Looking for a switchable midi patchby

I have an A-500PRO controller and want to be able to access a choice of hardware soundbanks (Sonic Cell, Korg) without midi chaining.
I'm not looking for a midi interface as such - I am happy with my Focusrite Saffire - all I want to do is use my single controller to access sounds from one of two or three hardware sources at will without recabling.
If I could merge/layer selections from more than one bank at a time, so much the better, but not a requirement.
Can anyone recommend a suitable piece of kit for my needs.
I have heard of the Edirol UM-550 - would that be a good example?

Jeff Evans

...you are right in not wanting to daisy chain midi devices.

I have 2 midi keyboards daisychained.  I would be interested to know why this is a bad thing.

Jeff Evans

Hi Kev well it has been said there may be an issue with the first device passing the midi signal on to the second may introduce tiny delays etc. I think in your case with just two devices it is not an issue at all really. If it were 10 or so then it might be a different story. A thru box is a much better way to feed a large number of devices.

The other reason is when you daisy chain, the midi lead feeding the last device in the chain is getting longer and longer and with midi it is best to use short leads where possible. If it were 10 devices all daisy chained then the total midi cable length might exceed the acceptable limit for no errors etc..

Also you have to power up the first device in order for the second to work usually and you may not be using the first device either. Save power!

Thanks for the clarification.

One of my keyboards sits behind me and its connecting cable goes around the edge of the room.  I had to decide between a long midi cable (8 metres) or a long USB cable (6 metres).  Midi seemed like the better option.  I considered adding a midi adapter, but it seems to work fine daisychained, so I am sticking with this setup for now.

Kev999

Jeff Evans

Hi Kev well it has been said there may be an issue with the first device passing the midi signal on to the second may introduce tiny delays etc. I think in your case with just two devices it is not an issue at all really. If it were 10 or so then it might be a different story. A thru box is a much better way to feed a large number of devices.

The other reason is when you daisy chain, the midi lead feeding the last device in the chain is getting longer and longer and with midi it is best to use short leads where possible. If it were 10 devices all daisy chained then the total midi cable length might exceed the acceptable limit for no errors etc..

Also you have to power up the first device in order for the second to work usually and you may not be using the first device either. Save power!

Thanks for the clarification.

One of my keyboards sits behind me and its connecting cable goes around the edge of the room.  I had to decide between a long midi cable (8 metres) or a long USB cable (6 metres).  Midi seemed like the better option.  I considered adding a midi adapter, but it seems to work fine daisychained, so I am sticking with this setup for now.

Kevin,
I'm a bit vague about midi anyway, but I would think that there may be different concerns if you want multiple controllers rather than a single controller with multiple sound modules.

MOTU MIDI Express XT USB is an 8X8 midi patchbay.

Rbh


My favorite is the Kawai MAV-8 midi patcher : if you can find one used. Completely manual switching with instant visual feedback of all settings and midi buffers. The best I've ever used.

Thanks Rbh.
I think this would be OTT for my current purposes and I'm not planning to expand this area of my studio.
I would have liked the UM-550 but I found a simple midi-powered one-in two-out router with all kinds of options that should do the trick - http://www.midisolutions.com/prodrte.htm
 
Thanks to all.

Another good box you can find cheap is the YAmaha YMM2.

I had the Roland A 880 and it was cool because it had it's own MIDI receive channel therefore would switch routing by sending PG to that channel. It also had CC filters and all sorts of stuff. But a nightmare to program. 
What it did not do was filter MIDI clock so I had to buy a Yamaha YMM2. The Yamaha  has 1 out and 2x thru so can handle 5 hardware synths. As said passing thru more than one synth and your going to have latency.
But having the 2 inputs filter out MIDI clock used to allow me to input MIDI while the multi track sent clock to my Atari. Totaly redundant now so I think I'll put it on Ebay fo a few bucks. 

 

Sort cables are a good idea, but nothing to do with latency. read on.
This text is from a long time ago.


http://www.sweetwater.com/expert-center/techtips/d--06/28/2000
MIDI cable length versus reliability and latency
06/28/2000

Though there are a few who will quibble with this statement, your inSync editor says that MIDI cable length does not contribute noticeably to MIDI latency. Or, at least no one has been able to prove it does. MIDI cable length does, however, affect the quality of the MIDI signal, and in that way can have a bottom line effect on the reliability of your MIDI system. These reliability problems can manifest themselves in ways that may appear to be latency, but are not. MIDI is an unbalanced audio signal so cable length and quality has the same implications as unbalanced audio lines: shorter and higher quality are better. 20 feet is a very safe and conservative limit for MIDI cable length. Runs of 50 feet or more are possible with high quality cable. If you are having reliability problems (dropped or stuck notes, things falling out of sync, erratic controller operation) you need to check your cables, and their environment. Environment in this context means to look at what your cables are near. If they are running next to sources of interference they may not work as reliably. Treat MIDI cables no different than audio cables.