How to Connect Devices to Your Mac Using a USB Port You can use a Universal Serial Bus (USB) to connect printers, scanners, digital cameras, webcams, iPods, joysticks, speakers, keychain disk drives, piano keyboards, and even your mouse and computer keyboard to your Mac. Plugging in a USB device is as simple as plugging it in (though sometimes you have to load software first). You can often remove USB devices from the computer without causing harm by merely pulling the cable out of the jack. Sometimes, however, you need to let your Mac know before you pull out the cable. To remove an iPod connected by USB, for example, your Mac wants you to click a tiny little icon in the iTunes software source list, next to the name you’ve assigned the portable music player. Failure to click the icon can cause unpleasant consequences. If you plug a USB device into a port in the keyboard and it doesn’t work, try plugging it into a USB port directly on the back or side of the computer.
USB generally works great. But given all the devices that use USB, you may run out of available ports. In that case, you can buy a USB expansion hub — preferably one that you can plug in to an electrical outlet.
The state of the art for USB ports is USB 2.0. Older Macs have slower USB 1.1 ports.
How to Connect Your Keyboard and Mouse to Your PC Connecting your keyboard and mouse to your PC is a breeze. Before you connect your keyboard and mouse to your computer, you need to decide where to place both the keyboard and mouse in relation to the PC:. Set up the keyboard right in front of where you’ll sit when you use the computer, between you and where the monitor goes. The mouse lives to the right or left of the keyboard, depending on whether you’re right- or left-handed. Now that you have your mouse and keyboard where you want them, you can actually connect them:.
The PC keyboard plugs into the keyboard port on the back of the console. The mouse plugs into the mouse port. Note that the two ports look identical but are different. Don’t plug the keyboard or mouse into the wrong port or else neither device works.
However, if you’re using a USB keyboard or mouse, you can plug the keyboard or mouse into any USB port. Some USB keyboards and mice come with a tiny adapter, designed to convert the USB port into a keyboard or mouse port connector. Don’t plug the keyboard or mouse into their ports while the computer is turned on. It may damage the keyboard, mouse, or computer.
FireWire 400 FireWire 400, also called IEEE 1394a or i.LINK, is the consumer and professional standard for formats such as DV, DVCAM, DVCPRO, DVCPRO 50, DVCPRO HD, and HDV. FireWire is an inexpensive and easy way to capture and output high-quality digital video using a variety of camcorders and decks and is capable of data rates as high as 400 Mbps. Standard FireWire cables can be up to 4.5 meters long. There are two kinds of FireWire connectors: a 4-pin connector (typically found on video equipment such as camcorders or decks) and a 6-pin connector (used for computer equipment).
Convert Keyboard To Usb
However, some newer video equipment uses the 6-pin connector, and some video interfaces use the 4-pin connector. See your equipment’s documentation for more information. USB (Universal Serial Bus) USB is a consumer standard used for computer peripherals and other devices. Download amiri baraka the dutchman pdf writer. USB 1.1 offers a much lower data transfer rate than FireWire (11 Mbps).
USB 2.0, however, transfers data at 480 Mbps. It supports plug-and-play operation and the ability to connect several devices in sequence (daisy-chaining). Some USB devices draw their power over the USB cable, while others require a separate power connection.
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USB 2.0 ports are included on all current Mac computers. There are two kinds of USB connectors:. A connector, typically used to connect a device to a USB hub. B connector, typically used to connect devices together, and also to connect a device to a computer Note: USB audio interfaces should always be directly connected to your computer, not via a hub or to the computer’s display, keyboard, or another peripheral. Connecting Your Audio Interface Logic Express supports plug-and-play for audio interfaces, making it possible to connect and turn on a new audio interface while Logic Express is open. An alert appears when you connect a new device, and prompts you to select and confirm the audio interface and driver that you want to use. All digital audio interfaces can be susceptible to latency—a noticeable delay between the time the audio signal is produced, and when you hear it.
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You should always attach your audio interface directly to the computer, rather than through a hub, or daisy-chaining it through another device. Doing so can cause an unacceptable amount of latency, particularly with slower USB 1.1 devices. The MIDI Thru port replicates the signals coming into the MIDI In port of the device.
It is preferable to use a direct connection from the computer MIDI Out to a device, rather than chaining too many units, one after the other. Doing so can cause timing problems in the chain, if numerous MIDI commands are sent quickly. This is due to the slight delays introduced by each MIDI In to MIDI Thru transaction. As such, a multi input/output MIDI interface is recommended in studios with several MIDI tone generators and controllers.
Using Multi-Channel MIDI Devices Most modern MIDI tone generators can simultaneously receive MIDI data on multiple MIDI channels (multi-timbral MIDI devices). Each MIDI channel can be assigned a tone or sound, such as piano, strings, bass, and so on. To take full advantage of the capabilities of each connected multi-timbral device, you need to use separate MIDI Out ports (from the computer MIDI interface to the MIDI In ports) for each device. To explain further, imagine a scenario where:. There are four MIDI tone generators that are capable of receiving data on multiple channels.
All devices can receive on all 16 MIDI channels. There is only one MIDI Out from the computer, and all devices are daisy-chained via MIDI Thru to MIDI In connections.
Logic Express is capable of channelizing MIDI data (routing it to MIDI channels 1 to 16) and is also capable of sending this channelized data to specific MIDI Out ports. Unfortunately, in the scenario above, there is only one MIDI Out port available. As such, all data sent on MIDI channel 1 will be sent to all four of the daisy-chained MIDI tone generators. Each MIDI tone generator will play the incoming data with the sound assigned to channel 1, which may be:. Bagpipes on module 1. A drumkit on module 2. A helicopter effect on module 3 and so on While this would be colorful, it would hardly be musical, unless your tastes lean towards the avant-garde.
The same applies to the other 15 MIDI channels. MIDI, as you can see from the example, can be separated onto 16 different channels, but it can’t be separated between devices, unless a multi-output MIDI interface is used. Using the scenario above, but substituting a single output MIDI interface with a four-output MIDI interface—connected from MIDI Out ports A, B, C, and D—to the respective MIDI In ports of each device. There are no MIDI Thru connections, which allows Logic Express to assign and send:.
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A recording/performance on MIDI channel 1 to port A/module 1. A separate recording/performance—also on MIDI channel 1—to port B/module 2. A further recording/performance on MIDI channel 1 to port C/module 3, and so on with subsequent channels and modules In effect, having a multi-output MIDI interface is something like having more MIDI channels. In this scenario, it would be like having 64 independent MIDI channels—with 16 channels per port (A, B, C, and D). Not only does this allow you to play up to 64 different sounds simultaneously through your tone generators, it also allows full MIDI control for each channel of each device. This becomes increasingly important when arranging and orchestrating such a large number of instrument parts.
If your computer offers several MIDI inputs, you can connect the MIDI outputs of other MIDI expanders and controllers to it. Separating a MIDI Keyboard from Its Sound Generator If your MIDI keyboard has an internal sound source, it is important that you stop the keyboard from generating sounds directly from its own keyboard.
For example, if you buy a new keyboard that is to be used without a sequencer, and connect it to an amplifier, you would expect the device to make a sound when you press its keys—in other words, the keyboard is directly connected to the sound generator. When using the MIDI keyboard with Logic Express, however, this is not desirable.
In this situation, the keyboard is used as a computer input device, and Logic Express passes the incoming performance information back to the keyboard’s sound generator (or to an internal software instrument or another connected sound module, if you like). If the direct connection between the keyboard and its tone generator isn’t cut, a doubling of each note results—one played directly from the keyboard to the internal tone generator, and another sent through Logic Express back to the tone generator. Not only does this cause a phased sound, but it also halves the polyphony of the keyboard’s tone generator. In situations where you want to control or record another sound module or software instrument with your keyboard, you would hear both the keyboard sound (due to the direct keyboard to tone generator connection) and the sound of the software or MIDI instrument. This is why the keyboard must be separated from its own internal sound generator.
This function is known as Local Off, and is set directly on your keyboard. Don’t worry about losing the ability to use the tone generator of your keyboard. Logic Express will still be able to communicate with your keyboard tone generator just like any other connected, keyboardless sound module or software instrument.
Note: If you cannot find the Local Off function in the MIDI menu of your keyboard, consult its manual on sequencer use. Some keyboards allow you to select from: Local, MIDI, or Both for each of their Parts (individual MIDI channels/sounds in multi-timbral MIDI devices). The MIDI setting, if applicable to your keyboard, is the equivalent of Local Off.
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