APC40 to control two MIDI hosts

Bome Products
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1

Hi,
I’m trying to build a MIDI setup, but stuff doesn’t work as I thought it would and I’m starting to hit my head hard on the wall.

My setup:

  • Controller: APC40 mk2 (USB-B out)

  • Computer: MacBook running Bome MIDI Translator Pro + Resolume

  • External device: Sleepy Circuits Hypno 1 (USB-A MIDI host only)

What I want to do:
Use one APC40 to control:

  1. Resolume on my Mac (normal, via Bome/IAC)

  2. Hypno at the same time, but with modified MIDI (different channel/note mapping done in Bome

Basically, I want to push a button that will select a preset on the Hypno and engage a clip in Resolume at the same time.

The problem:
Hypno can only accept MIDI from USB-MIDI devices, because it is a USB host. It also requires CC messages on the channel 16. APC40 doesn’t allow alternative MIDI mapping and sends signals on many different channels.
My Mac is also a USB host, so Hypno doesn’t show up as a MIDI output device in Bome.

Hypno’s manual confirms it only accepts MIDI from class-compliant USB MIDI devices.

What’s the simplest hardware chain that would let Bome send its translated MIDI stream into Hypno as if it were coming from a USB-MIDI device? Or any other way to make this setup work? Thanks)

2

Hi,

Thanks for reaching out!

Unless you can find a manufacturer that has an adapter to convert from a usb device to a usb host, you would probably need a pair of usb to DIN inteface modules. You would hook whan USB port to your Mac and the DIN side would go In to out and out to IN on another cable with the USB interface module connected to your Hypno. Essentially you would be going USB to DIN then DIN to DIN and then DIN to USB.

USB hosts and USB devices are not designed to communicate with eachother.

Steve Caldwell
Bome Customer Care

Also available for paid consulting services: bome@sniz.biz
3

Thanks. I will try to look for a some device like that. Never thought that controlling two hosts with one device would be such a problem, especially nowadays)

4

If the host is Windows, Mac, Linux or Raspberry PI, you could also use Bome Network Pro to send it across a network.