Top products from r/midi

this is how i got started, and it is a fantastic and easy-to-read book. Also, it's cheap and easy to find. I didn't even finish it, i just read the first few chapters and now I have a room full of synths being controlled via one master weighted key controller and a box with a bunch of knobs and faders that send midi. I could put all of my synths in a closet if i wanted, and just use my midi controllers to edit them.

there's really only a few things you need to know. Binary and hex notation are not so difficult once you get the gist. Essentially, there are a handful of different messages you need to know about.


Here's a quick run through midi:

• all midi messages are passed as bytes
  
  
• a byte is 8 bits, or eight 1's or 0's in a row
  
  
• a byte just represents a number, where the highest possible number in any byte is the integer 255. in hex, this looks like FF
  
  
• hex notation is written like this: 0xFF, where the 0x denotes that the following number is in hexadecimal.
  
  
• hex is easy if you think of it like this: the number 10 (in decimal) is represented by A (in hex), 11 by B, 12 by C, 13 by D, 14 by E, and 15 by F. For example, in hex, 0x09 + 0x01 = 0x0A and 0x0F + 0x01 = 0x10
  I understand that it can be mind-bending, but the takeaway here is that instead of 'carrying the one' when you add 9+1 in decimal, you only 'carry the one' when you add 0xF + 1, and this is because, in decimal, we dont have a single digit to represent the number 10, and likewise, we don't have a single digit that represents 16.
  
  
• a midi message consists of a status and data portion. for example, when you hit a note on your keyboard, three bytes will be generated, and these three bytes together is a message. the first byte says that the message is a note on, the second byte indicates which note you hit, and the third byte indicates how hard you hit the note (which is known as velocity)
  
  
• a status byte will always be greater than or equal to 128, and the data bytes will never be greater than 127.
  
  
• a midi message can be a single byte, two bytes in a row, three bytes in a row, or many bytes in a row (depending on the device). for example, a clock pulse is only one byte, a note on is three bytes, and a control change (your pitch bend or mod wheel) can be three bytes (or the status followed by many data bytes until you stop moving it)
  
  
• All devices that support midi will have an implementation in the back of the manual
  
  
• There are two main types of midi message, Channel and System messages. Channel messages happen when you play your instrument, and these events happen on a specific channel. The main takeaway here is that synths only respond to channel messages which are on their channel (like if you had three synths all chained, each on a seperate channel, and you want to play the first synth on channel 1, the second on channel 2, etc.). System messages are more for timing and syncronization, and will generally always be acknowledged if the device recieves the message (like clock pulses, start/stop, etc.).
  
  
• CAVEAT:System Exclusive messages fall under System messages, but only one specific, or one type of, device will respond to these messages.
  
  
• System Exclusive messages are, surprisingly, exclusive to specific devices. these types of messages are generally more than 3 bytes long, they generally look like this: Start system exclusive --> a bunch of bytes to do something --> stop system exclusive
  
  
  ** note: if you're thinking "hexadecimal means sixteen! but 0x0F means fifteen! what's the deal?!" this is because the first digit is zero, so there really are 16 possible single-digit numbers we can represent. the same goes for decimal, where zero is our tenth (or first) number.
  hope this helps
  

Checked the reviews on the M Audio SP 2, a few people are using them with Alesis midi controllers:

https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Sustain-Action-Keyboards-Digital/product-reviews/B00063678K/ref=cm_cr_getr_d_paging_btm_next_2?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews&pageNumber=2&filterByKeyword=alesis

>It works great! It arrived in an attractive, well-packed, perfect-fit box that can be reused to store it in if you want. I'm using it with my Alesis Vi61 usb-midi controller keyboard. All I had to do was plug it into the Alesis's sustain port in the back of the keyboard, and it work immediately. It sustains when pressed, then it releases the sustain when you lift your foot. If the software instrument you have selected already has a sustain, you will not notice the pedal working. But if you select other instruments, such as acoustic piano, you definitely notice a functional sustain working with the pedal.

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>I purchased this item because it has a polarity switch, which is essential for my Alesis VI49 midi controller. This pedal feels great, is heavy enough to stay put on the floor, and works like a charm! Great item for the money

Ah, well this costs more, but I'll point you at the controller I pull out when I want to set up ad-hok around the house. I bought multiple smaller and unweighted keyboards for this exact purpose, eventually realizing that what I wanted was something that behaved like a piano and I could haul up and down stairs under one arm (I am not particularly strong). I got mine used so I paid about half the new price, but I still say its a good value at full price. Might be more of an escalation than you are looking for, mentioning it because it is the same motivations that ended me on it.

https://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Hammer-88-Hammer-Action-Controller/dp/B0714D3DVN

You need:

"Lighting to USB 3 Camera Adapter" ($39)

https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MK0W2AM/A/lightning-to-usb-3-camera-adapter?fnode=97

and if your keyboard doesn't already output MIDI over USB,

"CREATIVE EMU XMIDI 1X1 USB MIDI Interface" ($29)

https://www.amazon.com/CREATIVE-EMU-XMIDI-MIDI-Interface/dp/B000JLU26W/r

There are knockoff adapters that could reduce your total cost from $70 down to like $20, but they don't always work right. I have had the above-listed adapters for three years now, used daily with iPad and iPhone, and they work really well. With current-gen iOS devices, latency is very low, and the experience is overall very good.

I'm not the person you were replying to, but if this is what you're looking for then it's US$65 and was on the first page of my google results for "usb midi host".

I was in a similar situation but was thinking of building a multi-port MIDI router with arduino and ended up finding a 2nd-hand one of these for about $100 which was a godsend compared to the time and effort required to develop even a fairly simple MIDI router.

But if for whatever reason you still want to DIY it with an arduino, why not use an Arduino Due which already has a USB host port built into it so no need to buy a shield. Maybe this thread can get you started...

Alternately you could use an Arduino Mega which has 4x UARTS on it so you can run multiple independent MIDI in/out pairs.

I got a MIDIplus AK490 off of amazon. There might be better options, but this one works good enough for me. You might have different preferences, so you should probably check other options before you buy.

Your computer most likely has a USB port. Get a USB MIDI interface for your keyboard. MIDI Out from the keyboard into MIDI In on the USB MIDI Interface. Or if your interface has a MIDI input, just use that.

Here's an $8 one from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/VicTsing-Cable-Converter-Keyboard-Adapter/dp/B00ACGMOA6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464819807&sr=8-1&keywords=USB+MIdi+interface

Came here to post exactly this....

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This product is $35 and may be exactly what you need. Incredibly reliable and nothing to program, just plug it in, and it works -- Mio1 Midi Interface

A USB MIDI host device like this will be able to convert a class compliant USB MIDI signal to regular 5-pin DIN MIDI.

Thanks for the advice!

My bad- the cable isn't 3.0. The cable is this one and I found it in recommendations from other musicians using my same piano. I tried another generic one as well.

I think the problem is that the drivers aren't updated for High Sierra. Some more searching seems to indicate they stopped at 10.12 or 10.13.

I still can't find the driver, though- the Preference Panes folder is also empty.

https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Bluetooth-Adapter-Interface-Converter/dp/B07XDGXCQC/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=bluetooth+midi&qid=1569889959&s=musical-instruments&sr=1-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFJQ05KVk4xSkdZOUomZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA1MjUzNTMxTTRMVE1YWEZaQ080JmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA5ODA2MDlWQlE4QUlNQzBFVEkmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

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I've also found this device, but it's unclear that it would work with ableton and or resolume arena. I guess there's really only one way to find out, Ill buy it, unless someone else already knows of its validity?