I ve made do with various workarounds and some Bush mechanics, but I think it’s time to admit I have too many devices for how many ports I’ve got and the space that is between some of them. Ever since someone had the bright idea to both power and talk to mini devices through single USB cable this has Been on the horizon for me.
What do I do? Do I buy a separate Interface and merge some of them? Do I get a bunch of CME Wireless adapters? Merging some of them together to appear as one device inside the machine is an attractive idea for me for several reasons. What have others done in this circumstance?
I recommend buying from a reliable source/brand and pick something with at least a 30W brick or more, especially if you have many keyboards you expect to power from usb.
You should be able to ditch most if not all your MIDI cables, unless you have many “vintage” units.
If so, do not hesitate also to use the “MIDI Through” ports to cascade units. Done right, it’s reliable and do not add noticeable latency.
In fact, it adds no measurable latency whatsoever.
For example, assuming one MIDI output port on the computer, and 16 external MIDI hardware devices, each set to a different MIDI channel and each equipped with at least MIDI IN and MIDI THRU ports, all 16 can be daisy-chained entirely without latency; the 16th device will receive the MIDI signal in perfect sync with the 1st, and all the others.
But for the OP, and newer USB-MIDI devices, yes, a powered USB hub with good USB cables is the way to go.
Thank you. I probably wasn’t very clear in my original post - I know i need some kind of powered hub or midi interface just wanted to know specifics, what people have tried in the past etc. In that 7 port usb example, are you saying you plug in 5+ USB midi devices into that and it all comes out fine at the other end? most of my USB MIDI devices hate not being directly plugged in to the mac. It’s not a power thing either, cause they’re all powered by other means (except the maschine Jam - cause its magic). feels like they know when something eles is in the middle. Im tempted to check out the CME stuff really. It’s a bit dearer than I’d like but i can see lots of benefits
I never tried 7 midi devices at the same time but would be confident it would work fine.
I’d be curious to see what brand/model is too finicky to work with a (quality) hub.
Sure thing, stay tuned and i’ll let you know how it goes. IF there ever is a problem it’s usually the NI stuff. I think the MK3 and the JAM are a bit ileitis and don’t like hanging out with the other children
