MIDI, what's all the fuss about!?

[samartin]

Forgive the title, I just wanted an attention grabber

Since I've had the KPro for a while, should I invest a little time in getting to understand MIDI?

Are there videos out there describing the benefits of using MIDI?

I've added a poll just in case you have no time to explain the benefits and the likes...

[Mr36]

My opinion is that it can be a very valuable tool but it depends entirely on what you're doing. You can easily make music without knowing that MIDI even exists, however, it can help greatly.
I don't know a lot about it. I'd say just about enough to get me by. I think it depends if you've got to a hurdle you can't get over without using it.

[Scott M2]

MIDI is a rare universal standard language that you and your electronic gear and software can use to communicate with each other.

You don't need to know MIDI to connect machines together but
it's a must to learn if you don't want to work only on the surface.

BTW - It's not too difficult to learn and understand, except for System Exclusive - which you can usually get around using.
(Real-time Sys Ex is useful to know a little about however.)

[curtaineater]

I totally suck at midi. I can only use it for the really basic easy stuff. I seem to get by alright without it.

[iD4rK]

MIDI will destroy your mind.

[bluemind]

Midi is very usefull for a lot of stuff and not that hard to understand. But be warned, you will begin to see everything valued from 0 to 127...

[X-Trade]

MIDI is not really that complicated. Not the bits you actually need to know for day-to-day use. Just that there are number of kinds of different messages, each has a certain set of attributes or parameters. And that the number range 0-127 crops up a lot!

For the Kaoss products though, I don't think MIDI is that important besides for tempo and synchronisation purposes, and that only applies if you are connecting to other gear or a DAW/Sequencer.

[salamanderanagram]

midi will open your mind to great amount of potential locked inside music gear. ever wanted a button to do something else or to use your kpro to trigger external synths or use the pad to control a filter in ableton? all very possible with midi.

if that sounds complicated and unnecessary, by all means, ignore midi. i did for a very long time.

[samartin]

Thanks for the replies all, it sounds like I do need to spend a little time exploring MIDI. I don't have any external sources yet, but hopefully one day I will add some arsenal to the KPro.

I might try getting to grips with Reaper and the KPro tho', should be a starting point anyway.

As for 0-127, no problems there, I'm used to 0-255x4 or 000000-FFFFFFx3 ;o)

cheers

[SMK]

I wish I was more motivated in shooting and posting that youtube video about how i'm using midi w/ that KoPro; this would answer your question very quickly...because seeing is believing.

In general, midi is a cool feature that allows your midi compatible gear to to communicate with other midi compatible gear or your computer. USB midi to your computer has made things a bit easier for your gear to work with your computer. With the KoPro the obvious uses are saving your Pro settings, setting up your gear, editing sounds or what have you thru the computer instead of spending too much time going thru sub menu after sub menu on the gear it self to edit changes.

The next part is dealing with midi time clock; if all of your gear is connected (properly) then your gear is in time and in sync with the beat. Lastly it is about control. You can use one piece of equipment to control the other via midi either thru your hands manually or via a sequencing pattern triggered by gear you have that is or has a sequencer. This can be done thru control change (CC), midi note and for program selection (like bank or patch), program change.

Korg has used in the past (and hopefully does not use it anymore) non-registered parameter number or NRPN. Electribe users got frakked on this one, since it has been a very popular protocol for Kor Electribes.

What NRPN really means to the general midi user is that they have to learn some other protocal for something as simple as having the XY coordinates on the KP3 control the effect 1 and effect 2 on the electribe ES-1. Should have been very easy to due via CC but someone in Korg Japan had other ideas I guess...not quite sure what they were. Now there are some (but very quiet) users out here in the forum that actually know how to use NRPN.

So there is our basics for what's great about midi.

[SMK]

Since I've had the KPro for a while, should I invest a little time in getting to understand MIDI?

To get back to the root of your question, I posted an experimental idea of how to take advantage of midi using the KP3 to "unlock" a feature in the KoPro.

It is my firm belief that the KoPro was strictly designed to work with the KP3. I have been doing more and more experiments to come up with the best and most useful way the KP3 enhances the experience of using the KoPro.

One of these days soon I plan to post a tube video illustrating this.

In the mean time, what you want to invest in is a KP3 (if you don't already have one) 2 midi cables and some time to try different things connecting the 2 together.

Use the editing software of both to set different midi filters in and what will one device do to the other.

Oh yeah, you will notice that there is a difference between GLOBAL and EXTERNAL control. GLOBAL makes your KP3 control and operate functions on the pro while still performs it's duties as a effect sampler while EXTERNAL shuts down all that good stuff leaving you with a straight up midi controller with no effects or sampling capability.

The work I have been doing is in GLOBAL and I recommend starting with that first.

[salamanderanagram]

dude if you can program, (can't imagine why you'd be speaking hex otherwise...) then midi is well within your grasp. you should learn it.

[SMK]

dude if you can program, (can't imagine why you'd be speaking hex otherwise...) then midi is well within your grasp. you should learn it.

Hey salamanderanagram, you got a very good grasp of midi. Do you under stand the use of Korgs NRPN protocol. I've "shat" on that so many time because to me what every Korg has ever designated as NRPN should have been CC. I didn't feel like learning someone else's new rules. Simply enough do you know how to connect a KP3 to an electribe ES-1 or ES-x to control it's effect perimeters?

[salamanderanagram]

oohhh.... not off the top of my head.

i have an ER-1 and i think the ES has similar midi implementation. i was fiddling around with it lately because i wanted to write a patch that would generate random drum sounds via midi and record a huge electribe sample pack. cool idea, huh? or at least i thought so.. i got irritated with the midi on the ER before finishing though.

from what i remember though, the kp3 and ER-1 have entirely different values on which they transmit, so to connect them you'd have to write a patch in reaktor, processing, bomes or whatever you're most comfortable with.

if you have reaktor i could probably whip something up for you, i think my days of hardcoding that s**t in real programming languages is over (need some time left to make music!)

[salamanderanagram]

btw i totally concur about using CC vs NRPN.... wtf?