MIDI Playback

T

Torre1

New member
Good morning. I apologize for my ignorance.
This is my first post and I know NOTHING about MIDI. I have searched the internet for hours and still don’t know what I’m looking for. I need a (very simple) device that can store MIDI “songs” created elsewhere and be able to play them back. Loaded ether through USB or SD card? If is also had a 25 key keyboard it would be a bonus but not required.
Thank you!
 
I'm not sure what kind of "(very simple) device" you're looking for, so I'll just throw some ideas out there.

First of all, MIDI isn't sound/audio, it's just data, so in order to hear it you need something that can generate sounds as it "plays" the MIDI song files. If your intended usage environment-- i.e., the locations and situations in which you intend to play back the MIDI files-- allows for a computer or laptop or tablet, then you can use a DAW with virtual instruments, or a sampler with sound samples or soundfonts, to generate the sounds.

if you'd rather not deal with a computer, laptop, or tablet, you could get a portable MIDI-compatible keyboard-- NOT a MIDI keyboard controller, but an actual musical keyboard. If you're not that interested in playing the keyboard, then it doesn't even need to be touch-sensitive (or "velocity-sensitive"), in which case a cheap used Yamaha PSR-E243 or YPT-240 might be okay (but NOT the newer PSR-E253 or YPT-255, because they have no way for you to load MIDI songs into them... what was Yamaha thinking?). If you think you might want to play the keyboard, then a PSR-E353 or PSR-E443 would be better, but would also cost more. You could also look at other brands or models.

Another option would be to get a MIDI sound module or tone generator. I don't know how common they are these days-- I think they used to be much more common, so you might look on eBay or Craig's list to see if there are any used ones that look good. These days it's almost cheaper to just buy something like a PSR-E243 (again, NOT a PSR-E253!) to use as a cheap XGlite-compatible sound module-- or if you don't mind using a computer, getting a laptop, DAW, and some nice virtual instruments.
 
Thank you so much for your reply. I could have probably explained my goal here better than I did so I apologize. I already do know that MIDI files are not actually song files and only computer code and that is why I am looking for a device to read them (or play them). My son has a very nice electric piano (Yamaha YPG-635) which I can put a MIDI “song” on a thumb drive and it will play the song. I can also send the file out through its output jack and it will send it out to an amp or speakers, etc.
I want a simple device that will do the same thing but not be 100 lbs. and so massive. The smaller the better. I have seen on the net that people have built their own devices with Raspberry Pi or Arduino to play MIDI songs straight from an SD Card. Perfect! Too bad I cannot find one of these commercially available. Also, it would be better if the device could store the songs internally and not have to read it from an SD card but beggars can’t be choosers.
I did see the Tone Generators on line and saw many demos on YouTube. They are playing repetitive tunes which seem to be what I want but no matter how much reading I do I can’t seem to figure out how the files get on the Tone Generator in the first place? Are they completely customized? Do they have to be recorded in real time (i.e. playing the notes on a keyboard) or can a MIDI file be saved into it somehow? And how long can these files be? Can they play a 4 min. long MIDI file?
Lastly, my computer will already do what I need without adding any other components (i.e. simply play a MIDI song file) but computers are expensive and I am looking for a stand-alone device.
As you can see I am very lost.
Thanks again
 
I'm afraid I have no experience with hardware MIDI tone generators and sound modules. You can get a nice new sound module for several hundred dollars, or over a thousand dollars, but if you want to get something cheaper it looks like you'll need to get something used, which also means slightly outdated. Now, just to be clear, there are new sound modules which are pretty cheap (as such things go), but that doesn't mean they're 16-part multi-timbral with a polyphony of 32 notes minimum, and I think that's probably going to be what you want. It looks like the most deluxe model of Yamaha's old MU series was the MU-2000ex, which is 64-part multi-timbral with 128-note polyphony. You could also get an older model from the MU series that is 32-part multi-timbral with 64-note polyphony. I honestly don't know whether you can load a standard MIDI song file into any of the MU models, or whether you would need to either stream the MIDI data to it or enter the song note-by-note.

I can see why you wouldn't want to use your son's YPG-635, since it weighs over 50 pounds with the stand attached, and nearly 40 pounds even without the stand, plus it would be rather bulky to deal with. But the PSR-E models are a lot lighter-- the PSR-E243/YPT-240 weighs less than 9 pounds, and the PSR-E443 weighs right at 15 pounds (I literally pick mine up with one hand and carry it, since the base underneath the keys has a curved shape which makes it easy to grab onto and it's light enough to carry like a suitcase).

However, I'm hesitant to recommend anything because I don't know how much you're able and willing to pay for a solution-- your comment about the expense of buying a computer leads me to believe you don't want to spend more than a few hundred at the most, and a limited budget always limits your options (as I know all too well myself).
 
Thank you again for your reply.
You are correct in that I am trying to keep the cost as low as possible especially since a $50 used laptop will do what I need but not very practically.
So will a Rasberry Pi or Arduino for about $50 in "parts" but I'm not clever enough to build one.

I actually found several devices on the internet that will do what I want but they all appear to be about 5 year old websites and mostly in Europe (see attached links).
The YouTube video is for a product called a MIDI Pro-Filer and seems perfect but it's over $500!

Thanks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ml1kjcl6-IU
Klinger Organ sd_midi_reader
The New SD-MMC Memory Card Midi Controller-Data Filer from www.sdmidcontroller.com
S.D. MIDI PLAYERS FOR SALE
SD Midi player | J.verbeeck Organ Manufacturer
 
Okay, I didn't understand that you just wanted a simple MIDI playback device, not something that can also generate tones. Anyway, I'm glad you found what you were looking for. :)
 
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