Hi guys, I am new to midi in general and to DAWs, trackers, etc. I’ve a background in classical music but have dabbled a little with basic things like GarageBand.
Anyways, I picked up a tracker mini as kind of an impulse buy. I was wondering if I could use something like the Akai APC64 or the APC KEY25 to play notes, etc into the mini.
Are there any limitations that I need to be aware of or anything that I should know before I buy one of these midi controllers?
Thank you!
Hey there @iprayforwaves! First of all, welcome to Backstage. Great to have you join us here 
So indeed the Tracker Mini can receive MIDI input, however the 2 examples you gave might not be the best regarding compatibility.
As you mentioned being new to MIDI, I’ll do my best to explain with some details and explanations.
Your Tracker came with a Minijack to MIDI DIN adapter. The output of this adapter is your standard sized MIDI interface. In 98% of instances if you have any keyboard with a MIDI Out and something that made sound with a MIDI In using this standard size, they would just work.
The issue with this standard is the size of the MIDI interfacing which brought MIDI over 1/8 outputs like you have on the Tracker MINI to make MIDI devices that were slimmer and more portable.
Problem is that 2 different standards came out of this adaptation, which we can simplify as A and B.
The Tracker (and Polyend devices in general) uses the B standard. It seems the Akai APC64 you mentioned uses the A standard, so just there you’re looking into some possible incompatibility issues.
Now it might sound bleak, but it’s not necessarily the case. Being they are both using 1/8 in/out for their MIDI, you “should” be able to use a simple 1/8 stereo cable between the 2 and not have to worry about the A or B issues. Now I’ve only used this scenario between other Polyend devices. Every other interfacing in my studio is the 1/8 in or out going into a standard size MIDI interface, so it’s not an issue I have to deal with. I’m know there are more knowledgeable people here that use TRS MIDI on a daily basis. Maybe one of the @3amigos could chime in.
Regarding the APC KEY25, it appears that it’s powered over USB and only has USB over MIDI, so it is unlikely that the Tracker is going to be able to power the unit.
This conversation might help steer you towards good MIDI controllers for the Mini
EDIT; How could I not mention this elegant solution that is in prototype with one of our members. Genius stuff!
Hi, thanks for your feedback. I did see the little mini add on keyboard and would love to buy one of those when it’s available.