Product Description

This sturdy MIDI interface cable is self-powered and connects to your computer's USB port. No need for tools or computer disassembly, it's the simplest & most convenient way to connect a keyboard or controller to a computer. Gives you the power to play songs on your keyboard or other controller, then mix and edit them on your home computer/laptop with any sequencing or recording software you have installed & play them back on the built-in synth or an any out-board synth!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #297 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: HDE
• Dimensions: .0 pounds

Features

• Supports: Windows Vista/XP and Mac OS X
• Turn your PC into a music studio by connecting a music keyboard to your computer with the USB MIDI cable
• Easy to install with built-in driver; USB powered, no AC adapter needed
• 1 in + 1 out MIDI interface; 16 MIDI input channels & 16 MIDI output channels
• LED power indicator; MIDI in & out signal indicator; Supports: Windows Vista/XP and Mac OS X

Customer Reviews

Works great even with old Yamaha keyboard!
I bought a cheap yamaha keyboard about 6 years ago. It had the option of midi connection with computers, but at the time Yamaha wanted like half the price of the keyboard for the connecting cord! So I didn't get it. Now I was looking at this and the price is such a steal in comparison I thought I would try it. It worked! I have a piano program, and the cord connects to both my Vista computer and my XP computer without trouble -- just plug it in. Remember to plug the "In" into the "Out" and vise versa. It comes with instructions specially says to do that, and I messed up anyway. Silly me.

Good deal, I recommend it. But do remember that you need a piano program to make things happen, the same way you need a word processing program or something before you can type something on the computer with a normal typing keyboard. You can find freeware piano keyboard software such as Anvil Studio on the internet.

May not work with your equipment
I hate leaving reviews claiming something's "broken", but in this case there were some serious problems. So my problems:

1. The device does not handle run-on MIDI commands properly. I doubt that many modern MIDI devices use run-on commands, as they were a somewhat confusing bit-saving mechanism from the 20th century. The keyboard I used was a Kurzweil SP-88. I suspect this is a design-defect in the product. More on this below.

2. The device would not enumerate on my main PC. That box is a custom-built machine using a P5B Deluxe motherboard which has never had any problems with any other USB devices. I even tried clocking the box down to normal speeds; Vista gives me a vague error about the device malfunctioning, and Ubuntu gives me a read error during enumeration in dmesg (which, to be fair, wasn't any more useful in this context.)

3. For all the reviewers who said the cable was labeled backwards: MIDI cables are always connected so that the "OUT" of one device goes to the "IN" of another device. MIDI supports a ring-shaped daisy-chain of devices that way. This cable was not labeled backwards.

Elaborating on point 1:

On the wrong equipment, when you do this:
1. Press-and-hold key1.
2. Press-and-hold key2.
3. Release key1.
4. Release key2.

You get this:
1. Press-and-hold key1.
2. Press-and-hold key2.
3. Release key1.
4. Press-and-hold key2 again.

For those technically inclined, here's the data stream from my SP-88 using the old serial cable I was replacing (I had to resurrect a dead machine to get this; I'm forging note velocities for easier comparison):
90 40 45 3c 48 80 40 62 3c 61

Here's what this product read:
90 40 45 90 3c 48 80 40 62 90 3c 61

Here's the nearest valid sequence it could have provided:
90 40 45 90 3c 48 80 40 62 80 3c 61

Note the 80 instead of 90 in the third-to-last byte - "80" means "note off", "90" means "note on". This was a deal-killer for me; your mileage may vary.

I replaced the cable with an M-Audio cable from a local shop for 3x the price; that cable also reprocesses run-on commands, but does it appropriately (the third sequence above is what I would get.)

The seller was courteous and provided a full refund, including shipping, so all I lost to them was time. I'd buy from these guys again, just not this product.

Works great and doesn't cost very much
I've tested this MIDI-to-USB cable under OS X (CoreMIDI) and Linux (JACK) with a Casio keyboard and a Yamaha digital piano. Everything works without problems. And the price point is remarkable! Most of these adapters seem to cost around $40-50, so this is quite a deal.

And yes, you need to plug the end that says "MIDI Out" into your "MIDI In" socket on your keyboard, but that's how it always is with MIDI...