Can this happen? The minitaur usb is type be and my m-audio controller’s usb is also type b. Not easily finding USB type to USB type b cables so I am thinking its a no.
Will I have to be a controller with standard midi to control a minitaur without including a comp in between.
Sorry if this is a n00b question. I am not new to analog but I am new to midi.
Sadly, type B to type B cables are not only hard to find, but insanely expensive if you DO find one. Never seen one myself, but my buddy claims to have seen one on E-bay for $200. Yes, you will either have to use your controller through the computer to the Minitaur, or try to find an old MIDI controller with DIN connectors. If you decide to go that route, might I suggest Yamaha, Realistic/Casio/RadioShack brands?
I’m really surprised to learn that a MIDI keyboard controller doesn’t have a standard MIDI DIN connector and only USB ??? What model is it from m-audio ?
**Edit:**after a little research on the subject, I’ve found several models from that company that don’t have the standard 5 pin DIN MIDI connector. Not only that, but the USB is not even the standard “a” type. This is really stupid. They saved $2 on a DIN connector. Real useless pos, in my humble opinion. Any decent MIDI keyboard controller will have a DIN connector in order to connect to ANY other MIDI equipped instrument, especially old ones. Heck, even the brand new Moog Minitaur has a 5 pin DIN connector !
You could always build yourself a USB cable “type b” to “type b”, out of two printer cables… which are “type a” at one end and “type b” at the other. Those are cheap and easily found.
I’ve always found very stupid the fact that USB, which is supposed to be a standard, uses no less than 6 different connector types ! I could understand about the type “mini-a” because it is physically smaller to fit on very small portable devices, but why 3 other mini types too ? (mini-b, micro-a, micro-b)
This is especially stupid, since they all carry the same digital information on the same 4 wires.
So many manufacturers of MIDI controllers are going the way of USB rather than DIN/USB. It isn’t just M-Audio. If you don’t believe me, try to find a brand new cheap Yamaha with DIN connectors. When you find one, let me know. When I realized I was going to need a MIDI keyboard I bought an old Miracle Piano controller for the Miracle Piano Learning System. It was $50 (after shipping) well spent.
I remember having this problem when my Little Phatty was away (getting the pitchwheel calibrated and the CV output mod) and I brought a new Slim Phatty.
I got home all excited to be able to play a Moog again (the LP was away for ages), and grabbed my flatmate’s midi controller, only to discover it didn’t do standard DIN midi!
I spent the next few hours frantically searching through my computer cables for the infamous USB Type B - USB Type B cable, but it didn’t exist - I couldn’t even find one online!
In the end I just borrowed another midi controller from someone else..
I think the controller model was the M-Audio KeyRig 49 - I agree it’s frustrating to not include Midi DIN connectors on a “MIDI CONTROLLER”! I also agree that the amount of connector types for USB unnecessarily complicates things..
Yes, this would totally work but would probably not last very long. Those wires are very small. Trying to wrap electrical tape around them is a nightmare. Best bet is to replace all mentions of electrical tape with solder.
Yeah! Heck, even some of the cheap unknown Chinese brand keyboards from Walmart have DIN MIDI connectors on them!
I understand about modernizing the way MIDI is used, especially with computers not needing an external MIDI interface anymore by using USB, but not to the point of not being retro-compatible with any other MIDI equipment!
After all, MIDI is a more than 30 years old universally accepted standard, and there must be millions of MIDI devices still being used that don’t have USB.
And like I said before; all that to save $2 on a female 5 pins DIN connector ? Completely ridiculous.
Yes. But not forgetting to isolate each soldered wire from each other. AND be careful not to mix up those wires, and make sure each one corresponds to the same one at each end of the cable…
If it’s anything like an RJ45 cable, would you have to switch two of the cables on the either side? I don’t remember exactly, but I’m pretty sure for some cables I had to switch a Tx and an Rx ?
USB is straightforward. Not like some RJ45 networking cables. More like telephone cables. Pin 1 to pin 1, pin 2 to pin2, etc…
If I was stuck with two devices having both a type b USB female connector, I would surely build myself a type-b to type-b male connectors USB cable, out of two USB printer cables, by splicing them together.
Walmart mostly sells NOS electronics that are out of date anyway. Case in point, my dad buys his calculator watches there because no one else sells the old add subtract multiply divide watches anymore. It’s important to know that once those DIN-loaded keyoards are gone, they’ll probably never be back.
I’m okay. I’ve got at least 4 such keyboards that I can use as controllers… Ensoniq SQ80, Korg DW8000, Alesis Ion, and Roland PC200-MKII portable MIDI controller. But none of them have USB though…
But fortunately, respectable companies like Moog Music still go the extra mile to include such antiquated DIN connectors on their devices.
This wont work. USB requires a controller and a device. Which will be which in this setup? I don’t think the Minitaur has the ability to control other devices. FireWire is capable of device to device networks because each device has its own CPU, while USB uses a single master controller.