[sdiy] MIDI Router

[Matthew Smith]

Quoth ASSI at 2009-04-11 14:44...
> If you're laptop-centric anyway, why not get as many 8x8 USB MIDI 
> interfaces as you need and aggregate them via a USB2.0 hub (make sure 
> the computer talks to the hub in highspeed - not all hubs can do 
> highspeed<->fulspeed translation).  All routings can then be done with 
> aconnect (under Linux, part of ALSA/alsatools) and changed at a whim.

I started off trying to work through software and then went away from
the idea due to a) cost and b) too much PC in music just FEELS wrong to
me.  I'll use it as a multitrack/sequencer, but that's it for me.  (Oh,
and c) I've just migrated from Gentoo x86_64 to Debian x86_64. Trying to
get audio stuff - or just about anything else - to compile/run under
Gentoo was a VERY frustrating experience.)

The system will only be part-time working with the laptop anyway.  I
have yet to see an on-screen sequencer that I like.  Up to this point
I've been using the sequencer on my K5000W - far more happy with it than
all that graphical stuff.

> This only works if you don't need to merge MIDI (i.e. never).  I 
> believe this is what the Kawai MAV8 MIDI patchbay did: you have four 
> inputs and can send them to any of eight outputs, but only one at a 
> time.  This works well for controlling modules from a set of 
> keyboards, but not at all for getting data back from the modules.

What I'm doing gives me a full matrix - any input can be connected to
any output at any time.

I'm going for a modular approach so that rather than connecting every
in/out on the device to a MIDI jack, I can add other hardware in the
case, such as a merge, even display (debugging,) message source
(debugging again).

> Bank Switch MSB/LSB + Program Change gives you 21 bits to play with.
Cool - thanks!  That's what I need.

Cheers

M


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Matthew Smith
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