Ned Frankly - MIDI Routing 101 - A Stack of Real Synthesizers
Channel: Ned Frankly
Date: 28/07/2016

Much of the time, producers spend their money and effort on virtual instruments played from within a DAW of some sort. We use Ableton and ProTools, and we know all too well how easy it is to be drawn into the alure of these instant masterpieces. After all, physical synths are heavy, they take up valuable space in the studio... 

In my case, I've always had "real" synthesizers, and the MIDI standard was created to control these real devices. Of course, we use virtual devices as well, so it's important to know how they interact.  The first problem is in understanding the routing of MIDI In, Out, and of course, Thru. 

This short video will walk you through a standard 3 keyboard "stack" where one keyboard controls the other two without involving a computer. And there's no latency. Did I mention the "No Latency"? That's a glorious thing.

For a history of the MIDI standard (and why we think it's ironic that Dave Smith invented the Prophet), check out this link:

https://www.midi.org/articles/midi-history-chapter-6-midi-is-born-1980-1983