MIDI Merging & How this little box can help you / MIDI Solutions Quadra Merge 

The mioXL does look like a great bit of kit, might have to consider one of those for the future 🙂

Thanks - hadn't come across the CME products before, but looks like a flexible little box. It wouldn't quite do what I needed in my set up on its own and would still have to pair with a midi thru box I think, but looking at the specs and price it's killer value, even if did need multiple boxes . The only downside is it's usb powered, whereas the MIDI solutions boxes are self powered through the MIDI cables themselves. There's so many different options out there and so many different ways to solve the same issue, this is just how my set up sort of evolved 🙂

@@splootyvision yes my thoughts exactly. I wanted to go with a merger that is powered by midi but somehow got seduced by the versatility and price even though it means having to connect to a power bank. I might still get a 2in 2out merger for small novation circuit tracks set up and use the U6 as a splitter thru in the studio .

Yep, the midi merge box helps add extra flexibility (if needed) especially when combined with the midi thru box. As in the video originally I had my Keystep 37 running to a midi thru box so that I could control any of my hardware synths from the keystep on my desk. Now I have the keystep, the keylab61 and the MODx plus also (not shown in the video) an FCB1010 pedal board running into the merge box and then onto the Thru box. This now means the Keystep and Keylab midi keyboards can control any of the 4 hardware synths I choose, the MODX can control the other 3 hardware synths (taking advantage of its 88 keys) and I can use the pedal board to control any one of the hardware synths as well. And can do all of that without having to move cables around as everything is ‘plumbed in’ so to speak 🙂

The Deepmind and MatrixBrute are hooked to the PC via USB and so can effectively be used as MIDI keyboards mapping their controls to VSTs. In fact the Deepmind is ‘auto’ mapped to Omnisphere (with its Hardware integration) and I can control many Omnisphere parameters using the Deepmind 🙂. The merge box only has 4 ‘ins’ and these are taken up by the keystep, Keylab, MODX and my FCB1010 which gives me the flexibility I needed - I’d need some more little magic black boxes if I wanted to also route the DM and the MB.

If you've only got say 3 synths (1 as master and two as slaves for example) you should be able to just daisy chain them if they have midi thru ports. If you connect the first synth to the midi in of the next synth and then run from the midi thru of that to the midi in of the third synth. Then set them all to different midi channels (say 1,2 and 3). The you should be able to use the first synth to trigger the second one if you set its midi send channel to 2 and use it to trigger the 3rd synth if you set its midi send channel to channel 3. If you set them all to the same midi channel, all 3 will sound at the same time when you press a key on the first in the chain. Hope that made sense/helps. 🙂

Hi there, great question and something I hadn't even considered when I plugged it all in. You need to configure which one you want to be the master. I've got 3 devices connected to the midi merge box but only 2 of them send out midi clock (the Keystep37 and the MODX). If I want the Keystep37 to be the master I just go into the MODX and turn the MIDI sync setting from 'Internal' to MIDI (the MODX then responds to the clock at the MIDI in which is coming from the Keystep and doesn't send any clock out of its own). The Deepmind, Matrixbrute, Neutron and MODX then all respond to the tempo changes I make on the Keystep. If I wanted the MODX to the be the master I would run another midi cable back into the MIDI in of the Keystep, set it's clock source to MIDI using the dip switches on the back and then go into the MODX set the MIDI sync to internal and the clock source to ON). Interestingly if I have both the Keystep and the MODX with their midi sync set to internal and they are both sending out midi clock, then it does confuse things, basically the Deepmind, Matrixbrute and Neutron get both clock signals and add them together e.g. if the keystep is set at 90 and the MODX at 100, the analog synths will show their tempos as 190 ! Hope that helps 🙂

@@splootyvision Thank you graham that clears a few things up and explains what i now have to do ! i will now put this in to action and hopefully get it all to work as i want to using this method you have explained!! thank you for your time and effort very much appreciated !! take care my friend!! brett

It's all pretty simple if your devices all fit into the category of either 'controller' or 'synth getting data from controller' and you sort out the topology so that you don't need to turn on Midi Thru on anything. But as soon as you use Midi Thru on a device which isn't the Master Clock ... You better hope the merger prioritizes the first port it gets a clock signal from, or things will get crazy. 😂

@@RaquelFoster The Kenton merger does this. If I understand the workflow correctly, the first input to receive a Start message or a Song Position Pointer message with a value of zero becomes the master clock. After that the merger ignores clock from everyone else until another device sends either of those messages, therefore establishing itself as the boss. I don't own one, so I'm not clear how well this all works in practice.

Pretty sure it can, depends really on what your trying to do. Effectively if you connected both drum modules to the merger then their midi signals would both pass through and come out both of the outs on the midi merger. Or other way round you could connect each drum module to the 2 outs on the back of the merger and they would receive signals from anything connected to any of the 4 inputs on the quadra merge. Hope that helps 🙂

Should be what you are looking for: My assumption is that you have a midi keyboard, the matrix 1000 and a midi interface to connect the matrix to the pc. With a midi merge box you should be able to do the following. Midi OUT from Matrix to Midi IN on Midi interface Midi OUT from Midi Interace to Midi IN on Midi Merge box. Midi OUT from keyboard to Midi IN on Midi Merge box. Midi OUT from Midi Merge box to Midi IN on Matrix. This would mean that both the Keyboard Midi and the midi data from the PC (via the Midi interface) are merged and both sent to the single Midi IN on the back of the Matrix, allowing you to both edit the Matrix and play it with your keyboard at the same time. Given that you only need two inputs on the midi merger box you could get away with the MIDI Solutions ‘Merger’ which has 2 ins and 2 outs, rather than the ‘Quadra Merge’ which has 4 ins and 2 outs. As far as I can tell that would all work, but may be worth checking with the guys at MIDI solutions, you can email them at info@midisolutions.com. Hope that all helps 🙂

Thanks for the detailed explanation! I will also email these guys for further clarification. Many thanks!

Yeah, I don’t think a midi merge box on it’s own would do the trick. Tbh my advice would be to maybe message the guys at MIDI solutions as they may be able to help with a solution. For example they have a ‘midi router’ which allows you to ‘rechannel’ midi signals but again don’t think one of those on it’s own would fit the bill, probably a combination of gear. Sorry couldn’t help more.

@@splootyvision thanks! Yeah I actually have one of the routers on the way, hopefully that solves it

Hi - yep a midi merger will do what you want. There's various options you could use. One way would be similar to my set up in this video I did, where I have 3 keyboards that I can effectively swap between as masters. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kFf61UcaYt4.htmlsi=Du7CjpTtTKdmo8_Y For yours I'd say you need a midi merge box and an 8 port midi through box if I've counted correctly 🙂. Connect the 4 'master' synths to the merger, then connect the merger to the 8 x thru box, then connect the thru box to the midi ins on the other 4 synths and also back into the midi ins on the 4 'master' synths. Then set all synths to separate midi channels e.g. 1-8. With this the Arturia, MP7, Mpc and DSI should be able to play any synth you have just by changing there midi transmit channel. The advantage also is that there's no daisy chaining so if you don't want to, you don't have to turn everything on in order for signals to reach synths at the end of the chain. There are other possibly more complete 'all in one' options like the Conductive Labs MRCC or the iConnectivity MiOXL, which although more expensive may work out more economical in the long run if your studio expands 🙂

@@splootyvision thank you so much

Hi - sorry only just came across this comment and realised hadn't replied, couldn't remember exactly how I did this patch - but have managed to pretty much recreate it. Roughly speaking it's; Both oscillators set to saw wave with osc mix in the middle / Osc1 range set at 32 and OSc2 range set at 16 / Osc Sync button turned on / Freq at 6 / Resonance at 4 / mod dept 5 / env depth 6 / noise 6 / vca bias 0 / LFO shape sin with rate 3 and key sync on / Envelope 1 everything at 5 / Envelope 2 ADSR dials at 7, 3,5 and 0 / Overdrive dials at 1,6 and 8 / Volume at 7 / Delay, Sample&Hold, Slew rate limiter and Attenuators - all dials at 0. Turn all the knobs etc to these setting and you should get a similar sound 🙂

For that you really need a THRU box rather than a MERGE. There's another video on my channel that goes into more detail on the THRU box. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-13QpdOtLE3o.htmlsi=tc60bMEoFNpbA3Lc The MERGE box comes in handy if you've got multiple synths that you want to use to control other synths. For example with a THRU box you can have one master keyboard controlling say 4 other synths. But by adding a MERGE box as I did you can have more that one masterkeyboard as such; as in the video I can control all my hardware from either the small keystep on my desk, my larger keylab61 or from my MODX. But it's the THRU box that keeps everything in sync. Also bear in mind whether you're synths have THRU ports or not. If they do and you've only got a few then you could just 'daisy chain' them with the master at the start of the chain sending it's clock to all the others to keep them in sync.

None that I’ve experienced 🙂