Non keyboard MIDI devices

This is the 2nd article about the MIDI setup in my studio. Keyboards can be very versatile used with various MIDI sounds; but sometimes just to have a totally different way to play the notes can provide some new inspiration for creativity

Casio Digital Horn DH100 breath controller
This is played like a saxaphone and looks rather like a toy sax. I had to brush up on the fingering. I never played sax before but I did play flute as a teenager, inspired by watching and listening to Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. 
The in-built sounds are awful. When connected to MIDI, I was able to get a better sax sound but still without live character; needs a few squeals in there (not the one that had to be engineered out of the original design of this instrument) rather like you get the extra sounds in acoustic guitar sampling when you hear the fingers moving on the strings. 
In fact the best and more innovative results are obtained by using this instrument to drive synth leads or even atmospheric pads.

I also have a Yamaha BC3A breath controller that can be used in conjunction with a MIDI controller keyboard such as my CME but in fact I have never got it to work - although I have seen the MIDI signals change on the computer MIDI monitor.

Digitalent Hand-Controlled Midi
This is a device triggered by two optical sensors. The sound/pitch changes depending on the height of your hand away from each sensor. It has been compared to a theramin. The effect is MIDI output created somewhat chaotically and can also be great fun on percussion.

Percussion
Digital Drums
My digital drum kit is a Roland HD1. In fact I bought it just for visiting drummers to rehearse. The drum sounds are not at all satisfactory. Not always wanting working to work with MIDI through the iMac, but in fact wanting just to have a simple audio out, I upgraded the drum brain with an Alesis DM5. This is clamped on to the front of the HD1 kit. I got the Alesis DM5 second hand and in fact bought the full kit so I have added additional pads and cymbals to the kit. With the Roland pads, I did a quick fix by just taking a MIDI cable from the original Roland drum brain to the MIDI in of the Alesis DM5. The extra pads are then linked directly to a couple of trigger channels directly to the DM5 as designed.
While mostly played in the studio with its own audio, I also have this Frankenstein linked by MIDI out into my synthesizer suite as described in another page. Logic Pro environment can then be used to make the drum kit an input for any of the synthesizer modules or any of the soft syths on the iMac and of course record either as an audio or as a MIDI track (or both)
Yamaha DD-10
Tried to sell this some time ago but nobody bought, now i see them selling on e-bay for more than I paid for it years ago. Strangely it has a MIDI in but no MIDI out. The sounds are really retro. I think badly retro and the rhythms are very dated but in fact this little thing has been used on 2 demo recordings in the past year and so has a reprieve from being sold.

Roland Pad 5
I also had this for sale for a while and it did not go either. I just bought an old E-Mu World synth module that used to belong to Andy McCluskey of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. The world instruments in it are covered by my other synths too but I am using this to have some dedicated world percussion available. Something to shake a stick at, you could say

Korg Nano Pad
Great for some quick percussion and I use its "Kaoss" pad with my atmospheric synths to modulate the synth settings while being played

Collaborative Music via internet Pt 3: The Drums

There should be little difference in recording digital drums and any other midi instrument such as a keyboard but because of its fundamental importance, and that it is always at least the 2nd instrument to be recorded, this article will treat the percussion as a special case.

The equipment

• Digital drum kit with drum "brain"
• USB or firewire Audio Interface with midi connection
• audio cable
• midi cable
• Software to record (DAW)

Software

Many Audio Interfaces come with a lite version of an audio software (Cubase, Ableton etc) for iMac or PC. It does not matter if you are collaborating with someone who is using a different software or hardware. Interchange can be done with WAV files - although you can happily play along with an MP3 - the mixing will be done with WAV files.
The limitations of the lite version should not restrict laying down a rhythm track. There are also some freeware softwares that can do the job such as 

• Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net

(but as a Logic user, I have not tested them yet).
These notes will cover recording both audio and the midi signal at the same time. The midi track is in the most simple terms a recording of the hit of each drum/cymbal as data and can be edited later including re-assigning the sounds for each instrument and moving notes.

Installation

• Install your recording software (DAW), install the driver for your Audio interface and then connect your Audio Interface. Usually in that order but of course read the instructions.
• Connect 2 jack cables from the drum brain to the audio interface. Most audio interfaces accept both jack and XLR cables. Some cheaper drum brains (eg Roland DD1) will only have a mini-jack/headphone out and you will have to use some adapters
• Connect a 5 pin din midi cable from the drum brain to the midi connection of the audio interface.

Setting up the recording

This is a very generic description but most softwares operate in a similar way.

• Create a new song. You may have to specify whether this is audio or midi or both. You need both. Some/most softwares do not ask this setup question
• Create a new track as stereo audio. Happily most softwares will automatically default to using input 1/2, and if you have a simple audio interface with 2 inputs these will also be outputs 1/2.
• Create a new track as midi. Again happily most softwares will automatically default to using all midi channels as input and so should already match your audio interface
• Create a 3rd track as audio and import the MP3 to that track. Make sure the beginning of the MP3 is right at the beginning of the track (at position 1,1,1,1)

Set tracks 1 and 2 to record. When you hit any instrument you should see the signal bar on each track jump appropriately,
You can also choose to listen to the track via headphones plugged directly into the audio interface.

Audio Interface

Focusrite Saffire 6 is a simple audio interface that connects both audio and midi signals and connects to your computer via a USB cable (about £139)
Alesis iO2 Express (£79)

Still to be wrtten
Saving as a WAV file
Some photos ...

Setting up MIDI interfaces in Logic Pro

Firstly set up the hardware connections

• Firewire from the midi interface to your iMac
• Midi cable from OUT on your keyboard to IN on the midi interface
• Midi cable from IN on your sound module to OUT on the midi interface

In some cases your keyboard and sound module may be the same hardware

IMac Audio/Midi settings

Your Midi interface shoud automatically appear as a device and should be shown as connected.
If it is not shown as connected then reboot the iMac. The Midi interface should always be powered in before switching on the iMac

Logic Pro Environment

Joining the MIDI in to the MIDI out
Set up the Logic Pro Environment. This is not essential but it allows you to test your ins and outs using the keyboards. 
From Enviromnt, choose the ports option from the drop down
I create a keyboard, a monitor and a multi-instrument. The Multi-instrument is your devices that you have just described in your Motu setup.
If you have done this correctly, at this stage you should be able to use your mouse to play the on screen keyboard and it will play your sound module,
Similiarly if you play your keyboard, you should see the notes being played on the on screen keyboard and hear the sound come through the sound module

Whatever you setup here belongs to that song only so you should now save this configuation as your default template.

Setting up an instrument in the Arrange screen

• Add a new midi track
• Choose the midi port
• Choose the channel - or maybe just leave as the default all
• Choose the sound bank (sometimes this is numerically 1 less than is displayed on your sound module)

When you record you should be able to now hear the sound module and see the midi notes being recorded in the piano roll