is this possible: USB -> MIDI without a computer

[amiga909]

what i want to try: use a (USB bus powered) USB controller without computer.

- there are various portable USB power supplies. problem: none of them has a USB out?
- then there are loads of midi-usb interfaces for the computer. problem: none of them work in the opposite direction and/or standalone?

thanks for help!
sorry for starting the 3th thread this week

[amiga909]

hmmm.. meanwhile i think its not possible.

there had to be a self powered midi usb interface that could play 'traffic cop' since USB is a host-centric system (not peer-to-peer like MIDI).

since i might be the only one who wants to use a USB controller without the computer such a midi interface could at most exist as DIY..

[plastique]

Technically it should be possible, i.e. just using USB to power the device, and then use the device's external MIDI In/Out to communicate data. I can't recall a controller that offers this, but that doesn't say anything about that it doesn't exist. I can imagine that smaller controllers like the oxygen or kontrol25 could be able to do this, as they generally don't draw that much power.

What should this device be able to do anyway ? Just serve as MIDI Thru ?

[amiga909]

power supply isnt the main problem. actually a Y cable or a USB power injector would do (cheapest: a self powered 20$ USB hub).

this problem is similar: can u connect ur digicam directly to a external USB drive?
in most cases no.
there is USB OTG which allows peer-to-peer instead of central-host communication(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_On-The-Go) but afaik this is very much device specific.

still i am not 100% sure if it would be impossible to get something like a korg nanokey running without a computer. if i can get it working i'll report it here.

why i need this? well - its not THAT dramatic
its about coming up with a computer-less live setup basically.

[amiga909]

more expert opinions?
USB -> MIDI without a computer, is it possible?

[ratatosk]

more expert opinions?
USB -> MIDI without a computer, is it possible?

While it's certainly *possible*, I don't think there are any ready-to-go solutions out there. MIDI over USB is sent in packets of data assigned to "virtual cables", so that multiple streams of MIDI can exist over one serial device.

The result is that you need a computing device to handle the conversion, not just the power requirements. It's not like analog audio cables, where you can just split out what you want using raw components.

That said, if you're a do-it-yourself type, you could certainly develop a standalone device, with a small-but-capable microcontroller with an easy IDE, like the Arduino & Basic stamp products. The problem would be with those devices that aren't super-compliant -- essentially anything that requires a driver for your computer. AKAI is one that I know *is* compliant of late; the MPD18 & EWI USB are both simply plug-and-go.

Here's a link to some of the official MIDI-over-USB standard: http://www.usb.org/developers/devclass_docs/midi10.pdf. The actual USB host interface portion for your chosen microcontroller would be the second piece of this, with software to link the two.

[UltraJv]

Maybe a USB hub with its own PSU would do it.

[thecontrolcentre]

there are loads of midi-usb interfaces for the computer. problem: none of them work in the opposite direction and/or standalone?

Behringers BCF2000/BCR2000 work from mains power, and have USB and midi in/out. You could connect a keyboard via usb or midi ...

Why are you trying to achieve this btw? Is it not easier to use a keyboard with a power supply (or batteries) and midi out?

[thecontrolcentre]

[double post]

[amiga909]

BCR/BCF is an interesting idea.
i dont know if there exists a USB type B to type B USB cable?



the device to connect would be a Launchpad or a APC40
.. yes, it sounds weird: a ableton live controller used without a computer

[thecontrolcentre]

BCR/BCF is an interesting idea.
i dont know if there exists a USB type B to type B USB cable?

The BCF/BCR is designed to be used with or without a computer.

[RiffWraith]

Hi - there is another thread about this:

http://www.soundsonline-forums.com/show ... hp?t=26683

Basically:

You are wanting to send MIDI data from your 1st computer's sequencer to a vst on a 2nd computer, and then the audio from that vst to your 1st computer's sound card - with one USB cable? That correct?

There is currently no way to do this.

Cheers.

[thecontrolcentre]

i might be the only one who wants to use a USB controller without the computer

You are wanting to send MIDI data from your 1st computer's sequencer to a vst on a 2nd computer, and then the audio from that vst to your 1st computer's sound card - with one USB cable? That correct?

[timobrien]

USB devices are, by definition, 'dumb' devices.

You need a brain to use them and they don't, for the most part, work on their own.

I'm sure someone could build a small cheap single-board computer to play 'traffic cop' and pass the signals on, but I've never seen one.

[C00kie]

USB -> MIDI without a computer, is it possible?

Nope, it's not that simple. You'd need a microprocessor to translate USB to Midi.

It's much easier to get a small controller that does have a midi out on 5-pin DIN connector.

The BCF/BCR is designed to be used with or without a computer.

With standard 5-pin midi connectors, while it also has USB.