Alesis Q25 USB MIDI Keyboard Controller?

[kr236rk]

Hi,

I need a small MIDI controller. I have a full Yamaha PSR-E303 keyboard: it has MIDI in & out but no USB connectivity.

The Q25 has USB but only one MIDI port ~ MIDI out, not in.

Why do these keyboards have different ports please?

What's the advantage of having both MIDI in & out?

Thanks,

[Meatball Fulton]

This goes back to MIDI basics, from the 1980s before personal computers were as common and inexpensive as today.

The USB on the Q25 carries all MIDI data between the Q25 and you computer over USB. IN other words, the Q25 has it's own MIDI USB interface built in.

Your PSR has traditional MIDI jacks, to connect to the computer you need some sort of MIDI interface...nowadays typically USB or (less common) FireWire, but before USB existed there were interfaces that connected to other serial ports on the computer. The OUT is for the PSR to talk to the computer, the IN is for the computer to talk to the PSR.

So what is the MIDI OUT for on the Q25? Two things:

1. You can use it to control a MIDI instrument (like your PSR) without requiring a computer in between.
2. The computer can control external MIDI hardware (like your PSR) by passing data to the Q25 over USB, the Q25 forwards it to the MIDI OUT jack.

The use of "real" MIDI connections is becoming less common because more people are working inside the box rather than interconnecting multiple hardware devices with MIDI. That's why most "consumer keyboards" newer than your PSR come with USB connections only. Meanwhile the Alesis Q series is unusual amongst it's competition in still having a traditional MIDI jack.

[kr236rk]

Originally Posted by Meatball Fulton

This goes back to MIDI basics...The use of "real" MIDI connections is becoming less common because more people are working inside the box rather than interconnecting multiple hardware devices with MIDI. That's why most "consumer keyboards" newer than your PSR come with USB connections only. Meanwhile the Alesis Q series is unusual amongst it's competition in still having a traditional MIDI jack.

Thanks Meatball,

That's great news! I am new to MIDI but really starting to get into it, that's why I am looking at the Alesis. Good firm, I also have a mini mixer / interface from them - MultiMix4 - it works brilliant & also as a device with mic preamps.