optional Cursor jump encoder moves the edit cursor by grid steps the same way.

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Managing profiles

Back in Settings ▸ MIDI: Connected MIDI Devices — each device shows a picker and its current state:
Picker choiceEffect
Auto-detect (recommended)Uses the installed profile whose name matches the device. The label shows what it matched, or “no match”.
No profileThe device routes as plain MIDI — instruments and Learn bindings only.
A specific profilePins that profile to this device explicitly.
The row reads “N binding(s) active” or “Routes as plain MIDI”, and notes “N ports” for controllers that expose several (many do — a single device often shows up as separate DAW / MIDI / plugin ports). A profile is applied across all of a device’s ports at once, and is only active while the device is connected. Installed Profiles — lists every profile with its binding count and an Active badge when it’s in use. Delete your own profiles with the trash button. Re-running “Create Profile…” for a device replaces its profile of the same name, so refining a mapping is just running the wizard again.

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How profiles rank against MIDI Learn

When a control arrives, Gridshift resolves it in order:
  1. The wizard, but only while it’s open (so setup never fires anything).
  2. MIDI Learn command bindings, then learned parameter bindings.
  3. The device’s controller profile.
  4. The focused instrument (the control plays as ordinary MIDI).
So an explicit MIDI Learn binding always wins over the same control in a profile — handy for overriding one button without editing the profile.

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Sync across your Macs

Controller profiles live in iCloud. A profile you create on one Mac appears on the others while both are signed in — and, like presets and monitor profiles, a profile saved on one machine shows up on another that’s already open.

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Requirements & limits

  • Class-compliant controllers only. Any knob/button/pad controller that appears as a standard MIDI device works.
  • No LED / motor feedback. Profiles send nothing back to the controller, so LED rings and motorised faders won’t reflect Gridshift’s state. Bidirectional “DAW mode” needs per-vendor support and isn’t offered.
  • 7-bit resolution. Standard CC values; high-resolution 14-bit CC isn’t used.
  • MCU / HUI control surfaces aren’t supported — profiles target the knob-and-button class of controller.
Last modified on July 10, 2026