Looking for customer reviews for USB MIDI Cable Converter PC to Music Keyboard Window Win Vista XP?

Question

Where can I find reviews and opinions online for USB MIDI Cable Converter PC to Music Keyboard Window Win Vista XP

Answer 1

Customer Reviews

USB MIDI Cable Converter PC to Music Keyboard Window Win Vista XP, Mac OS X



15 Reviews

5 star: (9)

4 star: (1)

3 star: (1)

2 star: (2)

1 star: (2)





Average Customer Review

3.9 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)





21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars May not work with your equipment, September 14, 2008

By Greg I. Knight "lyngvi" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews

(REAL NAME)

I hate leaving reviews claiming something's "broken", but in this case there were some serious problems. So my problems:



1. The device does not handle run-on MIDI commands properly. I doubt that many modern MIDI devices use run-on commands, as they were a somewhat confusing bit-saving mechanism from the 20th century. The keyboard I used was a Kurzweil SP-88. I suspect this is a design-defect in the product. More on this below.



2. The device would not enumerate on my main PC. That box is a custom-built machine using a P5B Deluxe motherboard which has never had any problems with any other USB devices. I even tried clocking the box down to normal speeds; Vista gives me a vague error about the device malfunctioning, and Ubuntu gives me a read error during enumeration in dmesg (which, to be fair, wasn't any more useful in this context.)



3. For all the reviewers who said the cable was labeled backwards: MIDI cables are always connected so that the "OUT" of one device goes to the "IN" of another device. MIDI supports a ring-shaped daisy-chain of devices that way. This cable was not labeled backwards.



Elaborating on point 1:



On the wrong equipment, when you do this:

1. Press-and-hold key1.

2. Press-and-hold key2.

3. Release key1.

4. Release key2.



You get this:

1. Press-and-hold key1.

2. Press-and-hold key2.

3. Release key1.

4. Press-and-hold key2 again.



For those technically inclined, here's the data stream from my SP-88 using the old serial cable I was replacing (I had to resurrect a dead machine to get this; I'm forging note velocities for easier comparison):

90 40 45 3c 48 80 40 62 3c 61



Here's what this product read:

90 40 45 90 3c 48 80 40 62 90 3c 61



Here's the nearest valid sequence it could have provided:

90 40 45 90 3c 48 80 40 62 80 3c 61



Note the 80 instead of 90 in the third-to-last byte - "80" means "note off", "90" means "note on". This was a deal-killer for me; your mileage may vary.



I replaced the cable with an M-Audio cable from a local shop for 3x the price; that cable also reprocesses run-on commands, but does it appropriately (the third sequence above is what I would get.)



The seller was courteous and provided a full refund, including shipping, so all I lost to them was time. I'd buy from these guys again, just not this product.

----------



...more at http://www.amazon.com/Cable-Converter-Music-Keyboard-Window/product-reviews/B0017H4EBG/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Answer 2

You have some customer reviews on amazon.com.



"

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars May not work with your equipment, September 14, 2008

By Greg I. Knight "lyngvi" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews

(REAL NAME)

I hate leaving reviews claiming something's "broken", but in this case there were some serious problems. So my problems:



1. The device does not handle run-on MIDI commands properly. I doubt that many modern MIDI devices use run-on commands, as they were a somewhat confusing bit-saving mechanism from the 20th century. The keyboard I used was a Kurzweil SP-88. I suspect this is a design-defect in the product. More on this below.



2. The device would not enumerate on my main PC. That box is a custom-built machine using a P5B Deluxe motherboard which has never had any problems with any other USB devices. I even tried clocking the box down to normal speeds; Vista gives me a vague error about the device malfunctioning, and Ubuntu gives me a read error during enumeration in dmesg (which, to be fair, wasn't any more useful in this context.)



3. For all the reviewers who said the cable was labeled backwards: MIDI cables are always connected so that the "OUT" of one device goes to the "IN" of another device. MIDI supports a ring-shaped daisy-chain of devices that way. This cable was not labeled backwards.



Elaborating on point 1:



On the wrong equipment, when you do this:

1. Press-and-hold key1.

2. Press-and-hold key2.

3. Release key1.

4. Release key2.



You get this:

1. Press-and-hold key1.

2. Press-and-hold key2.

3. Release key1.

4. Press-and-hold key2 again.



For those technically inclined, here's the data stream from my SP-88 using the old serial cable I was replacing (I had to resurrect a dead machine to get this; I'm forging note velocities for easier comparison):

90 40 45 3c 48 80 40 62 3c 61



Here's what this product read:

90 40 45 90 3c 48 80 40 62 90 3c 61



Here's the nearest valid sequence it could have provided:

90 40 45 90 3c 48 80 40 62 80 3c 61



Note the 80 instead of 90 in the third-to-last byte - "80" means "note off", "90" means "note on". This was a deal-killer for me; your mileage may vary.



I replaced the cable with an M-Audio cable from a local shop for 3x the price; that cable also reprocesses run-on commands, but does it appropriately (the third sequence above is what I would get.)



The seller was courteous and provided a full refund, including shipping, so all I lost to them was time. I'd buy from these guys again, just not this product.



..............."

Answer 3

This product is sold by Amazon.com marketplace seller on Amazon.com, the customer review for this product is positive but not effective. Incredible for the price -- but not for all applications, by far, the cheapest option right now for a comparable length USB MIDI interface cable: a measly $6. For those who want a straight answer: yes, it works. For me. If yours doesn't, HDE has a great return policy.



PROS:

- Very easy setup, driver installs automatically within seconds

- Windows XP, Vista 32 and 64-bit compatible

- Very cheap, while offering an authentic USB MIDI interface



CONS:

- Cord is a little too short for me--about 5 feet

- High latency. Latency is the time it takes for input from your keyboard to reach your computer, and in my experience the latency for this interface is really high--around a quarter to three quarters of a second. This makes it very hard to play live accompaniment to background music you've created. However, if you disable MIDI playback in your sequencing program and just listen to the notes as they're played on your keyboard, you can shift all of the notes in your program after you've finished and it works just fine. It's a couple extra steps per song, or a couple dozen more dollars for a faster cord :3

- Those lights on the converter are annoying!

Answer 4

I saw some at amazon for about $4.