Midi

I need a bit of help guys.

I need to get a soundcard with a MIDI interface for my computer. I need MIDI for flextone 3 updates and to connect my keyboard to some software.

The only problem is I haven't got a clue what I should be looking for, whether there are certain things that I need on the card to use with a program such as logic. I was hoping there would be a cheap card with MIDI on that I could get, I dont need dolby 5.1 or anything, just something that will work.

Thanks,

- J

Creative Labs Soundblaster live 5.1 has a D-Sub midi port. It is cheap and nasty but will do the job. U will also need a D-sub to din cable You can get one here

This is not a top of the range sound card but it will do all the things you want. I use one as a MIDI interface and for system sounds / mp3s.

As long as we are on the subject, I have questions too.

I am getting a new pc.

My old pc has an sblive and a pci card that is a 4 port midi interface. I have cubase VST 3.7 and fruityloops. On cubase, the vst has terrible lag. On fruityloops the vst plugs have pretty low lag, it is acceptable. However, the cpu meter goes into saturation mode pretty easy.

No matter what, I have at least a 32ms delay using my midi keyboard, which is almost acceptable to my ear.

I want to get a new sound card and wonder if anyone has recommendations on what to get and whether it will solve these problems.

I don't think the sound card is your problem, I think it is probably system configuration, however I'm no cubase expert.

For my money, I went for an RME Audio Digi 96/8 PAD. Fantastic card, lovely A/D converters, S/PDIF IO etc (400 USD). For Midi you need a separate PCI slot and a different RME card hence the soundblaster for Midi and system sounds /mp3s.

In terms of sorting out the latency issues I suggest going through the literature that comes with the progs / sound cards very carefully. It is a pain in the ass but will probably get you there eventually. I ended up fixing my latency issues by changing the priorates given to music stuff in system settings. Works like a dream but means the computer has to think about where the mouse is.

Or you could ask the folks athome recording dot com . This site is some times a bit of a war zone but if you persevere can be useful.

Thanks for the reply Dr Simon.... i'll probably go for that card until I get some cash saved for an Audigy 2 or something.

If you decide you are serious about recording with a computer...
You might want to think about brands like M-audio rather than anything by creative labs as they top out at 16 bit. They are OK for everyday consumer stuff but there quality is VERY pedestrian. There are pleanty of better cheaper cards ont there.

Anyway have fun !

Do yourself a favor and stay away from the SB stuff and just check out the Echo Mia MIDI. Great soundcard at a great price.

Echo is great kit !

Well the only thing stopping me at the minute is money, eventually over time i'm gonna try building up a computer just for recording. I don't know anything about decent soundcards though, so yeah, any suggestions would be helpful.

I know about building a decent computer, just the sound hardware i'm not so good with :)

I think i'll end up using Logic though, I use it at college so im most familiar with it, definately don't think I will ever be able to afford ProTools either.

- J

If budget is an issue, check out these USB MIDI Interface cables...
http://www.edirol.com/products/midi.html

They might be a cheap and easy fix till you can get a full on soundcard.

Thanks for that SPL, big help. I don't need amazing sound or anything, just need something to work with until I can save some cash, that should do perfect.

Thanks for all the help guys :)

- J