Can I use a hardware sequencer to play Giga instruments?

[Jake Johnson]

I was away from music for many years (grad school, a son) and missed a lot of what was going on with midi, but came back in as Giga was becoming popular. As a result, I need to ask what may seem like a very basic question:

Once I record a midi sequence to a hardware sequencer (as yet unpurchased), can I play back that sequence from the hardware sequencer and hear the sequence with a Giga instrument playing the notes? In other words, can the hardware sequencer send messages to my computer, which will play the sequence using Giga as the sound source? (I\'m trying to avoid saving the sequence to a disk, putting it into my computer, and loading in Cubase--I just want to be able to have the computer on and play back a sequence stored on the hardware sequencer.)

[JonFairhurst]

Yes. Any midi source can play Giga, be it a keyboard, hardware sequencer, soft sequencer, or notation program. You can even run midi over USB and Ethernet these days, though that wouldn\'t be required for your hardware sequencer.

Isn\'t it great when the answer is \"yes\"? :-)

[Scott Cairns]

Hi Jake, if I understand your question correctly all you will need is a midi interface for your computer. There are a few types these days, you can get a usb one; www.midiman.net/products/midiman/usbmidi.php (\"http://www.midiman.net/products/midiman/usbmidi.php\")

Or you can get a cable that plug into the joystick port of your soundcard and gives you midi in and out.

With either of these devices you will be able to trigger Gigastudio from a hardware sequencer.

Regards, Scott.

[sporter]

Yep, Giga doesn\'t care where it\'s midi signal comes from. I use Cubase, but I\'ve used Giga with the Yamaha QY700 with very pleasing results. This is a great hardware sequencer, and sound pretty good even without external sounds.

Good luck!