How do
I connect more than one sound module to my Korg i30?
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You
have already figured out that you need to connect the
MIDI
OUT of the Korg i30 to the MIDI IN of your first
sound
module using a MIDI cable. You can expand this chain,
by
connecting the MIDI THRU of the first sound module
to the
MIDI IN of the second sound module.
[i30]
OUT à IN
[Module #1] THRU à IN
[module #2]
The
MIDI THRU port simply passes a copy of the
MIDI
signal that it receives in the MIDI IN port.
You can
have Module #1 to respond to MIDI channels 1,2,3,4
while
Module #2 receives on MIDI channels 5,6,7,8.
This
allows you to play certain parts of an arrangement
via
sound module #1 while other parts can by played back
by
sound module #2.
Most
sound modules can operate in Multitimbral [Multi] mode.
They
can simultaneously receive on 16 MIDI channels and you
have
the option of setting each channel on or off.
You can
use this trick to cascade a series of sound modules:
[Module
#2] THRU à IN
[module #3] THRU à IN
[module #4]
If you
are planning to have a monster setup with 8 or more
sound
modules, it is better to use a multiport MIDI patch
bay
like the Emagic AMT8
[i30]
OUT à IN1 [amt8]
OUT1 à IN
[module #1]
[amt8] OUT2 à IN
[module #2]
[amt8] OUT3 à IN
[module #3]
[amt8] OUT4 à IN
[module #4]
[amt8] OUT5 à IN
[module #5]
[amt8] OUT6 à IN
[module #6]
[amt8] OUT7 à IN
[module #7]
[amt8] OUT8 à IN
[module #8]
The big
advantage of this scheme is that you do not have
to deal
with the latency that otherwise happens by cascading
multiple
modules. The AMT8 acts like a MIDI hub and routes
the
MIDI data to each individual sound module with a direct link.
What
happens if I have more than 8 modules?
----------------------------------------------------
In that
case, you can connect a second AMT8 in series
with
the first AMT8 to make a 16IN x 16OUT MIDI patch bay.
[i30]
OUT à IN1
[amt8 #1] à [amt8 #2] à PC/MAC.
Another
advantage is that the AMT8 can interface to your
PC/Mac
via the serial port or the USB port. You can use your
favorite
software sequencer like Sonar or Logic to control
your
sound modules.
Yet
another advantage of the AMT8 is that it has a multiclient
driver.
This means more than one application can access the
AMT8 at
the same time. In other words you do not have to
exit
Sonar in order to run your favorite MIDI librarian like
MidiQuest
or SoundDiver. As many as 8 AMT8 units can be chained
in
series to give you a 64IN x 64OUT MIDI interface!
If you
think you may be using more than 3 AMT8 units, it is
a good
idea to use Emagic Logic as your software sequencer.
Emagic
Logic and the AMT8 support Active MIDI Transmission (AMT)
protocol.
This eliminates the latency associated with chaining
multiple
MIDI interfaces. Each MIDI event is time stamped, buffered
ahead
of time and send simultaneously across the MIDI ports.
AMT
technology allows for far tighter MIDI timing.
As you
can see, with a rack of sound modules and a couple of AMT8
interfaces
linked to a computer running a software sequencer, you
have
access to a whole wide world of possibilities only limited
by your
imagination. The best way to learn and explore is to
hook it
up and start experimenting.
Good
luck,
Tapas.