New Mac Purchase - Shopping List (Please help!)

minime123 · Post by **minime123** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 12:11 am

PS or is there any reason to get any other midi interface over these 2?

xpander · Post by **xpander** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 12:13 am

minime123 wrote:thanks xpander.

so, about usb midi interfaces, didnt usb increase in speed more recently? if so, wouldnt a newer usb interface be better for me?
thanks
mini

it depends what you mean by "newer usb interfaces", you definitely want a newish model that takes advantage of MIDI buffering, that's the giant difference implemented in most USB MIDI interfaces that you will find missing in older serial models. the Unitor and MTP A/V were the first two i remember hearing about using buffering. i've always preferred the display of the MTP since it allows for on-the-box editing which is nice when you want to route a controller to a module without even having your computer on.

Post by **pangmaster** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 12:18 am

minime123 wrote:thanks guys, good advice.

the unitor i have is pre USB. is there any timing loss with this older model? having 1 amt8, is there any reason at all to get more amt8s rather than the cheaper unitors?

thanks
mini

The only difference between the original Unitor and the mkII is the addition of USB. I have no issues mixing and matching. The AMT8 is USB, of course, and I have both revs of Unitors in my kit. So if you can find cheap serial Unitors to add to the stack, that would be the way to go. I can't see any reason to go with newer interfaces unless you needed tech support, but these things are rock-solid.

Maybe buy a spare or two? Every time I see one on ebay for cheap I'm tempted to buy it for that reason...

xpander wrote:i've always preferred the display of the MTP since it allows for on-the-box editing which is nice when you want to route a controller to a module without even having your computer on.

This is definitely a consideration. The only way to edit the patch modes on Unitor/AMT boxes is to use SoundDiver or the Unitor 8 Control app. Both methods still work, but the lack of on-panel controls is something to keep in mind.

minime123 · Post by **minime123** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 12:19 am

i heard a lot of the usb midi interfaces are usb 1 or 1.1 and that usb 2 has increased bandwidth. so wouldnt this improve timing at least a little? which interfaces use which usb types?

minime123 · Post by **minime123** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 12:20 am

pangmaster, hands off the cheap interfaces on ebay til i get 8 of them, ok?

Post by **Stab Frenzy** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 2:13 am

minime123 wrote:i heard a lot of the usb midi interfaces are usb 1 or 1.1 and that usb 2 has increased bandwidth. so wouldnt this improve timing at least a little? which interfaces use which usb types?

No.

Post by **pangmaster** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 8:45 pm

minime123 wrote:pangmaster, hands off the cheap interfaces on ebay til i get 8 of them, ok?

heh, ok...

There was an AMT8 that went for about $60 yesterday. Did you get it? Another one there now...

Good luck!

minime123 · Post by **minime123** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 2:23 am

unfortunately no, i got distracted for a moment and came back in and it was gone. #@$#@($(#@!!! wont let that happen again...