Midi over Ethernet??

[Armando]

Hello,

I run a Pro Tools HD4 Accel rig on a Mac G5 2Ghz running OS 10.5.8 and Pro Tools HD 8.0.1 and use a Magma 7 slot chassis.

I'm considering adding a new Mac Mini to run VI's like Superior Drummer 2 and BFD3.

Anybody doing this with two machines connected via Midi over Ethernet?

Any downsides? Any upsides? Is using a midi interface a better idea?

Thanks in advance!

[John_Toolbox]

There are a number of ways to do this, and they are all faster than Hardware MIDI interfaces. Since you are using two macs, you can use the free ipMIDI driver, which can be found here:

http://nerds.de/en/ipmidi_osx.html

(The windows version of ipmidi is paid, but the OSX version is free.)

There is also MusicLab MIDIoverLan:

http://www.musiclab.com

MOL is a paid app, but it offers a higher number of ports and more control over the routing, and also has a useful MIDI monitor so you can see which ports are getting MIDI.

If you want MIDI and audio routed over ethernet, the only solution for this that allows a mac as a slave is Vienna Ensemble Pro:

http://www.vsl.co.at/en/65/71/1988/1677.vsl

I have personally used all 3 of these, and they all work well most of the time, but I will warn you that they can be very time consuming to troubleshoot if you have a network problem. There is a demo of VEP(You need an elicenser key to run it), and due to the price of VEP I would strongly suggest testing it before buying just to make sure it will work for your needs.

[Armando]

Thanks! Is it installed on the "master" machine, "slave" or both??

[John_Toolbox]

For ipMIDI or MOL, you would install the same software on both machines.

For VEP, you would install the VEP Server(The Host environment that you load your VI's in) on the slave machine. VEP server will need an elicenser key to run. You then install the VEP plugin on the master machine. The VEP plugin connects the MIDI and audio of your instrument track directly to the VEP Server.

[Armando]

Thanks for all the info!

I have another question; does pro tools need to be installed on both machines? In my case, I would like to run BFD 2 or Superior Drummer 2 on the Mac Mini for the obvious reasons that it will handle the VI's processing needs much better than the aging Power PC G5 can.

Would I need to run these VI's in a Pro Tools session as a "slave" to the G5's "master" Pro Tools session?

Both of these VI's also feature a "Stand Alone" mode, meaning they don't need a DAW to work. Only thing is that you would need a sequencer/DAW to record midi data. See where I'm going with this?

Do/can I run the standalone on the Mini and run the midi over Ethernet to the G5/Pro Tools session or do I run the VI in a Pro Tools session on the Mini and slave the Mini's session to the G5's Pro Tools session??

Thanks in advance!!

[John_Toolbox]

There are a number of ways to handle this:

1. MOL or ipMIDI, VI in standalone mode. You still need a physical audio output from the mac mini connected to an audio input on the HD system. You can use the built in digital audio output of the mini for 2 channels if the mini doesn't have an audio interface. In this method, you can run the VIs in standalone mode, but you obviously only can have one instance at a time.

2. MOL or ipMIDI, VIs in a host. You can use pro tools for this, but you really don't need to unless the VI you are using only works in Pro Tool (aax or rtas only). There are a number of inexpensive programs that you can connect to a core audio interface, and load VST or AU vi's with.... Plogue Bidule being the most common. In this scenario you can have multiple instances of any VI loaded, and route them to discrete audio outputs, assuming the mac mini has an audio interface with multiple outputs connected to inputs of the HD system.

3. VEP: VEP will take care of everthing. It acts as a host on the mac mini, recieves midi from the HD system over ethernet, and sends audio back into the HD system via ethernet. You only need to install VEP server, and the VIs you want to use on the mac mini.

VEP is the most powerful option, but also the most likely option to give you troubleshooting headaches. The nice thing about option 1 and 2 is that you don't have to worry about anything being compatible between the two machines.... problem with vep is that an update on one machine can cause it not to work on the other. But I would just try the demo before buying, it will probably work fine.

[Armando]

Thanks John!

Lots of great information. I'll definitely try the demo.

I'll be triggering these VI's from a set of Roland V-Drums(TD-15KV). Hopefully there's no noticeable latency.