How do I hook up my hardware synths?

[kasmira]

1. This is not the right forum.

2. If they have a MIDI THRU port you can daisy chain them. As usual check your manuals.

You will want to set up your MIDI chain as follows:

Midi Controller Keyboard MIDI OUT >> Focusrite MIDI IN >> Focusrite MIDI OUT >> Roland U220 MIDI IN >> Roland U220 MIDI THRU >> Roland Jv-1080 MIDI IN

Of course the order of the two Roland units does not matter. Also, If your MIDI keyboard is already connected via USB to the computer, there is no need to also connect a MIDI cable from it to the interface. In that case, you will only need two MIDI cables. One from your interface to one synth, and the other connecting that synth to the other. If your keyboard isn't hooked up via USB, then it would require a third cable going from it to the interface.

Make sure you set the Focusrite as the MIDI OUT device in your DAW, and NOT your keyboard.

On most devices (especially those with MIDI thru) you can select which MIDI channel they use. So, you can send different MIDI data to each device at the same time. If you are using a DAW that has a computer keyboard midi control option (as in, you can play the notes on your QWERTY keyboard) you can actually set it so that your midi controller keyboard can play one device, and your QWERTY keyboard can play the other, simultaneously. Edit: Or of course if you get another midi controller keyboard, you can use both of those. Or if you just have two lanes in your DAW playing MIDI notes. Whatever way you do set it up, it is quite simple!

Hope this has helped. If you have any other synth questions, though, the guys in the Electronic Music forums here are total synth nerds and usually can help point you in some great directions for routing. Good luck!

[synthminx]

Hi, I know this may sound a bit dim, but when I daisy chain the synths together, and I want to just use a sound or sounds off the last synth in the chain, do I have to have all the synths in between powered up, or does this work with them switched off? I don't know whether the MIDI signal passes through an unpowered socket? I have 6 synths in the chain, the first being also the controller.
I have googled this to death, but this thread has been the nearest.

[kasmira]

Originally Posted by synthminx

Hi, I know this may sound a bit dim, but when I daisy chain the synths together, and I want to just use a sound or sounds off the last synth in the chain, do I have to have all the synths in between powered up, or does this work with them switched off? I don't know whether the MIDI signal passes through an unpowered socket? I have 6 synths in the chain, the first being also the controller.
I have googled this to death, but this thread has been the nearest.

I think that's a fair question. I'm quite sure that all of them would need to be powered on. Your best bet would be a midi interface so you don't need to keep them all on at the same time. They aren't very pricey either.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Gearslutz App

[synthminx]

Originally Posted by kasmira

I think that's a fair question. I'm quite sure that all of them would need to be powered on. Your best bet would be a midi interface so you don't need to keep them all on at the same time. They aren't very pricey either.

Thanks for that. I just had a couple of synths set up before with a MIDI switch. That was simple, now I have bought in another 4 synths into the setup and got them connected via the thru sockets. The controller connects to my EMU0404's MIDI.
When you say a MIDI interface, is that one of those MOTU rack things? 8 in 8 out? I was looking at those earlier. They are about £180. I do have an 8 port thru box. Maybe that will be easier as i've heard that you can get timing latency or dropouts if you have too much gear connected via the thru ports?
Thanks again!

[Annaa]

If you're recording and playing back MIDI OK, then you've done everything right. When SONAR instructs the synth to switch to another patch, that's done with MIDI, just like playing notes.

However, unlike playing notes, patch-change MIDI commands are not the same for all synths. Furthermore, synthesizers can be instructed to ignore patch-change messages. Check the Fantom's documentation and find out how to enable/disable patch changes, and make sure the synth isn't just ignoring them.

[synthminx]

Originally Posted by Annaa

If you're recording and playing back MIDI OK, then you've done everything right. When SONAR instructs the synth to switch to another patch, that's done with MIDI, just like playing notes.

However, unlike playing notes, patch-change MIDI commands are not the same for all synths. Furthermore, synthesizers can be instructed to ignore patch-change messages. Check the Fantom's documentation and find out how to enable/disable patch changes, and make sure the synth isn't just ignoring them.

Thanks, I have no problem with the MIDI side of things. I use Cubase 5 and an 0404 EMU soundcard. All is tikkety-boo! It's just that I have been using VST synths for a long time, and recently used my DX7s and the JP8000 in a track and they sounded so much better. So I have chained up my JD800, D50, SY85 & SY77 to the rig, but it's the first time I have come up against MIDI thru. I basically want to use what sound I want from whatever synth. I just wasn't sure if they all had to be on at the same time. But to get around that, I have rigged everything into an 8 channel MIDI THRU box, so I should be able to talk to a synth directly without having to channel the MIDI data through 5 other synths.