[LAD] midi controlers

Len Ovens len at ovenwerks.net
Sat Jul 12 14:34:52 UTC 2014


On Fri, 11 Jul 2014, Paul Davis wrote:

> On Fri, Jul 11, 2014 at 6:39 PM, Len Ovens <len at ovenwerks.net> wrote:
>       Just looking through the midi messages used by the Mackie and other
>       controlers. It appears to me that it is designed to be used on it's
>       own physical midi channel as it uses (up to) all the logical midi
>       channels (1 to 16) and so could not work running through a midi kb
>       for example.
> 
> 
> MIDI Machine Control is even more demanding, although it is all sysex, and MIDI
> Timecode has always been recommended to be delivered on its own cable (if using
> serial MIDI at least).

I can see that. My last use of MTC/MCC was syncing a sequencer to physical 
tape. There would not have been "sample accurate sync" anyway. For that 
matter, the sequencer would have given me the transport start and stop, 
but the sync box was set for time signature and b/m. when playing back it 
would have been the only thing on the input line to the sequencer.

I don't miss the the tape machine at all.

In many ways the USB line has replaced the MIDI serial line for most of 
todays MIDI work. I think this is a good thing as it means each MIDI unit 
has it's own port. The one thing the MIDI port has is groundloop 
protection, USB does not.

The only thing I use the physical MIDI port for anymore, it keyboard input 
(DX7, drum pads) and output to external synth. Everything else is a 
virtual MIDI line, including the current project.


--
Len Ovens
www.ovenwerks.net



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