Minitaur to controller. USB type B to USB type?

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elcalifa
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Minitaur to controller. USB type B to USB type?

Post by elcalifa » Wed Mar 07, 2012 1:50 am

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.

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Voltor07
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Re: Minitaur to controller. USB type B to USB type?

Post by Voltor07 » Wed Mar 07, 2012 1:46 pm

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. :shock: :shock: 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?
Minitaur, CP-251, EHX #1 Echo, EHX Space Drums/Crash Pads, QSC GX-3, Pyramid stereo power amp, Miracle Pianos, Walking Stick ribbon controller, Synthutron.com, 1983 Hammond organ, dot com modular.

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thealien666
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Re: Minitaur to controller. USB type B to USB type?

Post by thealien666 » Wed Mar 07, 2012 2:25 pm

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.
Last edited by thealien666 on Wed Mar 07, 2012 2:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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muksys
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Re: Minitaur to controller. USB type B to USB type?

Post by muksys » Wed Mar 07, 2012 2:38 pm

thealien666 wrote: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 ?

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 have the Oxygen25 and it only has USB. I was unaware when I bought it and pretty bummed when I found it out.

You could just get a USB 2.0 A Female/B Male Adaptor

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thealien666
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Re: Minitaur to controller. USB type B to USB type?

Post by thealien666 » Wed Mar 07, 2012 2:47 pm

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.
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Voltor07
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Re: Minitaur to controller. USB type B to USB type?

Post by Voltor07 » Wed Mar 07, 2012 3:58 pm

muksys wrote:
thealien666 wrote: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 ?

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 have the Oxygen25 and it only has USB. I was unaware when I bought it and pretty bummed when I found it out.

You could just get a USB 2.0 A Female/B Male Adaptor
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. :lol:
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David Smyth
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Re: Minitaur to controller. USB type B to USB type?

Post by David Smyth » Wed Mar 07, 2012 4:24 pm

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! :shock:
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 :evil: - 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..

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David Smyth
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Re: Minitaur to controller. USB type B to USB type?

Post by xombiexplox » Wed Mar 07, 2012 4:31 pm

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muksys
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Re: Minitaur to controller. USB type B to USB type?

Post by muksys » Wed Mar 07, 2012 4:40 pm

xombiexplox wrote:http://www.ehow.com/how_5770966_splice- ... ether.html

Would this work?
:3
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.

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thealien666
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Re: Minitaur to controller. USB type B to USB type?

Post by thealien666 » Wed Mar 07, 2012 4:40 pm

Voltor07 wrote:...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. :lol:
Yeah! Heck, even some of the cheap unknown Chinese brand keyboards from Walmart have DIN MIDI connectors on them! :roll:

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.
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thealien666
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Re: Minitaur to controller. USB type B to USB type?

Post by thealien666 » Wed Mar 07, 2012 4:46 pm

muksys wrote:
xombiexplox wrote:http://www.ehow.com/how_5770966_splice- ... ether.html

Would this work?
:3
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.
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... :wink:
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xombiexplox
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Re: Minitaur to controller. USB type B to USB type?

Post by xombiexplox » Wed Mar 07, 2012 5:01 pm

thealien666 wrote: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... :wink:
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 ? :?
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xombiexplox
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Re: Minitaur to controller. USB type B to USB type?

Post by xombiexplox » Wed Mar 07, 2012 5:04 pm

You know what? This is getting beyond the scope of OP's question, I think I better go look at the USB RFI's hahaha :lol:
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thealien666
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Re: Minitaur to controller. USB type B to USB type?

Post by thealien666 » Wed Mar 07, 2012 5:11 pm

xombiexplox wrote:
thealien666 wrote: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... :wink:
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. :twisted:
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Re: Minitaur to controller. USB type B to USB type?

Post by muksys » Wed Mar 07, 2012 5:50 pm

thealien666 wrote:
muksys wrote:
xombiexplox wrote:http://www.ehow.com/how_5770966_splice- ... ether.html

Would this work?
:3
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.
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... :wink:
well yeah, hence the omitting of E Tape and nothing else. Not my first rodeo :wink:

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