2. serial transport of data
The count of bytes is not the only problem, the timing is even more critical considering
the fact, that the bytes must travel one after the other. Unfortunately music is
something that consists mainly of pauses between very short timestrokes which -
doing things either worse - strike many instruments at the same time.
Example: If a drumset (BD+HH), a bass, a guitar (3 note chord) and a piano (6 note chord)
all want to play their part straight on the '1' at the beginning of a bar, there are 12 x 3 = 36
Midibytes which should all be sent at the same time. But in Midiworld all bytes must be
sent one after the other with a speed of about 0.3 mS/Byte resulting in a timing difference
from the first byte to the last of ~12mS which almost starts to get critical for experienced
listeners.
What does this all mean? It means, you cannot send as many messages through the
Midicable as you like (by fiddling the SSC knobs like mad while firing your synth with
lots of Midinotes at the same time) without encountering timing lags sooner or later.
All the bytes pass the cable one after the other through one wire like a row of
penguins waddling down a small tube, heading their destiny. If more messages try to
pass the bus, exceeding it's bandwidth, the messages waiting for free bandwidth are
delayed resulting in effects like delayed notes. Well, this is not a problem caused by
the SSC, this is unfortunatly the nature of the Midibus.
General concepts for optimizing Midi timing
As you know by now, the SSC makes extensive use of Midi SysEx messages, which can
cause Midi notes to lag in time more or less. To empower you pushing this issue
towards the 'less' direction, please read the following.
Try to keep bandwith on your individual Midibuses as small as possible by using
multiple Midi Outputs of your Midi interface or sequencer.
If your sequencer or
DAW's Midi Interface offers multiple Midi Outs - USE THEM! Using multiple Midi
outputs on a groovebox, sequencer or Midi interface distributes the Mididata you
have to send onto several buses. Using multiple buses thin out the data each
individual bus has to handle, resulting in better timing of notes and gear using
Midiclock to sync. Projected on our example with the penguinrow in the small tube
from above: offering your crowd of penguins TWO small tubes instead of only one, will
help them waddle to their destiny without jam MUCH better than if they had to share
just one small tube.
Operation Manual 'Stereoping Synth Controller'
V1.2 - 12.2014
© Stereoping Germany, Hattingen 2014
