| If you are seriously interested
in this topic, we suggest that you print the document for easier digestion
and reference at your leisure. This article is 11 pages in length when
printed.
Please also refer to "Your First Midi Recording" for the preliminary instructions on connecting your MIDI gear to a PC by way of the sound card joystick port. WHY WOULD
YOU WANT TO CONNECT MORE THAN ONE SYNTH OR SOUND MODULE?
Another reason would be to access some of your favorite sounds on a particular synthesizer of sound module which are not available from your sound card. Or perhaps you have a synthesizer with some special effects processing not available on any of the sound cards. You can also set up one keyboard to play several other keyboards or modules to achieve some unusual effects. |
| SO HOW DO I CONNECT ALL MY GEAR TOGETHER? |
| Hey, it's not THAT simple! We can only offer some generic solutions, but first you must determine what you would like to do, since there are many configuration options. |
| If your primary goal is to create MIDI recordings which will later be saved on tape or other audio format, then you will probably want to record a track at a time using a MIDI Sequencer program. Special setup procedures will be required to route different tracks (channels) to more than one synthesizer or module. |
| Or perhaps you want to have certain tracks pre-recorded and play along with them. Here again a computer and sequencer software would enter into the picture. |
| Finally, you may just want to set everything up to be able to jam along with a group of musician friends and add some great sounds from your keyboards and sound modules. If there is no drummer, a MIDI drum machine could enter into the picture as well. |
| FIRST SOME BASICS. |
| Since this article is aimed at
helping those who are new to MIDI to get started, a few explanations are
in order. There are exotic MIDI interface cards such as MasterTrax
which has 16 ports, each of which has 16 channels, for a total of 256 channels.
Since this presents configuration challenges, even for the experts (which
I am not) we will confine all configurations to working with 1 port and
a total of 16 midi channels.
A midi cable can carry data for 16 channels simultaneously. Depending on how it is connected, the cable is either handling midi data OUT, or carrying midi data IN. More about the In's and Out's further on. |
| We will assume that all of your
midi gear conforms to the "Midi Specifications", the industry standard
. To correctly set up connections, you must familiarize yourself with each
piece of equipment and learn how to use the MIDI edit functions. You must
learn how to set "local off", that is, disconnect the keyboard from the
internal sound modules of your synthesizer. The default power-up
mode is usually "local on".
You must also learn how to assign specific instruments (or patches) to a particular channel. Other settings you may need to make include setting the Transmit Channel or the Receive Channels for a specific synth or module. As there are hundreds of models it is impossible to give explicit instructions on how to do this. You must also be able to set the play "mode" for each unit, the most common being, "Performance mode", or "Multi Timbral mode". In the performance mode your synthesizer can be played as a normal keyboard instrument using whichever sound you choose. In the Multi Timbral mode each sound module in the synth, including the rhythm module, can receive data from an external source such as a MIDI Sequencer program. The number of sound modules in a synthesizer depends on the make and model. For example, a Roland D-5 has 8 independent sound modules plus a rhythm module. This would translate to a maximum of 9 channels that could be played on the D-5. Many of the newer synthesizers have 16 sound modules. The more synthesizers and sound modules you wish to inter-connect, the more sound modules you have to work with, or contend with, as the case may be. |
| THE IN'S AND OUT'S OF THE AUDIO CONNECTIONS. |
| Since most or you are probably more familiar with audio connections, let's begin there. |
| Irregardless of which MIDI connections
your are going to eventually make, the audio cables are connected in one
manner only.
Most audio amplifiers (or stereo systems) have only one set of stereo input jacks of the correct impedance (resistance) to match the audio out from your synthesizer. So how do we connect the audio from 3 or 4 or 5 midi devices to one input jack? This is one of the important roles that a Stereo Mixer will fulfill. Choose a mixer that has sufficient inputs to handle you needs. The Radio Shack or Audio store variety of Stereo mixers can handle 4 stereo audio inputs. Each channel on the mixer usually has a selector switch to choose the type of input. If two have selections for "Phono or Line" set these at "Line". If the other two have selections for "Tape or Line" set these at "Line" also. You will then have 4 inputs that closely match the output from your synth or sound modules. This is the least costly method. The next step up is a professional
mixer designed for MIDI or audio equipment and can have from 4 to 40 channels,
or more, and can also handle microphone inputs. Professional models may
also have equalizers for each channel, allowing you to boost or lower either
the treble or bass spectrum of the audio signal. Your pocketbook has to
be the guide here.
|
| Since you are just starting out,
let's work with a 4 channel mixer. Each channel on the mixer has
an independent volume control, allowing you to balance the overall output.
Begin with one synthesizer, a mixer,
a stereo amplifier and two speaker systems. The most common audio cable
for connecting from a synth to a Mixer has a 1/4" phone plug for the synth
end, and an "RCA" type phono jack for the mixer end, however you could
have other combinations at either end. Ensure that the cables are long
enough to reach down to the floor from the synth and then back up to the
mixer. This prevents "dangling" between two units which puts a strain on
the cable.
|
| Please notice the pattern or IN
and OUT for the audio connections. Connect the right and left Audio
OUT of the synthesizer to right and left IN of channel 1 on the mixer.
Connect right and left audio OUT of the mixer to right and left IN on your amplifier. (Look for jacks marked "AUX" or "CD", or "TAPE IN". Personally I use the "AUX" jacks.) A professional audio amplifier may have only one input to choose from, so use that. Connect the right Speaker OUT on the amplifier to the right speaker IN connector on the right speaker. Connect the left speaker OUT on the amplifier to the left speaker IN connector on the left speaker. |
| You now have one synthesizer with
all the appropriate audio connections to enable you to hear what you play
on the keyboard. Make sure power is on for all units, also that the volume
controls are at least part way open on every unit. Your synth should
be in the Play or Performance mode. Play a few notes and if all the
cables are good and are securely connected, you should hear what you play.
Volume levels of each unit should
be set to a comfortable level. Starting with the amplifier, set this
fairly low at first. With both the mixer and synthesizer volumes
set at about half, your can increase the amplifier volume to the desired
level. This allows some leeway for balancing individual units, and
also making some volume adjustments from the synth itself as you are playing.
As you connect more equipment you can experiment to achieve a good overall
sound balance of the units.
|
| Now, having made all those IN and OUT audio connections the pattern should be clear. From the start of the chain, the OUT of one unit connected to the IN of the next unit. You can now follow the same procedure to connect another keyboard to the next vacant channel on the mixer. Perhaps channel 3 will have a Sound Module connected eventually, and channel 4 could be for a MIDI drum machine. |
| This sequence of OUT from one to IN of the next also applies to MIDI synths or modules connected in a series. However to add to the confusion, MIDI has one more socket to contend with which is marked "THRU". To understand MIDI IN, OUT AND THRU we urge you to study the two following diagrams until you thoroughly understand the principles being illustrated. |
 |
| Each MIDI device has three 5 pin
DIN sockets, MIDI IN, MIDI OUT and MIDI THRU as illustrated above.
MIDI IN - Accepts MIDI data. MIDI OUT - Transmits MIDI data. MIDI THRU - Passes MIDI data received from MIDI IN. To further clarify MIDI THRU- an exact copy of MIDI data coming IN to a device can be obtained from the THRU socket and passed on to another MIDI device. The cable connecting a THRU socket from one device must connect to the MIDI IN socket on another device. |
 |
| Referring to the above schematic diagram, and by fully understanding the following comments, you will be in a position to experiment with various configurations for your own specific MIDI gear. |
| When you play on Synthesizer A, the performance information is sent from its MIDI OUT. Synthesizer B will play based on the messages it receives from A. However, Synthesizer C will not play. Why doesn't Synthesizer C play? You will notice that MIDI OUT OF Synthesizer B is connected to MIDI IN of Synthesizer C. Messages fed into MIDI IN are not output again from MIDI OUT. Therefore, when playing A only the two, A and B will play at the same time. |
| Now play on B and see what happens! It will transmit the information from its MIDI OUT, thus causing synthesizer C to play. Also, an exact copy of of the data received by C at MIDI IN is passed to MIDI THRU of C which in turn is connected to MIDI IN of synthesizer A. Therefore, playing synthesizer B causes all 3 to play. By connecting several synths in this manner, MIDI IN to MIDI THRU to MIDI IN to MIDI THRU, many instruments can be played from one keyboard. |
| Finally, play on synthesizer C and you will find that only C will play. The information from C is not transmitted as there is no cable connected to MIDI OUT. |
| With three synthesizer mounted on a rack and configured as above, a multitude of voicing combinations is possible! |
| BUT, LET'S START OFF EASY |
| Two Synthesizers on a stand, both to be used in Performance mode. Nothing to it. No special setup required. Make sure the audio cables for both synths are connected to two inputs on the mixer. Choose you instruments. Play one keyboard with the left hand and one with the right, or both hands on either keyboard. This is a great setup for me to practice Piano or Organ as it allows me to grab a handful of notes with the left on one keyboard, and a handful with the right on the other keyboard. No fear of running out of notes. |
| OH, YOU HAVE A SOUND MODULE TOO.. |
| My favorite module is an EMU Proformance
1+. It has 32 different sampled sounds of different types of Pianos and
Hammond Organ settings. A few of the patches feature a split keyboard effects
with a fantastic Acoustic Bass accessed by playing below middle C on the
keyboard controller, and the upper split being either Organ or Piano, depending
on the patch number chosen.
Oh yes, you must have a keyboard to connect to the sound module! Okay, so you have two synthesizers, one of which could be used simply to transmit midi data to the sound module, or alternately you could play the synthesizer sound modules and at the same time transmit data to play the same notes on the sound module, but using a different instrument. Mix, match, play alone or together. It is not too difficult. Just in case we want to play both together, leave the audio OUT of both synths connected to the mixer, and now connect the audio OUT of your sound module to the third set of mixer input jacks. Now the choices begin. Which synthesizer should I use to control the sound module? This is a matter of personal choice. Personally, I use the synth with the least features and/or my least favorite sounds to control the module. That way the synth you like the most is free to use as you wish. Now for our first MIDI connection. From the synth you have chosen to be the controller for the sound module, connect a cable from MIDI OUT to MIDI IN on the module. To make it simple, we will use synth B to play the sound module only. On synth B you must find the MIDI edit button, press it and once in the edit mode, several settings must be made. Set LOCAL to "'off"' to disconnect the keyboard from the synthesizer internal sound modules. SEND PROGRAM CHANGES must be "on". Set the Tx (transmit) channel on the synth to "1" which is usually the default setting. Now you must set the Rx (receive) channel on your sound module to channel 1 also. You can use other transmit and receive channel numbers, the key being that both units must use the same channel. If you sound module does not have a midi editor to set the channel, it will have a selector knob to do so. You will need to refer to the manual
of your sound module to identify the instrument numbers, since the displayed
numbers on your synth will have not relationship to the sound patch numbers
on your module, in most cases. You change instruments on the module by
sending the program changes from the synth. If you want to play the
Vibraphone, instrument #37 on your module, then you must enter this number
from the synthesizer program change selector or number keys. Now, by playing
on synth B your are controlling and transmitting the midi data required
to play the sound module.
|
| BUT I CAN'T PLAY BASS WORTH A DARN AND IT SOUNDS TERRIBLE WITHOUT ANY DRUMS. |
| If you are reading this, then
you obviously own a PC. Now we need a sound card with an MPU 401
MIDI Interface. Sound Blaster Awe 64, Turtle Beach, Roland, are all
suitable, to name but a few. Next you need a Sequencer software program
like Cakewalk, Jammer, Power Tracks Pro Audio, etc., and finally Band-In-A-Box
which will create bass, drums and accompaniment tracks in many styles.
However, since we wish to utilize
the superior sounds available from our synths and sound module(s) we must
make a few changes to the basic setup. At this point we must again
make some decisions before proceeding. Band-In-A-Box, or other accompaniment
or drum track generating programs, require that you identify which synthesizer
or sound card you are using. This is because different synths or
modules may use different note numbers to designate which drum sound is
to be played. By choosing from their listing of available synthesizers,
and saving this as the default setting, you will be assured that the correct
drum sounds and other instruments selected will correspond to the correct
numbers for your midi device.
|
| To save you from having to thinking
about it too much, I will again choose my favorite synthesizer to play
my solo and any other tracks I may wish to record later. This leaves
Synth B that we will use with Band-In-A-Box.
With that decided, and after make
the initial MIDI connections for recording we must add one more MIDI cable.
MIDI OUT from the joystick "Y" adapter must be connected to MIDI IN of
SYNTH B, which must also be set to the Multi Timbral mode.
|
| With Band-In-A-Box (BIAB) installed
on your PC, open the program. Click on Opt.(ions) then click MIDI
driver setup. There are 3 sections which require choices. First,
the MIDI Input driver. For the AWE 64 the choice is AWE 64 Midi In [330],
with 330 indicating the base address for the device. Your choice
may read differently but IT should indicate MIDI In as a device. Select
it.
As we want to route the MIDI data back to our synth instead of a sound card, in the middle panel select a corresponding AWE 64 Midi Out [330] or your listed MIDI Out device. The last panel lists all the sound cards and synthesizers for which BIAB can automatically map the drum notes and instruments numbers. If your synth is not listed, consult the Help file for instructions on creating a custom drum kit and patch map. In most cases you will find your synth model or one similar that uses the same instrument numbers and drum notes. You can create drum, bass and accompaniment
tracks very quickly by simply entering the chords for a particular song
and then choosing a musical style. We have over one thousand files
with the chords already entered in BIAB format. You can select from several
zipped collections by clicking here. Unzip
into a new folder. Find the song title you want, select the music
style of your choice, click "Play" and there you have it. Drums, bass and
whatever else you have chosen with the Style should now be playing on your
synth B. Now, adjust the volume levels and jam along on your favorite synth.
|
| WOW, THAT SOUND PRETTY GOOD. NOW HOW CAN I RECORD WHAT I AM PLAYING, TOGETHER WITH THE BIAB BACKING TRACKS? |
| Ouch! I knew you were going to
ask me that.
Now we have a problem, since we have told BIAB that we are using synth B, but now we also want to record some additional tracks (instruments) using Synth A, which has completely different instrument patch numbers. Well, we could possibly do it in BIAB, but there is a simpler solution. With you newly created drum and rhythm tracks playing the way you want, simply click on the .MID button in BIAB and all the tracks will be saved as a standard MIDI file in the location of your choice. Close BIAB. |
| OPEN your sequencer program.
Load the MIDI file you have just created with BIAB. Do this be clicking
on "File|Open" then clicking on the desired file.
The tracks should now have names,
such as "Acoustic Bass",
From our previous setup, unplug the MIDI cable from the MIDI IN of Synth B, and plug this into MIDI IN of Synth A instead. Connect a cable from MIDI THRU of Synth A to MIDI IN of Synth B. We have now connected Synth A to record into the sequencer program; to receive all 16 midi channels and also have made a copy of the 16 channels and passed it on to Synth B. You will recall that all 16 channels
are carried via one MIDI cable. Now we must assign certain channels
to be played by Synth B, and the rest to be played by Synth A.
|
| We want Synth B to play only the
tracks we have already recorded, and we do not want Synth A to play these
tracks at all. We must decide which channels each synthesizer should
or should not respond to. Look at the MIDI file which is now open in your
sequencer, and the "Acoustic Bass" is most likely assigned to channel 2,
the drums to Channel 10, and any additional accompaniment to channels below
10. So we will use that as a guide. If any track or instrument
happened to be assigned to a channel greater than 10, you can manually
"re-channel" any given track to a different channel number, selecting any
unused channel from 2 to 9 as the new one.
Using the MIDI edit functions we
must set the Rx (receive channels) for each synth. Synth B should
have Rx set to "on" for channels 2 to 10. Set channel 1 to "off"
and channels 11 to 16 to "off". Synth B will now "see" the midi data
only for the channels specified, that is 2 to 10 inclusive. Repeat
the procedure for Synth A, but exactly the opposite. Channel 1 Rx
is "on". Channels 2 to 10 set to "off" and channels 11 to 16 set
to "on".
|
| Additional synths or sound modules can be added into the MIDI chain of MIDI IN to MIDI THRU. Just keep in mind that all 16 channels are received at MIDI IN and an exact copy is sent out by MIDI THRU. It is a matter then of selectively setting the channels you wish to receive in a particular synth or module to "on", and turning the rest of the channels "off". This is like telling Synth A, "get the data for channels 1, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 and play the instrument specified for each channel using the performance data that you receive (note number, velocity, duration, etc.)". |
| We are now ready to record additional
tracks using Synth A which has MIDI OUT connected to MIDI IN of the sequencer
program by way of the "Y" adapter to the sound card MPU 401 interface and
on to the sequencer. As we did in BIAB, you must select a listed
synthesizer from within the sequencer software in order to have the correct
instrument numbers assigned for Synth A. To listen to what you are
playing on Synth A as you record, "Soft Thru" must be "on" from within
your sequencer program.
Synth A must have "Local off" selected, and be in the "Multi Timbral" mode. In your sequencer, select a blank
track, type in the name of the instrument you wish to record, such as "Grand
Piano". Type in or select a vacant channel number that is higher
than 10. For this example we can use channel 11. The Tx (transmit
channel) of Synth A must also then be set to channel 11. The channel number
you are recording must always be the same as the transmit channel on the
synth you are using. To record on channel 14, the synth Tx channel must
also be 14. Finally select the instrument (patch) number for a Grand Piano
in your sequencer. Hit the "record" button, wait for the lead-in count
to end and begin playing. If everything was set up correctly,
your backing tracks of bass, drum and any other instrument(s) should be
playing as you are recording a new instrument and track.
|
| In this manner you can create an entire arrangement using up to 15 different instruments, plus the drum track. And, different instruments can be assigned to different synths or sound modules. You will develop you own methods for recording as you progress and learn by trial and error. |
| A final tidbit of information. The track numbers as indicated in a sequencer does not necessarily mean that is the channel number. You must assign a channel to each track (unless it is already assigned by a program such as BIAB). Providing the same instrument is used, several tracks could have the same channel number assigned to them. A simple example would be where your record the left hand of a piano on one track, and the right hand on another. Track 14, could be the left hand and the channel assigned as 12. Track 15 could be the right hand, and also assigned to channel 12. |
| The purpose of this document is to help you to get started in MIDI, and to give you a few different starting points to choose from. Hopefully you will have gained a small insight into the IN'S AND OUT'S of MIDI Connections under different situations. |
| If we have failed to make something clear, please feel free to use our MIDI Forum to post your questions. Please include ALL pertinent information as to make, model, versions, etc. |
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Created January 30, 1999 - Last Update: January 22, 2003 This site is owned, designed and produced by Les Gorven dba Business Technologies & MIDI Studio Publishing |