# Homemade Midi Cable **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 20, 2003, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-midi-cable/208586 "2003-10-20T21:27:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rayray5884](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@rayray5884](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayray5884)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2003, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-midi-cable/208586/1 "2003-10-20T21:27:12Z")
Has anyone had any luck with making their own Midi In/Out to USB? Unless there is some sort of inline hardware it doesnt seem like that far fetched of an idea. Thanks in advance! ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2003, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-midi-cable/208586/2 "2003-10-20T22:44:05Z")
MIDI and USB are two totally separate serial bus standards. USB uses bidirectional differential signals, whereas MIDI uses unidirectional single-ended signals IIRC. The protocols are completely different. Thus, any MIDI to USB connection will have in-line hardware. It could be done with a single chip (most of the complication would be in satisfying the USB serial engine requirements), but I don’t know of any such chip available to the general public in one-off quantities. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2003, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-midi-cable/208586/3 "2003-10-20T23:36:35Z")
You need both hardware and software. Not worth your time as you can buy them ready made: [http://shop.store.yahoo.com/rehobothmusic/yammidtousbc.html](http://shop.store.yahoo.com/rehobothmusic/yammidtousbc.html) ---
**Author:** ![rayray5884](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@rayray5884](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayray5884)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2003, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-midi-cable/208586/4 "2003-10-21T01:04:10Z")
How bout parallel or serial? ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2003, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-midi-cable/208586/5 "2003-10-21T01:32:58Z")
I don’t understand the problem. You have a computer which does not have a MIDI port? I would be surprised if your computer did not have this port somewhere. Your easiest and cheapest option is to get a card with a MIDI port. Trying to build your own adapter would require building hardware and software. You can get an audio or other card with a MIDI/game port for a few dollars. You’ll need the drivrs for it. ---
**Author:** ![rayray5884](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@rayray5884](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayray5884)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2003, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-midi-cable/208586/6 "2003-10-21T01:45:51Z")
Well my roommate found a USB to MIDI In/Out cable…but it was $50. I just thought that there was some cheaper way of making one. I guess it’s not as easy to make and adapter for this as it is to say make one for my TI-89, lol. Thanks for the help though! ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2003, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-midi-cable/208586/7 "2003-10-21T04:14:00Z")
Here are some midi interface schematics. Though I didn’t see any USB versions, the serial and pararellel port versions look pretty simple: > **[Online Casino Malaysia 2021 | King of Online Gambling | 500+20 Bonus](https://harmony-central.com)** > > \#1 ONLINE CASINO IN MALAYSIA. One of the most famous casinos, sign up and receive RM500 real money + 20 free spins to try our games. [http://home.concepts-ict.nl/~nctnico/midi.htm](http://home.concepts-ict.nl/~nctnico/midi.htm) **Antonius Block** , [www.digikey.com](http://www.digikey.com) sells to the general public in ‘one-off’ quantities. They have a nice seclection of USB controller ICs from like $5-10. This project could also be done with an Atmel microcontroller, but then you’d have to program the chip. Also [www.newark.com](http://www.newark.com) is good. **rayray** I think most people use a simple cable which connects through the sound card’s joystick port. If you don’t have one, you can probably get one for $10 if you froogle for it. But what fun is that 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2003, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-midi-cable/208586/8 "2003-10-21T05:13:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eleusis \* > \*\ ***Antonius Block** , [www.digikey.com](http://www.digikey.com) sells to the general public in ‘one-off’ quantities. They have a nice seclection of USB controller ICs from like $5-10. This project could also be done with an Atmel microcontroller, but then you’d have to program the chip. Also [www.newark.com](http://www.newark.com) is good. > \*\* I’m familiar with the USB controllers available from Digikey, **Eleusis**. However, AFAIK _any_ of those would require programming of the microcontroller EEPROM.This requires a fairly extensive knowledge of the USB protocol, as well as the ability to write a driver for the OS (most likely Windows of some flavor) on the host PC end. I would be willing to bet that **rayray5884** does not have extensive experience in embedded systems programming, or he would not have asked the question that he did in the OP. What I meant in my earlier reply is that I don’t believe that you can buy small quantities of the preprogrammed microcontrollers used in the $50 USB \<-\> MIDI interfaces that **sailor** and **rayray5884** ’s roommate found. If one _really_ wanted to build a USB\<-\>MIDI interface just for the challenge, but without wishing to learn embedded systems programming, my guess is that the best bet would be the FT245BM USB microcontroller from [FTDI](http://www.ftdichip.com/). This is available in unit quantities for $5.75 from [Saelig](http://www.saelig.com). One would still need to write a (relatively simple) Windows application to bit-bang data to and from the FDTI chip, which appears to the OS as a virtual serial port. This is still considerably more complicated than the simple wiring job that I think the OP was hoping for. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2003, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homemade-midi-cable/208586/9 "2003-10-21T06:16:46Z")
I was referring mainly to the [AN2131SC EZ-USB](http://www.digikey.com/scripts/us/dksus.dll?Detail?Ref=160369&Row=93145), which (from the datasheet): > [@](#): > > Because it is soft, the EZ-USB chip can take on the identities of multiple distinct USB devices. The > first device downloads your 8051 firmware and USB descriptor tables over the USB cable when > the peripheral device is plugged in. Once downloaded, another device comes on as a totally different > USB peripheral as defined by the downloaded information. This two-step process, called > ReNumeration™ , happens instantly when the device is plugged in, with no hint that the initial load > step has occurred. I read this to mean all the programming could be done via the usb cable without needing to flash the chip before use. I could very well be wrong there. My limited knowledge, however, didn’t stop me from building a [USB infrared receiver](http://www.cesko.host.sk/IgorPlugUSB/IgorPlug-USB%20(AVR)_eng.htm) for my HTPC. Igor was cool enough to share his design and his software with the world. My point mainly being that it’s likely the design work has already been done and drivers written and released for free by hobbiests. If not for USB, then even cheaper (though perhaps dodgier) through the serial port as per links in my first post.