Anybody have access to a Strand MX and some Midi cables?

[TheDonkey]

So as most of you should know by now, out school uses a Strand MX as our main lighting board, ad I find that so far, it's been used, at the basic level, what it was intended for, Recorded Scenes, some Fx, etc.

**Life Story/Ramble ahead, scroll for actual question**

But being the super-techie that I am,
(Read the Life story in my profile, I went from Computer nerd at age 8 to bedroom theatrical performances at 10 to wannabe DJ at 12 to Actual access to actual equipment in those fields at 15)
I insist on every page in the manual read, every jack filled in, every feature discovered, I've already downloaded and readthrough the 150 page manual...twice, I've put in a request with IT to get us a second computer in the booth to act as a serial monitor for the board, and now I'm looking at the Midi ports(The analog Audio in is Din so I'm not even going to bother looking for a converter, let alone getting one purchased)

**/Life story**

So anyways, at this point, I'm looking into getting some music synced up to lights using a Midi source.(iBook G4 with some USB Midi Cables)

Problem is, the only Midi cable I have access to is a Out only cable(Leftover from calibrating Guitar Hero: World Tour drums )

So I'm looking for somebody that has access to some cables and a board to hit Record in Garage band, and Sequentially go through all the faders, somehow keeping them labeled/in order so I can see which functions/faders are actually sent out and what isn't before I go spend $40 on a set of cables.

At this point, it's only a concept and I'm not sure how the MX deals with Midi outs. I'll probably be buying a set of cables after New Years if/when Craigslist comes through with a used, free, Midi compatible piano, but if this works then I might up that date.


Thanks a Metric Tonne in advance, this is a fairly large request requiring some preparation and planning, so I shall love you forever.

 

[Sony]

I don't see how a simple cable could be "Out Only." It's just a cable, unless it has some micro-processor built into the cable itself, then it will work both ways. It's just like an XLR Cable, it doesn't care which direction you put the signal through it. The only difference is the pin design and the fact that a MIDI cable is Male to Male instead of Male to Female. Another problem you might face is that a lot of control boards use MSC (MIDI Show Control) which is different from just straight Musical MIDI which is what most instruments output.

I have access to a Stand MX and MIDI cables but unfortunately the MX fried itself a couple years ago and is of no use anymore sadly.

 

[TheDonkey]

I don't see how a simple cable could be "Out Only." It's just a cable, unless it has some micro-processor built into the cable itself, then it will work both ways. It's just like an XLR Cable, it doesn't care which direction you put the signal through it. The only difference is the pin design and the fact that a MIDI cable is Male to Male instead of Male to Female. Another problem you might face is that a lot of control boards use MSC (MIDI Show Control) which is different from just straight Musical MIDI which is what most instruments output.

I have access to a Stand MX and MIDI cables but unfortunately the MX fried itself a couple years ago and is of no use anymore sadly.

Yeah, sorry, should've elaborated on my "Cable"

About a month ago, a game was released called Guitar Hero: World Tour, basically it was a knockoff of Rockband under the guitar hero name.

Problem was, was that the Drum set had a calibration issue and required heavy pounding to register hits. Now with USB You could just plug the drums into a PC and fix it with an app, but for some reason, RO decided to use Midi as the interface for the drums, then run it through a controller.

As a result, they shipped out a free Midi-USB interface cable to anyone that bought the game and requested one.

Now that my drums are calibrated, I have the cable left over, luckily it uses some form of Standardized controller, so plugging it into a PC or Mac is just Plug'n'Play

But because it was only ever meant to calibrate drums, it only has a single Midi OUT lead on it. Thus my problem.

Now my iBook shows the cable to have 2 OUTS and 1 IN, but I assume it's just the micro-controller not being used to its full advantage, I've taken the thing apart and there are no solder pads for an In port.

Now I've only played with midi once before, with a fully legit set of cables that I borrowed, so I'm not sure, but could it be possible that the single plug could go both ways? I don't have any midi Out compatible source to try it on and haven't looked into the nitty gritty of the Midi protocol, but I doubt it.

P.S. The MX doesn't use MSC, it has its own set of commands that are designed to work with old music based recorders(The Manual actually recommends using the Commodore 64 to record )

 

[Traitor800]

You can buy MIDI USB adapters for $50 new so your best bet might be to just buy one, also I dont know if they make a mac version but the free software MIDI OX is excellent for figuring out what notes something is outputting.

 

[TheDonkey]

You can buy MIDI USB adapters for $50 new so your best bet might be to just buy one, also I dont know if they make a mac version but the free software MIDI OX is excellent for figuring out what notes something is outputting.

Yeah, Amazon has em for around $30, one(well reviewed) set at $7

But by "Tight Budget" I really do mean Tight, I'm saving up pennies(literally) for a Canon XS, then I need a new Laptop, so I can't really go blow $30 on a set of interface cables that may or may not do what I want(The cables will, but will the MX?)