Audio-to-MIDI Sync Box

[DulceLabs.com]

Will be unveiled at NAMM:

 

http://www.emusician.com/Portals/3/StandardImage/USAMO.jpg

 

http://www.emusician.com/gear/1332/expert-sleepers-announce-the-usamo/49782

 

[Joe Muscara]

DYMO label FTW!

[DulceLabs.com]

DYMO label FTW!

 

 

I love those friggin' things!

http://oi59.tinypic.com/6fwmpx.jpg

 

 

 

 

[ElmerJFudd]

Dulce,

I haven't used something related to this since around '88. Share the scenario where you'd like to use this, either live and/or in studio.

[Joe Muscara]

http://oi59.tinypic.com/6fwmpx.jpg

 

 

 

QFT

[Al Coda]

Dulce,

I haven't used something related to this since around '88.

 

I don´t think so ...

 

Share the scenario where you'd like to use this, either live and/or in studio.

 

Well, when I 1st saw it and read the specs, I wondered what it really does when generating "sample accurate and jitter free MIDI output from audio input".

In fact that can be anything,- like MIDI notes monophonic and/or polyphonic, clocks etc..

 

Beside generating what units from the past did,- i.e. timing related data from an audio signal like MIDI-Clock and Song Position Pointer or MIDI notes from a monophonic audio track,- now the innovation seems to be, it, as a plugin, receives real MIDI (a track or tracks) from DAW application, the plugin converting all MIDI info (incl. controllers) from that MIDI track into an audio-stream, then the audio is transmitted sample-accurate to the outside world where the hardware box is reconstructing the audio-stream into MIDI again and provides that to hardware MIDI devices via standard connectors.

 

The advantage over USB MIDI and via USB connected MIDI interfaces is,- from the Expert Sleepers box, you (hopefully really) get tight DAW-MIDI to ext. hardware.

That´s how I understand it.

 

Whether it will also generating pitch info (MIDI notes) from monophonic or polyphonic audio tracks or not is not specified in that announcement,- so maybe not.

 

So far so good ...

 

I wonder if everyone would get same jitterfree results at all because audio jitters too, depending on quality of clocking and/or soundcard.

So, when you want 100% jitter free MIDI over an audio-stream, you 1st need 100% jitter free audio too.

 

In addition I wonder whether MIDI-over-LAN like Copperlan and RTP-MIDI, when provided via high quality network switches, is less quality than the Expert Sleepers´ audio conversion.

They also don´t talk about latency,- only sample accuracy and jitter ...

Conversions and transmissions as well as re-construction needs time,- so there´s the smell of some latency, even jitter free, to me.

 

MIDI latency w/ MIDI over LAN is in the (typical 40 - 60) nano-second range and inaudible anyway,- the software is free, on a Mac the IAC-driver is already built in the OS and the manager software is also free for Mac and PC.

 

So, if there aren´t any more special features we never have seen before, I wonder who needs that box.

 

A.C.

[ElmerJFudd]

Back of unit seems to have a single 1/4" TS and/or TRS input, front of unit has single 5 pin MIDI output. Let's assume you have an interface with TRS output, so maybe you can do like a 50, 70, or 100' cable run with MIDI data running along traditional balanced audio cable. This is probably an improvement over the MIDI cable which seems to get a bitch sketchy once you get over 25' or so, latency wise and not to mention that it isn't grounded (to my knowledge). I remember watching Dave Smith, Craig Anderton and a bunch of others at NAMM last year talking about the MIDI spec, its short comings, its positives, and where they see it going. Anyway, weaknesses in the cable design was something that stuck in my head. But yeah, is latency any better in this design or does length of audio cable perform similarly to existing cables?

 

Panel

 

Here's the electrical spec for MIDI

MIDI Electrical Spec

So is the purpose of this box to eliminate the primary source of ground loop problems in PC audio?

[DulceLabs.com]

Dulce,

I haven't used something related to this since around '88. Share the scenario where you'd like to use this, either live and/or in studio.

 

Seeing as I don't fully understand what the heck it will actually do I can't say if I would like to use it at all. It just showed up on my timeline so I shared it here for everyone to chaw on. Al seems to have a pretty good grasp on it, and even though he explained it very well, I still am confused. Maybe Theo can break it down for me.

[ElmerJFudd]

Ha! Now that I dwell on it for a few minutes and I have dug around their site, I am beginning to think that what they actually want to do with this is send/receive CV.

 

Maybe more will be revealed when the box becomes available.

[Josh Paxton]

So either it converts audio to MIDI, or it lets you send MIDI over a longer cable than you could otherwise, or it turns something into C/V, or... April 1st has come early?

 

Am I the only one who would love a simple, <10-word explanation of what this thing does?

[Six-string-man]

So either it converts audio to MIDI, or it lets you send MIDI over a longer cable than you could otherwise, or it turns something into C/V, or... April 1st has come early?

 

Am I the only one who would love a simple, <10-word explanation of what this thing does?

 

 

It stirs up commentary and causes controversy on forums

 

(In nine words plus a smiley!)

 

 

SSM

[Analogaddict]

You can sync midi stuff like arpeggiators to audio. Great!!!

[Al Coda]

You can sync midi stuff like arpeggiators to audio. Great!!!

 

I hoped we´re talking about new stuff,- the inovations.

Syncing MIDI stuff to audio was already possible in the past, using ATARI ST, C-Lab/Emagic Creator/Notator, Unitor C/ N or II,- and C-Lab/Emagic Human Touch.

You won´t believe how many remixes we did w/ that setup and a reel-to-reel MTR fireing SMPTE to Unitor(2) while Human Touch read the audio track(s) grabbing the "hitpoints",- it worked w/ a stereo-mix too when carefully adjusted.

Many editing possibilities at that time already too.

 

Nowadays, you can extract tempo and groove info from audio tracks and convert into MIDI data inside a DAW itself and as long as it keeps inside the DAW, it should be sample accurate too,- so all the fuss is about the new way of transmission.

 

Well, today, Expert Sleepers is the leading company when it comes to sync the modern digital world w/ the oldschool analog modular world and they are good !

I think it keeps interesting following that product evolution.

I´m pretty sure they will deal w/ CV and MIDI.

Leaves the question what kind of MIDI data it will output in future and what the price is.

 

A.C.

[DYMOSupport]

DYMO label FTW!

 

I love those friggin' things!

 

 

Hiya DulceLabs.com and Joe Muscara,

 

Wonderful to see your interest for our products and that they are well used!

 

I hope they will continue to serve you well for years to come and remember our support representatives are always ready to assist you if needed!

 

With wishes for a wonderful happy Christmas and a happy new year.

Jesper K

DYMOSupport

[DulceLabs.com]

Hi Jesper and welcome to the forums! Always glad to have a manufacturer's rep on board to answer questions - and boy do I have a bunch for you!

 

1- Rumors are buzzing about left handed version to be released at the next LabelCon show. Care to comment?

2- Any chance we will see a Klingon font set?

3- How do I do reverse embossing?

4- In the Simpson's episode "Radio Bart", Bart gets a DYMO machine from Patty and Selma. He uses it to put a "Property of Bart Simpson" label in everything he owns, including the dog. My question is where can I get the labels that will stick to fur?

 

Thanks Jesper!

[Joe Muscara]

[Theo Verelst]

Sample accuracy may well be a problem with most MIDI equipment: measuring the timing of midi messages at sub midi clock level (31.25 kilo bit / sec) isn't enough (for 44.1k samples per second) and is seldom done to my knowledge by any MIDI instrument manufacturer. I have made a MIDI implementation that gets the required accuracy, but I doubt this machine has done what I did to achieve the the same, and it is likely in that case jitter and depending on the type of implementation all kinds of clock conversion rounding will play a role.

 

I too had fun in the 80s with SMPTE on video locked to Steinberg's sequencer for composing score and so on, but messing with samples I think would preferably work with a (speed) upgraded MIDI !

 

T.

[DYMOSupport]

Hi Jesper and welcome to the forums! Always glad to have a manufacturer's rep on board to answer questions - and boy do I have a bunch for you!

 

1- Rumors are buzzing about left handed version to be released at the next LabelCon show. Care to comment?

2- Any chance we will see a Klingon font set?

3- How do I do reverse embossing?

4- In the Simpson's episode "Radio Bart", Bart gets a DYMO machine from Patty and Selma. He uses it to put a "Property of Bart Simpson" label in everything he owns, including the dog. My question is where can I get the labels that will stick to fur?

 

Thanks Jesper!

 

Heya DulceLabs.com,

 

Wonderful, I am enjoying a nice cup of coffee preparing for the most intense questioning of all time.

 

1. At this time I do not have anything I can share about this, however on a personal note I do think it is about time that we come out with a left handed option. After all we do want everyone to enjoy the magic of labeling!

 

2. I am not sure Qo'noS and it's inhabitants are on our plans to expand into, However I will forward your rather interesting suggestion to the right people. You never know what the future holds!

 

3. At this time the functionality is only available for the RHINO M1011 embossers and you need a specific reverse wheel for it, however this is included in the purchase of the product.

 

If you perhaps have lost it or never got it in the first place, do head over to the link I have included below and give us a holler and we can see what we can do!

 

- http://tinyurl.com/DYMOContactUS

 

4. Technically all our labels can stick to fur and will not fall off that easily from it, however due to the chemicals used for the adhesive it is not recommended to stick it onto something that is living as it can cause skin irritation and similar.

We do appreciate the interest in such a label and it could be something we can bring out for the future!

 

I hope I have been able to answer your questions fully and do not be afraid to throw some more at me, I am ready to take any challenge on!

 

Best regards and wishes for a happy new year,

DYMOSupport

Jesper K

[Ashville.Guru]

This whole thread is rather quaint and amusing.

 

- Guru

[Joe Muscara]

Nice.