Hi everyone,
I’m quite new to MIDI. I’ve been reading up on it and one question comes to mind: can any synth/box with a keyboard (or keyboard-like interface e.g. the chromatic buttons on a Digitakt) automatically therefore act as a MIDI controller for another device, provided it had MIDI capability? Or is there anything specific in the device’s I/O spec that would confirm or discount this?
Thank you in advance!
Not sure if it’s entirely safe to generalise, but I would expect anything with obvious drumpads or keyboard, PLUS midi out (via USB or Din/minijack) the answer would be yes, you’ll be able to send at least midi notes.
May not be true for some ancient gear but for recent gear that’s a safe assumption I think.
EDIT: @shigginpit’s reply is much more comprehensive than mine, and made explicit things I left implicit (like making sure you have the relevant ins and outs)
No, not any. the keyboard or whatever must be enabled to support midi control over other devices and have the connectivity to do so - take for example a volca with midi-in but no native midi out jack, they often have a chromatic keyboard but lack connectivity. Also, for example the korg nano series only has usb midi, therefore it won’t interface with din midi unless there is a computer in between or a usb midi host box, and the usb midi controller must also then be class compliant or it won’t work.
Also, sometimes something will have limited control - for example the pads on old samplers can sometimes only transmit certain notes. It’s just not cut and dry, it has to be midi enabled as a controller and have the correct connectivity.
The gear you would hook it to (to be controlled) would also need to support midi by way of control, old gear which is controlled by cv or gear with no midi (example 1980’s casio keyboard or something) can’t be controlled (or control for that matter) without an aftermarket retrofit kit like the highly liquid UMR2 (or a midi controller kit).
Digitakt specifically, yes, it can do that. Digitakt is enabled for midi note and cc control.
there is usually a MIDI implementation chart, best to check it out for your needs
Thanks, everyone, really helpful.
Generally speaking …
Practically speaking (examples) …
There are synths and particularly MIDI-Controllers, which provide a couple of MIDI functions to support flexible MIDI messaging between devices. Some can easy be adopted to many MIDI-receiving devices and their special MIDI implementation.
This said, we have to check first, if a controller matches the remote device. Sometimes it works out of the box - for MIDI-notes as an example - sometimes we need to define the MIDI-CCs to be send out to the remote device ourselves.
If we are lucky the controller and/or the remote device support “MIDI-Learn”. With this we can wiggle a knob on a device and the other learns, which MIDI-command is supposed to do what.
Thank you for this! That’s fast-forwarded my MIDI learning considerably. Makes a lot more sense now.
Whereever you do you shopping, if its a dedicated music store, especially keyboards and synths, tell them what you are trying to accomplish, and ask them about how to midi.
Its better before the purchase to do this, since sales people are eager, more so than tech support. And you can make sure you get the right controller for your needs.
If its basic midi keyboard functions you want, might I suggest a keystep? Or for a but more Arturia’s Key Lab Essentials MK3? I think the star of the show is the Midi Control Center, which lets you set up midi on a computer with drop down menus.
And their customer support is very proactive. (Shout out to Leo with an apostrophe over the e)
Not to confuse you, but here is what the program looks like.
Yeah I see the Keystep/Key Lab in nearly every synth video I watch. Not sure what’s up but it seems Arturia have cornerned the market in MIDI controllers! And thanks, I appreciate the advice. I have a PMT near me here in the UK, and they’re pretty good.
Keysteps are built like tanks with metal but minikeys… has sequencer
Keylab Essential mk3, lightweight, plastic, no sequence because it integrates with custom scripts for DAW control… Full Size Keys and some pads.
The action on the Keysteps is better for my taste… a bit firmer travel on the minikeys…
Keylab is a light synth action, well both are synth action. very good.
Velocity sensitive with adjustable ranges that some say arent very adjustable, but it might be very nuanced.
no aftertouch except the pads on the KeyLab Essentials mk3… and thats the full name since there are different versions.
PLus you also get Analog Labs.
Okay… thats all the relevent info.
…thats whats up.
The most fully featured minikey MIDI controller you can get in the lower budget segment is the ASM Hydrasynth Explorer.
The only thing missing from it is the sequencer, for which you could use an iPad. For the rest, it features a crazily powerful on-board synth, MIDI capable controllers (knobs, encoders, …) and is even MPE capable in the sense that it can send MIDI data across separate channels according to the MPE spec.
Follow-up question here. What should I be looking for to understand whether one device can tell another to switch patch? Could my Digitakt tell device X to play patch Y on a certain pattern, and patch Z on another? Continued thanks.
That’s called MIDI program change
Thank you.
No bother, cool thing is you can send program change (aka PC) per step on Digitakt if your synth can handle it, which opens up some very cool possibilities. I know Microfreak is quick enough for it, I’ve done some wild wild stuff with that.
Sounds awesome. So would a synth’s MIDI spec specifically mention it can handle PC, ie if it doesn’t, it can’t? Would you expect most modern synths to support it?
So most synths with presets will generally support PC (also known as PGM sometimes) messages, older stuff from the 80s nearly always does, and it’s common on modern stuff too. As a digitakt user, you’ll be getting familiar with the MIDI spec that’s always at the end of the manual, always a good idea to have a look at what’s available to mess with while sequencing. It’s tough going at the start but once you get your head around it, it’s mostly straightforward. You’re only going to need CCs (continuous controllers) for the most part anyway so you can safely ignore Sysex and the rest for now.
Ah that’s helpful, thank you. Good to know this goes back to older synths, too. I’m looking at a Blofeld, which seems a hell of a lot of synth for not a lot of money, hence I’m investigating what I’ll be able to get the Digitakt to tell it to do.
Those are deep and powerful synths, plenty great presets to get you up and running quickly but capable of a lot of really cool stuff if you want to really dig in. There’s also hardware editors available which make both programming and performing much more pleasant.
