Hey folks, sorry for what is an often asked question. I have an A4 and Rytm, both mki, and I would love to get a stable setup with both of them using overbridge. I did a bunch of troubleshooting today and the culprits are definitely the USB connection. The hubs I’m using ( anker ) don’t want to handle two elektron devices at once, I assume because they aren’t MTT.
Does someone who has similar gear to me ( mki ) have a link to a hub on amazon that they’ve been using successfully with overbridge? I’m on macOS.
Thanks y’all
[edit] I should add I own an overhub but it no longer works. Everyone gushes about the build quality of those things but the upstream USB socket is quite delicate and got trashed after a few months.
I’ve been using this one with an a4 mki and it has been good. I don’t know if using two Elektron’s would make it behave differently or not, but it has been stable with one.
My recommendation would be for Belkin stuff. I think they only do usb-c powered hubs now, so the prices are pretty high, but not a single disconnect etc over years. Two or three times the price of the one above
I use a pretty cheap USB 3.0 hub without any issues (it has 4 ports and costs about $5). As far as I know, every USB 3 hub provides MTT. If you don´t use USB powered devices, there is no need for an active USB hub with power supply.
Thanks all! Just to clarify - are you using multiple mki units on these hubs? In my tests it is always when connecting the second mki device that things go awry, or in situations where there is a USB extension.
That looks remarkably like the anker hub I’m using. I DO believe it matters using two mki devices on the same hub matters. What I see is, I connect the the A4 ( or rytm ) and overbridge works correctly, then if I connect the other device, that device gets stuck on ‘measuring’ for a while and then faults. What works is connecting each devices to separate USB controllers.
I’d test it for you but all I have are Octatrack and Model Cycles, so no Overbridge for those. It might be best to wait and see if someone else is using two mkIs successfully with a particular hub.
The VL817, however, is MTT. As is the GL3520, GL3522, and some other variants.
The devil is in the details. Best bet to be certain you’re buying an MTT hub and not assume that you are, is check the chipset of the hub (if not in the specs, usually on Amazon you can ask this question and maybe after 3 or 4 pointless "I don’t know but it works for me! answers , you’ll get the manufacturer’s answer to your question)
and then verify with the chipset manufacturer’s online white sheets that the particular chipset features Multiple Transaction Translators (MTT)
I own one but it doesn’t work anymore because the upstream socket got damaged. I like that it’s a metal case but that socket is hot garbage.
[RANT] …this is the problem generally with USB stuff, the cost pressures on all the components is so severe that literally no one bothers to build good stuff.[/RANT]
Update, I just got this hub ( waiting for the ugreen one ) and in testing so far it seems great although I have yet to do an hour long hippie dub synth jam running the entire rig.
Some observations so far:
like most hubs this thing has two controllers, 4 ports are connected to one controller and the additional 3 are connected to the other one
OB initializes both elektron boxes connected to the hub, even using neighboring ports, and seems quite quick getting past the
using an 10m extension cable, everything seems fine ( macOS reports the extension cable as an additional USB 2.0 hub between the laptop’s USB3 controller and the hub’s controllers )
the build quality is fantastic and includes a convenient metal plat you can use for mounting the hub. The upstream connection is the normal USB3 upstream socket as opposed to the micro port format overhub uses.
I should have some time this afternoon for a jam, excited.
, you’ll get the manufacturer’s answer to your question)