Which MIDI patchbay? A MOTU one?
Moderator: James Steele
Forum rules
Discussion related to installation, configuration and use of MOTU hardware such as MIDI interfaces, audio interfaces, etc. for Mac OSX
Discussion related to installation, configuration and use of MOTU hardware such as MIDI interfaces, audio interfaces, etc. for Mac OSX
- dazzjazz
- Posts: 293
- Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2007 12:16 am
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Sydney Australia
- Contact:
Which MIDI patchbay? A MOTU one?
I find running my own home studio a bit of a challenge and I'm sure many others do too. Maybe someone on here has solved this riddle.
I would like to have things setup in such a way that I don't need to repatch MIDI cables when a new workflow situation arises. Ideally I should be able to connect any device to any other device if possible, and choose which device is clock master/slave. I'd like to be able to both send MIDI to my DAW but also run things without having to boot my DAW.
Ironically I'm not a big fan of MIDI - I swear at times I can feel the lag in timing.
I imagine I need some kind of MIDI patch bay with recall function? I have the following:
Moog Matriarch
ARP Odyssey module (crap MIDI implementation!)
Elektron Model:Samples
Yamaha CP Reface
Yamaha CP4
Roland JX-8P with KIWI Mod
Native Instruments S61 mk2 (probably should be connected via USB to take advantage of its features)
I already have the MIDI ports on the back of my Focusrite 8Pre, and a MOTU Fastlane 2x2 MIDI interface. This is not enough in’s/outs.
The research I’ve done so far has me considering the iConnectivity MIoXL but m not familiar with them and trust MOTU products more. There is a Kenton product coming that looks promising but I don’t want to wait.
Thanks in advance,
Darren
I would like to have things setup in such a way that I don't need to repatch MIDI cables when a new workflow situation arises. Ideally I should be able to connect any device to any other device if possible, and choose which device is clock master/slave. I'd like to be able to both send MIDI to my DAW but also run things without having to boot my DAW.
Ironically I'm not a big fan of MIDI - I swear at times I can feel the lag in timing.
I imagine I need some kind of MIDI patch bay with recall function? I have the following:
Moog Matriarch
ARP Odyssey module (crap MIDI implementation!)
Elektron Model:Samples
Yamaha CP Reface
Yamaha CP4
Roland JX-8P with KIWI Mod
Native Instruments S61 mk2 (probably should be connected via USB to take advantage of its features)
I already have the MIDI ports on the back of my Focusrite 8Pre, and a MOTU Fastlane 2x2 MIDI interface. This is not enough in’s/outs.
The research I’ve done so far has me considering the iConnectivity MIoXL but m not familiar with them and trust MOTU products more. There is a Kenton product coming that looks promising but I don’t want to wait.
Thanks in advance,
Darren
iMac 27" 2013 24 GB RAM
OSX Catalina. Focusrite Clarett 8Pre. Heritage Audio HA73.
DP10.
Yamaha CP4. 1961 Hammond A100. Too many Leslies.
……………………
Darren Heinrich
BMus (Hons) Jazz Piano
PhD Jazz Organ Improvisation
http://www.dazzjazz.com/
OSX Catalina. Focusrite Clarett 8Pre. Heritage Audio HA73.
DP10.
Yamaha CP4. 1961 Hammond A100. Too many Leslies.
……………………
Darren Heinrich
BMus (Hons) Jazz Piano
PhD Jazz Organ Improvisation
http://www.dazzjazz.com/
Re: Which MIDI patchbay? A MOTU one?
When I had a lot of MIDI modules, I originally had a MIDIMan interface which was a PITA, and replaced it with a MOTU unit. That was a big improvement, and was one of those things that sits in the rack and does what it should, and you forget all about it.
From what I see in the the threads here, I’d probably want some assurance that the MOTU units work properly with more recent versions of macOS.
From what I see in the the threads here, I’d probably want some assurance that the MOTU units work properly with more recent versions of macOS.
2018 Mini i7 32G 10.14.6, DP 11.3, Mixbus 9, Logic 10.5, Scarlett 18i8
- James Steele
- Site Administrator
- Posts: 21524
- Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 10:01 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: San Diego, CA - U.S.A.
- Contact:
Re: Which MIDI patchbay? A MOTU one?
I purchased a MOTU MIDI Express XT a couple of months ago or so. All is well here with my M1 Max Mac Studio on MacOS 12.6.2.
JamesSteeleProject.com | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Mac Studio M1 Max, 64GB/2TB, MacOS 14.5, DP 11.31, MOTU 828es, MOTU 24Ai, MOTU MIDI Express XT, UAD-2 TB3 Satellite OCTO, Console 1 Mk2, Avid S3, NI Komplete Kontrol S88 Mk2, Red Type B, Millennia HV-3C, Warm Audio WA-2A, AudioScape 76F, Dean guitars, Marshall amps, etc., etc.!
Mac Studio M1 Max, 64GB/2TB, MacOS 14.5, DP 11.31, MOTU 828es, MOTU 24Ai, MOTU MIDI Express XT, UAD-2 TB3 Satellite OCTO, Console 1 Mk2, Avid S3, NI Komplete Kontrol S88 Mk2, Red Type B, Millennia HV-3C, Warm Audio WA-2A, AudioScape 76F, Dean guitars, Marshall amps, etc., etc.!
- mikehalloran
- Posts: 15361
- Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:08 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Sillie Con Valley
Re: Which MIDI patchbay? A MOTU one?
If you run across an old MOTU USB box including the MTP AV USB, you need the Firmware chip to read 2.0.1 (it will also flash on startup) and the USB controller chip to read 1.32. Two screws remove the top and you can see both chips. Although these run over USB 1.1, a few of us have tested these with the current drivers and they work.
Here are the current MOTU MIDI boxes. The 2011 and later MIDI Express XT and micro express support more SMTPE frame rates than older units.
https://motu.com/en-us/products/MIDI-products/
Here are the current MOTU MIDI boxes. The 2011 and later MIDI Express XT and micro express support more SMTPE frame rates than older units.
https://motu.com/en-us/products/MIDI-products/
DP 11.31; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.5 b4, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5.2, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 Pro, Toast 20 Pro
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.5 b4, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5.2, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 Pro, Toast 20 Pro
- dazzjazz
- Posts: 293
- Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2007 12:16 am
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Sydney Australia
- Contact:
Re: Which MIDI patchbay? A MOTU one?
Thanks for the input everyone. I will keep researching.
iMac 27" 2013 24 GB RAM
OSX Catalina. Focusrite Clarett 8Pre. Heritage Audio HA73.
DP10.
Yamaha CP4. 1961 Hammond A100. Too many Leslies.
……………………
Darren Heinrich
BMus (Hons) Jazz Piano
PhD Jazz Organ Improvisation
http://www.dazzjazz.com/
OSX Catalina. Focusrite Clarett 8Pre. Heritage Audio HA73.
DP10.
Yamaha CP4. 1961 Hammond A100. Too many Leslies.
……………………
Darren Heinrich
BMus (Hons) Jazz Piano
PhD Jazz Organ Improvisation
http://www.dazzjazz.com/
- James Steele
- Site Administrator
- Posts: 21524
- Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 10:01 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: San Diego, CA - U.S.A.
- Contact:
Re: Which MIDI patchbay? A MOTU one?
Mine would work, but I would caution that I recall having some problem with mine retaining any changes made to its settings via ClockWorks. For example, I could set it to mute all sysex on a certain cable, quit ClockWorks, then relaunch ClockWorks and check it and the mutes didn't "stick."mikehalloran wrote: ↑Mon Jan 16, 2023 4:46 pmAlthough these run over USB 1.1, a few of us have tested these with the current drivers and they work.
I still have it and have decided to keep it in case I decide to start a second "nostalgia" rack of hardware modules.
JamesSteeleProject.com | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Mac Studio M1 Max, 64GB/2TB, MacOS 14.5, DP 11.31, MOTU 828es, MOTU 24Ai, MOTU MIDI Express XT, UAD-2 TB3 Satellite OCTO, Console 1 Mk2, Avid S3, NI Komplete Kontrol S88 Mk2, Red Type B, Millennia HV-3C, Warm Audio WA-2A, AudioScape 76F, Dean guitars, Marshall amps, etc., etc.!
Mac Studio M1 Max, 64GB/2TB, MacOS 14.5, DP 11.31, MOTU 828es, MOTU 24Ai, MOTU MIDI Express XT, UAD-2 TB3 Satellite OCTO, Console 1 Mk2, Avid S3, NI Komplete Kontrol S88 Mk2, Red Type B, Millennia HV-3C, Warm Audio WA-2A, AudioScape 76F, Dean guitars, Marshall amps, etc., etc.!
-
- Posts: 2188
- Joined: Thu Jan 13, 2005 10:01 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: USA
Re: Which MIDI patchbay? A MOTU one?
This might do what you want:
https://www.thomannmusic.com/esi_m8u_ex.htm
Fully routable.. the 16 MIDI connections can each be an input or an output!
I have one, and it works as advertised.
https://www.thomannmusic.com/esi_m8u_ex.htm
Fully routable.. the 16 MIDI connections can each be an input or an output!
I have one, and it works as advertised.
DP11, 2019 16-Core Mac Pro, Monterey, 64GB RAM. RME HDSPe MADI FX to SSL Alphalink to SSL Matrix console, and multiple digital sub consoles. UAD Quad PCIe. Outboard stuff.