Another newbie question - What is INT-A/INT-B

Dudes

i understand that recorded midi events can be sent to either MIDI Out connectors A-D or specific parts of the sampler section, but what does it mean when you send midi events to INT-A/INT-B (virtual midi reception ports of the sampler section)?

I just don't understand what INT-A/INT-B (virtual midi reception ports of the sampler section) means.

Can anyone help?

Peace

kid

"virtual" means that it isn't a real physical thing you could touch with your fingers or see with your eyes -

instead its just exists in the computer software.

So you can tell the MPC4000 to send MIDI stuff to these ports "INT-A" or "INT-B", and to listen for stuff on them,
and it will hear them.

For example, you could tell the MPC4000 to send MIDI bank select messages to port "INT-B" (for instance, you could have a track in a sequence which was set to output its data on INT-A, and you could put a bank select message down on that track),
and you could then set a Multi to listen for bank select messages on INT-A,
and it would hear the one you'd set up.

It's just the same as if you (for example) told that track so send its output to OUT-B, then plugged a real MIDI cable from OUT-B to IN-II,
then told the multi to listen for changes on port IN-II

thanks feline for answering my question. i really appreciate it. however, i have to be honest and say that i still don't understand it.

i mean - when would you use the int-a/int-b?

sorry

Int-A and Int-B are virtual ports INSIDE the MPC4000.

If you look at that block diagram near the front of the user manual,
you'll see there are three entities "inside" the MPC4000 -
the Pads, the Sequencer, and the Sampler.

If you have a piece of gear OUTSIDE the MPC4000
(eg a controller keyboard, a MIDI sound module, a MIDI toothbrush),
and you want to communicate to/from it,
you need to get a real physical MIDI cable, and plug it into
OUTA/B/C/D or IN I/II.

If however, you want things INSIDE the MPC4000 to talk to each other,
you have to tell them to talk to or listen on one of the VIRTUAL MIDI ports INSIDE the machine.

Any "part" of a multi can either be listening on port INT-A or INT-B
(each of INTA and INT-B has 16 MIDI channels available)

And any track of a sequencer can be sending directly to INT-A or INT-B.

OK...?



Any track of a sequencer can also send directly to a particular part in a multi.... (there can be 127 of those)

But wanted that track to send to more than one part at once?

Each part listens on one of 32 available MIDI channels
(1 - 16 on INT-A, and 1 - 16 on INT-B)

So if you had 3 parts in your multi that were all set to listen to INT-B channel 3,
and you set a particular track to send on channel 3 INT-B,
then that track could talk to all 3 parts at once!
Hurrah!

Feline, I do also have one MIDI realted Q.

I use many other hardware and physical number of Midi OUT's from MPC4K is just not enough. I mean, sure I can cable all external hardware using MIDI THRU, however due to the fact, that I also use computer for some sequencing - when doing majority of my work and already have all the cabeling done (with all the synths, digital FX, ProTools - all using Digidesign's MIDI 8x8 interface) I would like to avoid re-cabeling. Is there ANY way setting Mpc4000 sending MIDI msg for external sound moduls using Midi Interface so I can have access to more machines thru this one box?

Thanks a lot!

RESPECT to everyone on this forum. I can't recall any other forum with such a great and helpfull community....by now, many of you should already have had an offer from Akai ($$$$$$$$) for what you do.
Cheers, Mike

If you have too much expensive gear that you don't know how to use,
I think you should give some away to charity

sorry but I don't really think your question makes sense...

if you have loads of devices,
and you want several of them to be masters,
and control lots of the other ones (slaves)
and maybe some to be masters AND slaves (eg the MPC4000),
then you probably need a hardware MIDI patcher thing.
(but you already say you have an 8x8 one of those? then so what's the problem?)

At Feline HQ, i have a 360 Systems 8x8 MIDI patcher, and a few extra Philip Rees MIDI thru boxes as well.

That ways all my MIDI things can talk to each other in a variety of permutations.

I am not sure you got me right so I'll try again. Is there a way connecting MPC to 8x8 and be able to communicate thru midiinterface with the rest of my gear or there is only direct "way". 4K cannot assing more then 4x16 and I guess neither possibility assign names to external instruments you control from $K. Yeah, probablydumb Q, but I just want to avoid to re-plug all these cabels.

feline1 wrote:If you have too much expensive gear that you don't know how to use,
I think you should give some away to charity

sorry but I don't really think your question makes sense...

if you have loads of devices,
and you want several of them to be masters,
and control lots of the other ones (slaves)
and maybe some to be masters AND slaves (eg the MPC4000),
then you probably need a hardware MIDI patcher thing.
(but you already say you have an 8x8 one of those? then so what's the problem?)

At Feline HQ, i have a 360 Systems 8x8 MIDI patcher, and a few extra Philip Rees MIDI thru boxes as well.

That ways all my MIDI things can talk to each other in a variety of permutations.

Hey, I just bought a used 360 systems 8x8 also, do you happen to have a pdf manual?

Contact the support address on the 360 systems website
http://www.360systems.com/
I got a bounce the first time,
but once I got the right address, a nice guy there sent me a PDF manual -
I haven't kept it, cos I already had a printed one.
(I was actually emailing him to see if they still had firmware update EPROMs -
but they didn't....)

mipo wrote:I am not sure you got me right so I'll try again. Is there a way connecting MPC to 8x8 and be able to communicate thru midiinterface with the rest of my gear or there is only direct "way". 4K cannot assing more then 4x16 and I guess neither possibility assign names to external instruments you control from $K. Yeah, probablydumb Q, but I just want to avoid to re-plug all these cabels.

I know what you're saying and I've been wondering the same thing. I know I was able to achieve this, somewhat, by using sonar (sonar has a midi input echo button that allow you to control multiple channel of different instruments at once). In sonar3, on a midi track, I'll set the midi input to the port\channel that I want to trigger with then I'll set the midi output port to the port that my sound module is plugged into then I'll set the output channel to the channel that I want to be triggered. With sonar 3 you should be able to achieve your goal, but I don't know if pro tools works the same way. I hope this helps. Peace.

feline1 wrote:Contact the support address on the 360 systems website
http://www.360systems.com/
I got a bounce the first time,
but once I got the right address, a nice guy there sent me a PDF manual -
I haven't kept it, cos I already had a printed one.
(I was actually emailing him to see if they still had firmware update EPROMs -
but they didn't....)

I have contacted them and they told me they no longer have the pdf on their computers, I guess I'm just SOL. Thanks anyway.

But [email protected] sent me a PDF on 24th January 2005 already!

I suggest you try again, and don't speak to their office gimp this time....

OK I'll try it tomorrow. Thanks.

kid christou wrote:Dudes

i understand that recorded midi events can be sent to either MIDI Out connectors A-D or specific parts of the sampler section, but what does it mean when you send midi events to INT-A/INT-B (virtual midi reception ports of the sampler section)?

I just don't understand what INT-A/INT-B (virtual midi reception ports of the sampler section) means.

Can anyone help?

Peace

kid

You can assign as many programs as you want to the same part by going to the multi page midi section and changing each to the same midi channel. Also you can have an outside midi send go through your midi input ports A/B directly to your sampler without having it go through your sequencer. In effect your 4k is a sound module to an outside sequencer.


Page 8 in the users show how the midi signal works either by pads or midi keyboard a midi note is generated send into Internal Midi input A/B to the midi sequencer which records the note on the tracks. The notes recorded on the tracks are send either to the internal sampler, out the midi outputs a, b, c, or d to a midi sound module or to an specific parts of your internal sampler. This is where the INT A/B comes in cuz you can send the notes on the track to as many programs as you want you set to midi channel 1 Output INT A/B midi channel 1. Whereas using Output Part Part 5 program 3 the notes go to only one program that you assigned to that part. With INT A/B or Output 2 shit you can make mult combinations as you want.