tram8+

Custom firmware for the TRAM8 MIDI-to-CV module. Adds multiple operating modes, MIDI learn, and a packed SysEx protocol for direct DAW control. Also includes an optional VST3 plugin for bridging a DAW to the hardware.

Firmware Modes

Mode	Description
Velocity	Gate on/off from note events, DAC outputs note velocity as 0–5V
CC	Gate on/off from note events, DAC tracks a configurable MIDI CC as 0–5V
SysEx	Direct control of all 8 gates and 12-bit DAC values via packed SysEx messages

Each gate can be independently configured with a MIDI channel and note filter.

Install

Download tram8-firmware.syx from the latest release, put the module in SysEx mode, and send the file with any MIDI SysEx tool.

VST3 Plugin

Optional companion plugin that receives MIDI in the DAW and sends packed SysEx to the hardware via CoreMIDI. Per-gate configuration of channel, note, and DAC mode (velocity, pitch, CC, off).

Install

Download tram8-bridge-macos.zip from the latest release, unzip, and copy tram8-bridge.vst3 to ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/. Then remove the quarantine flag:

xattr -cr ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/tram8-bridge.vst3

Building

Firmware

Requires avr-gcc toolchain. See firmware/Makefile.

VST3 Plugin (macOS)

cmake -S vst -B vst/build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build vst/build --config Release

Project Structure

firmware/       AVR firmware (C)
protocol/       Shared SysEx message definitions
vst/
  source/       VST3 plugin + embedded UI (C++/ObjC++)
  external/     VST3 SDK (submodule)