MIDI Interface

by TR Editor

Midi messages can be run through a simple midi in and out on a computer soundcard or a midi keyboard connected to a rack mount synth. For each MIDI cable you can run up to 16 channels of midi messages. Meaning that MIDI instruments can be daisy chained together to create an orchestra of synths at your control.

After you have emerged yourself into the midi world though you will find yourself needing a multiple midi in/out interface to be able to control your rack of synths. A midi interface is a device that runs midi messages to and from your computer either in the form of a USB device PCI or ATI card.

Right now the industry is leading in the direction of USB devices due to the versatility and ease of installation. For any body who has not already emerged themselves into the world of midi I might recommend that you experiment with a single or dual midi interface before stepping up to the devices with several ins and outs.

USB Midi Interface

USB MIDI has evolved tremendously to make PCI MIDI interfaces a thing of the past. And with the massive variety of these devices on the market you have a a lot to choose from in terms of quality and price ranges, to fit your exact budget and needs.

If you find you are having problems running your USB midi interface, check to make sure that you are not trying to use any other USB devices at the same time or that you are not plugging into a USB hub, not to say that you cant do this, it just that it is better do run things by default before adding complexity to the unknown problem.

Midi Controllers

Simply put these are keyboards without onboard sounds, designed to link up to another synthesizer or soft synth so that the keys on the controller are mapped to the sounds on the synthesizer.

Midi In/Out

A midi interface can be used in two ways, you can use your midi keyboard/controller to control soft synths and or use you computer to control your hardware synthesizers.