USB hubs, MIDI controllers, & hard drives

J

Johnny Don't!

New member
Hey hey to all the knowledgeable folks here on HomeRecording.com!

Quick question: I have always used PCs with a TON of USB ports, so I've never needed a USB hub. Long story short, I had to move about 40 miles away from my main studio in Chicago, and I pieced together a PC using some spare parts I had lying around from older systems. The motherboard I'm using only has 4 USB 2.0 ports, and since I'm using a USB mouse & QWERTY keyboard plus two external drives, all my ports are filled without even connecting my Axiom 49 controller or the cheapo little USB audio interface I'm using for monitoring (I only use the remote system for editing & some very basic MIDI programming, no tracking or mixing).

My question is, will using a USB hub cause any issues with latency in terms of the MIDI controller? Is there a certain way I should connect the devices? I assume it's best to have a powered USB hub; I also assume I should connect the HDs & audio interface directly to the on-board USB ports and use the hub for my mouse, QWERTY keyboard, MIDI controller, and similar interfaces.

If anyone has any experience with USB hubs in terms of audio/MIDI/recording in general, I'd love some input here. Thanks in advance!
 
I would definitely not plug your interface or axiom through a hub. I'm faced with the same shortage of USB ports so I got a random hub with decent reviews from Amazon and use that for my Cubase dongle, my iLok and the USB plug for my mouse and keyboard while my hard drives and keyboard controller go directly into the ports on the PC (interface is firewire).

From what I have read around here, especially in regards to interfaces, if you plug an interface in through a hub it may increase latency quite a bit. If the interface is bus powered, the overall operation of the unit.
 
I was just going to post something about this, it's lucky I saw this thread first.

I recently upgraded my home studio Mac from a 2005 Macbook Pro to a Mid-2010 Mac Mini. I bought it used off a friend, but 3 of the 4 USB ports don't work. He was using a hub to connect everything and I tried doing that too, but I'm having a ton of problems with my interface and MIDI controllers not to mention my external HDD. I guess I need to scrap it and get another new computer for the studio (that's $175 down the drain).
 
I would just confirm what has been stated. Anything that requires good speed should be plugged straight to the MB, even the ones on a PC in the front have some speed issues. Use the hub for your input devices save the others for your critical connections. You might get away USB MIDI plugged into a hub, but don't be surprised if there is some latency with it. You may also want to use a hub with power to make sure you have enough.
 
Xcaliber said:
I was just going to post something about this, it's lucky I saw this thread first.

I recently upgraded my home studio Mac from a 2005 Macbook Pro to a Mid-2010 Mac Mini. I bought it used off a friend, but 3 of the 4 USB ports don't work. He was using a hub to connect everything and I tried doing that too, but I'm having a ton of problems with my interface and MIDI controllers not to mention my external HDD. I guess I need to scrap it and get another new computer for the studio (that's $175 down the drain).
Click to expand...

Sorry, not strictly relevant to the thread but have you tried resetting the P-Ram.
A lot of threads say they see no reason why this should help, but there are many users saying it did on various apple computers.

Look at these - SMC and P-RAM reset if you're not sure what I mean. :)
 
Steenamaroo said:
Sorry, not strictly relevant to the thread but have you tried resetting the P-Ram.
A lot of threads say they see no reason why this should help, but there are many users saying it did on various apple computers.

Look at these - SMC and P-RAM reset if you're not sure what I mean. :)
Click to expand...


Yep, I've tried resetting both the SMC and the PRAM multiple times. I think it's a hardware issue. Sucks too because I bought this off a friend for the sole purpose of using it as a recording computer and now I can't even do that. Even switching back to my Macbook Pro isn't working now.
 
pikingrin said:
I would definitely not plug your interface or axiom through a hub. I'm faced with the same shortage of USB ports so I got a random hub with decent reviews from Amazon and use that for my Cubase dongle, my iLok and the USB plug for my mouse and keyboard while my hard drives and keyboard controller go directly into the ports on the PC (interface is firewire).

From what I have read around here, especially in regards to interfaces, if you plug an interface in through a hub it may increase latency quite a bit. If the interface is bus powered, the overall operation of the unit.
Click to expand...

Thanks a TON for the info, mate! Much appreciated.
 
Hey gents, just FYI: I was looking into hubs on Amazon and a link popped up for a PCI USB expansion card, and it was much cheaper than the hubs, so I figgered, what the hell? I'll try it.

It works REALLY well. From what I can tell, it's pretty much the same thing as having a USB connection going directly to the motherboard. (Obviously it's not, as the signals need to travel through the PCI buss first, so that automatically makes them slower than the motherboard USB connections, but my human senses & reflexes can tell no difference). I've tried it with ALL of my devices: MIDI keyboard, QWERTY keyboard, mouse, audio interface (just a cheapo Berhinger UPhono for monitoring so I can't comment on any input latencies; this is a remote system, not my main), mouse, and external hard drives. I have NOT attempted to record anything to the externals via the PCI USB connections, so I can't comment on that either. But in terms of HUI devices and my MIDI controller, I notice absolutely no change in responsiveness, whatsoever.

And, like I said, it was really cheap! I actually bought two cards from different manufacturers, because the reviews were fairly mixed on Amazon; quite a bit of DOA complaints as well as failure after only a month or two of use. But at $6 each (no joke), I figured I'd get one from each of the only two manufacturers that still made PCI USB expansion cards (the vast majority were PCIe; I only have PCI slots available on this system, but I imagine a PCIe expansion card would be even better) and try them both. The first one I installed, by Sabrent, worked immediately, no software installation required; Win7 found it and installed all the drivers automatically.

So just FYI, installing USB expansion cards sounds like a much better solution for a lack of USB inputs than is a USB hub, at least for guys like us. I mean, that's obviously assuming you have the available slots. If not, a hub is probably the only choice. Just my two cents, and I hope it helps.
 
Johnny Don't! said:
Hey gents, just FYI: I was looking into hubs on Amazon and a link popped up for a PCI USB expansion card, and it was much cheaper than the hubs, so I figgered, what the hell? I'll try it.

It works REALLY well. From what I can tell, it's pretty much the same thing as having a USB connection going directly to the motherboard. (Obviously it's not, as the signals need to travel through the PCI buss first, so that automatically makes them slower than the motherboard USB connections, but my human senses & reflexes can tell no difference). I've tried it with ALL of my devices: MIDI keyboard, QWERTY keyboard, mouse, audio interface (just a cheapo Berhinger UPhono for monitoring so I can't comment on any input latencies; this is a remote system, not my main), mouse, and external hard drives. I have NOT attempted to record anything to the externals via the PCI USB connections, so I can't comment on that either. But in terms of HUI devices and my MIDI controller, I notice absolutely no change in responsiveness, whatsoever.

And, like I said, it was really cheap! I actually bought two cards from different manufacturers, because the reviews were fairly mixed on Amazon; quite a bit of DOA complaints as well as failure after only a month or two of use. But at $6 each (no joke), I figured I'd get one from each of the only two manufacturers that still made PCI USB expansion cards (the vast majority were PCIe; I only have PCI slots available on this system, but I imagine a PCIe expansion card would be even better) and try them both. The first one I installed, by Sabrent, worked immediately, no software installation required; Win7 found it and installed all the drivers automatically.

So just FYI, installing USB expansion cards sounds like a much better solution for a lack of USB inputs than is a USB hub, at least for guys like us. I mean, that's obviously assuming you have the available slots. If not, a hub is probably the only choice. Just my two cents, and I hope it helps.
Click to expand...

I don't know if a PCI card would be slower than an onboard or not. PCI is pretty fast. The difference between PCI and a hub is, the hub inputs use the same USB port, sharing the same bandwidth. The PCI has much more throughput that far exceeds a USB throughout so sharing is not a problem.

I haven't researched the subject, but from what I know, if your PCI is slower than onboard, it will not be enough to notice.
 
I've used a couple of PCI USB Cards in the past giving me 4 additional USB Ports and there is little to no difference to using an on board USB Port.

:thumbs up:
 
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