I need to add an extra midi port to my set up. There appear to be quite a number of different cables that will convert midi to usb ranging from £35 From Roland £25 Shop Own Brand £7 Very Generic. Is there any difference? Am I just paying for the badge (Other than the in/out functionality, which I don’t really need)?
go for the cheapo one there is no difference , I have a cheapo straight through cable as a spare in my laptop bag just in case I forget something and it works a treat , no drivers required just plug and play
there are loads of possibilities with midi but in it’s basic form if you want something more reliable go for MOTU.com - FastLane USB Overview
take my advice and don’t even bother with Maudio midi sport ,not the best drivers on the planet .
Or another option if your only looking to run 16 midi channels is something like a Philip rees v series MIDI thru boxes from Phil Rees which are very good ive been running the powered version v10 since 1994 that’s how good they are .
When you start actually getting into midi interfaces do your research on drivers for future proofing but for the basic extra port a cheapo will do
MIDI interface technology is very simple indeed, and therefore I would buy the cheapest one.
For a £7 cable you could buy 3 for the £21, or a stack of 5 for the more expensive £35 which, IF you had a problem, would give you backups, and you could possibly expand even further as needed.
Thanks for all the replies. I don’t anticipate my midi needs increasing a great deal beyond 2 ports for some time yet. Cable length is something I hadn’t thought about so thanks Strophold for that tip. On the. Advice from all the cheapskates who haven’t had any problems, I’ll think I’ll go generic and cheap. I’ll let you know if I have any issues.