MIDEX 8 victim looking for new 8 way MIDI box.

[Neutron]

Well it looks like my MIDEX-8 is finally going to have to go. It was a really good interface, timing wise, although that bit only worked in cubase.
Is there any decent MIDI 5,6,7 or 8 way interfaces left? I would prefer USB2

I am looking at MOTU MIDI Express 128, but i think it is only USB1.1

[Neutron]

Well i ordered a single cakewalk/roland (previously called edirol) UM-3G which can be expanded without additional USB BS to 9 ports, and people who complain about MOTU etc driver problems with win7 seem to always go back to the good old edirol. (and i had $50 amazon credit so it was pretty cheap:) ) if it works well i will probably get a second one and bring it up to 6 in/out along with other associated USB crap i have which happens to have a MIDI out it ought to be enough.

[dawman]

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid ... Categories#

http://cgi.ebay.com/Digital-Music-Corpo ... ltDomain_0

I have both of these units and dumped my 8 x 8 MIDISport USB to have the old style units.
I can always use USB power on a disabled USB port with any controller, and then keep the MIDI as MIDI. Never get stuck notes, but even if I did the hardware panic buttons can be attached to a switch, and Scope stays happy.

[Neutron]

lol i had that digital music one, its in bits now, nice bunch of parts for $20 on ebay but the screen did not work, and it was not a standard part.

[dante]

Midex8 + no 64 bit drivers = me stay on Win32

[Mr Arkadin]

I have a Midex3 plus Akai ME80P and Roland A-880 MIDI patchbays. The 880 I bought recently in case my ME80P dies. Not many hardware manufacturers seem to make these kind of devices much anymore. Used to love the Phil Rees MIDI devices too.

[t_tangent]

If you can find an Edirol UM-880 I can recommend them, and I know several of our fellow forum members vouch for them too. Unfortunately they are not easy to find but they do appear for sale every now and then. I got mine on ebay a couple of years back. Roland has even released Win 7 32bit and 64bit drivers which is very handy.

http://www.roland.com/products/en/_supp ... UCT=UM-880

If I see one going for sale I will let you know.

Cheers

t_t

[Neutron]

That Edirol looks good, I have saved a search on ebay.
Is the roland A880 basically the same thing but black?

[t_tangent]

Just had a quick look at the A880, and they do look quite similar. The first noticable difference I saw was the extra front panel USB connectors and a button to allow switching between the front or rear connections. This is handy when I have the laptop in the studio when I want to change and control midi outboard from that. But yes the UM-880 does seem to be basically an updated version of the A880. Download the manual for both and do a comparison.

Also worth considering is the UM-550 if you can get away with 5 I/O rather than the 8.

Cheers

t_t

[at0m]

That Edirol looks good, I have saved a search on eBay.
Is the Roland A880 basically the same thing but black?

I've used an A-880 for some years, and it's a standalone MIDI patchbay, it has no USB connection. So if you're only looking into multiplexing and routing, it could suffice. The Edirol (also Roland?) ports can directly be addressed from the 'puter, the A-880's only through a MIDI input. You can save routing presets, control the unit from a set port - here's the Full Monty.

[Neutron]

Thanks atom, I will just use the 3 Port edirol/cakewalk I ordered from amazon untill i find a UM-880.
Its nice to know they make 64 bit win7 drivers for the old stuff, probably because the new stuff is pretty much the same thing so its easy for them.

[valis]

In my experience MOTU's drivers for their USB midi interfaces with the NEWER generation firmware (anything sold in the last several years has it) have been fine.

M-audio finally got around to releasing 64bit drivers for my 1st gen Midisport 4x4, but I don't trust it as much as the MOTU in terms of timing/heavy data due to past issues with M-audio (on both OSX & Vista/Win7).

I've debated Edirol or ESI midi interfaces but am holding out for another Motu MicroExpress because I like being able to handle routing & clock distribution from within the interface/control applet.

[irrelevance]

Midex8 + no 64 bit drivers = me stay on Win32

me too. xp is the shizz afaic. midex is still handling it's bizz...as long as I avoid heavy sysex dumps