Controllers with USB/Bluetooth but not MIDI

[steve@baselines.com]

I saw a Casio keyboard today that had USB and Bluetooth out but I saw no MIDI in/out.  Does that work with Cakewalk?  It must, but do I need a USB to MIDI adapter?  I have an RME Babyface Pro as a USB interface device.  Will cakewalk recognize this device if I just plug it into a USB port on my computer?

Thanks in advance!

Steve

 

[John Vere]

Most modern keyboard controllers only have a USB port. It's nice to have the old school 5 pin Din jacks if you also own some older gear that use it. But otherwise USB works just as well and in most ways is much easier to deal with. My Roland A 49 only needs the USB connection for power and midi. If I used the MIDI ports I would need a power adaptor hooked up as well. You won't see MIDI ports on many new keyboard much anymore. 

Edited November 5, 2020 by John Vere

[scook]

MIDI Controllers with USB connections use standard USB cables. No special cable required.

Both the RME Babyface Pro and the USB connected MIDI controller should appear in Cakewalk MIDI device preferences.

[slartabartfast]

MIDI over USB has become more common than not, and has significant performance benefits over the original 5-pin DIN connection. One possible downside is that you cannot daisy chain USB using a MIDI thru direct cable connection, but there are hubs and software workarounds that will create a virtual patch bay for USB connected devices to give you the same function.

https://www.midi.org/midi-articles/basic-of-usb

 

Edited November 6, 2020 by slartabartfast

[Craig Anderton]

Also note there are DIN-to-USB adapters for getting older gear to work with USB. I use the ESI MIDIMATE EX because I played into it with an insane amount of polyphonic aftertouch, turned off  local control at the synth, and feed the processed output back to the synth. It didn't hiccup at all. 

[steve@baselines.com]

Thank you all for the feedback.

Steve