trying to figure out if m-audio mini-32 mk3 works

[Nelson Baboon]

i haven't been using usb connections of late (mostly because i no longer have the devices that i set up that way).

seems pretty simple. I tested this keyboard connected to the mac usb and my midi monitor shows that it is sending out midi data. I connect it to mrcc, and the mrcc powers it up. I connect the usb cable to the usb a port. i hold the in button and select port 1 for it. I then choose the output din port to receive the midi. Nothing. I have one synth that has a midi monitor on it - it verifies that nothing is being sent. am i forgetting something about the connections?

i figured that this would work because it's big brother (forget what length keyboard) is touted as working in the section about usb compatibility.

Edit: i couldn't believe that it was the logic of my connections....so i noticed in the thread about devices that worked, that the norand mono works with usb.  connected that into the usb a port. nothing. note that in my testing of the keyboard, i power cycled the mrcc to no effect. ok - i checked my connections over and this should work. Power cycled the mrcc and voila - the norand then sent out midi through the mrcc. plugged in the keyboard. nothing. power cycled the mrcc again, and now the keyboard is working. not sure why it didn't at first, despite power cycling the mrcc. but it does seem to work, so my cheap little keyboard can be used.

[Nelson Baboon]

i'm at the point now, where i KNOW it isn't user error. just plugged in my waldorf M and it is working great for the moment through usb.

but the keyboard above? I cannot get it to work. At all.

There has got to be something in the usb connections that causes inconsistency like this. It is so frustrating to deal with, and causes so much wasted time troubleshooting. I just need a small keyboard that bleeping works.

[Dark Waves]

Just a thought: are the devices being powered via the USB connection, and if so, can they be powered separately by an AC adapter?  Might not have any bearing on your problem, but it could.

[Nelson Baboon]

Just a thought: are the devices being powered via the USB connection, and if so, can they be powered separately by an AC adapter?  Might not have any bearing on your problem, but it could.

yes. being powered. in this case, it's 5 octave version is touted in the 'official' list as being compatible, so i thought this one was safe.

[Dark Waves]

Devices I've reported here as being compatible were always being powered by an adapter, so I haven't seen whether it would make a difference, but it would be worth checking at some point.

[Nelson Baboon]

ah - you might be right. the mini version has just usb power. i looked up the 61 key version, and you can get an 'optional' 9v power supply.

well, money wasted. not sure if there is a mini sized keyboard that has a usb connection and another power connection. I'll have to search, but not hopeful.

[Dark Waves]

For the one with just USB power, I wonder if there's a Y cable that would allow you to connect both to MRCC and to a USB power source like one of those small cubes that charge phones?  Some external DVD drives I've used come with a cable that splits into two like that, because the power draw is too much for just one source.  Before trying that, though, it would be good to check with Jesse whether there is a danger of back-feeding voltage into the MRCC device port from the other end.

[Jesse Johannesen]

Yeah this is one of those things that should be easy to do, but because you can't trust anything to be made right, it's a real gamble whether it'll bite you on the backside. For that reason I don't recommend this, however the Beatstep pro came with a splitter like this and I believe it's the correct configuration, power from 1 input data from the other, but it's a USB micro connector.
We do a of our playing in the lab with the original keystep, which works great.

[Nelson Baboon]

well, my ideal solution would be to find a cheap, tiny midi keyboard that works, but i've kind of giving up until someone can reliably recommend one. i just threw $50 down the drain, and prefer not to experiment with possibly dangerous solutions.

for now i can either use a 'real' keyboard, though it defeats the purpose because it's on the other side of the room. Or i'll just put the oxi one sequencer in 'keyboard mode'.