So, lately I've been planning on buying an audio interface. I thought I knew what they do, but I discovered I'm not sure what some of the parameters are used for.

So this is about I/Os...

Why do I need a MIDI I/O and a Digital I/O in my audio interface?

What if my audio interface DOESN'T have a MIDI nor Digital I/O? Will I be able to transfer MIDI data with my keyboard what so ever?

Any help will be greatly appreciated,

Cheers!

blaiavia

By the way, I'm not really sure if this is the right forum to post this thread. If it isn't, please excuse me...

 

u can use midi keyboards, either with a usb cable or the good old joystick port

 

I thought this too .. until I got an interface with on-board MIDI ports. Tracking Roland V-Drums through Addictive Drums is infinitely better, the timing is spot on compared to my USB MIDI cable.

 

Read my post above regarding MIDI.

Digital I/O is for when you want to add external equipment like preamps, or a Kemper Profiler for re-amping guitars etc. You connect them digitally (if they have compatible connections.)

 

It also always better to have more I/Os than less because you never know what you're going to buy next. *yes*

Maybe you decide that you need a better preamp one day, and maybe you would like to connect it to ADAT inputs on your interface? ADAT digital I/O can carry 8 channels of 48k audio and 4 channels of 96k audio.

MIDI I/O? Well, I use MIDI exclusively because USB MIDI never worked well for me. Timing issues and so on. I hear good things about USB MIDI lately but my equipment is already MIDI based so I'm not interested. One thing I use over USB is my Faderport DAW controller. Well, it's just a controller and it works. It is timing with hardware synths that is most obviously not good with USB MIDI and drum pads like Alesis DM-10. One of my customers, on my suggestion, solved his drums timing issues with his Alseis DM-10 just by using normal MIDI instead of USB MIDI.

Cheers!

 

I can confirm this, I'm totally stunned by the difference tracking Roland V-Drums live through dedicated MIDI gear, the timing and latency is excellent. Interfaces will have proper professional MIDI chips and clocking. I chucked my USB cable in the bin LOL.

 

on the interface you don't need midi ports. i have a line6 ux1(awesome), i plug my microkorg via usb to the laptop. bang

 

My take on choosing gear, from the height of a pile of my own mistakes:

1) Plan your gear ahead, but only get as many features (preamps/converters/inputs/outputs) as you are certain you'll actually need in any foreseeable future. If the budget is a constant and features number is a variable, then the more features, the lesser the quality.
2) It is MUCH better to get less features and less gear with better quality than vice versa. You can't do much with a bad-quality recording gear, and you can't compensate for it "in the mix". Cut on volumes, not on the quality, this will save you a lot of grief.
3) Find your sweet spot in the law of diminishing returns of audio gear (google that law, as understanding it is crucial). That means finding out what quality point, and that means price point, is acceptable for your needs. Having accomplished that, you will know what you're going to need to pay.
4) Usually you will have to pay more than you thought initially. That's how it works. Good things cost good money. Words are free, that's why low-end manufacturers throw them at us.
5) If you don't have the money to get to your chosen point of quality, don't make the mistake of getting something cheaper. Earn the money, then get the right stuff.
6) Don't believe the hype, especially on the forums. There are people who make their living by producing this hype. This is no secret, this is no conspiration theory. Esp. on gearslutz. If you're going to believe anyone's advice about the gear, go through their entire posts history and try to determine if they're paid or not. Painful, but useful.

 

a decent audio interface "dictates" tempo via wordclock. actually, a really decent one would only recieve wordclock because if you had a really really decent studio, you'd have an external clock.

it depends on what you need. if you had lots of oldschool midi gear, you would already have a midi interface, so you don't - i guess.
most of the recent hardware recieves midi emulated via usb. or via x-link/ethernet, i think that's where the future of midi is heading.
so to make things short:
you don't need a midi i/o on your audio interface.