miden Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 Just looking through the manual and it makes no mention of connecting a second board to the RD-88. Further, there is no MIDI in connector. Some 'boards, Montage/PC4 etc allow a second 'board to be connected via the USB but I see no such function listed in the manual. Does anyone know IF you can connect a second 'board, say a controller? Bit of a "klanger" not to include MIDI in I would have thought. Quote There is no luck - luck is simply the confluence of circumstance and co-incidence... Time is the final arbiter for all things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timwat Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 While there is only DIN MIDI out, I'm guessing that USB connectivity to a computer allows full MIDI IN/OUT. This doesn't really help in a gig setting, but I'm guessing Roland thinks most gigging folks will only want to use the RD88 as a weighted controller for other boards/modules, and if you really want to use the RD88's internal sounds (of which I think you can only address up to 3 channels simultaneously - one review I found said you cannot use the RD88 as a full simultaneous 16 channel sound source) you're probably in a computer situation with a USB interface. I'm not saying I agree or disagree with this premise, but that's my knee-jerk presumption from what I quickly found online about the RD88's limitations. Quote .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miden Posted November 4, 2021 Author Share Posted November 4, 2021 Yeah thanks Tim. I sorta figured it could be accessed via the circuitous route of in to the PC and accessing it with the second 'board from PC usb midi out. I'd want the second board to play organ, synth and other parts using a light keybed with aftertouch (recognised by the Rd-88 but not available from it's own keybed). But with the RD-88 system, I'd be required to take a PC to gigs JUST to get MIDI in To me this is a glaring oversight TBH. Quote There is no luck - luck is simply the confluence of circumstance and co-incidence... Time is the final arbiter for all things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfD Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 I"m not totally surprised that an 88-note DP doesn't have a DIN MIDI In nowadays. I'd imagine manufacturers think it would be blaphemous to play DP internal sounds from another KB through DIN MIDI IN Otherwise, I think USB MIDI I/O has become the defactor standard over DIN MIDI I/O. Of course, that doesn't help if someone wants to play the RD-88 sounds from their DX7 KB. Quote PD "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowardS Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 On page 24 of the MIDI Implementation manual you can see that it recognizes incoming MIDI data though I think you can only access it through the USB cable, as timwat said. If you have an iOS device and a camera connection kit then you should be able to route data from the second keyboard through the iOS device into the RD88. I have done that with other gear that I have I have though I have yet to test that myself with my RD88. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EscapeRocks Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 The RD-88 is not a workstation Correct, there is no MIDI DIN in. The USB B is MIDI in/out The RD-88 is also an audio interface The RD-88 Natively works with Mainstage and in that mode, the knobs are mapped to the Smart Controls in Mainstage, or you can override that and make your own assignments. You can select which MIDI you use (DIN, USB, or both) per program, or overall. In a non Mainstage setup, I use my RD-88 to control my Nautilus 61. In this case, I am strictly using an RD-88 piano sound layered with Piano sound from Nautilus. I also use the RD-88 to control all kinds of other programs on Nautilus. I run the audio LR out from RD-88 to audio LR in on the Nautilus. The Nautilus lets you accept or reject audio IN per program Back to RD-88 In Mainstage rig, I have the RD-88 connected to my rig via USB Also, since the Nautilus can also be a host I have, at time, connected the RD-88 to the Nautilus via USB. This adds the benefit if I ever wanted the Nautilus to change programs on the RD-88 Quote David Gig Rig:Depends on the day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miden Posted November 4, 2021 Author Share Posted November 4, 2021 Yeah I was sorta hoping (when I saw there was no midi in) that Roland had done what Yamaha and Kurzweil (and I THINK?? Korg) by allowing the USB A port to also accept MIDI in data... A shame really as it ticked all the boxes (apart from a second audio out, haha, but I can live with that). Quote There is no luck - luck is simply the confluence of circumstance and co-incidence... Time is the final arbiter for all things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherScott Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 The RD88 appears to be one of the most expensive portable keyboards you can find that doesn't have 5-pin MIDI In and Out. It surprised me, too. The other was the Dexibell S1, which has neither (along with the older DexibellP3/P7). Quote Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delaware Dave Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 probably why these have become so popular: usb to midi Quote 57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn Delaware Dave Exit93band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miden Posted November 4, 2021 Author Share Posted November 4, 2021 probably why these have become so popular: usb to midi Yes I have similar, but that's not really the point is it? Its another power supply another set of cables etc etc...doesn't cover the fact no MIDI in is a glaring omission Quote There is no luck - luck is simply the confluence of circumstance and co-incidence... Time is the final arbiter for all things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonglow Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 Also, since the Nautilus can also be a host I have, at time, connected the RD-88 to the Nautilus via USB. This adds the benefit if I ever wanted the Nautilus to change programs on the RD-88 I can see how that would be desirable, using Set List mode on the Nautilus. Quote "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miden Posted November 5, 2021 Author Share Posted November 5, 2021 The RD-88 is not a workstation Correct, there is no MIDI DIN in. The USB B is MIDI in/out The RD-88 is also an audio interface The RD-88 Natively works with Mainstage and in that mode, the knobs are mapped to the Smart Controls in Mainstage, or you can override that and make your own assignments. You can select which MIDI you use (DIN, USB, or both) per program, or overall. In a non Mainstage setup, I use my RD-88 to control my Nautilus 61. In this case, I am strictly using an RD-88 piano sound layered with Piano sound from Nautilus. I also use the RD-88 to control all kinds of other programs on Nautilus. I run the audio LR out from RD-88 to audio LR in on the Nautilus. The Nautilus lets you accept or reject audio IN per program Back to RD-88 In Mainstage rig, I have the RD-88 connected to my rig via USB Also, since the Nautilus can also be a host I have, at time, connected the RD-88 to the Nautilus via USB. This adds the benefit if I ever wanted the Nautilus to change programs on the RD-88 Yes nice if you ALSO own a nautilus (that was j/k poke) ....however I have no wish to buy one (no after touch) and TBH the RD-88 was turning into a "slam-dunk" the more I read about it and I even got my dealer to put his last one on hold...but then the "klanger"! If Roland ever make the USB A a to device port (as I wrote as Yamaha, Kurz and Korg have done) then it would then turn in to the slam dunk and I'd buy one in an instant! Quote There is no luck - luck is simply the confluence of circumstance and co-incidence... Time is the final arbiter for all things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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