Control OBS Studio Volume with a MIDI Controller

Controlling your OBS Studio audio mixer with a physical MIDI controller streamlines your live production workflow, allowing for tactile, precise volume adjustments. This guide provides a straightforward, step-by-step process to connect your MIDI device to OBS Studio, install the necessary plugin, and map your physical faders directly to the master volume sliders.

Step 1: Install the OBS MIDI Plugin

Because OBS Studio does not support MIDI devices natively, you must install a free plugin to bridge the connection.

  1. Download the obs-midi-mg plugin (available on the official OBS Resources forum).
  2. Run the installer or extract the files into your OBS Studio installation folder.
  3. Restart OBS Studio if it was open during the installation.

Step 2: Connect Your MIDI Controller

  1. Plug your physical MIDI controller board into your computer using a USB cable.
  2. Launch OBS Studio. Always ensure your controller is plugged in and powered on before opening OBS so the software can detect the hardware.

Step 3: Enable the MIDI Device in OBS

  1. In the top menu bar of OBS Studio, click on Tools and select OBS MIDI MG Setup.
  2. A new window will appear. Navigate to the Devices or Active Devices tab.
  3. Locate your MIDI controller in the list of available input devices.
  4. Click the checkbox next to your device to enable it, then click Apply.

Step 4: Map a Fader to the Master Volume Slider

  1. Navigate to the Bindings tab within the OBS MIDI MG setup window.
  2. Click the Add or + button to create a new action binding.
  3. Touch or move the physical fader/knob on your controller that you want to use for the master volume. The plugin will automatically detect and display the MIDI Control Change (CC) number of that specific fader.
  4. Under the Action settings on the right side of the window, configure the following:
    • Category/Type: Select Source.
    • Source: Select your master audio track (e.g., “Desktop Audio,” “Mic/Aux,” or your main audio interface track).
    • Action: Select Set Volume (or Volume).
  5. Click Save or Apply to confirm the mapping.

Step 5: Test and Calibrate

Move the physical fader up and down on your MIDI board. You should immediately see the corresponding volume slider in the OBS Mixer panel move in unison. If the movement is inverted (e.g., pushing the fader up lowers the volume), check the “Invert” box in the plugin’s binding settings.