[sdiy] Dumb MIDI question

[Glen]

At 06:02 PM 6/5/03 , jbv wrote:

>Of course MIDI comes to mind, but as this thread
>seems to prove it, it's still very limited

"Still" very limited? As far as I know, it isn't being improved any more. I
think it's pretty much frozen at this point.



>As for MIDI tweaking, another idea just crossed my
>mind : using sysex would allow all kind of data coding,
>including pan, note on & off, real pitch (coded on more
>than 1 byte)...
>The downside of this idea is that it would use some extra bw,
>and could be understood only by my own gear, but that's
>more or less what I want to achieve...

I almost suggested Sys-Ex in my last note, but I wasn't sure if you needed
your idea to work with just any about MIDI-equipped synth, or if it was
okay that it only worked with the synths you design. That's why I asked
what you were trying to do.

You could also send some of your data through a second MIDI port. (Notice
that I said port, not channel.) For example, if the Sys-Ex clogs the main
MIDI port too much, put the Sys-Ex on its own MIDI port. If you want to
avoid Sys-Ex, you could take an earlier suggestion, and transmit your pan
parameter disguised as a velocity parameter. Do this on the second MIDI
port only. The first MIDI port would still have the normal velocity
information. Of course, you would have to make sure that these two ports
stayed in perfect synch with each other. The advantage to the dual MIDI
port idea is comparability. With one MIDI cable, you have a normal MIDI
controlled synth. Add a second MIDI cable, and you get your advanced features.

If you don't mind that other synths couldn't understand your data stream,
perhaps you should consider building your own high-bandwidth interface. If
you want to maximize compatibility, your synth could have both a MIDI
interface and also your custom interface. The MIDI interface would handle
the basics of note on/off, velocity, pitch bend, etc. The "advanced"
interface would be an alternative interface that handled all the info MIDI
did, but also "extra" features, such as your note-by-note panning and
whatever else you can dream up.

It all depends on what you want to achieve.


later,
Glen Berry