RNDIS the future of synth interconnect ?

[N i g e l]

RNDIS - networking over USB.

I wanted to MIDI up a modern synth at the weekend, which involved installing the generic Microsoft RNDIS network driver rather than a custom MIDI driver from the synth manufacturer.

After the driver was installed, the synth was plug 'n' play for MIDI [also had to set synth parameter up to say it was connected to a PC rather than MAC ]

Is this the way MIDI drivers are headed now ? and can it handle synth audio at the same time ?

There seems to be a MAC version called "Bonjour"

[Eddy Deegan]

Try using it to connect two synths together directly ...

It isn't the future of synth interconnects I'd like myself to be honest and although having a standard USB driver for all compliant USB-enabled devices is a nice idea (and certainly works fairly well on Mac most of the time) I suspect there are issues when it comes to audio.

When it comes to MIDI over USB on Windows I've got a number of synths here that 'just worked' when I plugged them in without the need to install any drivers from the vendor. Maybe they're using RNDIS under the hood (in which case, it's good for that!) but if not then I'm not convinced that yet another proprietary OS-specific protocol is the way forward.

There's also a yawning gap in 'modern' MIDI devices without DIN sockets in that it's impossible to connect them directly together without an intermediate translation/host device which is somewhat ironic as direct interconnectivity was part of the whole point MIDI was created in the first place.

I really hope we'll be able to link synths and other MIDI devices directly together with USB cables of some form or another at some point, and in a manner that doesn't require 'host' and 'device' modes, just a straightforward cable connection that works. That's the future of synth interconnects I'd like to see anyway

[The Elf]

Wasn't MIDI 2.0 supposed to be going to address some of this stuff?

And look how well that's doing...

[Eddy Deegan]

Wasn't MIDI 2.0 supposed to be going to address some of this stuff?

And look how well that's doing...

I hold hope but it would have been nice to see more of it in the field by now I'll admit. Maybe it's a slow starter but it seems like a good idea in general.

[Folderol]

Wasn't MIDI 2.0 supposed to be going to address some of this stuff?

And look how well that's doing...

Well, it is getting there s.l.o.w.l.y
There are some problems.
The first is simple inertia. Ordinary (and ubiquitous) MIDI 1 is mostly good enough.

Another is that the MIDI 2 spec. is vast! I've looked through some of the documentation, with a view to seeing it we can get Yoshimi working with it, but it's a bit above my 'Pay Grade'.

Added to which were only now seeing the Linux MIDI stack being upgraded for it. I get the impression there isn't a full stack yet for the other OSes. Of course, that goes hand in hand with limited support from the hardware.

Once it has some real traction even the basics will dramatically improve things. For example, instead of 16 channels you get 256. You can also use a wide range of transport systems and speeds, with far better latency.

[Philbo King]

The big advantage for instrument makers (and disadvantage for musicians) is that an OS update without a driver update will make it obsolete. The same game interface makers (except RME) play...
"Oh, Windows 11? No, we don't support that. But look at this shiny new toy over here!"

This is the reason I don't buy any hardware synth without 5-pin DIN connectors.

[BigRedX]

I've now reached the point where I won't buy any MIDI device unless it's got actual MIDI DIN sockets on it.

[N i g e l]

The only non MIDI DIN thing ive got is a small MIDI controller for use with my laptop. It would have been handy if it could be used with synth modules too.
I would even have been happy with MIDI TRS.

Added to which were only now seeing the Linux MIDI stack being upgraded for it. I get the impression there isn't a full stack yet for the other OSes. Of course, that goes hand in hand with limited support from the hardware.

catch 22 ?
Some of the big synth manufacturers use a linux platform to take care of the general purpose housekeeping stuff that goes on in a synth.