13 replies to this topic

[lightfoot]

Sure this has come up before but....

I have two midi controllers that both need to control a motif rack along with a sequencer, so need to get three midi sources into one hole.

I need a midi merge unit, and have no idea about this dark art, if someone could point in the direction of a midi merge system for at least 3 ports it would be very helpful.

Cheers!

[rhythmboy]

Most merge boxes are 2 into 1 or 4 into 1. Less common these days due to multi-port MIDI interfaces, but for live and bigger hardware rigs they serve a purpose - mainly you don't need a PC or software to use them.

MIDI Solutions have a 4 into 1 merger:



But it's expensive - around $300

There's another by Kenton, don't know if they're available in Australia, around 75 quid in the UK.

At least I know you can get the MIDI Solutions one in Australia - the wholesaler is Innovative Music http://www.innovativemusic.com.au/ they'd be able to tell you the nearest store to you

[Jester_Fu]

$300? Cheaper to buy a used USB Midi interface like the Motu stuff.

[Spectrum]

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MIDI Solutions have a 4 into 1 merger:
But it's expensive - around $300

Crap! Is that what they cost here? I thought they were the cheaper solution, at around $100... just checked, the retail for USD$130. Still, it's pretty expensive, and they don't exactly exude quality in that plastic, experimenters' jiffy box for case, but hey 'Made In Canada' so real wages gotta be paid.

Personally, I'm liking the Kenton unit better:



http://www.kentonuk....xes/merge4.html

Metal casing, made in England, from a company with a strong legacy in cool retro MIDI stuff, and thinking it might even arrive here reasonably cheap? Wait, I'll check...

MERGE4 - Merge-4 4 In 2 Out MIDI Merger
Subtotal £63.80
Shipping £30.61
Tax £0.00
Total £94.41

Alright I guess, at under $200 delivered to Aust.

Key difference between this and the MIDI Solutions box is:
- Dual out, instead of single
- External power, rather than self-powered via connected MIDI device.

So why have I been looking at these recently?

Thinking of hooking a Alesis PadControl up to the TD9 for an additional 8-pads-in-1 (using MIDI channel 11 which opens up the TD9 to an additional bank of 128 percussion sounds) and need a merge box to permit both the PadControl and the computer to speak to the TD9 via its single MIDI input.

[Jester_Fu]

Doesn't the PadControl have a Thru? Would be the simple solution...

If it doesn't, a software solution like MidiPipe (fereware for Mac) might do the jobby.

[lightfoot]

sweet as, those two units look like the trick! although the kenton has it in looks!!

I'm not sure how thru ports work exactly. but I thought the 'thru' port was to just bypass everything and shoot the 'in' port straight to the 'thru' port. but that means the unit bypassed cant get its midi out on the same cable....

confusing...

[Spectrum]

Sorry, FWIW, I meant ControlPad (Alesis), not PadControl (Korg)...



And yeah, lightfoot's on the right track, thru only passes on what's being received by the MIDI input on the device, but doesn't 'merge' it's own MIDI output.

So, Computer -> Control Pad -> TD9 via Thru would mean the TD9 wouldn't see the Control Pad.

Of course, it could all happen via the computer (with the computer acting as the hub, routing stuff wherever), but I want a computer-free solution, just switch on the drums, bash away, without having to boot computer, launch software, etc. I'll look into MIDI Pipe tho', cheers Jester, as that might be simpler than booting the DAW and creating a session each time.

[Jester_Fu]

There's no "Thru" on the Control Pad anyway... so the point is moot.

The Alesis website says "    *Can I use ControlPad without a computer?
      ControlPad requires a computer to produce sounds, but offers a high level of expression and playability of any selected sound source on your computer."

Kind of says it isn't stricly a midi out - it's a USB midi interface with midi I/O.

[exohex]

i have a merge-4
it does it's job very well

[dylab]

check out touchprone on ebay
http://shop.ebay.com...armrsZ1QQ_fromZ
they have merge through boxes from 50 bucks upwards
i use their din sync splitter

[Spectrum]

Quote

There's no "Thru" on the Control Pad anyway... so the point is moot.

Good point. Not even a soft thru? Either way, more an exercise on the workings of thru, and completely irrelevant for me.

Quote

The Alesis website says "    *Can I use ControlPad without a computer?
      ControlPad requires a computer to produce sounds, but offers a high level of expression and playability of any selected sound source on your computer."

Kind of says it isn't stricly a midi out - it's a USB midi interface with midi I/O.

OK, cool. I'd not even looked into the USB interface aspect. I'd assumed it's simply MIDI (not USB also). Nice to know there's an interface included in there as well. I expect then that it's essentially a 2x2 MIDI interface (ie. a pair for the Alesis pads and patch memories plus another pair for the physical in/out ports).

Hmmm... the way this is heading, I might even be able to free up the Emagic AMT8 to pay for thing, oh but if it weren't then for the the not-so-cool daisy-chain around the room required to string everything together.

Ok, so the AMT8 stays for another day.

Back on the merge...



Cheers for the link, Dylab!

[archietech]

i picked up my roland a-880 for $100 which'd do the trick i'd say (if you can find one)!

[rhythmboy]

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i picked up my roland a-880 for $100 which'd do the trick i'd say (if you can find one)!

Similarly I used to have an Akai ME30P



4 in/8 out, programmable to merge ins and outs in various combinations, seems their going on ebay for about $25 US.

Worked really well but the two-point power lead gave me a nice jolt of 240 up me arm one day - that was fun  :wtf:

[neo]

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Akai ME30P

Whenever I see those locally, they go for heaps, like over $100 which is a lot for an old bit of MIDI gear. I want something like that. Essential for someone with lots of hardware. Either that or a multi port device like the MOTU Microlite.