8x8 Midi Interface Windows 7 x64 bit Recommendations Please

[Mfx]

Hi Recommendations please.

I have seen the MOTU midi express 128 which seems to have Windows7 64 bit support.

Any advice or recommendations please. Sub £200 GBP.

I do have 2 midis 1 on an Access Virus TI and the other on the fireface...I am guessing haveing 8x8 will keep everything in syng better rather than purchasing a 4x4 or 5x5 and using the other midi ports?

Thanks

[Animus]

I definitely don't recommend MOTU on any Windows system. The drivers had this bug where it would lose its usb connection and you'd have to cycle the power to get it back. Very inconvenient when you already loaded up a project and find out you have no midi. That was on XP so YMMV on Windows 7.

[Thonex]

I use the motu Lite boxes on a couple of my older PC sample farm computers and sometimes when I boot up those computers, the motus are not "seen". This might happen 1/20 times, and all I have to do is unplug/replug the usb cable into the computer and everything is ok again. It is a little frustrating though. This was on XP 32.

So... I'd love any alternatives too.

Cheers,

Andrew K

[TAFKAT]

Heres an option,

ESI - M8U XL (http://www.esi-audio.com/products/m8uxl/)

My only concern is that they do not use respective drivers, instead using the inbuilt generic windows drivers, I haven't had the greatest confidence in units that used those generic drivers in the past.

I do have a unit here on trial from the reps , juts need to find some time to do some testing..

[Daryl]

I definitely don't recommend MOTU on any Windows system. The drivers had this bug where it would lose its usb connection and you'd have to cycle the power to get it back. Very inconvenient when you already loaded up a project and find out you have no midi. That was on XP so YMMV on Windows 7.
Yep, my MOTU is pretty much cr*p as well. The solution for it not finding it on boot up is to unplug and re-plug the cable. This, according to MOTU tech "support" means that the problem is solved. So that's another company on my shit list.

D

[nikki-k]

(sigh) I recently had to follow Digi..erm, Avidesign's.. lead and abandon my Digi MIDI I/O. Unbelievable, but it will likely have a happy life sitting on the shelf with my MIDEx8...
I have enough keys/modules to warrant an 8x8 (or a nice 10x10 :D ), but not the cash to (once again) buy a new I/O. I owned the top-end MOTU, and sold it when I got the Digi MIDI I/O. I went and bought a MOTU Micro Lite 5x5 just to have something. Luckily, my system case has USB up front on top, so I wired in the MOTU so I could utilize their "resolution" for shoddy Windows attention (it gets unplugged every power down, and plugged back when Windows loads.. STILL need to unplug, replug every so often).

Part of me wants to dump my non-USB synths, but then I would cry.

[nikki-k]

OK, this is really getting horrible.
If I set my BIOS *properly* for CPU and RAM (speeds, timings, etc).. if an app even twitches slightly, it will crash, the MOTU remains hooked in, and BSOD (mem based).
I am one of those that still has synths and other hardware that I will use MIDI com to edit remotely.
M-Audio is dragging their feet ("No way will we have W7x64 drivers by March '10").
Avidesign is a huge lump of shite with EOL'ing and EOS'ing without notice, and/or on barely matured products (So much for the f'in BS they feed of, "Yeah, well it takes us longer to update PT cause we have SO many hardware products to support with it, as well as both OS's.." Cry me a river Avidouche.)

I guess with VI's and most post '08 hardware having USB for MIDI, no one thinks we need these units. All I want is a CV to MIDI... oh wait.. I mean a MIDI to USB.
Worst of all is I am well past sending my MOTU back to Sweetwater, MOTU could not care less, and resale on it means losing half of what I paid. *&&^%&^%b *&^%*&%* &*^^#$%$%@#$ %@$%$#%@ $%@^$@ %@^$%@^$@ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (yes, I was screaming my head off there.. and almost threw that POS MicroLite at my dust covered 002...)

[kdm]

Heres an option,

ESI - M8U XL (http://www.esi-audio.com/products/m8uxl/)

My only concern is that they do not use respective drivers, instead using the inbuilt generic windows drivers, I haven't had the greatest confidence in units that used those generic drivers in the past.

I do have a unit here on trial from the reps , juts need to find some time to do some testing..

Let us know how it performs.

There really aren't any established, known reliable options outside of MOTU anymore (and considering MOTU "reliable" is a pretty big stretch). My MOTU works most of the time - though of course it loses connection when restarting the system (reboot is usually okay).

I've also had mixed results with USB on outboard synths and controllers, so that isn't necessarily a more reliable solution. In fact I don't even use USB on any of them for that reason. My Korg M3 wouldn't even work via USB on my main rig, and it should be one of the latest and greatest in that arena.

The industry seems to be catering to the single USB controller laptop consumer, leaving us multi-keyboard/controller, longtime midi users pretty much out of luck.

[nikki-k]

Found something interesting... Cakewalk rebranded from Roland/Edirol 3x3's (UMG-3), and can be stacked/chained (3 units total)! W7x64 support, but it looks like it has a hardwired USB cable.. wtf???
Still looking...

[AlakaLazlo]

I've been having a random BSOD problem which I thought was a VST giving me trouble, but after several months of research and testing, I believe it has now been isolated to the MOTU 128 driver. I also have many midi divices which I need to run and I dumped my two old Midisport 4x4s because they don't support W7/64. Motu's tech folks told me (before I bought the unit) that their Vista64 driver worked fine for W7/64. Apparently not. I'm trying to get a tech support supervisor on the phone, but am not having any luck... Looks like I'll be sending it back. Too bad because it should be the perfect device, if it only worked properly.

[Animus]

I'm telling you MOTU and windows is not a good thing.

[OpenMind]

M-Audio is dragging their feet ("No way will we have W7x64 drivers by March '10").Meanwhile they have a driver that works for my 8x8/s in Windows 7 64-bit.... it's beta, but it works. The remote panel is discontinued.

http://forums.m-audio.com/showthread.php?17644

http://forums.m-audio.com/showthread.php?18743

[nikki-k]

my Cakewalk 3x3 is happily chugging along. Will likely add one or two more since they piggyback, no need for using more USB ports!! It powers off with the computer, stable (so far).. never notice it is there, lol.