Looking for MIDI hub-type thing..

How many midi devices do you need to connect? You may need something like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Mo...mp;hash=item43a10da471

Although midi can cope with 16 channels down one port, and one way to go is to get a single midi interface and use thru boxes to feed your modules. But the interface above is better because if you use all 8 ports then you will have great timing on each port. So even if you have 16 devices there will only be two midi channels going down each port.

Or this:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/EM...mp;hash=item5196290deb

Although it says it is a USB Interface Unitor 8 is not. (AMT 8 is USB ) Unitor 8 uses the serial port and works great.

I use a M-Audio Midisport 4x4 which has 4 INs and 4 OUTs.  It's actually an older one with the midiman name on it (midiman was bought by M-Audio some years ago).

With a multi-port device, you get the full 16 midi channels on each port.  If I'm not mistaken, using the "thru" approach means you have to share the 16 channels among all the devices in the chain.

-- Larry

What johnnyV is saying is that midi devices can be daisy chained without the need for a proper thru box. But latency issues can arise. The Roland 880 patcher is a great patcher and is ideal for connecting up multiple midi hardware devices. Yamaha make a nice one too. (MJC 8) But these units have a number of inputs and outputs and work in a matrix switching arrangement. These do not connect to a computer. You will still need an interface like Unitor 8 or the MOTU. The Unitor 8 drivers were fine on Win XP and I am sure they would be OK on Win 7 as well.  Same as the MOTU drivers.

But combine a midi interface and a patcher(s) and some THRU boxes and you have a powerful midi setup with minimum latency.

Unitor 8 with Logic involves AMT (Active Midi Transmission) When a lot midi data on a lot of midi channels is being sent, it adjusts and advances some channels and delays others to give the best outcome. Improved midi timing slop by 10 times. Bringing it down to .1 ms for latency.

If you have 8 midi devices, put them on all the 8 midi ports you have on the computer midi interface. Each synth will only be on an a 1 ms latency which is pretty good. The timing between all the ports is tight. For every synth above number 8 you will need a proper eg 1 IN 2 OUT midi thru box to send that port out to more than one midi connected device. They maintain good timing latency and is the better way compared to daisy chaining.

With care you can get all your midi devices on line to your computer and all with great timing. Even 16 instruments only represents roughly a 2 ms timing delay (midi is serial and transmits its packets serially) with each of those instruments. There is also the timing of when your hardware synth receives its midi info and makes a sound. That can be quite high in some models. But it is easily adjusted for by advancing the timing of any midi tracks which is so easy to do in Sonar for example. You have to feel these tracks out by soloing them and listening to how they reference to the metronome.

On a single midi port if you have got 8 synthesisers connected (on a say 1 In 8 OUT Midi THRU mox) and you want all 8 of them to sound on the same note, due to the nature of midi being serial, one of the synths is going to be 8 ms late which can be noticeable. Although it is still pretty tight in reality. But that would also mean 8 synthesisers connected to each port would mean 64 hardware synths playing back at once and that is something to listen to. 8 Midi ports represents 128 polyphonic layers of music which is also a lot. And that is what midi can mean to us.

Modern multitimbral instruments come into their own in midi hardware setups producing 16 layers of music taking up a whole midi port. Put your best multi timbral machines on their own dedicated midi ports. Some samplers like EMU/Kurzweil/Yamaha etc can EQ and pan and effect every layer/midi channel etc producing killer stereo stems.

But for me what really works is limiting the total number of midi hardware devices you want to address to 8. Then you don't need any THRU boxes or patchers. You only need one computer interface. You get the best timing on every port. I have only got 6 multitimbral devices and the other two are for a digital mixer and a second DAW. 6 ports represents 96 layers of music! You just need 6 great instruments. And that is all just before you turn any virtual instruments and go from there. The 8 input ports also means you can receive midi signals from up to 8 different sources. Unitor 8 also comes with clever stand alone software and can do some fancy midi patching as well. It also reads and writes SMPTE timecode which can be handy on ocassions. It will lock your DAW to an analog tape machine for example.

The best I found... completely passive with a buffer is the Kawai MAV-8. I don't know if it's even available anywhere. Its' laid out as 4 in  and 8 outs...all completely manual switching, no processing. Been plugged in for about 15 years straight. Inexpensive.

Just found a link : looks like it might still be available:

http://www.kawai.de/mav8_en.htm

Only question regarding passive multiple MIDI is I was told back in 1985 that MIDI runs on 5 volts and combining the outputs of several keyboard will damage the receiving device. Might be newer gear is buffered now, but I'd be careful with that iron Eugene....