Going Wireless with the Linnstrument

[ericlmercer]

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Hey everyone. A wireless linnstrument can be realized for around $75 + a short 'trip' to Amazon.

The hack involves a BTLE MIDI adapter from Yamaha, a 5v USB battery & a short USB host cable. The 10,000 mAh battery I chose to powered my linnstrument & adapter for around 24 hours and the range was 15-25 feet.

Yamaha's product page : http://usa.yamaha.com/products/music-pr ... i/ud-bt01/ (http://usa.yamaha.com/products/music-production/accessories/usb-midi/ud-bt01/)
Yamaha's product video : https://youtu.be/9NUTuOi1_Ec

Yamaha offers two very good models of MIDI wireless adapters. One is a standard MIDI port md-bt01 and the other is a USB connected ud-bt01. Take your pick, you need only one or the other, either works well on the linnstrument, I tested them both. Either can be purchased for around $50 on Amazon.

The md-bt01 http://a.co/3c74XJv (http://a.co/3c74XJv) connects to the two MIDI ports on the linnstrument. Add a common phone charging 5v battery and cable to plug into the host port on the linnstrument. Be sure Global Settings in the linnstrument is set to output on the midijacks. I also switched to low power mode.

I found the ud-bt01 http://a.co/g8oRZjF (http://a.co/g8oRZjF) more elegant to install & use. It has one male USB port that plugs directly into the 5v battery's http://a.co/9T4TUvC (http://a.co/9T4TUvC) USB port. Use a short USB host cable http://a.co/h4UOFWc (http://a.co/h4UOFWc) to connect the remaining ud-bt01's female jack to the linnstrument' host jack. Be sure your linnstrument's Global Settings is set to use the USB port for MIDI. I also put the linnstrument in low-power mode.

I use a Mac running Sierra, Logic Pro X & Roger Linn's presets for Logic Pro http://www.rogerlinndesign.com/assets/l ... -10-16.zip (http://www.rogerlinndesign.com/assets/linnstrument-logic-sounds-2-10-16.zip). Yamaha has Mac setup instructions for the md-bt01 here : https://www.yamahasynth.com/resources/m ... for-mac-os (https://www.yamahasynth.com/resources/md-ud-bt01-for-mac-os) which also works for the ud-bt01.

If you're not used to using Bluetooth Low Energy devices yet, it may take a little trial & error. I noticed the latency varied greatly at first each time I connected. Restarting the Mac helped pull the delay to a very quick, very playable latency.

This setup works extremely well with a guitar strap, latency is extremely low & not an issue for quick playability or nuanced vibrato and the battery I used lasted an entire 24 hrs. Working properly, I can't tell the difference between this hack and a direct hard-wired USB connection to the Mac.

I ordered a different battery & cable than the links I provided above as I'm in Europe. I used 3M Dual Lock Velcro http://a.co/fqnk7BR (http://a.co/fqnk7BR) to fasten the battery & secure the ud-bt01 underneith the linnstrument. Everything can be removed in a few seconds. Here's a photo of my set-up :



I'm sure all this could possibly be put into the interior of the linnstrument where it would be best suited & appreciated (as in the Roli Seaboard, for example). Wireless Bluetooth seems like a natural fit for the linnstrument. Who knows?, Roger Linn might even offer a wireless Linnstrument someday in the future.

[wergythu]

Hi,

If it's of any interest I found another way to do this - it's pricier but I plan to rely on it for live performance (I have concerns about using bluetooth live due to jitter and general flakiness I've experienced in the past).

The basic setup is to use a USB battery pack to power a Raspberry Pi that is set up as a MIDI host, and plug the Linnstrument and a MidiJet Pro transceiver into the USB ports on the RPi, then another Transceiver into my computer.

The RPi is setup to power the devices via USB and route midi between the Linnstrument and transceiver. A lot of big names use MidiJet Pro on stage, and overall latency is very low and stable (<5ms). The other piece of the puzzle is a small python script on the RPi to monitor for any device changes and ensure the mappings between them get reset appropriately. This setup will work with any platform (Mac/Windows/Linux/iOS, Android, hardware synths, etc) that can send and receive MIDI.

One additional feature of this setup is you can add more MIDI devices easily - I've already added a TEControl breath controller and it works seamlessly as long as it has a dedicated MIDI channel so it doesn't conflict with the Linnstrument. (MPE seems to work fine as well FTR.)

Cheers!

[whannel]

Anyone know if Image-Line Remote can be used more cheaply to control FL Studio then convert/route the MIDI to any other port?

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... e.ILRemote

[alexlimbert]

Nice. Thanks for posting!

[SneakyT]

This is cool. Ordered the midi one for my EWI. It has its own battery so it's a simple solution. Hopefully it will work in live environments. Once I see how it works I may do the usb one for my Linnstrument. Thanks for the heads up.

[SneakyT]

Got mine in and unfortunately my Macs were both just out of the compatible range. Your mac needs to have Bluetooth LE. After a bit of research I found that there are some USB dongles that you can use with older machines. The Asus BT400 and IOGEAR GBU521 both are said to work. I have the Asus on the way ($13 on Amazon).

Through my research I also stumbled across another wireless midi option that uses AA batteries.
https://www.zivix.co/puc
I haven't tried it but it might be a good option for those wanting the option of changing batteries at the gig.

[SneakyT]

The Asus adapter was plug and play on my 2011 laptop. My 2009 iMac was not so easy. Multiple attempts and a download of of Bluetooh explorer later I have it up and working. Not simple so get it working.