Using TM-1 off of a USB port on TE Oplab?

[jshell]

Now that I’ve got a Machinedrum, and I’ve got the Future Retro Zillion on the way, my MIDI setup is about to get complicated. The short “tl;dr” version of this question is: could I plug the TM-1 (with its midi in/out connected to Machinedrum) into a USB port on the Oplab and have the Oplab treat it like a USB Midi device?

Over the past few months, the Teenage Engineering Oplab has been the central nervous system of my setup. It’s been awesome as it connects my USB MIDI instruments (OP-1, Waldorf Streichfett), my tiny Eurorack system, regular MIDI instruments (DSI Evolver, Meeblip Anode), and syncs Volcas and Pocket Operators thanks to Darenager’s Synclab add-on board.

I’ve typically used the Oplab in its ‘single source’ mode, playing all of these devices either with an iPad sequencer or using the OP-1 as controller or controller/synth hybrid (OP-1 plus Anode makes for a surprisingly great pairing).

But now I’ve got the Machinedrum and Zillion and I don’t know what to do. I’d like to use both devices as potential sequencers at the same time, and I’d like to still sometimes switch to the iPad as master sequencer. And I’d probably often want the Machinedrum to at least be a master clock.

So here’s the funky question - could I plug the Elektron TM-1 into one of the Oplab USB ports and connect its MIDI out and in to the Machinedrum (and/or another synth) and then have the Oplab treat those like a USB Midi device like it treats the OP-1? The Oplab has a couple of special modes that take advantage of USB and can merge the signals together, plus doing this would keep the MIDI In port on the Oplab free for the Zillion.

Or would/could this make a kind of bad MIDI feedback loop?

[PeterHanes]

Now that I’ve got a Machinedrum, and I’ve got the Future Retro Zillion on the way, my MIDI setup is about to get complicated. The short “tl;dr” version of this question is: could I plug the TM-1 (with its midi in/out connected to Machinedrum) into a USB port on the Oplab and have the Oplab treat it like a USB Midi device?

Over the past few months, the Teenage Engineering Oplab has been the central nervous system of my setup. It’s been awesome as it connects my USB MIDI instruments (OP-1, Waldorf Streichfett), my tiny Eurorack system, regular MIDI instruments (DSI Evolver, Meeblip Anode), and syncs Volcas and Pocket Operators thanks to Darenager’s Synclab add-on board.

I’ve typically used the Oplab in its ‘single source’ mode, playing all of these devices either with an iPad sequencer or using the OP-1 as controller or controller/synth hybrid (OP-1 plus Anode makes for a surprisingly great pairing).

But now I’ve got the Machinedrum and Zillion and I don’t know what to do. I’d like to use both devices as potential sequencers at the same time, and I’d like to still sometimes switch to the iPad as master sequencer. And I’d probably often want the Machinedrum to at least be a master clock.

So here’s the funky question - could I plug the Elektron TM-1 into one of the Oplab USB ports and connect its MIDI out and in to the Machinedrum (and/or another synth) and then have the Oplab treat those like a USB Midi device like it treats the OP-1? The Oplab has a couple of special modes that take advantage of USB and can merge the signals together, plus doing this would keep the MIDI In port on the Oplab free for the Zillion.

Or would/could this make a kind of bad MIDI feedback loop?

You should be able to connect the TM-1 to either of the OpLab’s USB Host ports, and select the appropriate OpLab mode for what you want to do. An MD connected by TM-1 is not a special case.

Depending on what routing you want, you may have to do some configuration of the individual devices for the desired effect.

With care, there should be no problem with MIDI feedback.

TLDR: Yes.

[jshell]

Thanks! I think I’ll be adding an iConnect type device if the setup gets much more complicated, but this should get me by for now, for sure.