Adding a MIDI Thru

[Larry Kirn]

Andrew Schrock wrote:

> On Mon, 22 Jun 1998, Neo Tribal wrote:
>
> > I've analyzed the MIDI-Thru paths of several of my machines, and I was
> > considering trying to add a MIDI-Thru to some of my machines that LACK
> > one...
> >
> > Does anyone know a simple way to do this? I doubt that it's a matter of
> > simply splittig the IN to the THRU... thanks...
> >
> > Related: does anyone have schems for building a simple MIDI-Thru box?
>
> I would say that a midi-thru box is a better investment, as daisy-chaining
> midi synths can lead to some sporadic data loss if you go too far with the
> cabling. (IMO) Some synths' midi thrus are worse than others... the thru
> on my fatman for some reason seems to spit garbage into the stream
> occaisionally, screwing up the next device in the chain.

Per the last MIDI spec I've seen (which may be prehistoric), the Thru is
simply a buffered version of whatever's coming in (as in a 2N4401 driven by
the incoming optoisolator's output).  Although I've seen several synths that
give you a choice of Out or Thru (via software), merging MIDI data without
observing running status could cause all kinds of fun!

Larry


>