MIDI using external synth via serial port

[Mathew Kanner]

On May 11, Conrad Sabatier wrote:
> 
> On 11-May-2004 Mathew Kanner wrote:
> > On May 08, Conrad Sabatier wrote:
> >> I've been wanting to try this, but before I do, I just wanted to check
> >> something.
> >> 
> >> To do MIDI using an external synth connected via a serial port, is anything
> >> else required in the kernel config besides "device midi" and the hints in
> >> /boot/device.hints?  Is the sequencer device also required (or even
> >> supported)?
> >> 
> >> Also, any recommendations re: a good sequencer app?
> > 
> >       Hello Conrad,
> >       Sorry it took so long to respond to your question.  I'm
> > supposed to be working on the FreeBSD midi project but a new job and
> > spring fever (and work on usb audio) has distracted me.  My mentor
> > intends to write a serial pass-through once I get around to commiting
> > the midi driver.
> >       I would like to ask why you want to use a serial port?  My
> > understanding of the situaion is that serial ports have to be hacked
> > to get the timming right for midi and most soundcards have midi ports
> > (via the gameport).

	Hello Conrad,
	This is a late nate reply after a work party.
> 
> I was under the impression that the MIDI UART (gameport) was not yet supported,
> at least on most cards.  Was I mistaken?  That would be great!

	The uarts on gameports are the easiest to support!  At the
moment I think we support emu10k1(soundblaster), cmi80xx and es1371.
The actual url for the patches should be in the archive, I really
don't remeber at the moment.
> 
> If so, what would I need to do to use it?  Is all the necessary kernel stuff
> already in place?

	No.  That's what I'm working on (and included in the patches).
> 
> I tried using my MIDI keyboard under Windows once via the serial
> port, just as an experiment (back when I still occasionally used
> Windows), and it worked fine, so I don't expect there should be any
> serious problems doing the same under FreeBSD.

	(In regards to windows+serial) Cool.  I didn't known.  At the
moment, MIDI and a serial UART just won't work because the code hasn't
been written (it has before but we are know in the third generation).

	Good luck.
	--Mat

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