Just a simple question. How many synths is it okay to chain together with the midi thru's ? My setup has swollen to six synths and I'm curious if having them all on the same midi line could cause signal loss or latency in the ones furthest in the chain ? Should I get a separate midi interface and split them up three to a line ? I've had no problems with three on the same line. It's going to be a week or so before I get them all hooked up (as I'm doing a massive home improvement project in this little studio room) and I was just curious about it.

Do you HEAR any latency? I believe you can chain about a dozen in a row, but the real test is the performance. Don't read about latency ... LISTEN for it. If you don't hear it - it isn't there.

Hello.........Before I bought a couple MIDI thru boxes I used to chain together several synths. Uncle Dave is correct.........if you don't hear a problem it ISN"T there!
What I did notice when daisy-chaining was the order in how they were linked. I had to swap things around to get the best response. The only problems I experienced wasn't in the live playing, but when trying to play the sequence thru the daisy-chain. I now use a Nexus 3 X 8 MIDI switcher which lets me use 3 different control keyboards without having to change the cables around. I can use up to 8 MIDI devices with it too. Works for me. I bought it used on eBay for around $20. Good luck.

In theory, its not the number of instruments that will cause latency in a midi daisy chain, its the length of cables. Most manufacturers recommend keeping total midi cable length down to 20 feet or less(total length from last instrumant on chain to interface). Its been my experience that you can go a little beyond that, but when you get out there beyond 25 feet, you do get latency(very small, but its there). Get cables that are just long enough to get to the next instrument if possible, its always a good idea to keep all midi cables as short as possible.

DudeManCentral

Personally, Everything goes parrellel on my setups. I use a lot more than 16 channels though, and therefore that is one of quite a few reasons all go straight into the rack (mix/interfacing)
I could not imagine daisy chaining myself. Wait,...no, not true...I daisy chain my christmas lights.
MORPH!

With multiple instruments, the only way to avoid a daisy chain is to use a patch bay or switching device. More elaborate studio setups can certainly benifit from a midi patch bay, but a simple home studio can operate quite nicely with a daisy chain.
Enjoy !

Dave bullzied it. I recall "going thru" components when MIDI was first introduced. That latency mentioned earlier in the subject thread would typically not occur AUDIBLY (it does occur but the delay goes unnoticed)until the point where mostly wire length starts to delay affecting that interface signal. Circuits will have some (however it is minimal) delay affect as well contrary to something someone said above about circuits having no latency whatsoever.

My main reason my for re-entry on this thread however is something that I completely failed to mention that is important which applies to sequencing and latency.
The time post (sync).
This is a handy dandy function for sure. All it really is, is a checkpoint. Think of it as a repair supervisor along a race course with his clipboard and stopwatch. Your vehicle is the MIDI tracks all grouped. You whiz past him and if your muffler is dragging behind a little, he will repair it back snug on your vehicle. His stopwatch says "at this time" and his clipboard says "this is where everything is supposed to be". When your vehicle passes him, it is made as such. Aah, but the best part is to come. You can assign as many checkpoints as you wish. In fact when I do a score for a commercial I must provide checkpoints for the video editing (although that is besides the point because they are a different standard) that are as tight as one ¼ of a frame(thats 8.33333ms for you math monsters)! I personally have never experienced latent MIDI signaling that needed sync points to exceed 66.66666ms and even that is quite extreme while typically running 64 channels. If I need to run more than 64, chances are I will stop, sit back for a second or two and try to figure out what he hell I am really trying to achieve sound wise because there is, however it is extremely rare; times when more than 64 are really warranted. I have experimented when I first started using a G4 computer as a new replacement (yeah, it was a while ago LOL) of the previous gear. I found the G4 began it's audible latency on 256 tracks non-parrelleled with the info rate exceeding 16 notes at 120BPM. Finally, I am honored to have provided you this latter portion of useless information. I shall partake in my reprimandation now by playing "Smoke On The Water" intro with my Magnus for ten minutes.
(w/headphones of course. I wouldn't do that to the neighbors.)
Weird as always but warmest regards from:
MORPH!