USB MIDI Cable Converter PC to Music Keyboard Window Win Vista XP, Mac OS

by Unknown

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.5 x 6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B0017H4EBG
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (335 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 7, 2008

Product Description

This MIDI interface cable is self-powered and can be conveniently attached to your computer's USB port, without the need for tools or computer disassembly. This MIDI interface cable is the simplest and most convenient way to connect a keyboard or controller to a computer via a USB port. There's no need for additional cables - this interface comes with integral USB and MIDI cables as part of its sturdy construction. This interface provides one MIDI input port and one MIDI output port, with each MIDI port supporting 16 MIDI channels. This USB MIDI cable easily turns your computer into a music studio and gives you the power to play songs on your keyboard or other controller, then mix and edit them on your home computer or laptop with any sequencing or recording software you have installed them play them back on the built-in synth or an any out-board synth.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

110 of 114 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Works great even with old Yamaha keyboard!, February 9, 2009

By 

M. H Shamp (Columbia Falls, MT United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: USB MIDI Cable Converter PC to Music Keyboard Window Win Vista XP, Mac OS (Electronics)

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.

54 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Works great and doesn't cost very much, April 15, 2009

By 

Martin Doege - See all my reviews
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This review is from: USB MIDI Cable Converter PC to Music Keyboard Window Win Vista XP, Mac OS (Electronics)

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...

195 of 219 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars May not work with your equipment, September 14, 2008

By 

lyngvi (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: USB MIDI Cable Converter PC to Music Keyboard Window Win Vista XP, Mac OS (Electronics)

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.