stealth serial port for g4 mdd

[dev]

Good day everyone

i'm searching for stealth serial port for g4 mdd

[supernova777]

not sure of where u are located u might wnat to include that info..
i think beaconsfield electronics near montreal canada might have a few..

remember that u can also use a few other products
such as keyspan SX pro card, or keyspan usa-28x usb to serial port adapter
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MACINTOSH-Keyspan-USA-28XG-USB-Twin-Serial-Adapter-for-Older-OSX-Macs-/201335348262?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2ee0859c26

the upside of those is that they will provide u with both "printer + modem ports"

[dev]

Thank you! UK is ok for me.

Is that ok with opcode studio? The thing because i want the stealth port is that it's connected directly to motherboard. I'd like to make "lag free" midi recording via opcode studio vision and opcode studio 4 i think that usb can give some lag. May be i'm wrong.

[IIO]

let me put it like this: at least i have never heard about a midi interface form opcode, motu, or steinberg which would not work with the stealth adapter - at least in OS9.

[supernova777]

Thank you! UK is ok for me.

Is that ok with opcode studio? The thing because i want the stealth port is that it's connected directly to motherboard. I'd like to make "lag free" midi recording via opcode studio vision and opcode studio 4 i think that usb can give some lag. May be i'm wrong.

yes this is a theory... better to have the steath port or a keyspan Sx pro card..
but in the event that u cant find either..u can try to get a keyspan twin, just make sure it is usa-28x version.. we have the working driver here. i think its v1.9
i didnt mean to say this was better.. only that it can work for u.. in the event that u cannot find a stealth port

[dev]

Seems that I have to dig internet and wait

Thank you guys!

[GaryN]

For What It's Worth…
I use StudioVision with a Studio 4 and a USA-28XG on a MDD. I use MIDI extensively (which is why I use Opcode, of course) to drive hardware synths, piano, drum modules, automation etc.
I have NEVER experienced a problem with MIDI "lag". MIDI delay or lag is not like latency due to processing time but is caused by the serial nature of the MIDI stream. The "one at a time" MIDI serial protocol can cause some notes to get "stuck in line" behind something else and arrive late to the party. For this to become audible in reality, the MIDI stream has to be severely overloaded - either with an enormous number of simultaneous voices or more often, choking on heavy use of aftertouch and / or continuous controller data, OR (and this is critical folks) TIMECODE. Lots of aftertouch and MIDI timecode is guaranteed to cause what you're calling MIDI "lag".

The USB data rate (even USB 1.1) is way faster than MIDI and the Studio 4 set to "fast" will have no problem pushing through all the MIDI you need to throw at it. I've MIDI'ed an entire concerto with my Studio 4 using 32 or 33 individual voices (you know, an orchestra) and I only had to make a couple of fine adjustments in places where all the instruments came down on the beat together (a really extreme example). In those cases I just had to change the order of the instruments hitting those beats in Vision - moving the more percussive and fast attack voices toward the "front of the line" so the perception was more in line with them seeming to sound together and in time - kinda like a real orchestra…

Using a USB interface like the Keyspan also gives you TWO (modem/printer) MIDI ports instead of one to "spread out the load" - Again, the Studio 4 on "fast" LOVES it! Also, having two ports available is absolutely necessary if you need stable timecode for tape sync or such since you can route the code to one and instruments to the other.

[supernova777]

thanks very much for that info Gary 

this is exactly what i had tried to expose to Dev.
i had originally become interested in the topic due to reports that other people said midi over usb is flawed etc etc
there are many such article on the net...

my advice is to get whatever u can get your hands on that works.
and use it! find out if it works or not for yourself. these things arent terribly expensive but they can be hard to find specifically WHEN u want them. they pop up now + then online for sale..

i personally havent tried the usa-28x but from the info i found online.. aslong as u are using the proper driver version for it it works fantastic..

check out this thread & this page:
http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php?topic=2446.msg13819#msg13819
http://message-pad.no-ip.org/html/index.html

notice that there are different drivers for the usa-28x vs the usa-28xg

[GaryN]

there are many such article on the net...

Interesting observation - since you said that, I took a quick look: I did not in any way compile a count or analysis of the various issues I saw discussed, but it did seem to me that the  majority of them involved Windows systems (especially XP) - really they did, just sayin'…

Logically, you would expect that an interface hanging directly on the PCI bus would be a tiny bit faster than a USB-connected one (it is a Universal SERIAL Bus after all) but the 1, maybe 2ms. difference just isn't an issue in the real world. You also have to take some of those complaints with a grain of salt as well - say when you ask a few questions and find out that the complainer is actually running a USB AUDIO interface along with his USB MIDI interface through his USB HUB (!) into his Windows-powered Dell laptop and he can't understand why nothing seems to stay in sync between crashes! Again, I'm just sayin'…

One HUGE advantage the Keyspan has over the others is that you an actually BUY it - it's still in production and available from Tripp-Lite along with support (albeit rudimentary, for sure - these folks are NOT musicians) I actually have a spare - how great is that?

I used the original driver for quite a while (before I learned there was a newer one) with occasional, mostly minor issues - none of which related to actual performance. They were things like say, every now and then the Keyspan would hang the MDD on startup much like an extension conflict. I would workaround that by just unplugging it until all extensions were loaded and all was well. The newer driver seems to have "fixed" that, but for all I know, it may have just been unique to my particular setup and only occur on MY MDD - who knows?

Party on Garth…

[DieHard]

Ahh MIDI

I remember when I first saw this in print...

It doesn't make any difference to MIDI resolution whether your interface uses serial, parallel, or USB ports, or sits on a PCI soundcard.

I thought, wow, it really doesn't feel the same in the real world; in the real world a MIDI interface was only as good as it's drivers.  So the first step is to research your hardware and make sure you have the very latest drivers available for your platform.

I remember when setting up one of PCs running Voyetra for DOS for Johnny Maestro & the Brooklyn Bridge back in the late 80s we were running a a few songs with many MIDI devices and NO timing issues. The main 3 rules we used are well known (one was stated above)...

1) Filter out any MIDI data (in the sequencer) that you do NOT need to transmit for that instrument
2) Put the critical timing tracks (like drums) at the top of the track list
2) Use all the ports available on a Multi-port device first, then daisy chain as needed to new devices

The next thing to try is reducing the load on each MIDI interface. Strip out any unnecessary aftertouch or other real-time data, and use any thinning algorithms in your sequencer. Many sequencers also prioritise the topmost tracks on their display, so use these for time-sensitive drum and bass tracks, and if necessary move slower pad sounds fractionally off the beat so they're not fighting with the rhythm sounds to emerge first. You could also try giving your MIDI tracks a higher priority in your sequencer.

The best solution is to add more MIDI ports, and this is the biggest reason why multi-port MIDI interfaces are so popular: although each separate port can theoretically run 16 MIDI channels, it's far better for timing to allocate a separate port to each of your synths, especially when large amounts of other real-time automation data such as filter sweeps are being sent as well in between the more important note data.

[acelera]

My MDD appears to have a Stealth port installed but I have never used it. I use 3 AMT8s in the following manner:
- 1st AMT8 runs off the MDD's USB port.
- 2nd AMT8 is connected to the 1st via a Mac serial cable.
- 3rd AMT8 is connected to the 2nd via a PC serial cable.

In this fashion, the Emagic Unitor driver sees a single 24 in/24 out MIDI interface.

Why so many ports? As Diehard mentions, it is better to have multiport interfaces and this way I avoid any sort of daisy chaining between MIDI devices so timing is indeed better. I do not have anything plugged into a THRU port anywhere.

Also, it means that when I get round to it, I can set up each of these on SoundDiver as all instruments have their dedicated IN and OUT connected directly to the AMT8s.

[IIO]

how does it look like from OMS? anything special to note?

[acelera]

OMS just sees one big MIDI interface. I only really use OMS for the Oasys, mind you, as Logic has native support for the ATM8s so have it configured for native plus OMS.