Anyone familiar with iconnect midi 2 plus midi merge function?

The Lounge Other Gear
#1

Hey all, I’ve been on an extended break from my gear recently but now have the opportunity for a month away with my boxes. I’m realising that I’m as rusty as hell on the midi side of things and I need to make sure I have all the right gear with me as I head for the hills.

Gear at my disposal:

Octatrack
Machinedrum
Minitaur
iPad
USB midi keyboard
Macbook Pro
Motu Ultralite MKII
Line Midi Mobilizer MK II
Midisport 2 x 2 midi interface (original without merge function)

I’ll be using the OT for master sync and sequencing the minitaur.

I’d like to use the iPad both as a controller for the OT and to provide sound source for sampling into it. Maybe use the Thesys app for sequencing duties too.

I want to keep the Mac out of the loop as much as possible, using it mainly for recording the output of the hardware and routing my USB keyboard.

Really I’m struggling with the best way to hook the OT, MD, Minitaur and iPad up so I can get OT clock to everything and use the iPad as a controller for the OT with the Lemur app. Do I need a Quadra Thru like this ?

Midi_1.jpg1024×728 49.2 KB

Ideally I’d like to take an iconnect midi 4 + with me but they don’t land in time. Should I bite the bullet and get a midi 2 + even though it has no USB hosting capability and try and route the USB keys via the computer for now. I’m guessing the routing capabilities of the 2+ will come in handy…does anyone know for sure that it’s midi merge function will save me from buying a Quadra in the above set up but with USB keys added via the Macbook Pro ? I couldn’t find any detailed info for that side of things as yet…

This opportunity has come up last minute so I don’t have much head scratching time .

Thanks

1 Like
#2

Emagic amt8 or unitor8 mk2, they’re usually cheap and easy to find on ebay. 8 n 8 out MIDI rack.

It does have OSX drivers, but it should work out of the box without a computer. Plug ins and outs on the same device to the same ports to avoid feedback, ie 1 to 1 … 8 to 8.

#3

Thanks jonah. I know the unitors - I still have a MK1 from years back which is no use to me now sadly. I checked ebay and the last MKII went for £142, about £60 more than and iconnect midi 2 +. They’re also too big for my purposes and of course don’t have the new audio passthru technology…which if you have an iPad is a game changer.

#4

Oh sorry, big difference between the states! I have 3 that I picked up for $40-$50 each.

That’s a tough one then. I’m waiting for the 4+ myself. :slight_smile:

Do you know if you’ll be able to daisy chain them? That would make having both a 2+ and 4+ more useful.

#5

midi 2 plus on the way.

sadly can’t wait for the 4 but will trade up at some point. not sure if you can daisy chain them but as the 4 can act as a usb host the connectors are there from the 2 to the 4, and they are firmware upgradable. having said that, with the insane routing possibilities via the Portmanager app I doubt that I’d need anything more than the 4 + for a long time !

#6

Here’s an update. The iConnect midi 2 + is here. It’s a great little box and the midi routing, filtering, merging, controller and channel remapping possibilities are very cool.

I did make one oversight though. When the ipad is connected via usb to the midi 2 plus it of course disables the headphone output. Doh !

Part of my plan was to use it standalone for the midi routing functions and still feed the headphone out from the ipad into the OT. However, unless the ipad apps you’re using are able to feed the headphones out simultaneously , it can’t be done. ( it’s not a hardware limitation. it’s been possible to address them individually since iOS 6 and you can do this in algoriddim djay for example ),

I think I can still get away with using one of the DIN outs to feed the iPad via my Line Midi mobilizer and keep most of the routing functionality I had planned. Just not quite such an elegant set up.

#7

in the iConnectMIDI4+ you can activate the headphone output, maybe you can do it to.

from the iConnectivity site:

"By default when connecting an iOS device to the iConnectMIDI4+, it will enable the iOS’s digital audio to pass through the 30pin connector and disables the iPad’s internal speakers and headphone jack.
To change this, so that audio will sound through the iPad’s headphone jack/speakers:
In iConfig, under the Audio Info section, de-select "iOS " for iCM4 USB Device port that you wish to change, then “Commit & Reset”

1 Like
#8

Get the Iconnect App of the iPad App store for this. I finally sorted this out this week and playing the iSEM on a full keyboard is beyond a joy!

#9

thanks fortes…actually shortly after posting this here (way back when) I heard back from support and they pointed me to the setting you mention. joy…

#10

Je, i just got an iconnectMIDI4+ and didn’t notice the date on your post.

have a good time!

#11

Bit of a bump here, but I’ve come across an iConnectMIDI2+ with lightning cable for cheap, and I’m also interested in using it as a merge box in addition to its iPad interface capabilities.

My question is, if you setup a preset “snapshot” for merge capabilities, can you use that without plugging it into an iPad or computer.
Could I ONLY use this as a merger with MIDI cables + power supply?

#12

I use an Iconnect 4 + and it will work without an IPad or computer. I believe the 2 is the same, just less connections. With my 4 + I can set up routing with an Idevice or a computer and once it’s set up you can unplug those devices and use standalone. It works great and the routing is extremely flexible but takes a second to wrap your mind around, and yes… will do merging and a lot more. You can also save and load different configurations from your computer/IPad. When you first hook it up you need to adjust the default routing which has basically every port sending and receiving to and from every other port and can lead to midi madness. The 4+ is awesome because it also is a midi usb host so you can connect din and usb midi with no computer. And then there’s audio pass through.

#13

Thanks!

Just scored a 2+ Lightning for $40 shipped.
No usb host capability like 4+ but it will serve a few purposes.

#14

Necromancing this thread: I wanted to use my iPad Pro’s internal speakers simultaneously with the iConnectMIDI2+'s MIDI ports. @fortes pointed me in the right direction, but I had to unselect all options under the ‘USB Device Jacks’ section of the ‘Audio Info’ tab.

Also, it looks like this is only possible with iConnectivity’s old software, iConnect. I couldn’t figure out how to do this in their new software, Auracle.

Finally - iConnect is very flaky on iOS (it looks like a very old app). I had more luck on my Mac.