Linnstrument with iPad 2 & iConnectMIDI2+

[rlauriston]

I'm trying to control Animoog with the LinnStrument. I've got it set up like this:

- iConnectMIDI2+ Device port 1 connected to iPad
- iConnectMIDI2+ Device port connected to powered USB hub
- LinnStrument USB port connected to powered USB hub
- LinnStrument MIDI out connected to iConnectMIDI2+ MIDI in

I followed the Animoog instructions on http://www.rogerlinndesign.com/ls-recom ... ounds.html :

... set Input Channel to MPE, Pitch Bend Range to 24, and turn off Load From Preset. Then set LinnStrument to MPE mode by holding Per-Split Settings > Midi Mode column > ChPerNote. (It will turn blue.)

The light did turn blue.

Animoog does not respond to the LinnStrument.

I have no other controllers with MIDI ports I could swap in for the LinnStrument.

iOS version 9.3.5. Current versions of Animoog and iConfig.

[BobDog]

Have you got the Linnstrument setup to send over MIDI JACKS?

If that isn't the problem then it could be the routing setup in the iConnectMIDI2+ that is wrong?

[rlauriston]

I tried both USB and MIDI settings on the LinnStrument.

I'm following up with iConnectivity support.

This stuff is so flaky. I was thinking I'd buy a more sophisticated MIDI / audio interface for the iPad, but it doesn't seem like anything is very USB-focused. The iConnectMIDI4+ has the most USB jacks I could find in an iPad interface, and it's pretty limited:

front 1: type B with 2.1 amps
front 2: type B with 1.0 amps
rear: type B with no power
rear: type A with no power that support class-compliant devices only

What I'd really like would be an interface with four or more type A jacks, all with 2.1 amps, so I could connect four or more contemporary USB-powered controllers. I'd think a lot of DJ types would want something like that. What I see instead are interfaces with lots of MIDI DIN jacks.

[rlauriston]

MIDI Wrench shows that the iPad is getting the data from the LinnStrument, but Animoog does not seem to be getting it, even though I've selected the correct DIN in its MIDI settings. I tried all the other MIDI In options and none of them work either.

iConnectivity is blaming Animoog.

[John the Savage]

Animoog works fine with my LinnStrument using the iConnectAudio4+, so my guess is that the problem is in your settings somewhere (either in iConfig, Animoog, or the LinnStrument itself), rather than it being a failure of any one given component per se. Your setup is a little convoluted to be honest. The first thing I would try is to eliminate the MIDI2+ and the USB hub altogether, and connect the LinnStrument directly to the iPad using an Apple CCK, just to confirm that Animoog is listening. If that works then I would reintroduce the MIDI2+, but leave the USB hub out, and power the LinnStrument from an autonomous power supply instead; then simplify your iConfig MIDI port mappings by eliminating every connection on the grid except the one you figure you actually need. Etc. If that works, only then would I bring the USB hub back into the equation (which I assume you're only using to supply power to the LinnStrument, because it wouldn't be need for MIDI in this particular scenario).

If all that fails, read over my advice in the following thread, see if anything clicks:

viewtopic.php?f=263&t=511212

Cheers!

[rlauriston]

I have a LinnStrument 128, so there's no power jack.

I have an iPad 2. The iConnectMIDI2+ came with a 30-pin iPad to USB type B cable.

If I use that cable to connect the LinnStrument's single USB port directly to the iPad, the LinnStrument has no power.

I have an adapter with a 30-pin iPad plug, USB type A plug, and USB type A jack. If I connect the LinnStrument to the USB jack and a USB charger to the USB plug, the LinnStrument gets power, but it does not appear among the MIDI inputs for Animoog or other synths, and MIDI wrench sees no data. (USB is selected as the output for the LinnStrument.)

[Roger_Linn]

You can give the LinnStrument separate power and data by using a USB Y cable as described on the LinnStrument Hooking It Up page. That way LinnStrument won’t be dependent on your iPad for power. By the way, there’s no way to run LinnStrument from a 30-pin iPad anyway because it supplies only very little power.

[rlauriston]

Could I connect both the LinnStrument and the iPad (using a cable like this) to a powered USB hub?

[Roger_Linn]

Your link points to a missing page. The answers depends what you mean by connect. If you mean connecting for power, you need to insure that your hub provides adequate power and if you ever find LinnStrument's lights blinking, the hub isn't providing adequate power, which is not uncommon with low-cost USB hubs. That's why I recommend not using a USB hub. The solution I suggested gives you direct reliable power to LinnStrument and direct reliable data from iPad to LinnStrument and costs only $12.

[rlauriston]

Sorry, typo in the link: this cable

I power the LinnStrument from that USB hub and it seems to work fine with my MacBook.

[Roger_Linn]

I have no idea because I've never used that product. But I don't understand why you would consider it because it doesn't have the USB B (square) connector that LinnStrument needs, which means that it isn't internally providing the necessary USB peripheral signals. And a 30-pin iPad will certainly never power a LinnStrument. If you want to learn about recommended solutions for connecting, please read the Hooking It Up page.

[rlauriston]

That's the cable I could use to connect my iPad 2 to the powered USB hub that I've been using successfully to connect my LinnStrument to my Mac.

LinnStrument <-- USB type B to USB type A cable --> USB hub <-- USB type A to iPad 30-pin cable --> iPad

I never had any illusion that I could connect the iPad and LinnStrument directly. The Hooking It Up page covers only iPad 4 and later that have Lighting ports.