Sending MIDI to multiple devices should be simple! A thru-chain can add latency and you can’t easily swap devices about during a performance, but a MIDI interface with multiple outputs can be expensive.
BANANA SPLIT is a simple, compact and cost effective solution for splitting a single MIDI input to six parallel MIDI outputs which can be “hot swapped” without impacting each other and offers near-zero latency on the MIDI signal.
The MIDI input is optically isolated, per MIDI-spec and each output is electrically buffered and protected with current limiting resistors.
This latest version of BANANA SPLIT can supply power to “bus powered” MIDI devices (on earlier versions a mod was necessary)
BANANA SPLIT includes a Beat LED which blinks with the MIDI clock. This provides both an indication that a MIDI clock is present and a “visual metronome” (which is always useful!)
MIDI IN connection can be made via a 3.5mm stereo jack socket as an alternative to the 5-pin MIDI input (do not try to use both inputs at the same time!). This updated version works with a MIDI jack connection using the new MIDI Manufacturers Association standard. For hardware (e.g. Novation, Arturia) using a different standard it is possible to make a small mod to change the socket polarity or even repurpose the socket as a pulse clock output for clocking Volcas, Pocket Operators, Eurorack etc. All MIDI OUTs are 5-pin sockets.
BANANA SPLIT arrives fully assembled and tested. No assembly is required
The enclosure is laser-cut from 3mm translucent black acrylic sheet with yellow/black PCB material face plate and frosted black acrylic end pieces.
Power is via a 2.1mm barrel connector as used on most “wall wart” type adaptors and standard on most stomp-boxes. An on-board diode bridge and voltage regulator mean that it will work with center positive or negative supply, and at any input voltage from 9-12V. Power supply not included!
Integral LED’s indicate power supply, clock beat and activity on the MIDI input socket. Add to this the 5-Pin MIDI sockets for input and six outputs and that’s pretty much it… It does what it says on the skin!
Size is 175mm x 55mm x 28mm Weight is approx 170g
All connections are via the front panel and can be accessed when the device is held (for example) in flight case foam or inset into a panel in a studio.
Designed and hand assembled in Brighton, UK
User Guide
Overview
Banana Split is a six-way MIDI thru box. MIDI information that comes in through the input is sent to all six outputs in parallel.
Using a central “hub” to send MIDI to multiple devices, rather than chaining them together through their MIDI thru ports, has the advantage you can disconnect or remove power from one device without affecting the others. It also helps to reduce latency issues.
Power
Banana Split has a 2.1mm power socket, such as those used with the wall wart adaptors for guitar pedals. Typically these adaptors are 9V DC with a positive outer barrel. Banana Split has a bridge rectifier and voltage regulator which mean it can also run with an adaptor that has a plug with a negative outer barrel, and can run from any voltage from about 7 volts up to about 15 volts (9V – 12V recommended, never exceed 15 volts).
MIDI Input
Banana split has two separate MIDI inputs:
- A standard 5-pin DIN socket (the circular connector found on most music gear)
- A 3.5mm jack socket
The 3.5mm socket allows connection with other devices that use the new MIDI Manufacturers Association 3.5mm MIDI connector standard. With a small modification, it is also possible for this socket to be repurposed for
- Legacy “hot tip” polarity MIDI socket (Novation/Arturia style)
- A pulse clock output for connection to Volca, Pocket operator, Eurorack etc
Please note that the 3.5mm socket polarity differs from previous versions of the Banana Split. Everything else is the same!
You can use a 3.5mm stereo jack to jack cable to connect a devices with a suitable 3.5mm MIDI output directly to the Banana Split. However please note
- You must use a STEREO jack cable. The plugs will have three connectors (Tip, Ring and Sleeve) rather than the two connectors (Tip and Sleeve) of a mono jack.
- Do not try to use both the jack socket and the 5-pin DIN input at the same time.
MIDI Outputs
Banana split has six MIDI outputs, which are identical and hard-wired to share the same MIDI signal. There is no firmware processing of the signal, just electrical buffering (i.e. signal amplification). This means that latency between the input and output is kept to a bare minimum.
Since there is no firmware processing of the signal, it is not possible to apply any kind of filtering or conditional routing of the MIDI information (e.g. split different MIDI channels to different sockets). However most MIDI devices are designed to ignore all MIDI data not on their configured channel, meaning this is not an issue.
Indicators
Banana Split has three LED indicators
- The BLUE LED blinks when there is any kind of MIDI activity detected (notes, clock, CC, sysex etc)
- The YELLOW LED blinks when a MIDI clock is present. MIDI clock is sent by the master device at a rate of 24 ticks per quarter note. For example if the clock is at 120bpm there will be two beats (quarter notes) per second, or 48 ticks. The LED blinks at the rate of once every 24 ticks, so indicates both the presence and the rate of the MIDI clock. However although the blink rate will be locked to the tempo, the flashes might be out of sync with the beat count. To make sure that the blinks are in sync you need to send a MIDI “start” message to Banana Split. This is usually a simply matter of stopping and restarting the master device.
- The RED LED is lit when power is present
Microprocessor
While Banana Split does not apply any processing to the MIDI data that is passing through, it does contain a microprocessor (a small PIC microcontroller) which is used to control the activity and beat indicator LEDs. This chip listens in on the MIDI traffic passing through the box.
Source Code
- Firmware source code: https://github.com/hotchk155/banana-split/tree/master/firmware
- Hardware design files: https://github.com/hotchk155/banana-split/tree/master/hardware
- Schematic: Open
This information is provided according to the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. For more information please see the about us page