External Keyboard + multiple Digi's

Good day to you all,

I’m running a setup with 2x DT + 2x DN to a Xone DB2. All is working well, but I’d like to add a midi keyboard. I’d like the Digi’s to listen to different midi channels, on AUTO CH. This way I only have to select 1 of 4 midi channels on my keyboard.

The midi routing without keyboard is as following:

DT1 Midi Out --> DN1 IN
DN1 THRU --> DT2 IN
DT2 THRU --> DN 2 IN

Now, when I add an external keyboard and connect it to midi IN on DT1 I have signal, but since I connected the midi OUT to MIDI IN on the D1, the DT1 doesnt pass the midi thru. When I connect the D1 THRU to the DN, the DN doesnt get clock from DT1

Bottom line is: When I use MIDI OUT, it sends clock and not note THRU for the Digitone. When I use midi THRU, de Digitone gets the MIDI THRU notes from the keyboard, but no clock.

Do I need a Midi merger, or am I missing someting?

I hope it makes sense what I’m Saying…

I’m running a Digitakt/Digitone and a few other synths with a Keystep and this 1->4 box: http://www.midisolutions.com/prodqth.htm

I could not find a way for Auto Channel to send through the THRU.

That’s odd. Auto ch. trough thru is the exact thing that DOES work… However, I dont’ get clock that way…

The easiest solution in your case is to pick up a Quadra midithru box. They run about 50. Route keyboard into Quadra thru, use the sends on the Quadra to the ones of each box.

Thank you very much, as I suspected, i need to buy me a midi thru box.

But wait. No… With a mid THRU box, i use all the IN’s on my digi’s. Then it is not possible to act as Master clock for Digitakt 1 en distribute to the rest of the digi’s.

It looks I need to merge midi OUT & midi THRU. Would that work?

OK, I found out how this works… It turns out it is possible to merge OUT&THRU. I tested this with a midi interface and using a nifty little prog named MidiPipe. This way I can send clock via OUT and midi signals (Note’s and CC’s) via THRU. Keyboard is connected to midi IN.

In this way I have to rely on my computer for the merging to happen, so I’ll have to find a decent standalone merger. Maybe a iConnectivity mio XM. That would open up even more possibilities for connecting midi controllers for live use.

What I would do here (in theory) is plug the MIDI Controller into a DN and use its 4 MIDI tracks to select the other machine’s auto control channel. so the MIDI chain would look like this:

MIDI controller [MIDI out] -> [In] DN1 [out] -> [In] DN2 [thru] -> [In] DT1 [thru] -> [In] DT2 [out] -> anything else.

you could also take an out from any of those and plug it back into the MIDI controller to sync the tempo if you’re using a keystep or some other controller that has an arp/sequencer. Just be sure to turn off clock receive on the first DN if you want that one to be the clock source.

I also have one of those 1->4 MIDI thru boxes. They are great, but keep this in mind:
They only work out of a MIDI out, not from a MIDI thru port. also, I find if my machines already have a thru along side an out, you can get really clever with that & don’t even need that thru box. Saves cables too