Steinberg Midex 8 Manual

							 
MIDEX-8
English – 31 
ENGLISH
 
How it works
 
The MIDEX-8 supports two MIDI Thru modes and you can toggle be-
tween the two by pressing the MIDI Thru button. 
•Mode 1: MIDI input 1 is routed to all MIDI outputs. The MIDI input LED 1 lights 
up continuously.
•Mode 2: MIDI input 8 is routed to all MIDI outputs. The MIDI input LED 8 lights 
up continuously.
 
❐
 
MIDI Thru is automatically switched off if an application program starts to 
 
use one of the MIDI inputs or outputs. 
 
Reset
 
• If you simultaneously hold down the buttons “Panic/Cablecheck” and 
“MIDI Thru” for ca. 3 seconds, the MIDEX-8 will be reset.
 
❐
 
Activating the Reset function has the same effect as physically separating 
the MIDEX-8 from the USB port by pulling the USB cable. 
After such a reset, the operating system should automatically transfer the 
firmware driver into the MIDEX-8.
 
❐
 
Under certain conditions, the Windows versions available at the time of re-
lease of this document, do cause problems in connection with resetting 
 
USB devices. These are described in the following section. 
						

							 
MIDEX-8
English – 32 
Windows Problems with the USB Reset
 
Contrary to the capabilities originally intended for the USB bus, none of 
the USB supporting Windows versions available at the time of release 
of this manual, tolerates unplugging the USB cable while the applica-
tion program is still running. In the worst case, the corresponding Win-
dows version simply crashes. 
❐
 
Until these problems are fixed by a newer operating system version, you 
should avoid to interrupt the USB connection during operation by unplug-
ging the USB cable or simultaneously pressing the MIDEX-8 buttons 
 
“Panic/Cablecheck” and “MIDI Thru” for 3 seconds.
• Always first terminate the running application under Windows before re-
setting the USB bus. 
• If you use Windows 2000, you first need to run the “Unplug or Eject Hard-
ware” function on the right side of the Task Bar before you terminate the 
USB connection. 
						

							 
MIDEX-8
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Practical Tips
 
MIDI – Brief Introduction for the Novice
 
The MIDEX-8 is used to transfer MIDI data. 
The term “MIDI” is the abbreviation for “Musical Instrument Digital 
Interface”. This is a procedure used to exchange data between musical 
instruments, sound modules and other MIDI compatible devices or 
programs. All devices must be equipped with a MIDI port.
The data that is transferred does not contain the sounds themselves. 
Instead, it is a series of different control commands. These do e.g. tell a 
receiving device to play a certain note, modulate a sound in a certain 
manner or switch to another sound from its sound library (e.g. from vi-
olin to piano). But MIDI can also be used to control other devices, e.g. 
stage lighting systems, tape recorders, effect devices etc.
Using the MIDEX-8, you can connect your computer – and a sequencer 
program that runs on it – to external MIDI capable devices. 
•Data on up to 16 separate channels can be transferred in one direction via one 
single MIDI socket.
•For sending, receiving and forwarding MIDI data, separate sockets are available 
on a MIDI device:
MIDI data is being received via the MIDI In socket, sent out via the MIDI Out 
socket and forwarded to another device unchanged via the MIDI Thru socket. 
•For a bi-directional connection between any two MIDI devices you need two 
MIDI cables and each device must have one MIDI input and one MIDI output.
•To enable you to address many different devices separately on 16 channels 
each and to also receive data from many different devices, the MIDEX-8 pro-
vides eight separate MIDI inputs and eight MIDI outputs. 
 
More detailed information about MIDI for the novice and the advanced 
user can be found on the Steinberg product “MIDI Xplained”, a Multi-
media CD-ROM. 
						

							 
MIDEX-8
English – 34 
What can I do if my Multi Mode Instruments cause Timing 
Problems?
 
Many MIDI sound modules – especially Multi Mode instruments (i.e. in-
struments that receive data on up to 16 MIDI channels) – do have prob-
lems with their processing speed when they receive large amounts of 
data. As a result, delays occur between receiving a MIDI command and 
its execution, which can cause noticeable timing problems.
In spite of its LTB processing, the MIDEX-8 can of course not compen-
sate for this kind of delay, which is caused by the technical characteris-
tics of the corresponding sound module.
So, what solutions are available when you encounter this problem?  
•If possible, route MIDI tracks that should play back simultaneously to many dif-
ferent sound modules.
•Create a “thinner” stream of data. Besides note commands, MIDI data also 
contains a lot of “continuous” data, which is created and sent by controllers like 
the modulation wheel, the pitch controller etc. This type of data increases the 
load on the receiving device, but much of it can be filtered out without 
negative impact on the sound. Cubase e.g. offers the “Reduce Controller Data” 
function for this purpose.
•Avoid the transfer of system-exclusive data.
•If you use a sequencer that can also record audio, you can separately play back 
individual MIDI Tracks and record each as an audio file.
 
Connecting the MIDEX-8 and other USB devices to one USB Port?
 
You should avoid to connect USB devices with fluctuating bandwidth 
requirements to the same USB port as the MIDEX-8. If this can’t be 
avoided, try to make sure that these devices are not used at the same 
time as the MIDEX-8. 
						

							 
MIDEX-8
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Using USB Hubs
Simple and small USB devices sometimes offer facilities to pass on the 
USB signal. Because of its more complex tasks and higher power 
requirements, the MIDEX-8 has been designed as a USB end device. If 
you wish to simultaneously operate several MIDEX-8 on one USB port, 
you require a USB hub.
A USB hub is an additional device, which offers at least one USB input 
and two USB outputs. A hub “distributes” the incoming data onto the 
connected devices.
Two different types of device are available on the market: “self-pow-
ered USB hubs” (i.e. hubs with their own power supply) and “bus-pow-
ered USB hubs” (i.e. hubs that get their power from the USB bus of the 
computer).
If you wish to connect one or several MIDEX-8 to a hub, it must at least 
be able to supply 500 mA per USB port.
If connected to a self-powered USB hub, the MIDEX-8 doesn’t need an 
external power supply. According to the USB specification, each port of 
such a hub should be able to supply at least 500 mA, which is enough 
to run a MIDEX-8.
If connected to a bus-powered USB hub, each MIDEX-8 must be sup-
plied with power using an external power supply. Hubs of this type get 
the necessary power exclusively from the computer’s USB bus. Accord-
ing to the USB specification, the outputs of such a hub do supply a 
maximum of 100 mA, which is not enough to operate a MIDEX-8.
❐If necessary, the operating system will inform you about possible over-
load problems in the USB bus power supply and suggest something like 
“Connect your MIDEX-8 to an external power supply!”. Follow this sugges-
tion to remedy the problem. 
						

							MIDEX-8
English – 36
Using several MIDEX-8 simultaneously
If the eight MIDI inputs and the eight MIDI outputs of one MIDEX-8 are 
not enough, you can combine several MIDEX-8 and thus adapt the num-
ber of inputs and outputs to your needs.
Theoretically (i.e. according to the specification) each USB bus should let 
you address up to 127 USB devices. However, this is merely a theoretical 
consideration since the USB bus would not be able to handle the load 
from a large number of MIDEX-8 devices.
Depending on the available resources, up to four MIDEX-8 can be con-
nected to each USB controller bus, via an actively powered USB hub. 
If you wish to connect more than four MIDEX-8, you must use another 
USB controller bus and another actively powered USB hub. 
If you connect more than one MIDEX-8 to your computer, the MIDEX-8 
driver software will automatically assign a device number to each unit 
which you can change manually. The units are then initialized in the cor-
rect order each time you start your system. This ensures that the con-
nected MIDI devices are always addressed correctly.
Usually, your computer will provide two separate USB controllers that 
each drive one USB bus (see table below for more information). 
How many MIDEX-8 you can connect to your computer is governed by 
many factors:
The USB bus 
bandwidth 
needed by each 
MIDEX-8 unitOne MIDEX-8 consumes ca. 21percent of the bandwidth that is 
available on one USB bus.
The USB bus 
bandwidth 
needed by other 
USB devices, 
connected to the 
same USB 
controller busSome USB Audio interfaces can consume 50 to 70 percent of the 
available USB bus bandwidth. 
It’s a simple calculation: if you have connected one such device to a 
USB bus that provides full bandwidth, this bus will only provide 
enough bandwidth for one or two MIDEX-8 units.
If the available bandwidth becomes insufficiant, the operating 
system will generally show an alert message. 
A USB bus overload will not damage your hardware. 
						

							MIDEX-8
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You can obtain information about the latest driver versions in the world 
wide web under www.steinberg.net or from your national Steinberg dis-
tributor.
The bandwidth 
available on the 
USB busEach USB device that is connected to a USB bus consumes a certain 
fixed percentage of the data transfer bandwidth that is available on 
the bus. A USB keyboard, mouse and/or hub can easily consume 10 
percent of the bandwidth provided by the USB bus that they are 
connected to. 
All other USB devices that are connected to the same USB bus will 
share the 90 percent bandwidth still available.
The USB hubPlease note that a USB hub simply distributes the available 
bandwidth of the USB bus that it is connected to. It does not 
increase the available data transfer bandwidth. It only provides 
additional physical USB sockets, which all share the bandwidth 
provided by the USB controller chip.
The number of 
USB controller 
busesModern Macintosh desktop computers provide separate controller 
chips for each of their two USB bus connectors. Each of the two 
buses does therefore operate at the full USB bandwidth.
On the PC, one controller chip is sometimes connected to several 
USB sockets. This means that such sockets must share the available 
USB bandwidth provided by that one controller chip. This does of 
course decrease the bandwidth available for each individual socket. 
Fortunately, an increasing number of PC board manufacturers now 
provide an adequate number of controller chips for the available 
USB sockets.
The operating 
system used (PC)The current MIDEX-8 driver versions let you use up to 8 MIDEX-8 
devices on one computer (provided that the rest of the system can 
cope with this number of units, see above).
Some Windows versions (98 SE, 2000, XP) use different driver 
models. The number of MIDI ports that are made available by these 
environments is limited (sometimes to only ten). 
The Steinberg programmers have found ways to prevent these 
limitations for Cubase VST 5.0 or later and Nuendo. Other 
applications, however, are limited to the number of ports that the 
operating system allows for (e.g. Windows 2000: ten MIDI ports, 
Windows XP: 32 MIDI ports etc.). 
						

							MIDEX-8
English – 38
Selecting a Power Supply
If your USB hub doesn’t provide the necessary power for the MIDEX-8 
or if you wish to play the sound modules in your MIDI system from your 
master keyboard with the computer off and without having to change 
cables, you need an additional power supply for your MIDEX-8.
To make things easier for you, we have defined the additional MIDEX-8 
power supply requirements in such a way that almost any power sup-
ply unit available can be used. This can either be a DC or an AC device, 
and you don’t have to consider polarity. The only definite requirement 
is a power output of at least 500 mA (milliAmpere)!
Please note the following:
❐The power supply voltage should at least be 6 volts and must not exceed 
12 volts!
❐The MIDEX-8 socket has been designed for a “low voltage plug” (outer 
diameter 5.5 mm, inner diameter 2.1 mm).
❐Please note that “low voltage plugs” are also available with an inner diam-
eter of 2.5 mm. These can also be used in connection with the MIDEX-8, 
but the plug will easily fall out of the socket. We therefore recommend that 
you do not use plugs with this inner diameter. 
						

							MIDEX-8
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Questions and Answers
This section can be used to find solutions and answers to problems and 
questions that can originate in the combination of system components 
that you might use.
Problem/Question Solution/Answer
Windows 95 and the first Windows 98 
version (Windows 98 Gold) do not 
recognize the MIDEX-8 driver.Windows versions older than Windows 98 
SE can not recognize the driver. To be able 
to use MIDEX-8, please install Windows 98 
SE or a newer system on your computer.
If you disconnect the MIDEX-8 from the 
USB-bus while Windows 98 SE is active, the 
error message “The specified MIDI device is 
already in use. Wait until it is free, and then 
try again.” might appear. It depends on the 
host application that you use, if this 
happens or not. If you do Cubase VST, the 
problem occurs in a different form, i.e. the 
MIDEX-8 MIDI ports can not be selected 
within Cubase.This problems originated in a faulty 
implementation of USB within Windows 98 
SE. It can be solved by activating a Windows 
98 SE repair program (USB Fix). The repair 
program is called 242937usa8.exe. You can 
find it on the MIDEX-8 driver CD-ROM and 
run it by double clicking on it.
You wish to use more than one MIDEX-8. The devices must be installed separately 
and one after another. We recommend that 
you restart Windows after each installation.
Note: The MIDEX-8 driver has been developed based upon Microsoft’s latest driver 
model. This has the advantage that the MIDEX-8 driver can both be used under Windows 
9x and under Windows 2000. Normally, Windows 98 SE and Windows 2000 do not 
support more than 10 MIDI ports which are provided by WDM- drivers (Windows Driver 
Model). The Steinberg programmers have found ways to prevent these limitations for 
Cubase VST 5.0 or later and Nuendo. Other applications, however, are limited to the 
number of MIDI ports supplied by the operating system. In the successor to Win98 SE, 
called Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft have solved this problem. A future Service 
Pack for Windows 2000 might solve the problem on this system. Service-Pack 1 for 
Windows 2000 from Microsoft though did not yet contain a solution. Windows XP, the 
Windows 2000 successor, will provide 32 MIDI ports.
How many MIDEX-8 can be connected to 
the USB-bus, if the devices receive their 
power from the USB bus itself (are thus “Bus 
powered”)?If the devices receive their power only from 
the USB bus, you should not connect more 
than two MIDEX-8. Reason: The MIDEX-8 
registers on the bus with a power 
consumption of 400 mA and the USB host 
(i.e. the USB bus of your computer) does not 
supply more than 1 A. 
						

							MIDEX-8
English – 40
Note: If you wish to use more than two MIDEX-8, these must get their power via external 
power supplies.
Resetting the MIDEX-8 software and 
hardware.If you restart Windows, this only causes a 
software reset within the MIDEX-8. To reset 
the hardware, you must disconnect the 
MIDEX-8 from the USB bus. This is either 
done by disconnecting the USB cable or by 
simultaneously pressing the MIDI Thru and 
Panic buttons for ca. 3 seconds.
Note: The MIDEX-8 should never be separated from the USB bus if you still use it in an 
application, as this would cause a Windows system crash.
How is MIDEX-8 supported by Cubase VST? Starting with version 5.0, Cubase VST 
supports all MIDEX-8 capabilities.
Earlier versions use the MIDEX-8 as a 
“normal” MIDI interface (i.e. they don’t use 
the advantages of the Linear Time Base 
technology).
You have installed the MIDEX-8 drivers 
before you installed Cubase VST Version 5, 
and now the MIDI outputs do not work. 
Reason: The Cubase VST 5.0 releases 0 and 1 
contain several components that are 
replaced when you install MIDEX-8.Insert the MIDEX-8 driver CD-ROM into your 
CD-ROM drive and double click on the 
program UPDMROS.EXE.
Cubase VST versions from 5.0 release 2 as 
well as the demo version that you can find 
on the driver CD-ROM do not have this 
problem anymore.
You have set small audio latency values 
(smaller than 12 ms) and when you stop the 
sequencer, drop outs occur.Open the MIDI Preferences dialog via the 
Edit menu item “Preferences” and its sub-
menu item “MIDI…”. Select the “Reset” tab 
and deactivate the function “Reset on Stop”. 
To do this, please click on the corresponding 
tick in the status/value- column. If no tick is 
visible for “Reset on Stop”, this functions has 
already been deactivated.
Note: To ensure a stable MIDI output even in times of a very high system load (several 
audio tracks are played back), you should set Cubase VST’s “System Preroll” parameter to 
at least 100 ms. To find this parameter, select “Synchronization” in the Options menu. In 
the lower right corner of the dialog that opens you can find the “System Preroll” option. Problem/Question Solution/Answer