Midi to usb vs midi to interface (usb)

  • Thread starter Thread starter saxy
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saxy

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Hey guys, I'm a noobie to the forum. Wanna coming here to ask other fellow home studio users for some help

So yesterday, my old Presonus Firebox suddenly died. I only use my home studio for demo recordings, so I needed something cheap, easy to use and available and got a Scarlett 2i2. Stupid of me, I didn't realise it had no midi inputs. It had been only a couple hours since I bought it, but I phoned the store, and they won't accept an exchange (really?).

An option would be to get those midi to USB cables and plug directly from keyboard to computer. But would that induce more latency than say if I directly plugged it into the interface of a Scarlett 2i4?

thanks in advance!
 
It shouldn't. My gear is a little higher end, but I use outboard MIDI interfaces in addition to the MIDI interface on my Fast Track 8 Ultra and I see no difference whatsoever.
 
Thanks PTravel. Now, I suddenly have a dilemma, because the store just phoned me back and they said, they'll allow the exchange now, given i haven't registered any of the software, and keep everything in tack. But, the upgrade to the 2i4 is 400HKD (~55USD) more... I could buy a midi to USB cable for just 65HKD. Is it worth the upgrade now?
 
I'd get the cable and save some cash. I use one daily on my keyboard to computer for all my midi needs. Not a problem. Zero latency, etc.
 
Agreed. There shouldn't be any issue using a USB adapter.
It's not like it's having to process real audio or effects…It's just kb of data.
Plus the majority of controllers and keyboards these days are USB only.

Save some cash. :)
 
You do not say what kind of computer you have, which always needs to be known to fully answer this sort of question. I gather you have instruments with standard 5-pin MIDI ports or you wouldn't have an issue. Generally speaking, it's nice to have standard MIDI ports on your interface... but not through a USB unit like the Scarlett. Best case setup is a bus mastering PCI or PCIe interface that includes 5-pin MIDI ports, not USB. So, with what you have it does not matter either way because the MIDI stream will still be sharing the USB bandwidth at some point.
 
It does not matter.

MIDI is an old (1970s) protocol that ran on ancient 9600baud serial ports.
It is a very slow, LOW demand method of communication.
USB is far, far, far faster.

I've been running my keyboards on a MidisportUSB2x2 alongside my Motu828mkII (whos midi port I use for my windsynth) for over 5 years on 3 different daws with ZERO problems.
 
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