Interesting will try this once I get home, but it sounds pretty straight forward.
There is not a way to route a USB controller plugged into your Mac to the MIDIHub/Editor environment without using some sort of app that allows routing of MIDI signals such as a DAW or a hardware USB to MIDI host. The Apple Audio/MIDI application is support software for other applications and does not route MIDI signals on it’s own.
Thanks for the info, appreciate it
Ugh, I always thought the MIDI setup would allow for forwarding data as intended, and I think I had it working in some way years ago, but it could have been some other means with which I did it.
It turns out Audio MIDI Setup is just a hint for other Audio & MIDI software like DAWs. There really should be some background server implementation which just does the routing job, based on the currently active MIDI configuration, but I can’t find anything similar to that. Also I’m not sure if more than one application on macOS is allowed to work with the same MIDI ports at the same time, or is access to them exclusive, like on Windows. It looks like at least, that the MIDI Setup itself only allows for making single connection between ports, which is quite limiting…
So yes, looks like at the moment the best way to get USB MIDI controllers talking with Midihub is by using DAWs.
Do you have any more lightweight software recommendations for doing the USB MIDI routings? We might have to think about building our own if there’s nothing suitable enough… 
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I made some suggestions in a previous post above 
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There’s this thing…
I use one of these. I have tried it with at least four different USB MIDI controllers and it works like a champ. I have been pushing MPE data from a Roli Seaboard Block through the MIDIHub to a hardware synth. Very reliable and you won’t need to run a DAW, just the MIDIHub Editor.
The issue is with how OSX MIDI I/O routing works.
Just about any MIDI interface/ USB host will work.
I would love to see that happen, especially if it just became something under the hood in MIDIHub Editor. 
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It’d have to be a separate application though, as the same functionality on Windows would not be possible without impacting the DAWs, since access to MIDI ports there is exclusive.
On Linux this is definitely possible and I did a very quick research on macOS, it looks like it should be possible to implement for macOS too. 
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Stopped by to say thanks @Keyman for solving this issue for me. Was tearing my hair out as to why I couldn’t get my Keystep to connect to USB A in midihub via Audio MIDI Setup. MIDI Patchbay worked great. Weird that there’s functionality in Audio MIDI Setup to connect devices, but it just straight up doesn’t let you for some things.
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Hi there - after your research, do you have any plans to implement this for macOS? Right now all works well in my home studio with Midi Patchbay + MidiHub but that won’t work in a live performance where I don’t have my laptop on stage. Before I pick up a separate MIDI USB host as Borgbilly suggested, thought I would check in to see if the USB-Midi routing could be somehow embedded into MidiHub itself.
USB-MIDI hosting is not possible on Midihub itself. An external device linking the devices together would be necessary.
It’s incredible that a Mac - which IS a giant MIDI USB Host - needs additional soft/hard ware to make this happen. It can edit 4K video, render 3D, but basic signal routing…even in its built in signal routing software…nope. Thanks Apple.
Btw, if you’re not using any DAW on mac OS, an alternative solution could be to use a Raspberry Pi for hosting USBMIDI devices, by having it run amidiminder - it allows to set up automatic forwarding of ports between USB MIDI devices.
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I don’t use amindiminder yet. Looked at it and felt a bit too complex for me to get my head around. I did use ALSA utilities to get my Beatstep and Keystep sync’d properly on the Pi. As I get more familiar with the whole process I’ll revisit it
Hey, can anyone suggest what you need to do inside a daw to get a signal INTO midihub from a usb controller, ive been stuck on this for ages, keep coming back to it- ive tried midipatch bay (needs to be updated to run on my version of mac apparently). and midiPipe, aswell as a daw, all of which allow me to route data from my midi controller OUT of the midi ports on the midi hub, what id love to be able to do is to hold a key down on my controller and then put an arpeggiator etc after that in midihub and send it to a synth. so far i can only send notes directly from a daw or midipipe straight to the midihub outputs, which bypasses the midihub editor all together. I can’t see any way to create or connect my controller to the ‘virtual’ ports… any ideas ? I’m sure im missing something very obvious as people seem to suggest daw or those apps can do it, but can they do it without bypassing the app ? maybe i need to do something in midihub editor itself ? I’ve tried putting down from midi, from usb, from virtual, and tried all channels, just can’t get any data into midihub itself at all…
thanks
Andrew
Hey, on Midihub side, you should have FROM USB A → SOMETHING SOMETHING → TO USB A. (A transpose or harmonizer would be easy to check if it works)
Are you sure it’s the outputs? 
From DAW side, you should only be able to send stuff to a MIDI input of another device. Could you show a screenshot of how it looks like?
Hey Giedrius, thanks for responding!
here is a screenshot, I’m using reaper- the midi routing window seems to be only for midi hardware outputs (if i select one of those 4 ports, midi signals go out from midihub to control my devices directly, but bypass the app)
if i put down any pipe operators in midi hub (midi, usb or virtual- a b c or d) i don’t get any midi activity, ive tried everything… i could potentially, send midi directly out of a midi port from reaper, route it physically with a cable back into another midi port and then use from midi b and build a pipe that way- but that does seem ridiculous…
thanks
A
From the computer’s perspective, the Midihub ports are the ‘outputs’ - whatever is sent to Port 1 should appear on “FROM USB A” port on Midihub. Then you can process the data, put a “TO USB A”, and the computer should see it as an incoming message coming in from MH Port 1.
oh wow, that’s working, i think i had the midihub editor open but not ‘connected’ before, that always gets me!
thanks for your help!
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