Help needed with midi and serial drivers

DavidK

DavidK

New member
Hi folks,
I have an Alesis nanosynth and a Roland JV1010, sound
modules I run with Cakewalk Pro9. Both Modules
have serial midi driver capability, so far neither
work. I have installed the correct drivers and
switched the buttons on the back to the right slot.

Does regular good ol Midi and serial driver midi
exist together. I assumed that using the serial
driver and one module would be like having
two midi ports. I guess I am wrong. Any
help would be great, thanx David
 
What you're saying is right, you use 1 (bi-directional) serial cable to connect your tone generator to your PC instead of using 2 MIDI cables. You then install the appropriate driver software for your tone generator (downloadable from their site). This should then create new MIDI ports (e.g. "Yamaha A", "Yamaha B") which is selectable from your MIDI recording/playback software. Finally, you have to select the correct "To-Host" option on your tone generator.

Good luck,
Cazz.
 
Thanks Cazz, good advice,no luck yet though. I got
the serial cable installed, drivers,etc. Cakewalk
shows that it recognizes the serial driver, all
looks fine, but it still doesnt work. I havent tried
the Roland unit yet, so I know what I am doing
tonight.
I am using a joystick midi connector through my
Soundblaster card for midi. Does this mattter?
I am just trying the serial driver out, do I need
the in as well? Thanx so much for the help, David
 
You may already know this, but I'll just clarify...

if you wish to connect your tone generator to your PC via a serial cable, you do not use any midi cables at all, you disconnect them and throw them under your bed. The two-way serial cable (carrying midi out and midi in messages) then runs from your "To Host" port on your TG to a serial port on your PC (on older PC's this serial port is where you would plug the mouse, so it was always a bit tricky! but now mice plug into a new separate PS2 connector, leaving this serial port free).

**You shouldn't have anything coming out of your joystick's midi connector.**

After installing the driver software, you should have new midi in and out ports available from your sequencing software. Then using this serial cable, you should be able to send midi from your TG to your PC for recording and from your PC to your TG for playback.

If you can't get your system working with a serial cable then forget about it, chuck it away and go back to using two midi leads from your joystick's midi connector to your TG. There's no real advantage in using a serial cable (although it does 'feel' more professional!)

Cheers,
Cazz.
 
Hi Cazz and C7sus
thanx for the advice, love this forum.Everybody in
here seems to love helpin others, and there is
no BS.

I tried all of Cazz'es suggestions, actually I figured
them out on my own as well, It just doesnt work.
So my serial driver wire will go into my misfit toys
box,and i will go out and get the midiman Midisport
Usb, which I was eyeing last week, but I was
hoping my serial driver would work.

I played tonight with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra,
who I play with on a regular basis ( I play violin).
Anybody know em? For some reason these boys
are really popular in cleveland. I play on tour
with them all month, so looks like my family
gets good holiday gifts this year, and looks
like I am getting a new midi interface!! Cheers David
 
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