MIDI Routing Question

June 28, 2004 11:07 PM

MIDI Routing Question. I have: a Performa 6116, Digital Performer 1.6, a K2000R, and a CZ1, and to connect them, an Opcode MIDI Translator II (standard 3 in 1 out interface). I want: (a) signals from the computer to go to the CZ1 and K2000 and (b) signals from the CZ1 to go to the computer and the K2000. [more inside]

Since the K2000 only has one MIDI in jack, I can't think of a way this could be accomplished via cabling alone. But I used to do this stuff alot, and seem to remember that you can get some interfaces or whichever MIDI management software you've got on the computer to do it for you.

However, it's been too long, and either I've forgotten how to do this, or the hard/software I've got doesn't support it.

I'm using FreeMIDI 1.23 on Mac OS 7.6. Again, the interface is an Opcode MIDI Translator II. I set the "PassThru" option in FreeMIDI. My speeding tickets are paid and I don't download files illegally from P2P networks. What more do I need?

(In a usenet thread, it was suggested to me a 2 in, 2 out interface might be a better choice, but this doesn't make sense to me. I am looking at old, more complex interfaces, like the Opcode Studio 4, the MOTU MTP II, etc)

posted by weston to technology (7 comments total)

The interface is the other way around - 1 in, 3 out. So this should work:

CZ1 midi out --> opcode midi in
opcode midi out --> CZ1 in
opcode midi out --> K2000 in
posted by O9scar at 12:05 AM on June 29, 2004

Ah, yes, O9scar! -- 1 in, 3 out. However, I have the setup you described right now, and messages from the CZ1 are not getting to the K2000...
posted by weston at 1:02 AM on June 29, 2004

Back in the old days, what you needed was called Midi-echo, on the computer. I've not bothered to set up my gear that elaborate in ages.

Midi came around at a time when few devices needed to both listen and talk. These days, needing both is the norm.

Many problems along this line are solved by use of a Midi Merger. I had one about the size of a cigarette pack. It was neither cheap nor too expensive.
posted by Goofyy at 4:56 AM on June 29, 2004

It's been a long time, but the gray cells are flickering, so here goes:

On my MIDI Express (4 in, 6 out), there was an interface to virtually patch "In 3" to "Out 2". As I recall, simple interfaces like the MIDI Translator II (I have one of those somewhere too) aren't capable of this sort of thing. You have to rely on whatever MIDI software you're using to send a copy of what's received on the IN to a different channel on an OUT.

I think the MIDI Translator II has a total of 16 output channels, copied on each of the three OUTs. It's not like there are 16 * 3 = 48 channels available. In computer networking terms, it's a hub, not a switch.

Why do you need the CZ1 to send data directly to the K2000? If you just want to be able to play the CZ1 keyboard and hear sounds from the K2000, Performer should be able to do this for you.

The computer can receive the CZ1 data on the MIDI Translator II IN on (say) Channel 1 and send it back out the MIDI Translator II OUTs on (say) Channel 2. The K2000 can be set to "listen" to Channel 2 (and additional channels with a multitimbral patch) and voila, viola. (or cello, etc.)

If you want to have more than two MIDI INs on a device (the K2000), you need a MIDI merge box as Goofyy describes.
posted by jmcmurry at 6:48 AM on June 29, 2004

Why do you need the CZ1 to send data directly to the K2000? If you just want to be able to play the CZ1 keyboard and hear sounds from the K2000, Performer should be able to do this for you.

It should... and this is what I'd like, and I recall I used to have it set up thusly years ago. The problem is, it doesn't seem to do that anymore. :(

Further development: the K2000 doesn't seem to be taking patch change messages from Performer / FreeMIDI setup, and may be mangling note data as well. I'm beginning to suspect some malfunction on its part... although it does seem to take messages from the CZ just fine when I plug the CZ's out port directly into the K2000's in port. Hmmm.
posted by weston at 12:26 PM on June 29, 2004

Update: After some probing, I found that none of the devices were communicating well with one another through the Opcode MIDI Translator... so I switched interfaces to an old Altech-Lansing I had laying around and found that this fixed that problem. However, I'm still stuck with the original problem... I can't get the CZ to send to both the computer and the K2000.

My guess is that the Opcode MIDI Translator wasn't working because it was expecting OMS (or that it's busted), and that the Altech-Lansing doesn't support the routing behavior that I need. I'm going to try installing the FreeMIDI OMS Emulator and see where that goes.
posted by weston at 6:35 PM on July 7, 2004

Resolution: the Opcode MIDI Translator degenerated in further tests, until I was just forced to conclude that it may well be busted.

PatchThru, it turns out, works well only when you've selected a track to record in Performer, and selected a channel on which it puts out data. Then it works pretty darn well.
posted by weston at 7:30 PM on July 12, 2004