Hi
I have 5 hardware synths and a Roland Octa-capture audio interface. I use Presonus Studio one. In order to trigger any of the synths from within the DAW, would it be better to have a midi interface or just link them altogether in series?
thanks
Barry
Think I need a midi interface...?
Think I need a midi interface...?
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- BarryGardner
Poster - Posts: 29 Joined: Wed May 30, 2007 12:00 am
Re: Think I need a midi interface...?
Your Octa-capture has one MIDI Out port. One MIDI port carries 16 MIDI channels.
If this is sufficient to address all the sounds you will need from your 5 synths, and you are prepared to set them all up to respond on different channels, you could get away with daisy-chaining.
But I think you'd be a lot happier with a 4-output USB MIDI interface, giving you 5 outputs in all.
If this is sufficient to address all the sounds you will need from your 5 synths, and you are prepared to set them all up to respond on different channels, you could get away with daisy-chaining.
But I think you'd be a lot happier with a 4-output USB MIDI interface, giving you 5 outputs in all.
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- Exalted Wombat
Longtime Poster - Posts: 5847 Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 12:00 am Location: London UK
You don't have to write songs. The world doesn't want you to write songs. It would probably prefer it if you didn't. So write songs if you want to. Otherwise, please don't bore us with beefing about it. Go fishing instead.
Re: Think I need a midi interface...?
Exalted Wombat wrote:I think you'd be a lot happier with a 4-output USB MIDI interface, giving you 5 outputs in all.
Yep, they're not that expensive (I use a couple of Midisport 2x2s) and it avoids hassle.
Re: Think I need a midi interface...?
Thanks for that. Any recommendations - MOTU micro lite at just over £100 or is that overkill? Inevitably, synths breed!
When you set an interface up, the in and out of the synth go to the interface right? lots of cable.
Thanks in advance
When you set an interface up, the in and out of the synth go to the interface right? lots of cable.
Thanks in advance
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- BarryGardner
Poster - Posts: 29 Joined: Wed May 30, 2007 12:00 am
Re: Think I need a midi interface...?
BarryGardner wrote:Thanks for that. Any recommendations - MOTU micro lite at just over £100 or is that overkill? Inevitably, synths breed!
When you set an interface up, the in and out of the synth go to the interface right? lots of cable.
Thanks in advance
If you're aiming to play the synths from your computer each one needs a MIDI out from the interface to its MIDI in. The return cable is only needed if the synth has a keyboard you want to play into the system, or if you use patch librarian/editor software.
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- Exalted Wombat
Longtime Poster - Posts: 5847 Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 12:00 am Location: London UK
You don't have to write songs. The world doesn't want you to write songs. It would probably prefer it if you didn't. So write songs if you want to. Otherwise, please don't bore us with beefing about it. Go fishing instead.
Re: Think I need a midi interface...?
It is possible to chain synths together and use different channels for up to 16 sounds.
But ... While the MIDI thru should be hooked to the in in hardware, it often is not. The result is that on some synths you have to receive an entire byte of input before the byte will appear on the thru. So you get delays as you work down the chain.
In addition, the amount of data you can push down a single MIDI port is limited. Especially if some of your MIDI is recorded, and you have not filtered out excess controller messages, you may overload the line, which will also produce delays.
So it is much more reliable and will give you better timing to put each synth on its own output.
But ... While the MIDI thru should be hooked to the in in hardware, it often is not. The result is that on some synths you have to receive an entire byte of input before the byte will appear on the thru. So you get delays as you work down the chain.
In addition, the amount of data you can push down a single MIDI port is limited. Especially if some of your MIDI is recorded, and you have not filtered out excess controller messages, you may overload the line, which will also produce delays.
So it is much more reliable and will give you better timing to put each synth on its own output.