Still looking for midi-thru solution

Last week I posted a topic about using the MPC1000 in a midi chain.
I am - of course- using a sequencer as master-unit; it sends out midi to different channels for different machines. I like to use the mpc as slave directly after the master sequencer, I want it to receive only notes.
So now I made a beat and send it to the mpc on, lets say, channel 12. Therefore I set the active receive channel to 12. The mpc then receives the beat-notes correctly. But here is the problem: If i also send a synth sequence to the midi chain on for example channel 2, the mpc does not transmit this sequence through its thru ports at all, regardless of the setting of the soft thru (i've tried all different settings and channels).
The only way to make the synth after the mpc receive midi notes is to set the active receive channel to the same as the synths active receive channel. But then the mpc of course will also play the synth pattern in drums sounds...

Is my MPC broke?

set the MPC to receive ALL instead of just the active channel in the MIDI window. then set the soft thru mode to OMNI-AB to pass all MIDI signals through to the two ports (or jsut A or jsut B if you only use one port....)

electric dragon wrote:set the MPC to receive ALL instead of just the active channel in the MIDI window. then set the soft thru mode to OMNI-AB to pass all MIDI signals through to the two ports (or jsut A or jsut B if you only use one port....)

The only problem with this is that all received notes will be played and/or recorded by the active MPC track at the same time regardless of input channel.

This is why they make multi-output computer midi interfaces.and/or routeable patchbays.

Yeah that's exactly the problem. Of course you don't want the mpc to play a sequence that is meant for the synth behind the mpc in the midi chain.

So, basically this means, in my opinion at least, that the use of soft thru is very very limited! Indeed one needs a midi splitter (or an interface with multiple outs of course) to be able to use more midi machines in a live setup.

Leaves me with the question what this soft thru was created for in the first place....

It's more of a convenience feature for small quicky setups really. Like a controller on the in and a module or two on each output. Anybody serious who runs a large studio with computer control uses a multi interface/patchbay.

Midi is just too old and too slow to jam everything into a single transmission line without taking a serious hit in performance. Trying to jam it all through a soft thru on a machine like the MPC is probably even worse because all that extra processing on the throughput is taking away processing cycles from the other functions the MPC has to perform.

Ok, thanks for your help!

Maybe the JJ-OS guys are able to build a software option in there which makes the midi out a real thru. My akai z8 has that option...

Peace.

If it works in software, then it isn't a real hardware thru, and the same rules still apply.

I prefer to keep all my midi processing on parallel lines and make sure each device is sent only it's own control signals and nothing else. I never have to worry about latency or choking a series of device thruputs like back when I was stringing everything together in series. Old MOTU patch bays are cheap enough, sometimes even free if you know where to scrape them up.

elektrik_muz wrote:....Old MOTU patch bays are cheap enough..........

A friend gave me one, still working fine after YEARS.

I've got an MTPAV serial and an MTP2 that were given to me. The only thing I had to buy were a couple of new lithium batteries at the local Radio Schlock to get the patch memory backup working again.

MTPAV is fine. MTP2 works surprisingly well too considering how old it is, but the patch memory will die if it gets sysex thru the network from the DSI synth. That's Ok, I didn't need the full 16x16 matrix at the moment so I gave it to the roommate to use with his stuff (no DSI).... those things are always getting passed around.