I've had multiple midi patch bay units in the past. They were discontinued and their editors could no longer be installed on new computers. Just recently bought a Motu Midi Express XT. What I like about it is that it can be used as a standalone interface as well.
With Clockworks software editor(Mac & Pc) you can do all kinds of filtering and remapping. It's just a really nice piece of hardware.

I documented my experience with it as a walkthrough/video manual. The official pdf manual has some mistakes here and there. All those have been corrected in this video. Feel free to check it out.

If you're totally new to midi and midi connections, here's a general purpose video to get you started with midi ports/connectors...etc:

and here's the video manual for Motu Midi Express XT:

What other midi patchbays do you guys use? (that are still compatible with the latest OS) There are real good ones but most of them have been discontinued for some time.

 

I have 3 JL Cooper msb+ patch bays, they are standalone, so compatibility is not an issue. I only use one of them now, as most of my old gear is in storage.

 

Never seen this one before. I like the idea of standalone hardware because you don't have to be connected to the computer at all times.

Why is it most of these older midi patchbays got discontinued? Yes soft synths have something to do with it, but the market for hardware midi devices is alive and doing pretty well.

 

Cause freaks like me are very rare these days.

I'm using Steinberg Midex-3 with W7. No problems. 3 MIDI outs is enough for me. That makes it 48 MIDI channels. Unless you're even lazier and you don't like configuring your MIDI equipment. Then you need more MIDI outs.

 

Really happy with my ESI - M8U XL.
A bit of overkill but the price was ok.

 

It's completely standalone, right? No software editor?

 

I have a MOTU midi time piece, but I have left the USB protocol and switched to ethernet. Currently using 3 of the ALYSEUM AL-88c into a NETGEAR switch, into an ethernet port :

https://www.alyseum.com/al-88c.html

All midi devices go in/out of the AL-88c and are mapped using free COPPERLAN software here :

http://www.copperlan.org/index.php/download

USB has always produced jitter at faster tempos. Ethernet prioritizes better and faster. When I want absolute rock solid midi timing, I clock my external hardware with an EXPERT SLEEPERS USAMO :

http://www.expert-sleepers.co.uk/usamo.html

There are many external midi clocks out there, but the USAMO is very affordable.

**edit** it seems that ALYSEUM is offering the U3-88c which connect to computer via USB 3.0. They say that this also solves the jitter and timing issues that were associated w/ USB 2.0 midi hubs.

 

Last edited: Dec 22, 2017

Very interesting indeed! The new Macbooks don't have the Ethernet port though. So this is mainly geared towards Pc computers then. Have you actually noticed a difference between the USB units and this one ?

 

I have noticed a difference. The MOTU USB 2.0 units have jitter and timing issues that can be noticable when, for example, programming fast 16 note HH or synth lines - and especially when all 8 in/outs are hooked up at the same time. This is due (according to experts) to the midi data not being priority #1 within the USB 'information hi-way'.

The ethernet midi protocol bypasses that completely and seems MUCH more rock solid when stacking tracks. And, the USB 3.0 midi looks interesting and is supposed to alleviate the jitter/timing.

Not everyone will notice the jitter issues with their MOTU/M-Audio etc..devices, but when you do, it's a creative car crash.

If you google "midi timing issues" etc, you'll see an entire community of solutions to the problem - most of which lean towards expensive clocking coupled with out-of-the-box creating and live performance.

 

I still use 2 of these Digital Music Corp MX-28M
Standalone no software needed been using them since early 90's

 

I wish, no you can't use it without a computer.
I have a MOTU MTP AV (Parrallel version) if I need to go 'offline' but I never really use it, unfortunately I can't use it with a modern PC.

 

Yes, i'm too familiar with timing issues. Here's one:

You can see how bad the timing is on this particular keyboard. I ended up using the midiClock to get it fixed.

This is without using a patchbay though.

 

I'm really glad that someone [@bluerover] mentioned USB timing being very jittery. All of the USB MIDI interfaces I've ever tried are only good for simple tasks in my experience. When it comes to recording live performance of a really good players you will get all kinds of results. Especially if you're trying to record a really good MIDI drummer. That's why I only use MIDEX-3 for MIDI out. I use MIDI ins on my RME PCI card and its MIDI timing is excellent.

USB MIDI is only useful for people who don't want to record their performances perfectly. Which is a lot of people, I suppose. But the main thing is that you should be aware of that next time your friend who plays drums and/or keyboards really well comes by and you want to record him/her with a USB MIDI interface. It won't turn out the same. USB MIDI is as jittery as a pudding. So unless you're quantising regularly, you're in for timing problems.

The best MIDI timing can be achieved with PCI, PCI-e and network MIDI cards. Even hardware like Akai MPCs have MIDI timing problems, though... but that's OCD territory in comparison to USB, no matter which version 1,2, or 3.

 

Which RME PCI card do you use?

 

HDSP 9652. It's got 2 MIDI ins and 2 MIDI outs.