Getting started with MONKEY

So you got your own MONKEY and are ready to start using it and all of its features. This guide will walk you through the basics of connecting it up and playing your first notes through the MONKEY.

We recommend you to check out the video below by Filip Lund, which walks through many of its features and different types of setups.

MONKEY is not limited to a single use case. It can be your traveling companion, your keyboard of choice in a space constrained home studio, a creative brainstorming machine, etc. It’s up to you to choose how it best suits your needs.

It is designed to be learned in steps. Connect it up and you are immediately able to use it as a MIDI keyboard. You don’t have to use any of its more advanced features. The next step is to start playing around with the MIDI effects and changing the octave through the SHIFT key. And finally there is the loop recorder and layering of up to 10 instruments on top of each other.

MONKEY is always powered on. It will automatically go to sleep when you are not using it, and pressing on any of the keys will instantly wake it up. That’s one less thing to worry about. MONKEY is expected to last many months on a single battery with moderate usage.

You can force the device into sleep by turning on the lock switch, though this is not generally necessary during normal operation. The switch is intentionally inconvenient to discourage overuse. It is useful when traveling, where accidental key presses in a bag or pocket could repeatedly wake the device.

To get started, make sure a battery is inserted and the lock switch is in its down position.

Do you need assistance or have questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at hello@wavyindustries.com or join our Discord community.

Device updates & tools

MONKEY wirelessly updates directly through a web browser. Our device utility page, in addition to updates, lets you configure the drums and patterns which are stored on MONKEY.

Device Updates

Check for updates by connecting your device.

Open device utility

Hooking it up

MONKEY supports a variety of hosts and works great in many types of setups. The connection process varies depending on the device you choose to use it with.

You can experiment right away through our device utility, which includes a basic playground requiring a browser which supports Bluetooth).

Open playground

Generally speaking, for mobile apps you connect MONKEY straight to the individual apps. Most modern music apps include a setting to connect to Bluetooth MIDI devices. On desktops (macOS, Windows, Linux) you connect MONKEY to the operating system. Below we will show you how to connect to your preferred device.

Many users are sharing their setups and experiences on our Discord community. Please check it out here.

Connecting to mobile apps

A bunch of great music apps exists both on Android and iOS. Some apps exists on both operating systems and some only on one of them. Our recommendation depends on which of them you have.

For iPhone/iPad users which are new to music creation on these devices, we recommend to start with Garageband. Its the simplest one and will get you started quickly. After creating a new project go to Settings -> Advanced -> Bluetooth MIDI.

For Android users we recommend N-Track Studio.

On both operating systems, you can still access our device utility playground by using a browser which supports Bluetooth (Bluefy on iOS).

Open playground

Connecting to Windows and macOS

We have developed MIDI Connect for macOS and Windows to make Bluetooth MIDI connections simpler. It’s not limited to Wavy devices, you might use it with any Bluetooth MIDI device.

Download MIDI Connect

Manual connection

You don’t need to use our apps. Please check the guides below for alternative solutions.

macOS

Bluetooth MIDI devices will not appear in system Bluetooth settings. Instead, macOS has its own MIDI utility.

If you do not want to use MIDI Connect, follow the manual steps below.

Step 1. Open Audio MIDI Setup.

Step 2. Open MIDI Studio.

Step 3. Open the Bluetooth panel.

Alternatively, if you don’t see the Bluetooth icon:

Step 4. Find your device in the list and connect.

Windows

Windows is in the process of rewriting their MIDI stack, resulting in instabilities. Some users have reported issues with both our in-house MIDI Connect app as well as with alternative tools. We suggest you try them out and see which setup works best for you and we hope the situation will stabilize soon.

You will need the following programs installed:

loopMIDI: https://www.tobias-erichsen.de/software/loopmidi.html
MIDIBerry: https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9n39720h2m05

Then follow these steps to start using MONKEY:

Step 0. Windows 11 users must first enable Advanced device discovery in Bluetooth settings.

Step 1. Pair MONKEY in Windows settings. You only need to do this if MONKEY isn’t already paired with your computer.

Step 2. Configure a MIDI port using loopMIDI and name it “my MIDI port.”

Step 3. Open MIDIBerry, select WAVY MONKEY as the input device, and the MIDI port you created as the output.

You’re done! Test it by pressing keys on MONKEY and check whether the notes are received in MIDIBerry’s Input Monitor.

Be aware that you need to keep MIDIBerry open to maintain the connection. You might not see any notes received even though everything looks connected. In that case, try disconnecting and reconnecting MONKEY in the Windows settings. Also, make sure it’s set up exactly as described above.

Configure desktop DAW

We provide guides for some DAWs, though MONKEY should work with most of them. In short, assign instruments in your DAW to different MIDI channels, and use MIDI channel 10 for a drum rack.

Ableton Live

We have created a basic template for Ableton to get you up and running quickly. Please check it out here.

If you want to set it up manually, please follow these instructions:
Step 1. Make sure MONKEY is enabled in MIDI Ports settings.