Subject: Re: [linux-audio-user] suggestions for USB/serial/PCMCIA MIDI interfaces ?
From: Pedro Lopez-Cabanillas (plcl_AT_telefonica.net)
Date: Sun Oct 03 2004 - 23:26:57 EEST
On Sunday 03 October 2004, Emiliano Grilli wrote:
> domenica, 03 ottobre 2004 alle 08:47:38, R Parker ha scritto:
> > > There is also the "midisport" line from m-audio, but
> > > if I recall correctly
> > > they need a firmware upload to work, so I'd avoid
> > > them:
> >
> > I use a USB Midisport 8x8 that requires firmware but
> > it works great. My purchase would be based on price
> > and not whether firmware is required.
>
> I have no direct experience of devices that require firmware, but I recall
> a thread earlier this year on the agnula-user mailing list discussing the
> opportunity of distributing the firmwares, and if those firmwares were
> "proprietary software" or not...
Can you please give me a pointer to that thread?
> As far as I can tell, agnula/demudi still doesn't distribute those
> firmwares.
Please let me tell you a tale about these firmware issues, and a little bit of
history.
A long, long time ago (January 2002), I bought a Midisport2x2 USB interface.
Here is a picture of this technological terror, side by side with an Edirol
friend:
http://rosegarden.sourceforge.net/tutorial/using-rosegarden/en/chapter-2.html#2_1_2_2_2
The Midisport2x2 needs to load firmware on it. Luckily, by that time there was
a project conducted by Lars Dölle and aimed to build GPL firmware for this
device. This project supports several devices using the EZ-USB chip:
Midisport2x2, Midisport1x1, Midisport UNO and Steinberg USB-2-MIDI. The
sources are on SourceForge:
http://cvs.sourceforge.net/viewcvs.py/linux-hotplug/firmware/ezusb/midi/
http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/linux-hotplug/firmwarehotplug-0.1.tar.gz?download
This baby is distributed as a RPM package (with the name ezusbmidi) by CCRMA
for RegHat/Fedora, and by Thac for Mandrake. Using this package is very easy
to set up the devices. And you are using only GPL software to play your
music. I don't use AGNULA, so don't ask me what happens with it. I remember
that there was a browseable CVS repository long time ago with the ezusbmidi
sources on it, but I can't find it now.
The problem is that there are a lot of devices out there that need a firmware
upload. MAudio has the 4x4, 8x8 and others. Tascam has the 122/224/428, and
Steinberg has the Midex3 and Midex8. Nobody is working on a GPL firmware for
them. But there is another project in SourceForge aimed to build a
ripper^H^H^H^H extractor of the firmware juice from the windoze drivers that
can be used on Linux: http://usb-midi-fw.sourceforge.net
Using this program is very easy. You only need to copy some files from your
windows driver into the directory where you unpacked the sources, and run
make install on it. The firmware extracted from the windows drivers can't be
redistributed without the permission of their owners. It is proprietary
software. There are no sources. I wash my hands. But if you don't mind to
burn your soul in the hell, it is the only way to use some USB MIDI devices
on Linux.
Just my 2 euro cents.
Regards,
Pedro
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