MOTUnation.com

I'm trying to use the MIDI feature of my Ultralite without having to fire up my DAW. I just want the MIDI input (whch appears an an "m" on the LCD readout), to go to the MIDI out (another "m" which appears on the LCD when I trigger MIDI from say Max/MSP).

I called MOTU tech support and they said that the MIDI i/o requires MIDI router software, e.g a DAW. This seems ludicrous to me, since you can use the audio features of the Ultralite perfectly fine without a DAW, just using CueMix. To make matters worse, the included DAW, AudioDesk, does not support MIDI.

GREAT! Now I need to purchase and run DAW software even though I don't need it for my rig? Is this really true? Is there something else I can use that is more lightweight? I am already running tons of stuff on my machine and the requirement of adding a DAW just to get MIDI connectivity between my MIDI keyboard and my sound module is really blowing my mind (not to mention my budget). And the idea of buying a separate MIDI Interface is aggravating, too, because those 2 MIDI ports on the MOTU are just staring at me (and informed my purchase decision).

It seems to me there should just be a setting to connect external MIDI in to external MIDI out. I'm continuing to scour the manual but nothing. Is this a "feature" of all MOTU hardware?

So far I've been thinking this thing is the bomb, but now I'm disappointed. One more thing that ALMOST works and will probably require $ and hours of my time to resolve. I know this will get fun at some point, right?

I agree that there should be some way to get MIDI in/out without a daw, especially when troubleshooting (which I've been doing a lot of lately).

However, in your case, can't you just bypass the UL altogether? In other words, the MIDI out of your controller will be the same as the MIDI out of the UL (if this were possible)...so just use the cable from your controller to your module.

Make sense?

tele...

Any software which gives you the ability to patch a MIDI input to a MIDI output will be fine – it doesn't need to be a full-featured DAW. Even a simple utility app should do the trick.

I came to the same unfortunate realization with my motu micro lite. Unless there's DAW software running, it doesn't route between the MIDI ports - which kinda sucks. Especially when I'm playing live and I don't have my computer hooked up to the system. I have to run a completely different MIDI setup.

I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm going to need to get a different MIDI interface. Realistically, a simple FastLane should do the trick - it's got a button on it that will do MIDI thru. I used to have one, but it got lost somewhere along the way and I haven't replaced it yet.

The better solution - at least for me, i don't know what you're needing - is a micro express MIDI interface. Unless someone can tell me I'm wrong, it's got a regular power supply (ie: doesn't have to be bus powered) and you can set up MIDI routing. I'm hoping to set it up to have 2 basic routing setups - one with a DAW connected, and one for live work.

More importantly, the micro express fits nicely in my rack next to my ultralite

Can't it be done in AudioMIDI Setup?