To be clear; will the A4 be able to provide power to the keyboard while receiving MIDI through USB?
Is it possible to recieve MIDI clock through MIDI IN while CC is triggered via USB?
I’ve searched through the whole of internet for the answers but have had no luck. The only thing I’m not in love with the A4 is the miniature keys so I’m looking to find a small keyboard (my studio is cluttered enough) to just play back the sounds and jam with.
A4 will not provide power over USB. You will need to have a psu for the midi keyboard. You can however send clock via midi and cc via USB as long as you have the a4 set up for in/out via USB+midi.
You could just run the keyboard through your DAW and then out to A4. You’d basically just be using your computer as a midi interface. Keyboard USB -> PC. PC -> AnalogFour
Alternatively get a USB to MIDI converter but that’s a bit expensive.
A4 will not provide power over USB. You will need to have a psu for the midi keyboard. You can however send clock via midi and cc via USB as long as you have the a4 set up for in/out via USB+midi.
Good news and bad news I guess. Oh well…
You could just run the keyboard through your DAW and then out to A4. You’d basically just be using your computer as a midi interface. Keyboard USB -> PC. PC -> AnalogFour
Yeah I could do that I guess… it’s just that it’s exactly the thing I was hoping to avoid. It’d be great to sequence and arrange whole songs without ever having to turn on my PC. I find that having virtually limitless possibilities (plugins and so forth) is a distraction.
Well I guess there is no way around this since I’ve already used up A4’s MIDI IN.
any discussion above relating to plugging a usb midi device directly into the A4 is misleading - i’m not aware of any products that allow that option - at the very minimum you’ll need a kenton usb host box or a raspberry pi or any number of other solutions - there may be newish products which present themselves in the correct way wrt usb but all those common or garden ones you listed won’t play ball - there’s tonnes of threads on here about this, i do it with a raspberry pi which limits you to usb class compliant devices, the kenton does midi as do others but at a premium
You will need a USB host of some sort. For simplicity’s sake, I’d use a USB host -> MIDI box like the one that came with my Kieth McMillan QNexus. The iConnect boxes also do this, I think.
You could also use the free midi-Ox if you are on Windows. It just allows routing of midi signals so you can direct any available ins to the A4. It does not load any VST plugins so although you have to use a computer, you won’t need to get distracted, plus you can turn off your monitor.
I use it occasionally for various tasks, it’s very handy to have around.
You will need a USB host of some sort. For simplicity’s sake, I’d use a USB host -> MIDI box like the one that came with my Kieth McMillan QNexus. The iConnect boxes also do this, I think.[/quote]
+1
The KMI QuNexus runs about $99. and the KMI Midi Expander box is $49.—a really inexpensive solution, not to mention the expression control the QuNexus grants you is amazing and you can also use the QuNexus with your iPad as well. Love the KMI gear and with it’s editor, completely configurable in any way imaginable. Also works as CV to MIDI and has like 3 CV outs and perhaps 2 CV ins as well.
Thought i’d throw this little beauty into the mix. it’s the pocket friendly little brother of the Unitor8, so your sorted if you’re on OSX as the patching is a doddle to configure. it’s a 2x4 matrix, 2 in x 4 out, and inputs are merge-able (but only one clock will be listened to for obvious reasons!) - you change the patches (32 programmable combinations) with prg chg messages, whereas on unitor you can use a footswitch - it’ll need a 5v psu to the usb port, easy done with a iphone one etc
I guess the best option is to get a midi keyboard with a 5pin midi out as well USB connection plus a USB AC Wall Charger.
The way I have setup is: I connect my M-Audio Axion keyboard midi OUT to Analog4 midi IN using a 5pin midi cable them I use a regular USB cable connected to a Belkin USB AC Wall Charger Adapter and that to the wall, so the USB cable is used just for provide power for the keyboard.
That works like a charm, it’s a very cheap solution and no need to use your computer at all.
IIRC, Keith McMillan says that their USB host boxes work only with their products.
The iConnect4 will act as a USB host, as will the older iConnectMidi box, but as far as I know, the iConnect2 will not.
Sadly at NAMM I asked a bunch of manufactures is they will make a USB OTG keyboard. This is basically a feature of USB which switched the device to host mode, like the CCK from apple. Then the keyboard could go into host mode and with an adapter be connected to theA4 for example.
everyone looked at me like I was crazy and asked why would you need that…
Anyone ever seen a DIY circuit that would facilitate the hosting and connection of two class compliant devices, without getting as involved as arduinos etc - the Rasp Pi solution is easy enough, but just wondering ?
Ok- just to clarify (I’m not the original poster), but it would be possible to only plug in a midi keyboard via USB to the computer (assuming it has midi over USB capability) and control the A4 which would also only be plugged in over USB. The whole idea being to avoid midi cables altogether…
