How do I hook up a MIDI keyboard/drum machine??

  • Thread starter Thread starter chenathan
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chenathan

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Hey guys,

If a thing doesn't have a USB output and only a MIDI i/o, what do I do to plug it into my computer to control my DAW?

Thanks!!!
 
You should have an audio interface (outboard or card) that has MIDI in and out sockets on it.
 
c7sus said:
Check out an MAudio MIDIsport. They've been around for years and the drivers are pretty stable. Connects via USB to your puter.
Click to expand...

This is a better idea. I have two 4x4s and a MOTU 5x5. I can reach a MIDI device to my PC from anywhere in the room. I use MIDI-OX to connect physical and virtual MIDI ports.

The only problem I've had with them is that the US-428 control surface doesn't play nice with other USB devices on the system.
 
I don't know whether the OP is a n00B or not but C7sus' suggestion is one I know from experience that works for sure. When I was a total ignoramus about keyboard controllers and computers, the simplicity of that system got me up and running for a good four years.
 
diggy_dude said:
This is a better idea. I have two 4x4s and a MOTU 5x5. I can reach a MIDI device to my PC from anywhere in the room. I use MIDI-OX to connect physical and virtual MIDI ports.

The only problem I've had with them is that the US-428 control surface doesn't play nice with other USB devices on the system.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I had mucho conflict when adding an Akai MPK49 via USB. I wound up getting a RS wallwart power supply and ditching the USB power for the Akai and routing MIDI through the MIDIsport.

Even MIDI-OX didn't help with that problem.
 
MIDI-OX can't fix driver or device conflicts. But if you can get them all to play together, MIDI-OX is a hella monitoring and routing tool.
 
I don't know if you'd call it a driver conflict, it just seemed like the computer would see one or the other but not both at the same time.

I would get error messages saying the device was in use by another app, so MIDI-OX wouldn't see the Akai and the Akai wouldn't see the MIDIsport.

And Sonar didn't want to see either one!
 
I couldn't route the US-428 through a MidiSport because I wouldn't have been able to use the audio interface on the US-428 with that setup.

The US-428 proved to have a bad fader in addition to being a problem child, so I sent it back. At that point, I said to hell with interfaces and control surfaces and started gearing up to track on cassette. The MidiSports and the Micro Lite all play well together with a BCR-2000 and an M-Audio 2496 card. So the PC has been relegated to MIDI routing and automation (MIDI-OX, Virtual MIDI Machine, Bome's MIDI Translator, etc.) during tracking. I can then mix down to Reaper with the M-Audio 2496 and do post production editing there.
 
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