What is this whole MIDI thing?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chewie
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Chewie

Chewie

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I know nothing about MIDI.
From what I do know it seems I can use it create music from many different instuments.
How can I do this and how do I do it with the instruments sounding real as possible?
 
To grind it all the way down to a really simple example, it lets keyboards (and other devices) talk to each other and give each other commands. It lets keyboard 1 tell keyboard 2 "hey, play a D5 this hard and for this long on this certain instrument sound." The quality of the instruments will depend entirely upon the quality of the instrument sounds in your keyboard or computer synth (whatever you're using).
 
midi DOES NOT send sounds from machine to machine...just signals
 
?????

Ok. What I want is to use MIDI to record stuff like srings and stuff. What can u tell me about that?
 
to record midi tracks you need several items chewie.
heres my recommendation (one of many thousands of options)
a midi keyboard with no sounds in it connected through midi input to
a midi equipped pc (preferably 1ghz minimum in case you also want to add live audio tracks as well )
and the pc needs to be equipped with midi recording software (eg; powertracks that i use - 48 tracks of midi if you wish)
then you connect the output of the pc midi output to one or more midi sound modules with thousands of sounds in like strings, drums, trumpets and many other instruments.
you will need to put in the pc a sound card with midi inputs and outputs.
if you want to learn more i suggest you hang around the pgmusic.com user forums. these folks know way more than midi than i ever will.
and you will learn a ton of info from them. some have been doing it since the
dawn of the midi protocol. and have been very helpfull to me in the past.
hope this helps.
 
::hijack::

sorry, its an emergency

i know this is an old topic, and i'm sorry. i've read all the old threads and i think i understand it for the most part, but i wanted to ask anyways

my band is about ready to buy a new pa. what we've decided on so far is a behringer SL2442FX-PRO mixer, 2 peavey PV15s (the ones with 2 15" speakers), a behringer 2500 power amp, and a behringer 2600 compressor.

the speakers are rated at 500W program and 1000W peak at 4 ohms, and the amp will run 600W at 4 ohms or 2400W for 4 ohms bridged. i really don't understand the parallel/series thing. i was just going to plug the left and right main outs of the mixer into the 2 channels on the amp and one speaker into each output. please let me know if this would work, or if there is a better way i don't know about. also let me know if there are any other problems with this setup.

thanks for your help.
 
Chewie said:
Ok. What I want is to use MIDI to record stuff like srings and stuff. What can u tell me about that?
Click to expand...

MIDI doesn't record. It only tells devices what to do. You could program a series of notes in a sequencer (hardware or software) and have it outputed via MIDI to the synth or sound module you wanted to play that tone. The synth will play the notes, but you gotta record them with something else.

Now the late 80's/early 90's pushed the idea of MIDI sequencing to write songs using workstation keyboards like the Korg M1, but that concept is dead in today's cheap homerecording market. It's a function that is sort of worthless nowadays except from a strictly compositional point of view.

MIDI is actually extremely simple once you realize it has nothing to do with audio, but everything to do with automating devices to play notes, turn lights on, modify synth sounds, change patch/parameter numbers and other nifty things like synchronizing 2 or more synths to play together simultaneously to 'layer' sounds (original intention of MIDI).
 
:eek:
Dude - 1)Stop crossposting this in EVERY forum!
2)Don't hijack someone elses thread (especially after #1 above), it's rude :rolleyes:
3)Google is your friend!

volition said:
sorry, its an emergency

i know this is an old topic, and i'm sorry. i've read all the old threads and i think i understand it for the most part, but i wanted to ask anyways

my band is about ready to buy a new pa. what we've decided on so far is a behringer SL2442FX-PRO mixer, 2 peavey PV15s (the ones with 2 15" speakers), a behringer 2500 power amp, and a behringer 2600 compressor.

the speakers are rated at 500W program and 1000W peak at 4 ohms, and the amp will run 600W at 4 ohms or 2400W for 4 ohms bridged. i really don't understand the parallel/series thing. i was just going to plug the left and right main outs of the mixer into the 2 channels on the amp and one speaker into each output. please let me know if this would work, or if there is a better way i don't know about. also let me know if there are any other problems with this setup.

thanks for your help.
Click to expand...
 
Play good sounding music, and the type of speaker setup you use is becomes much less important...


I've DJ'd parties with str8 house speakers (from my house don't even know what kind they are) and rocked
 
This whole MIDI thing

Hey Chewie

Just to pitch in a few pennies worth - i share your perplexion as i was in the same boat a few years ago when i embarked on this wonderful (not to mention expensive) adventure.

One of the things that helped me straight off was to get it out of my head that it had anything to do with actual notes per se and audio - like someone else said above. it's all about control - and once you get that it really starts to become a very useful tool indeed.

i have keyboard friends for whom midi is all about controlling their keyboards, extending them, layering them and recording the note information they put out, but do very little else. and this is a BIG part of midi. but here's a few other examples of what MIDI is currently doing in my own studio:

...allows me to control my on-screen software mixers & soft synth parameters using a hardware surface (mackie control)

...runs my transport controls and frees me up from mouse led control

...allows me to take the tempo from my sequencer (digital performer) and lock in my digital delays & effects units' rate parameters

...remotely control patches on effects units and edit parameters onscreen

...keep libraries of synth and effect unit patches

...lock looping modules together (korg electribes) - to link seamlessly in with audio already recorded.

...using hardware pads to control software drum machines (NI Battery)

oh - and i record note info from my controller keyboard as well. midi has its faults, but it's still the most universal studio control system we have at the moment.

get to learn it, it will annoy the crap out of you a lot of the time, but it will also be your friend most times.

i'll shut up now!

have fun and happy learning

paul d
 
Last edited:
tollbooth said:
get to learn it, it will annoy the crap out of you a lot of the time, but it will also be your friend most times.

paul d
Click to expand...

I can tell you this, MIDI is a lot more user friendly than it was! My KX88 controller, if you want to access it's deeper features, requires a healthy dose of hexadecimal programming (well, for me, ANY hexadecimal programming is a healthy dose!)! Time was when a lot of devices required you to learn the hex equivalents for parameters. Now it's pretty easy to get it all to work.

Usually... :)

Sometimes... :(

Occasionally. :mad:

:p

Ted
 
hexadecimal hell

hey ted

yeah - i wasn't going to mention those mysterious pages at the back of equipment manuals that are in that strange courier font!!!

i knew i'd been in this game too long when i actually:

1) recognised that those pages might be useful
2) actually USED some of the data!

glass of white wine usually makes the feeling go away

but really Chewie - ignore us - it'll all go swimmingly well! :o

thanks for the post ted - enjoyed it! tales of the KX88 always bring nostalgic tears to my eyes (and a twinge of pain to my back - i used to lug one around in our band - they were HUGE!!!!!!)

happiness to all!
 
I still use it all the time...but I don't MOVE it!!! :D In fact, it's still my main keyboard. Going strong 18 years later!

I contacted Yamaha because I figured it probably could use some maintenance after 17 years. They told me if it's working ok, there's really not anything on it to maintain! They used to really make things to last years ago.

Ted
 
tedluk said:
They used to really make things to last years ago.
Click to expand...

Isn't that the truth! I have a DX7 and the thing still functions just fine. I have some other older Yamaha gear too, and it's still around. That led me to going back to Yamaha keys after a few years away.
 
Interesting

Well there has been a lot of information given and I'm thankful to all. But me more specifically explain my problem.
What I want to do is really record drums but I do9n't have so I was looking into MIDI to create the drum tracks.
I was using Fruity Loops but I don't know how to get specific timings like dotted notes and so on.
What software could I use to generate the frum tracks and could it be very specific in timimngs.
Plus how can I get the most realistic sounding drums from MIDI?
 
Chewie said:
Well there has been a lot of information given and I'm thankful to all. But me more specifically explain my problem.
What I want to do is really record drums but I do9n't have so I was looking into MIDI to create the drum tracks.
I was using Fruity Loops but I don't know how to get specific timings like dotted notes and so on.
What software could I use to generate the frum tracks and could it be very specific in timimngs.
Plus how can I get the most realistic sounding drums from MIDI?
Click to expand...

You need to pay attention.

MIDI doesn't "write" drum tracks. You would write the drum tracks on a sequencer (either hardware or software) and transmit that to a device with the drum sounds on it. The protocol which that happens is via MIDI.

My suggestion is to buy an older drum machine like a Roland R8 and just use that--it has its own built in sequencer and a total of 10 outputs. You don't even have to touch the MIDI functions if you don't want to. Or, if you need to write the sequence on the computer to easily sync up to audio you can use the sequencer on the computer and hook a MIDI cable from the PC to the R8 and bam.... it's recording.

And 'realistic drums' from drum machines, synths and samplers are more HOW you program the sequences and process the audio than anything magic that you can snap your fingers and do. If you program it realisticaly, use a realistic sound, record it as you would a real drum kit, and mix/process/eq/compress it like a real drum kit the results will be fairly realistic.
 
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