SOUND ON SOUND

[Folderol]

This is one of the great ironies of our time I suppose. MIDI has always been, and continues to be incredibly simple but totally reliable. But it's being replaced by technologies which seem to be less efficient, more complicated, less reliable and less future proof. I think there's a good reason all the high end synth manufacturers still put real MIDI in their machines.

Or maybe I'm getting old...! I must admit I don't enjoy keeping up with technological progress anymore (ahem, Apple). I crave stability and a choice selection of gear. I can actually make music that way!

If it makes you feel any better, 8 years ago the firm I do occasional work for was asked to upgrade a factory-wide control system. The customer specified hardware serial comms on the grounds of simplicity and reliability. In that time there has never been a comms failure, and it's only switched off for a week at Christmas.

[siderealxxx]

How's about this mio10 (10x10) 1U model from iConnectivity?

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/mio10

Yeh I looked at this. I have no experience of iConnectivity (anyone?). I read it takes some setting up and the software is poor.

It seems they came from the mobile audio side of things and now branching out. The trouble is we don't know their track record and commitment to drivers etc.

[Matt Houghton]

after all the problems I've experienced over recent years with USB MIDI ports I scrupulously avoid using them when a standard MIDI port is also available

Hi Martin. I'm curious... What sort of problems have you experienced?

[Matt Houghton]

Another thought... for anyone on Mac with *serious* MIDI I/O needs... has anyone tried using MIDI over ethernet, to communicate with a Windows or older Mac machine hooked up to a Midisport 8x8 or some such? (Perhaps a good use for that c***y old iMac or Powerbook that's gathering dust in the corner of the room!)

Alternatively, might it be possible to run a version of Windows in Parallels on the Mac, use Win for the MIDI interface, and bridge MIDI from Parallels to MacOS?

[siderealxxx]

Another thought... for anyone on Mac with *serious* MIDI I/O needs... has anyone tried using MIDI over ethernet, to communicate with a Windows or older Mac machine hooked up to a Midisport 8x8 or some such? (Perhaps a good use for that c***y old iMac or Powerbook that's gathering dust in the corner of the room!)

Alternatively, might it be possible to run a version of Windows in Parallels on the Mac, use Win for the MIDI interface, and bridge MIDI from Parallels to MacOS?

Voodoo!

[Heather Haze]

I'm still using my MIDISport 8x8 in my studio, and it still works great. I'll never give it up as long as it keeps working. It's a real workhorse. I rely on those MIDI ports to be there when I need them. That said, I confess it has failed me on two occasions. The first time was something around twelve years ago. I thought it was a goner, but when I contacted M-Audio, they sent me a new eprom chip. I popped that thing in and it sprang back to life. It worked solid for about ten years, then suddenly it wouldn't connect again. I took it apart and discovered the chip had gradually worked its way loose. I pushed it back in with a satisfying crunch, and bingo! Back to work, no problem. What a great piece of gear.

It will be a sad day if I ever have to give up my 8x8.

http://HeatherHaze.com

[Zukan]

Real men get a Function Junction.

[Matt Houghton]

I still have an 8x8 which functions on Windows but not on MacOS since around v10.9. IIRC 10.8.5 was the last version that drivers worked with.

So I'll admit to missing my DACS MIDI Patchbay which I sold in a silly moment of "yeah, like I'll ever need this again!". That was a great design: MIDI Dins on the back, clusters of jacks on the front for easy patching.

But for now, generally, just sticking a cheap USB>MIDI cable on any MIDI gear I want to use seems to do the job well enough...


EDIT: Of course, you all know this already, seeing as this is an old but recently resurrected thread in which I already told you ;)

[The Elf]

I use a pair of MOTU MIDI Express 128. They're pretty much flawless. I did used to get them occasionally spontaneously swapping over, but since Win10 even that minor irritation has disappeared.

I used to have a Function Junction Plus (16x16) - a great device, but not an interface, and something I wouldn't have much use for nowadays.

[desmond]

Emagic AMT8 here, bought in the early 2000s, still supported on Mac now. Bullet proof, with timing under Logic basically the same as the Atari STs famed timing.

[simonstock]

So I looked around at what's on the market and the choice is only the MOTU 128 which lots of people are also complaining about with El Capitan (despite being so called class compliant) or an iConnectivity Mio 10 (whoever/whatever that is)

The MIDI Express 128 is NOT class-compliant. It requires MOTU's MIDI Driver to be installed.

[ef37a]

http://www.kentonuk.com/

Anything there ^ that helps? And, saw a MOTU 128 in Cash Gens a few weeks ago, wonder if it is still there (might have cooled off by now!)

Dave.

[Mixedup]

Kenton do some useful stuff, but there's nothing there to compete with the analogue MIDI patchbays of old. I wonder if this is the sort of thing Orchid Electronics would make up... I'll drop him a line.

[ef37a]

Kenton do some useful stuff, but there's nothing there to compete with the analogue MIDI patchbays of old. I wonder if this is the sort of thing Orchid Electronics would make up... I'll drop him a line.

Aha! Are you talking about a PASSIVE patch bay? If so have a look/think about a bog standard CAT5 bay with shielded jacks. You would (I think) just need DIN to RJ45 converter cables* and then patch leads. Of course you could do the same with TRS jacks but there is always the possibility of a miss-plug!

*I have done this, they work!

Dave.

[Mixedup]

That might work, I suppose, though it's a little crude. I was thinking more along the lines of the DACS MIDI Patchbay, which I think had some active buffering going on too. Externally, it presented two rows of 10 MIDI Dins on the back (to hook up your gear's MIDI In and Out), and then had dedicated In, Out and Thru jack sockets on the front panel — which obviously used the same patch cables as any other 1/4 inch jack patchbays you have. Either way, I like the idea of something like this that doesn't rely on driver updates to keep functioning in the modern world, and means you don't have to leave a gazillion USB devices hooked up to your computer all the time!

[Zukan]

One of our esteemed member sis selling his Steinberg Midex-8 for chips.

Anyone interested please PM me.

[bill555]

Not sure I'm clear on all this generally, clues appreciated. You can/cannot simply hook up a MIDI cable to an AI without MIDI and voila, effectively the same as an AI with built-in MIDI?

[desmond]

Not sure I'm clear on all this generally, clues appreciated. You can/cannot simply hook up a MIDI cable to an AI without MIDI and voila, effectively the same as an AI with built-in MIDI?

Generally speaking, an audio interface with MIDI is *two* things - an audio interface, and a MIDI interface (those are seen as separate things by the OS).

If you have an audio interface that doesn't have MIDI, then it has no MIDI ports, nor does it's driver handle MIDI to/from your computer. In essence, the audio interface knows nothing about MIDI, it only knows how to pass audio.

In this case you can simply get a second, MIDI only interface, to provide MIDI to/from your computer.

[midierror]

I'm a bit late to the party here...but I am selling a 8x8 Midisport if anyone is interested?

Check the SOS ads

[interphazem3]

I use a Motu express 128 midi patchbay with OSX Yosemite no problems had it for a while now no problems so far 8/8 mode setup running with cubase is ok