Is there a better way to get an old midi keyboard to work?

[luster]

I have an old midiman Keystation Pro MIDI keyboard. I have it hooked up to a desktop machine, a 3.2 GHz dual core AMD 64 bit running ubuntustudio 10.04LTS with 8GB fast RAM, and a few tweaks here and there. I have used this keyboard and machine to create some music, multitracked programmed and live playing mixed down to a stereo high-quality lossless format suitable for placement on CD's, etc.

This keyboard is a 49-key midi keyboard that has a 5-pin circular midi connector socket. The midi cable I have and use has the circular 5-pin midi connectors on one end and terminates in a 15-pin gameport connector at the other end.

I wasn't getting very good latency with the motherboard sound system, and there was no gameport on the motherboard, so I resurrected an old soundblaster live that had a gameport connector. It works and my latency (qjackctl) is reported as 5.33ms. I can live with that.

Now I want to go live, and play out. So I have a couple of questions.

Basically, my laptop, an Asus Z7100VP (32 bit intel processor) has no gameport, and I wish to use the midiman keyboard. I don't know how the soundcard in the laptop will sound, so I may have to get an external soundcard too, I don't know. But I wish to start with the midi keyboard. I have a very tight budget. I have searched here on the board for answers and saw a Behringer uca222. It looks like it might do the trick.

I am running PureDyne on the laptop at the moment but have had many different linuxes including several versions of ubuntu studio successfully installed.

I have seen "5-pin MIDI to usb" cables for sale. Would such a thing serve to allow the keyboard to work with the laptop? I do not think so. The difference in cost between a cable alone and the behringer uca222 is relatively slight and I'd need a cable anyway, and besides, I plan to have other midi devices as well in the future.

Does it make sense to try this approach? Or should I obtain a different midi keyboard? Or something else I am not seeing at the moment?

Thanks.

[slowpick]

http://www.zzounds.com/item--EMUXMIDI1X1TAB

several usb midi cables are available, your midi keyboard doesn't care which one
you use, and your laptop usb doesn't care what brand of midi keyboard you use

maudio sell this one:

http://www.zzounds.com/prodsearch?q=uno&form=search

usb midi problems are rare. When you get an external interface, choose one with
two 5-pin midi ports.

I use 5pin midi for old yamaha gear, without issues.

As for sound quality, everything between your fingertips, and the final speakers grille cloth,
can ruin the investment on all that lies in between. So match your spending, with the
desired results.

Thorough research will save you money. You remind me to try a unetbootin install of
pure-dyne on a usbstick, a good weekend project to keep me off the streets.

[Capoeira]

Behringer uca222 has no midi-in and i doubt it sounds any better than the avarage laptop-onboard-soundcard.

buy a midi-usb cable. they work flawless. I bought mine for 15 $ and I can't feel any latency. If you want a better one go M-Audio Uno. But sincerly, I doubt there is any real diference between it and a cheapo one.

[luster]

Thank you, Capoeira AND slowpick! for the rapid and succinct response.

Maybe this is one of those increasingly-less-rare events in 'nux-ville that sounds too good to be true but is. lol

I suggest you do stay off the streets via PureDyne. Pd keeps me out of trouble. Of course this may change when I start playing out live again.

Are you aware of the Pd community over at hurleur?

I have received some great help on Pd-related software/configuration issues from over there.

Thanks again!

[wolftune]

Don't spend $30 on that thing linked above. I use this $5 one and it works perfectly.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003KXEDVQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wolftune-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003KXEDVQ

For reference, I got a USB MIDI cheap thing along with a footpedal off eBay and *that* one didn't work, not just with Linux, it didn't work with my Mac either, but it looked different, so I think this one from Amazon, which is the one I use, is fine. At $5, you could get a few of them to hook up multiple devices (though they won't be technically synced, of course)

[luster]

Thank you wolftone.

That is indeed a better way!

[Capoeira]

Don't spend $30 on that thing linked above. I use this $5 one and it works perfectly.

that's what I said, they work all the same way

[luster]

And very excellent advice it still is, Capoeira.

Thanks again.