How to start with setup of hardware midi synths in Ardour

kwoot · February 15, 2026, 2:12pm

Hi,
I am using Ardour 9.0.0.
Okay, I found the distributed midnam files.
But where should I store my own midnam files? And is there some logging if there’s an error in them?
I also found the patch selector window, but it only shows GM patches,

Basically my question is:

where can I add my set of vintage MIDI synths?
where can I associate them with a midnam file?

The basic communication already works.
If I can get my setup in here I have with Ardour my goto tool for the next few years.

Regards,
Jeroen Baten

Majik · February 15, 2026, 3:11pm

Once you are satisfied with your file, you have to put it at a location where Ardour picks it up. The best place would be the (hidden) directory Ardour configuration directory subdirectory patchfiles. in your home-folder. Should the sub-directory patchfiles not exist yet, just create it. The path and file-names are case-sensitive. The file should end with ".midnam ".

After you have done modifications to a file, it is a good idea to validate it. This can be done using the tool xmllint

After restarting Ardour, hit the small Log-button in the upper right corner of the main window. It should say something like (this is Linux, MacOS or Windows will be different):
Loading 3 MIDI patches from /home/username/.config/ardour6/patchfiles

Also, linked from this page:

github.com

Ardour/ardour/blob/master/share/patchfiles/README

Please preserve the following when adding files here:

All documents except MIDI.midnam have the conventional naming scheme
Manufacturer_Model.midnam, with spaces replaced with underscores.

All documents validate against MIDINameDocument10.dtd.  Often the DOCTYPE needs
to be updated to the standard one, many old .midnam files use outdated versions
with broken links.

To validate a document, run:

xmllint --dtdvalid MIDINameDocument10.dtd Acme_Synthomatic.midnam > /dev/null

The same tool can be used to format the file nicely:

xmllint --format My_Device.ugly.midnam > Acme_Synthomatic.midnam

Cheers,

Keith

kwoot · February 15, 2026, 5:34pm

Thanks! This helps a lot!

Now I only need to find out where to add my hardware synths in Ardour so I can associatie a patchfile to them.

Regards,
Jeroen

Majik · February 15, 2026, 7:35pm

You don’t “add” them in Ardour, as such.

You just create a MIDI track with no instrument plugin.

Then connect the inputs and outputs to your MIDI instrument.

To associate your MIDNAM, (assuming v9) right click on the track header and select “MIDNAM Selector”.

If want, you can set this up for a track and then save it as a track template, allowing you to add it easily in the future.

Cheers,

Keith

kwoot · February 15, 2026, 9:18pm

I am indeed running 9.0.0 currently.

Okay, The last response made me realize where I went wrong and I now have a nice working track. So, a big thanks first and foremost!

Now the Roland D-110 midnam file is rather empty (well, there are patches, but with names like pgm-1, pgm-2. I have already created the correct files for Rosegarden, so it should not be too hard to convert them to correct midnam files. How to submit them when I’m done? Git repo fork and PR, or email somebody, or something else?

Again, thanks!

Regards,
Jeroen