Steinberger Midex 3 Operation Manual

MIDEX-3

MIDI Interface

Operation Manual

Declaration of Conformity

We, Steinberg Media Technologies AG
Neuer Hoeltigbaum 22 - 32,
D-22143 Hamburg

herewith confirm that the product:
Type: USB/MIDI interface
Model: MIDEX-3
meets the requirements of the council of

the European communities as specified
by the following norms (or normative
documents)

CENLEC EN 55 024
CENLEC EN 55 022
DIN EN 60 950
relating to electromagnetic compatibility
(Council Directives 73/23/EEC and 89/
336/EEC)

The CE symbol is awarded to high-quality ap­pliances which comply with the European Di­rective 89/336/EEC or the EMVG (law relating
to electromagnetic compatibility of appli­ances) and which offer the following signifi­cant benefits:

• Simultaneous and interference-free operation
of adjoining appliances

• No unpermitted interference signals

• High resistance to electro-smog

Table of Contents

2 Declaration of Conformity

3 Table of Contents

4 Introduction

5 Contents of the Package

6 System Requirements – PC

6 System Requirements – Apple Computer

7 The MIDEX-3 Features

8 MIDEX-3 – Controls and Sockets

9 Connecting and Setting Up

11 Software Installation – PC

12 Software Installation – Macintosh

22 The Linear Time Base Method

23 The Buttons

24 Windows Problems with the USB Reset

25 Practical Hints

28 Questions and Answers

Introduction

Congratulations on your purchase of
MIDEX-3!

MIDEX-3 is a multi port MIDI interface. It
can be used to transfer MIDI data be­tween your computer and external MIDI
equipment. Each MIDEX-3 has one MIDI
input and three independent MIDI out­puts (MIDI ports).

Each of the three MIDI outputs lets you
use 16 MIDI channels. Therefore, one
MIDEX-3 interface can simultaneously re­ceive MIDI data on 16 separate MIDI
channels and send MIDI data on up to 48
independent MIDI channels.

To connect your computer and the
MIDEX-3, you must use the USB ports on
both devices. USB is a powerful technol­ogy, that simultaneously lets you connect
up to 127 peripheral devices to your com­puter, if it is USB-compatible. With USB,
there is no need to configurate jumpers,
i/o addresses, DMA channels etc.

Two important factors make sure that
MIDEX-3 offers an extremely reliable and
accurately timed MIDI data transfer:

• The communication takes place via the Uni­versal Serial Bus (USB).

• The MIDEX-3 uses Steinberg´s LTB- technol­ogy. LTB is the abbreviation for Linear Time
Base, a MIDI Time Stamping method, which
transfers MIDI data to your sound modules
with utmost timing accuracy.

MIDEX-3 and LTB have been developed in
close co-operation with Access Music, the
company that has acquired an excellent
name with its Virus synthesizer products.

This operation manual contains impor­tant information on how to install and
use the MIDEX-3. Please read it so that
you can quickly and successfully use your
new interface.

Have fun using the MIDEX-3!
The Steinberg Team

Contents of the Package

The MIDEX-3 package should contain
these items:

• MIDEX-3 interface.

• This operation manual.

• A Registration card. Please take the time to fill

it in and send it back to us.

• A USB A/B standard cable for connection to a
Macintosh or PC.

• CD-ROM with driver software for all sup­ported computer operating systems. As
newer driver software might be available
when you read this, we recommend that you
visit the Steinberg web site ( http://
www.steinberg.net) and download the latest
versions.

➢

Please take the time to read any ReadMe
files that you might get with this product
or when downloading driver software!
These files contain important late-break­ing information.

System Requirements – PC

To be able to use MIDEX-3, you need:

• A PC with a main board (motherboard) that is
equipped with USB connectors or a PC that is
equipped with a PCI USB host adapter.

➢

Some older main boards support USB, but
don’t offer the physical USB ports on the
rear of the computer. You can easily
change this by buying a port extension and
installing it in your PC. Please find all corre­sponding information in the manual of
your computer. If necessary, consult an ex­perienced technician.

• To use MIDEX-3 in connection with a PC,
please make sure that your computer runs a
Windows 98SE, Windows Me, Windows 2000
or Windows XP operating system.

➢

Windows 98 Gold or earlier Windows ver­sions are not supported.

System Requirements –
Apple Computer

To be able to use MIDEX-3, you need:

• An Apple Computer that is equipped with
USB connectors, e.g. the iMacs, G3/G4 Power
Books or G3/G4 desktop computers. Further­more you need Mac OS 8.6 (or higher).

• When this was written, Mac OS X compatible
drivers were not yet available. If you use Mac
OS X, please check out www.steinberg.net,
from where you can download the driver soft­ware as soon as it becomes available.

• OMS version 2.3.8 or a newer version.

• If you use a PCI card that provides the USB

ports, you will also need a Mac OS, that sup­ports your USB PCI card.

➢

Not all USB cards available for retrofitting
do function well in all Macintosh comput­ers. We have experienced no problems
with cards manufactured by Sonnet.

The MIDEX-3 Features

The MIDEX-3 USB MIDI interface has the
following features:

• Full speed connector for USB-compatible PCs
or Apple Computers. (12Mbit/sec)

• MIDI interface with one input and three sepa­rate outputs (each connected MIDEX-3 inter­face can address up to 48 MIDI output
channels).

• MIDI activity indicators for the input and the
outputs.

• The MIDEX-3 doesn’t need any external power
supply. As an external device, it is connected
to the USB bus of your computer and there­fore receives the necessary power from here.
Opening the computer is not necessary.

• MIDEX-3 provides an automatic “MIDI Thru”
function for MIDI In/Out 1. This is automati­cally enabled, when no application (like e.g.
your sequencer) accesses the MIDEX-3 or
when USB is disconnected. You can then di­rectly address the instrument connected to
output 1 from an instrument connected to the
MIDEX-3 input, without the need to change
the MIDI cable connection.

• Compatible with Mac OS 8.6 (or higher) (OMS

2.3.8 or higher required) and all known soft­ware products for Macintosh that support
OMS.

• Compatible with Windows 98 SE (Second Edi­tion), Windows Me (Millenium Edition), Win­dows 2000 and Windows XP and MME
compatible software. Plug & Play installation
without the need to set IRQs, I/O addresses or
DMA Channels.

MIDEX-3 – Controls and Sockets

Front Rear

➀➂➃➄➁

MIDI In socket – Using a MIDI cable, connect this e.g.

➀

to your MIDI Master keyboard.

MIDI In Activity LED – This LED indicates MIDI activity

➁

on the MIDI input.

Power LED – This LED indicates that the MIDEX-3 is

➂

ready for use. It lights up shortly after the MIDEX-3
has been connected to the USB bus of your
computer.

MIDI Out Activity LEDs – These LEDs indicate MIDI

➃

activity on the MIDI outputs.

Panic/Cablecheck button – pressing this button

➄

briefly starts a MIDI cable check, pressing it longer
(for ca. 3 seconds) sends a MIDI Reset (All Notes Off
and Controller Reset on all channels) and thus
removes “hanging notes”.

➀➁

USB socket – This MIDEX-3 socket and the host

➀

computer’s USB port must be connected to each
other using a USB cable.

MIDI Out sockets 1 to 3 – Using MIDI cables, you can

➁

e.g. connect these three independent outputs to
different sound modules, samplers, drum machines
etc.

Connecting and Setting Up

➢

Please install all necessary drivers and
other software,
MIDEX-3 to your computer! Especially if
you install it on a Macintosh computer, it is
important to maintain a certain installa­tion order to prevent installation errors.
Please do carefully read the corresponding
sections in this manual.

Positioning the MIDEX-3

• Position the MIDEX-3 interface in a conven­ient spot near your computer.

If the distance between the MIDEX-3 and
the computer is too big, you might need
to buy a USB extension cable. This is avail­able in computer shops. The cable should
support the “USB Full Speed Mode”.

before you connect the

Connecting MIDEX-3 and Computer

When you have installed all necessary
software, proceed as follows to connect
the MIDEX-3 to the computer:

1. Switch off the computer.

2. Use the USB standard cable that came with
your MIDEX-3 to connect the USB port on
the rear of your computer to MIDEX-3’s
USB.

Your computer’s USB port is a small (1/8 inch x
3/8 inch) rectangular socket. Desktop com­puters often have two, Laptop computers
mostly have one such socket. The USB socket
on your MIDEX-3 can easily be identified by its
lable.

3. If you are sure that all necessary software
has been installed, you can now switch on
your computer.

➢

We assume that you have properly con­nected the MIDEX-3 to your computer’s USB
bus, so that it gets the necessary power, and
that the computer is switched On.