What's new

MIDI 2.0

MIDI-2.0.003.jpg
I tried to google this but i left quickly

Try this one. Straight from the source: https://www.midi.org/articles-old/the-midi-manufacturers-association-mma-and-the-association-of-music-electronics-industry-amei-announce-midi-2-0tm-prototyping
 
it is about time. A successor to MIDI has been talked about since around 2000, maybe even before that.

Props to the folks that brought us MIDI V1 - it has been a very difficult act to follow<G>!
 
2000? It was talked about in the mid-80s!

For me personally, extended resolution and auto-config sound like a wonder... except that I'm quite resolved, my studio is already configured, and I like the equipment I have now + what little money I have a lot more than I like the idea of buying stuff all over again. :)
 
It will be backwards compatible with the orignal MIDI spec. So all your old gear should still function properly.

Right, and if a new synth is responding to MIDI 2 over, say, USB from a computer, it should be better - especially if you're playing a lot of simultaneous voices that are quantized together, because that's when MIDI actually can have issues (it's a serial protocol - one command after the next). But if you're playing or sequencing parts from a regular MIDI keyboard controller, the timing and resolution aren't going to make a huge difference.

Also, we already have sample-accurate MIDI timing in software - for example in Vienna Ensemble Pro - and most interfaces have very tight timing. So I doubt that'll be a big selling point.

Anyway, I'm all for progress, but the reason there hasn't been a MIDI 2 spec since MIDI came out in 1983 is that it hasn't been a high priority.
 
Most interesting new features to me are:

- 32-bit resolution for continuous controllers (compared to 7-bit for MIDI 1.0) - no more digital grunge when playing EWI ppp !
- 16-bit resolution for note velocity
- per-note pitchbend with 32-bit resolution
- per-note articulation with 24-bit resolution (i.e. over 16,000,000 articulations addressable)
- over 64,000 addressable continuous controllers + registered controllers
- 256 channels per data stream
- lots of room for future expansion/customization in the unused message space
 
Are notes still divided in singular NOTE ON and NOTE OFF events?
I think a new MIDI protocol should have time information like ARA so that plugins could have information about their relative position in a song. That way DAWs and plugins could interpret musical content (recognizing phrases) or have the right modulation point (like bounced audio of a modulated source) and work a little more intelligent than only triggering what just now passes the time line.
 
Last edited:
- 32-bit resolution for continuous controllers (compared to 7-bit for MIDI 1.0) - no more digital grunge when playing EWI ppp !

Hah. I never noticed that. What instruments are you triggering?

Also, do you have a 3020m? If so, I'm curious - does MIDI In work on yours? It doesn't on mine, and I've always assumed that was just the way it is, but recently it occurred to me that I could also have been wrong about that all these years!
 
So, am I the only one who worries that this will result in having to buy all new equipment? Or will this be a backward compatible kind of thing?
 
https://www.synthtopia.com/content/...lution-tighter-timing-backward-compatibility/

The MIDI 2.0 initiative updates MIDI with auto-configuration, new DAW/web integrations, extended resolution, increased expressiveness, and tighter timing — all while maintaining a high priority on backward compatibility. This major update of MIDI paves the way for a new generation of advanced interconnected MIDI devices, while still preserving interoperability with the millions of existing MIDI 1.0 devices. One of the core goals of the MIDI 2.0 initiative is to also enhance the MIDI 1.0 feature set whenever possible.
 
So, am I the only one who worries that this will result in having to buy all new equipment? Or will this be a backward compatible kind of thing?

It will, but the questions are whether DAWs will support it, whether it'll connect via USB or require new interfaces, what compelling MIDI 2 instruments come out... and I suspect that'll be self-perpetuating either way.
 
Top Bottom