Midi novice

[lee shiltonParticipant]

hey there.

i could do with some help if possible please. im a complete midi novice i have amassed a range of hardware synths & im confused by how to set it all up via midi in the best way..

i have as follows,

2x behringher bcr 2000′s with zaquencer firmware

roland tr-8 – midi in & out

roland tb-3 – midi in & out

roland mx-1 mixer – midi in & out

roland system 1 – midi in & out

m audio midi sport 4×4 – 4 midi out / 4 midi in.

in the future ill be adding new hardware synths & drum machines & ultimately use all 8 midi tracks on my bcr’s.

im very confused

can you help?

kind regrards,

lee

[ChristianKeymaster]

Hi Lee,
first of all, congrats on the nice setup!

I like to help you where I can.
A big Midi setup with lots of devices is always a challenge and also lots of personal preference.
Ultimately I don´t think there is a right or wrong way in your case and you can find out what setup works best for you through trying out different stuff.

A big decision is, what device do you want to have as a master clock.
So from that device you need a Midi connection to every other, to distribute the clock signal.

Another big decision is, where do you want your sequences to come from?
Obviously you are well prepared here with the 2 Zaquencers, but you could also decide to use the built in sequencers on your Rolands, and only have them to be synchronized with the other devices.

If you want to hook up all your synths to the Zaquencers, at some point you might run out of physical Midi outputs on the Zaquencers.
Then you can either check if your synths have a Midi Through functionality, or you could get a little box like the Kenton Midi Through to distribute your Midi data:
http://www.thomann.de/de/kenton_midi_thru_5.htm

Are you planning on integrating a PC/Mac as well? Or what is the MidiSport for?

Having said all that, I recommend a very simple setup to start out with:
All sequences created by the Zaquencers;
Zaquencer 1: creates Master clock, sends it on Midi Output A to Zaquencer 2. Midi Output B is connected to one synth (for example TR-8)
Zaquencer 2: recieves Master clock on IN (Global Clock Int/Ext setting on ext), Midi Out A/B are connected to the other synths (TB-3 and system 1)
Make sure that the Global settings for Midi Out/AB and Midi Channel of the tracks you want to use match the physical output and the Synths settings.
For a general getting started with the Zaquencer (hooking up, setting it up for notes/drums), please see here: https://zaqaudio.com/forums/topic/sticky-usage-getting-started

This simple setup would get you going controlling all your synths and being able to adress all of them through the Zaquencers.
Once you are comfortable with that setup and wish to do more or different things you can change it around again etc.

I´m sorry if this is still a bit unspecific, but it´s hard to give more concrete advice here.
If you run into more specific questions, please let me know, I´m happy to help.

[alien_brainParticipant]

that is one of the challenges of being a midi artist: how to hook up your gear. if possible, get a midi patch bay with more inputs and outputs, then there is no question about hookup, only how to use your patchbay. if i knew what i know now when i started a long time ago i would have done it that way.

[lee shiltonParticipant]

hi there,

thanks your replies lads i really appreciate it.

i want my roland mx-1 to be my master clock. my roland tr-8 i will use with its own onboard sequencer.

my roland tb-3 & system 1 i want to use via the zaquencer for sequencing

[ChristianKeymaster]

I´m not too familiar with the MX-1 but from what I read you can use USB to connect other AIRA devices for sync, so this would be recommended for the TR-8 (because you´ll be using it´s internal sequencer).

Then, hook up the Midi Out of the MX-1 to the 1st Zaquencer´s Midi In to deliver the clock (Global Clock on Ext). Then you can either use your other two synths with outputs A/B on different tracks of the same Zaquencer, or you distribute the clock to your second Zaquencer like mentioned above (but by using the Midi Through Global functionality on the 1st Zaquencer). That way you could connect one synth per Zaquencer and have a dedicated interface for every synth. In addition you´re already prepared for new synths as well.

Let us know how you go!

[lee shiltonParticipant]

hi christian.

yep! everything is flying now many thanks for your help! very much appreciated.

all the best,

lee

[lee shiltonParticipant]

@alien_brain

could you recommend a patch bay i could look into please?

many thanks

[alien_brainParticipant]

try a MOTU MTP AV usb (up to 16 ins and outs if you daisy chain 2 of them together)… the only thing is youll need XP or os9 to properly edit its connections onscreen. you can use the front panel controls but ive never done that. this is ancient gear by todays standards, and will take some figuring out.

[alien_brainParticipant]

motu has released drivers for most up to date OSes it looks like so this is still a great option for onscreen editing of connections with a current OS.

another thing to note is that you can use one USB version and daisy chain it to a serial version and still get the 16 ins and outs. the cable to connect them is relatively hard to find but just keep at it.

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