Imagine
24-01-2017, 11:17 PM
OK - definitely not disco related but worth a punt (hopefully).
Many moons ago before I got busy doing I don't know how many other things...I was an avid keyboard player. I still have my Roland E500 in the corner of my dining room and a Roland drum machine (both were top of the range in their day and hideously expensive). Tomorrow's exercise for the terminally bored (my full time job is still dying a complete death but hey....I'm being paid and I'll have some spare time after doing the housework and the ironing :o), involves putting both of them through my DXR15's....because I can :)
Now....I realise we're talking nearly 20 year old kit here...but they both still work flawlessly. They both also have what was then the new fangled technology of Midi. I recall 20 years ago joining the two via a 3 pin lead which we now call XLR and getting the keyboard to control the drum machine (or possibly Vicki-vercki.....can't remember properly).
So....for the technical/musicians among our brethren.....is it possible/can I/how do I connect these two relics to some sort of software on my MacBook (or even a PC....I have a couple of those floating around doing nothing at the moment since I went over to the "dark side")?? I kind of know "something" is possible where I can sit at the Mac and send signals to the two machines to play music composed on the 'pooter....but really don't know where to start (I'm getting old).
I'm aware I'll need a USB to Midi lead (no problem there....they're plentiful on the world wide wonderland), but software? Ideally I'm thinking something where I input a musical score and send the signals to the relevant instruments (I seem to remember watching a Blue Peter film many decades ago where Mike Oldfield did exactly that).
Open as always to ideas. This could become a reincarnation of a previous hobby with a bit of a geeky bent on it ;)
Many moons ago before I got busy doing I don't know how many other things...I was an avid keyboard player. I still have my Roland E500 in the corner of my dining room and a Roland drum machine (both were top of the range in their day and hideously expensive). Tomorrow's exercise for the terminally bored (my full time job is still dying a complete death but hey....I'm being paid and I'll have some spare time after doing the housework and the ironing :o), involves putting both of them through my DXR15's....because I can :)
Now....I realise we're talking nearly 20 year old kit here...but they both still work flawlessly. They both also have what was then the new fangled technology of Midi. I recall 20 years ago joining the two via a 3 pin lead which we now call XLR and getting the keyboard to control the drum machine (or possibly Vicki-vercki.....can't remember properly).
So....for the technical/musicians among our brethren.....is it possible/can I/how do I connect these two relics to some sort of software on my MacBook (or even a PC....I have a couple of those floating around doing nothing at the moment since I went over to the "dark side")?? I kind of know "something" is possible where I can sit at the Mac and send signals to the two machines to play music composed on the 'pooter....but really don't know where to start (I'm getting old).
I'm aware I'll need a USB to Midi lead (no problem there....they're plentiful on the world wide wonderland), but software? Ideally I'm thinking something where I input a musical score and send the signals to the relevant instruments (I seem to remember watching a Blue Peter film many decades ago where Mike Oldfield did exactly that).
Open as always to ideas. This could become a reincarnation of a previous hobby with a bit of a geeky bent on it ;)