MIDI INTERFACES FOR IBM MS DOS COMPUTERS AND CLONES MIDI is an acronym for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, and basically it's a common digital data communications protocol used by all MIDI equipment. If you look on the back of your unit and see MIDI IN and OUT ports (5 pin DIN sockets labelled IN and OUT and/or THRU), you have MIDI capability. How much or how little depends on the cost of the unit, its vintage, and how few or numerous the many capabilities of the the MIDI Specification, the manufacturer's hardware/software implements. At a minimum, you should at least be able to transmit note on and off data to/from your unit. This alone is a powerful capability since it will allow you to connect a computer to your MIDI keyboard and record and playback notes/songs using MIDI software and a hardware interface in your computer. What can you do with MIDI? Unbelievable things. We still don't know all the possibilities. It started out as a way to play one synthesizer's internal sounds from the keyboard of another synth, just by hooking the two together via a MIDI cable. (From the MIDI OUT of the controlling keyboard to the MIDI IN of the slave.) Over the past eight years since its inception, MIDI and its applications have grown to include many very interesting and useful capabilities such as sequencing, patch editing, computer game sound enhancement, multimedia sound/music support, lighting controls, and even transferring songs and sounds on telephone lines in digital form across the world on networks such as MIDILink! To take advantage of these capabilities, a computer becomes a very desirable tool for easily manipulating all that power MIDI provides. But how do you connect a computer to a piece of MIDI gear, or a whole MIDI system, for that matter? No *appearant way is immediately visible for the novice MIDI musician since those round, five pin DIN plugs used by MIDI are foreign to computers. (with the exception of the Atari ST which has built- in MIDI ports) The answer is easy ... just get a MIDI(/computer) Interface. Most all are similar in form/fit to other interface cards such as bus mouse cards, internal modems, video cards, etc., in that they plug into the PC expansion bus and provide the proper electronic interface and external connectors. (The 5 pin DIN "IN" and "OUT" sockets.) The more difficult to answer question becomes _which_ card to purchase, and what are the differences between them? Let's talk software for a minute. Unfortunately, unlike the standardization in the MIDI protocol itself, standardization in interfaces between MS DOS computers and MIDI are not universal. Works somewhat like modems. While most support one standard (i.e. Hayes AT command set), not all MIDI interfaces are supported by all MS DOS MIDI software. The defacto standard, similar to the Hayes analogy, is the "MPU-401 compatible" MIDI Interface. This was the first and only interface available in the beginning, and thus it became the standard bearer. "MPU-401" was the model number Roland Corp. assigned to that initial design, and while it is no longer made, improved clones compatible with that design now abound, including improved models made by Roland. The reason this is important to know, is that MS DOS MIDI software developers universally support the large MPU-401 user base, but non-compatible MPU-401 interfaces have a much more limited software base from which to chose. Anyone who has owned a non- compatible Hayes modem will appreciate the importance of buying hardware with a large software support base. For those of you with unique hardware requirements, let's first talk about a few special cases involving special external MIDI interfaces. For laptops or computers with no expansion slots available, there are external serial and parallel port MIDI Interfaces available such as the MIDIATOR, made by Key Electronics. Since this and most other external interfaces are not MPU-401 compatible, software support is more somewhat limited; however, the interface manufacturers do provide some level of software with their products. So it's best to contact the manufacturer to find out what software is provided or is available by 3rd party vendors. In addition, be cautioned that because MIDI uses a 31.25kHz bandwidth, timing tolerances, especially on serial ports designed for lower speeds, are very critical at MIDI's high baud rate with dense data. Check with the manufacturer to make sure your particular brand/model computer works with their external serial or parallel port interface. Also, for PS/2 owners with MCA (micro-channel architecture) buses, Roland Corp has an internal interface called the MPU-IMC which is MPU-401 compatible. Shipments began in November of 1989 at a retail price of $350. These units are specifically for MCA buss computers only. For standard PC/XT/AT expansion buss card slots, there are many interfaces available. Some are not MPU-401 compatible such as the Mellotron MUART now sold by Tandy, SDA (Sound Design Associates) MIDI Interface, CMS (Computer Music Supply) CMS-101, Brown-Wagh SoundBlaster, the IBM Music Feature Card, and others. Some of these cards have MPU-401 compatibility options, such as daughter boards, adapters, etc. Manufacturer | Model # |MPU | MIDI | Notes | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ATI Tech | Stereo F/X | no | 1/1 | Compatible with SB. Reqs Adapter| | Creative Labs | SoundBlaster | no | 1/1 | Simultaneous I/O not possible | | Creative Labs | SB Pro | no | 1/1 | MIDI Adapter & Software Included| | Creative Labs | SB MicroChnl | no | 1/1 | Requires MIDI Kit | | Creative Labs | SB MIDI kit | no | 1/4 | Required by Soundblaster | | Media Vision | Pro Audio S | no | 1/1 | Requires opt MIDI adapter | Mellotron | MUART | no | 4/4 | Marketed by Tandy | | SDA | MIDI Int | no | 1/1 | Metronome out, FSK sync | | IBM | MFC | no | 1/1 | On board FB01 chip | | Key Elec | MS-101 | no | 1/1 | Connects to RS-232 port | | Key Elec | MS-103 | no | 1/3 | RS-232 3 independent OUTs | | Key Elec | MS-114 | no | 1/4 | Switchable baud rate, opt RS-422| | CMS | CMS-101 | no | 1/1 | Upgrade avail to 404, 4-OUTs | | CMS | CMS-401-II |yes | 2/2 | Model 2 has 2 sw/addr MIDI OUTs | | CMS | CMS-444-II |yes | 2/2 | SMPTE/FSK opt 4/4 cable | | CMS | CMS-444-EX |yes | 4/4 | SMPTE/FSK rack mount 4 THRUs | | MIDIMAN | MM-401 |yes | 1/1 | UART mode timer, metronome out | | Music Quest | MIDICard |yes | 1/1 | Metronome out | | Music Quest | MQX-16 |yes | 1/1 | Smart FSK(chase) | | Music Quest | MQX-16S |yes | 1/1 | Adds SMPTE | | Music Quest | MQX-32M |yes | 2/2 | Smart FSK, SMPTE, sw adrs outs | | Roland | MPU-IMF |yes | 1/1 | Metronome out,supercedes 401 | | Roland | LAPC-I |yes | | Onboard MT-32 equiv incl. | | Voyetra | V4000 |yes | 1/1 | No tape sync | | Voyetra | V4001 |yes | 1/1 | FSK tape sync | | Voyetra | V22 | no | 2/2 | Sync to external MTC | | Voyetra | V22m |yes | 2/2 | Adds MPU-401 compatibility | | Voyetra | V24s | no | 2/4 | Click detector | | Voyetra | V24sm |yes | 2/4 | MPU-401 compat, SMPTE, click det| FSK is an acronym for Frequency Shift Keyed time code. It is a set of tones in the audible range suitable for recording by an analog tape recorder. With FSK sync, you can synchronize the software sequencer to a multi-track tape recorder. However, you must start at the beginning of the tape each pass. Smart FSK and SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) time code contains "position" data, and the software will "chase and lock" to whatever position you start at on the tape. Most interfaces use the computer's built in speaker to emit a metronome "beep" to allow you to keep time to the music. Metronome out ports allow you to amplify the signal through your sound system. This may be important if you play at higher volumes since the computer speaker level is generally low. However, if you have a drum machine that slaves to external MIDI clocks, you can easily keep time with a simple drum pattern, completely eliminating beeps from the computer. Many people prefer this method since beeps are pitched and are distracting when playing music in another key. Bundled Software Some manufacturers and dealers offer "package deals" containing a MIDI Interface along with popular sequencing software. These bundled deals are often a good way to save money since the prices are lower than interfaces and software bought separately. Since the hardware is somewhat user transparent with the exception of features such as outs, sync, and metronome ... testing the software is key in making a decision that will serve your individual needs. For that reason, we make every effort to keep demo programs of all the popular commercial software packages available to you in our MS DOS DEMO library #5. Other demos for other computers can be found in their respective file libraries here on Sound Management. While these package deals are constantly changing depending on current hardware/software availability/popularity ... a typical example of a bundled hardware/software package is the Voyetra MIDIPAK Plus (V-4001 bundled with Seq+ MK I ver 3.0) for $249. This package usually has a discounted dealer "street price" of somewhere around $190. Twelve Tone Systems, publishers of Cakewalk, also bundle their software with the MusicQuest MIDICard for well under $200. Often upgrade policies allow you to trade up to more powerful software versions and/or interface configurations for very reasonable costs, sometimes just the difference in list prices. Finding a package that suits your particular needs and budget is beyond the scope of this file, but you will find many very friendly MS DOS MIDI enthusiasts on in the IBM conference and from some of the various vendors here on MIDILink. So feel free to ask specific questions about products you are considering. Nothing beats a candid report from an actual user, or the latest product news right from the manufacturer. Happy Music making! .