midi question

[newguy12]

how many midi devices can you daisy chain together? (keyboards, drum machines, sequencers etc...)

[wardshorsehead]

that depends. each midi port (the 5pin serial socket) is able to carry 16 channels of midi. that would mean, from that single port, you could send a single signal to 16 different things. them problem is, that you often want to send multiple signals to the same things. like multitim. synths, drum machines, etc. a second midi port doubles that, a third triples that, and so on.

so i send sequencer data to device a. a multi synth that i'm using 4 sounds on. lets say i'm using channels 1-4. turn off channels 5-16 for receive. from midi thru on the synth, i go to another synth (b). using 3 channels. turn off channels 1-4 and 8-16 for receive. midi through to the next piece. a sampler. using 8 channels. turn off ...etc. etc.

there are alot of good resources on the net for using midi. once you get the hang of it, it's not too bad. i use it very simply. start simple and build from there. too much in the equation, and you won't know where to trouble shoot.

frank