Vintage Synth Explorer Forums

I read on a website that you should never use a MIDI cable to connect between DIN Sync sockets, however i have read on this forum of people using MIDI cables to connect a TR606 to another drum machine.I know the wiring is different but is it really a risk to try it?

don't think it's a risk... it's just other pins connected. don't think it would work though...?

my opinion on this:

i'll never understand why people buy expensive midi cables. you can get standard 1:1 din cables for WAY less and they are the same quality. and you don't have to worry bout midi or din sync, they will work on both. i'll never buy a midi cable again

Pflosi's right, your biggest risk in using MIDI cables for DIN Sync connections is just that nothing happens.

MIDI and DIN Sync use different pins. MIDI uses the middle three, Sync uses the centre pin and the outer pair, plus (sometimes) one other. There's no absolute Sync standard. For example, some units use the 4th pin for Fill, whereas some just ignore it. However, MIDI is standard, so should always use the middle 3 pins.

You can use regular 5-pin wired DIN cables for either job - but they must be pin-to-pin, not the reversed kind, and you must ensure that all the pins you need for your equipment are connected. Some dedicated MIDI cables only wire up the midddle three pins - which is fine for MIDI, but not for DIN Sync. I've never seen a dedicated DIN Sync cable that was anything other than a regular 5-pin fully wired type.

In other words, you can use dedicated MIDI cables for MIDI, but maybe not for Sync; and you can use standard 5-pin, fully-wired, pin-to-pin DIN leads for either.

Great, that was very informative and i won´t be buying MIDI cables again either Pflosi. By the way, really good stuff on Mathematics Recordings!

thanks a lot mate truly appreciate your kind words!

nathanscribe wrote:Pflosi's right, your biggest risk in using MIDI cables for DIN Sync connections is just that nothing happens.

MIDI and DIN Sync use different pins. MIDI uses the middle three, Sync uses the centre pin and the outer pair, plus (sometimes) one other. There's no absolute Sync standard. For example, some units use the 4th pin for Fill, whereas some just ignore it. However, MIDI is standard, so should always use the middle 3 pins.

You can use regular 5-pin wired DIN cables for either job - but they must be pin-to-pin, not the reversed kind, and you must ensure that all the pins you need for your equipment are connected. Some dedicated MIDI cables only wire up the midddle three pins - which is fine for MIDI, but not for DIN Sync. I've never seen a dedicated DIN Sync cable that was anything other than a regular 5-pin fully wired type.

In other words, you can use dedicated MIDI cables for MIDI, but maybe not for Sync; and you can use standard 5-pin, fully-wired, pin-to-pin DIN leads for either.

+1