midi slave Q's

[x_taxi]

does anyone use a midi slave?  if you do, what do you use to have a virtual midi rack on the slave?  too many options available online kasi.  nalilito na ko eh.  haha!

would be helpful if any of you guys had experience with the host+slave set up.  i'm exploring my options - something along the lines of v-stack.  but i still dunno if it'll work with my sequencer.  for audio, i'll probably just use stereo digital connections to the host daw.  unless i get an 1212m for adat.  sa midi naman, i'll just use regular midi cables to interface the two daw's.

thanks people!

 

[KitC]

If you are using Cubase SX/SL, you can use Cubase's System Link in conjunction with Vstack; I don't think VST 5.1 has System Link. It is a rather complicated setup though, but I think I can help you somewhat if you go that route. A far better option, IMO, is FXTeleport, especially if both pc's support gigabit lan.

You can also treat the remote pc as a sound module with plain midi connections. You should be able to slave the remote pc to the main pc using s/pdif connections.

[KitC]

since i'm only lookin at a host+slave setup, i'm wonderin what's the best way to "rack" vst's on the slave.  do i still need to have a midi sequencer on the slave to rack up my vst instruments or can i simply use v-stack if it can work standalone (without cubase)?  also, do i still need to sync the clock on the slave even on such a simple setup?

If you will be using the remote pc as a sound module, it doesn't need a sequencer application, but it does need a vst host. Vstack is one such host, with the additional advantage that it works well with VST System Link. There is a freeware host called uhmm...VSTHost; I'm just not sure if it can accept multiple midi ports.

If you will be connecting via analog I/O, there is no need to sync the 2 setups. Syncing is only necessary when the master and slave are connected digitally, like via s/pdif. In this case, s/pdif connections must be bi-directional; both of their s/pdif ins and outs are connected. You assign the computer with the better clock as the s/pdif timing source (master).

[KitC]

Hey Vince! I forgot to add that most vst instruments can be used in standalone mode. In some cases, like EmulatorX, Kontakt and other samplers, you can have as many as 32 to 64 midi channels available to you. All you need is a couple of multiple input midi interfaces with the 2 computers to be able to use all those channels.

[xjepoyx]

Me din Question

I dont know if you call this midi slave din... I have a BCF2000 DAW Controller... can i gang 2 BCF using a midi cable so i have 16 faders all in all that i can control cubase? Or do i have to connect both BCF in the USB Port?
I Tried connecting both BCF but the weird thing that happened was ALL 16 Motorized Faders slide up and down as if theres was a ghost. (seryoso po mga igan!!)

[xjepoyx]

haha.  that's creepy!

OT:  how's your quadcore?  nabuo mo na ba?

 

i have 3GB of GEIL DDR2 800 na and ATI Radeon 2600 na VC na pero im still choosing a good mobo eh.

Am i going ABIT P35-PRO or Gigabyte X38-DQ6 eh

[KitC]

Jeps, try separate usb connections for the BCF instead, but make sure their ID numbers are different.

[KitC]

another question...

i have onboard gigalan on both pc's.  since my router only supports 100mbps, i've decided to simply use a crossover cat5 cable between host and slave.  however on task manager, it says that my link speed is only 100 mbps.  is there somethin i should configure?

Look at the device properties for the gigabit ethernet nics, speed settings. In some cases, auto configuration mode sometimes chooses 100mbps... dunno why this happens. Set the speed manually to 1 gigabit/s on both machines. It can get confusing if your machine has 2 ports, one gigabit and the other 100 mbps.

As for your previous question, sorry, I didn't seem to notice it. But in answer, I know of some people who keep their samples on external drives and have no problems whatsoever.

[KitC]

I've read that you could go as far as 100 ft., but that's with really good (read expensive) 75 ohm coax cable. You can go as far as 10 to 15 meters with good cable before internal reflections (yes, electrical digital signals sometimes 'bounce') create enough jitter to screw up the digital signal. Using run of the mill digital cables, I'd say no further than 10 feet. A little something to make your head spin.

[x_taxi]

Look at the device properties for the gigabit ethernet nics, speed settings. In some cases, auto configuration mode sometimes chooses 100mbps... dunno why this happens. Set the speed manually to 1 gigabit/s on both machines. It can get confusing if your machine has 2 ports, one gigabit and the other 100 mbps.

just found out that gigabit lan crossover cable's wired differently from regular 100mbps crossover.  had a new one made from a schematic i got off the fxteleport forums.  now i gots myself 1 gbps fully operational!

by the way, fxteleport rocks for the host-slave setup!

 

[KitC]

Hey Vince! Maybe you can post a pic of the differences in pinout diagrams.

[x_taxi]

here it goes:



it was actually weird cause the cable tester was giving errors.  but i told the pc tech it's all good, even though i wasn't sure.  works perfectly fine when i got home.