Which Midi Thru Solution for all Volcas ?

Stubenhocker · Post by **Stubenhocker** » Sat Sep 09, 2017 10:00 am

Soon I will own all Volcas. So there will be 6.

I want to control all with a Arturia Keystep or Beat Step Pro.

A nice solution is the Kenton Splitter but it offers only 5 Midi Thru Ports.
https://www.thomann.de/de/kenton_midi_thru_5.htm

Now I am searching an alternative with more than 5 Midi Thru Ports.
The gear should have the same qualitiy like the Kenton and should be not too expensive.

When I am thinking of adding more Synths in the future how can I handle that?

Or is it possible to get 2 Kenton 5 Midi Thru Boxes and somehow connect 10 Midi Synth?

Or should I buy directly a more powerful gear like this?
https://www.thomann.de/de/kenton_midi_thru_25.htm

Does anybody have some experience and can give me an advice for a solution that is not so expensive?

Thanks for any suggestions...

megamarkd · Post by **megamarkd** » Sat Sep 09, 2017 11:00 am

Kentons are good. I have a Merge4 and it does what it says very well. You can use two THRU5's to address nine MIDI devices, not ten, only because one of the outputs on the first will need to be sent to the second. A THRU25 will mean you can expand far beyond two THRU5's but I find that I rarely send the same MIDI stream to more than five devices. That said, I have three MIDI patchbays/routers, a MERGE4, a Phillip Rees V3 and several Novation controllers with a THRU and two output which can also act as THRU ports, making a total of 31 input ports and 46 output ports for MIDI routing and am probably going to get another 8x8 patchbay/router as soon as I do this month's invoicing.

As far as the sequencer is concerned, I have both of the ones you mentioned and as much as the BSP is one of the two sequencing hearts of my setup, I'd recommend you get the Keystep only because all of the Volcas include an on-board sequencer, so you really only need a time source for them all to sync to and the Keystep sends MIDI clock when stopped whereas the BSP doesn't. What that means is if you only want to program a sequence on one of your Volcas without running a sequence to it, it will run when you press it's play button regardless of if the Keystep is running or not. With the BSP, if you want to do the same, you will need to hit play on the BSP so it sends a clock out, but that will also start every single Volca, which can be rather annoying sometimes.

Stubenhocker · Post by **Stubenhocker** » Sat Sep 09, 2017 11:20 am

Thank you for your fast and professional support!!!

MeneerJansen · Post by **MeneerJansen** » Sat Sep 09, 2017 12:59 pm

megamarkd wrote: As far as the sequencer is concerned [...] the Keystep sends MIDI clock when stopped whereas the BSP doesn't.

Woooooooot?! Is that a bug or a feature? Thanks for that piece of info man. Never would't have guessed that or searched for that info before buying.

mesoboy · Post by **mesoboy** » Sat Sep 09, 2017 3:06 pm

https://www.retrokits.com/rk-004/

Stubenhocker · Post by **Stubenhocker** » Sat Sep 09, 2017 3:17 pm

mesoboy wrote:https://www.retrokits.com/rk-004/

Not uninteresting

Thanks a lot for the link.

djenzyme · Post by **djenzyme** » Sat Sep 09, 2017 5:51 pm

A bit more pricey but well built and efficient:

http://ericasynths.lv/en/shop/standalon ... -thru-box/

jeftones · Post by **jeftones** » Sun Sep 10, 2017 8:16 pm

Imo the five through should be good unless you are using that retrokits midi cable or a specifically mapped beat step pro for the volca sample. Basically five midi thru would go to the beats, kick, key, bass, fm and then run a sync signal to the sample because the sample handles midi weird.

megamarkd · Post by **megamarkd** » Mon Sep 11, 2017 6:57 am

MeneerJansen wrote:
megamarkd wrote: As far as the sequencer is concerned [...] the Keystep sends MIDI clock when stopped whereas the BSP doesn't.
Woooooooot?! Is that a bug or a feature? Thanks for that piece of info man. Never would't have guessed that or searched for that info before buying.

Well I'd call it a regular function, as I expect a sequencer to send MIDI clock when stopped, though it can cause an issue when running multiple sequencers as the clock data will add up when merged and leave you with some break-neck tempo speed at the end of the chain. The BSP not sending MIDI clock when stopped is okay if it is your master, as you are controlling everything after it with it but in a multi-sequencer setup, you will need some sort of MIDI clock repeater or a way to split-off master MIDI clock (a splitter/THRU box) before the BSP, send it around the BSP and then merge the split with the output of the BSP using something that can select one MIDI clock input and ignore the others (such as a Kenton Merge4 or an Orange Crush when the are available again) for anything you want to run independent of the BSP that is sitting after it.