cheap Midi Sync OP-1

Hi peoples,


So I finally bought an OP-1. YEAH!

Now I am wondering, if and how I can connect my MPC 500 to it so I can do some fingerdrumming using the OPs sounds.
What kind of connector do I need? Does the OP accept start/stop messages and such from the MPC?

Thanks for reading :slight_smile:



edit:
I read a lot of people are using the Kenton Midi-USB host. So my question is: what makes it different from this thing here, that costs a 1/10 of the price??

the aliexpress thing requires a computer in order to operate. It extends your PC with two midi ports. You can use it to connect your MPC via midi and route notes through the PC, though you may experience latency problems.

Kenton has an USB port you plug your op1 into and routes MIDI from/to op1 directly.
the aliexpress thing requires a computer in order to operate. It extends your PC with two midi ports. You can use it to connect your MPC via midi and route notes through the PC, though you may experience latency problems.
Kenton has an USB port you plug your op1 into and routes MIDI from/to op1 directly.

Cheers mate! too bad…and I thought I was onto something :smiley:


So what is the cheapest Option there is? surely by now there should be a few options on the market.

Unfortunately Kenton is the only out-of-the box option. There’s device from iConnect but that’s even more expensive and Mac-only.

You can also use raspberry pi and the usb cable from Aliexpress. There’s a link to the RPi image that does the magic for you - you just flash it onto a SD card.

Or another option is to buy Axoloti which can with a simple config also act as a USB-MIDI router.


This cable is $3:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/High-Quality-1pcs-Keyboard-to-PC-USB-MIDI-Cable-Converter-PC-to-Music-Keyboard-Cord-USB/32803873223.html
Perfect...I just ordered one for 3$.

I still have an unused orangepi zero lying around, which runs Linux and found these instructions to work the magic: https://stimresp.wordpress.com/2016/02/08/using-a-raspberry-pi-as-usb-midi-host/

That combined would be a 15$ USB host. I can live with that :)

Thanks for your help. I hope this will help other people in their quest for a cheap USB-Midi Host !

Just a heads up on those cheap USB to MIDI cables – they don’t always fully comply with the electrical spec for MIDI. This means that the input of the cable does not have a chip that electrically separates the two devices. I saw an issue with a cable like this and the Organelle where when I played the Organelle with another MIDI keyboard (using MIDI DIN) the Organelle sound output would pop on key press. Might not be an issue if you are connecting to a PC, where the USB will be well isolated from the sound sources. But just something to mention in case you start seeing any issues.

Thanks…I guess we’ll see how it pans out.

There's a link to the RPi image that does the magic for you - you just flash it onto a SD card.

Have you got a link for this?

There's a link to the RPi image that does the magic for you - you just flash it onto a SD card.

Have you got a link for this?

Just follow these instructions, that should do it…

I did that yonks ago and I struggled to get it to boot automatically, i.e. headless. Thinking about it my OP1’s USB doesn’t work anymore anyway but would be useful for other stuff.

Am I understanding it right, that these instructions would give you a device, that lets you sync your OP-1 to Midi gear as well as providing a way to sync it to POs without sacrificing the stereo channel?


https://moroccodave.com/2017/10/04/diy-usb-midi-host/

take a look at my solution.

@RisingSon the solution that you link to use the Hobbytronics usb host which is a great bit of kit but unfortunately the OP-1 doesn’t play nicely with it.

@houtson Thanks for the input…too bad I guess then it would be best to use a raspberrypi (or china copy) based usb host…and find a way to integrate an analog clock output.