Connecting sequencer and synth help?

[VannderBakk]

Hey everyone, i'm totally new to this so this is probably going to sound like a stupid question but i don't know where else to turn.

Me and my brother have recently decided to hook up all his old DJ equipment to have a play on and create some 'beats' but we are both new to using them as a whole, individually is fine but we do not know how to make them talk to each other and work in unison.

We have a Yamaha RM1X sequencer that we are using as the master, we then want to connect a Nova synth, Roland SP808EX sampler and Yamaha SU700 sampler to the RM1X, but i cannot find any substantial help anywhere. One suggestion was to buy a 4 port midi thru box to connect them they seem hard to find. Is there any other options or is that th only way, if indeed that is the way haha. We seriously don't have much of a clue.

Any advice would be appriciated. Thanks

VB

[DJ_Nik_Gnashers]

I also used to own an RM1x they are great little workstations.
The way to connect the equipment together is in a chain.
Start with the sequencer (RM1x) and go from the RM1x midi out, to the yamaha sampler midi in. Then from the yamaha sampler midi thru to the roland midi sampler midi in. If the yamaha does not have a midi thru socket, you should be able to use the midi out and in the settings somewhere, set it so it acts as a midi thru socket.
Same with the roland sampler, go from the roland midi thru (or out and set the midi out as a thru in settings), to the nova midi in.
Finally from the nova midi out (set as a midi out) back into the RM1x midi in. This will allow you to use the keyboard on the nova as a master keyboard to 'play' the RM1x, also the knobs on the nova will control the various midi parameters on the RM1x. If your nova synth is a rackmount and has no keyboard then do not connect it to the RM1x midi in.
You should be able to set each instrument on its own midi channel, then select the corrisponding midi channel on the RM1x so the correct instrument plays the notes you program for it on the RM1x sequencer.
It is quite complicated to explain, and easier to actually show you, maybe get a book on simple midi and do some reading, also study the manuals to each item to understand how to set them up so they do what you want them to

[tOM]

^^^what he said. Daisy chaining them together should be alright for four devices - i wouldn't try adding any more though as you may get latency issues.

The other option is a midi thru bbox which will allow you to connect more devices without affecting latency

i definately reccommend reading as much as you can about midi - it can be a complex and frustrating beast at times

[VannderBakk]

Thanks a lot guys, really appreciate you taking your time to explain that DJ_Nik_Gnashers. Really does help, ive noted it all down so i'll take it to my brothers and try it. Nice one, ur a legend. And yeh tom we were thinking of buying one of them thru boxes, a lot have been discontinued tho now but if the other method doesn't work then weve found some. Cheers to both of you.

Jon