Physical On-Off switch for MIDI

Use Cantabile as a clock master in a star configuration

Use Cantabile as a clock master in a star configuration

… except that I want(ed) to slave Looper B to the live loop that has been set up in Looper A (and we don’t know the tempo beforehand).

We also want(ed) to flip the configuration and slave Looper A to Looper B for other songs / situations.

That’s why I’m routing Midi Clock through Cantabile … which works great except for this jitter timing issue.

So I’ve done a lot of work on the software side, through Cantabile, and have found no setup that solves the MIDI Clock Jitter issue … so I’m back to a hardware solution.

Is turning off a MIDI connection as simple as breaking the connection on pin 5? If so, I might be able to wire up a box with two switches, similar to the one @Sergio demonstrated above.

Alternately … a single switch would be preferable … I need … ?what kind of switch? to open pin 5 in one direction and close it in the other??

Here’s a statement of the general problem:

Looking for a hardware switch to control which of two MIDI boxes is the clock master.

The two MIDI boxes - A and B - can each clock synch the other (as well as MMC commands). Both boxes have MIDI INs and OUTs on 1/8" TRS. The switch would control which is the master.

The switch box would have 4 1/8" TRS connectors: MIDI In A, MIDI In B, MIDI Out A, and MIDI Out B. The switch would have two positions:
1: A is the Master, connecting only MIDI In A to MIDI Out B.
2: B is the Master, connecting only MIDI In B to MIDI Out A.

Any suggestions appreciated …

DPDT switch with no center position

3 = A5 in (A Midi, Pin 5)
4 = B5 in
1 = B5 out
6 = A5 out

When UP, A5 in (3) connected to B5 out (1) and B5 in (4) not connected at all
When DOWN, B5 (4) connected to A5 (6) out and A5 in (3) not connected at all

image

You could test by breaking pin 5 wiring then jumping/shorting to make sure midi signal activates/deactivates as expected for a single MIDI cable run. I don’t think a 1/8" TRS connection is as solid as a 5-pin DIN connection. If you want to use TRS connectors instead of 5-Pin DIN, Pure Tone makes excellent 1/4" TRS (stereo) jacks that have redundant connections. Might be better to just have the cables wired directly to the switches to avoid jacks (Failure Points).

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This I can do!!

The sources (for one of the two uses I have for this) are 1/8" Type A MIDI, so maybe I could build a box with 8 connectors - 1/8" or DIN5 … or even add 1/4" as well …

OK, one thing at a time - I’ll start with a simple test to see of breaking pin 5 wiring and shorting each in turn works as expected …

THANKS for this!

Yes, test breaking the connection on PIN5 to prove to yourself (and me) that the concept works AND can be reconnected without issue. I’m still surprised the MIDI jitter caused an audio problem like what I hear. Audio Clock Jitter (44.1kHz, for example) yes, but not MIDI. If this physical switching solution works, you could control an Arduino Uno with relays to be controlled by MIDI from Cantabile. A CC15 of 0 can switch the master to Source A and a CC15 of 127 can switch to Source B. That would be very simple to do if you want to abandon a manual toggle switch.

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Yes, I had created a similar connection, with a double switch.
Maybe, but I’m not sure, the only small problem could be created by the bounce during the exchange. Of course, it’s quite rare.