Folks this time I am looking for a smallish hardware module to play midi files. It has to have the abilty to "jump" in real time, to one of a few specified measures in the song, at the press of a button. The ability to control the clock and filter SysEx would be nice, but really all it has to do is send note messages.

Now the Roland E-series will do exactly what I want with their mark/ jump buttons, but I would prefer something more compact. The Midjay is smaller and would be another excellent choice, but it is kind of expensive just for this purpose.

That leaves me with the ancient Yamaha QY-700, and maybe the less-expensive QY-100. Does any other company make a module or piece of hardware that plays MIDI files with a mark/jump feature?
Thanks,
Ted S.

N.B. based on the manuals, Korg's older i40m and the Ketron XD3 seem to lack this feature. -Ted

[This message has been edited by TedS (edited 09-26-2009).]

So a laptop is completely out of the question?

Ableton Live is capable of doing what you want (and so very, very much more!), and I'm sure there's a plethora of SMF playback programs with markers...

Thanks Diki, but my home "studio" area is very small and there isn't really enough room to leave a laptop set up next to the KB.

I kept researching this last night and I also came across the Roland MT-90U. But it sounds like the "markers" you place in the MIDI file are just for repeating a certain part. I don't believe they are saved with the song.

Gosh with all the kids out there who want to be the next American Idol, you would think small MIDI players would be a hot item!

Thanks for the input, keep 'em coming! -Ted

Ted, just my opinion, but it would seem to be a lot of work to have to reset marks every time you want to play the Roland MT-90u. At one time, I tried that and the sound was terrible. Maybe it would be better thru a good amp. But then, maybe you don't need the sound module at all...

The thing is, most of the 'American Idol' type karaoke singers have abandoned MIDI almost completely and migrated to audio MP3's. I don't know if any MP3 player can do markers without some kind of hiccup (I know .wav files can do it), but if you can find something like this, you could simply record your sequences and do it with that.

But I am surprised... a laptop is pretty small. Your workspace must be VERY crowded to make that an impossibility! For all a laptop or desktop could do for making music easier, are you SURE there isn't some older piece of gear you could let go and make room for a computer..?

Donny and I use this one that is 10" wide and works great.
http://www.lenovo.com/shop/americas/content/img_lib/productphotos/S10_black.jpg

I've got a couple of used Midjays available ... the cost would probably be comparable to that of a laptop and whatever programs you'll need to get it to do what you want.
Ciao,
Jerry

But isn't a Midjay bigger than a laptop anyway?

I love this laptop......works super and the small footprint is superb.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I would prefer a hardware module for ease of use. If I wanted to go the software route, is Ableton considered user-friendly for a beginner?

Also there is the whole morass of ASIO, USB to MIDI, etc. Is there a good primer on this somewhere? I tried once before with One Man Band and went right back to my hardware arranger. I'm sure it's good software, but I wasn't patient enough to sweat through all of the configuration issues.

I guess I will give the Yamaha QY-series a try. Considering the price, if it doesn't work at least I haven't risked a lot of dough.
Thanks again,
Ted

Thought you were just looking for something to play SMF's with markers. You haven't got anything to play them INTO?

Just a thought, but doesn't the MotifXS have a Marker function for its' sequencer? Maybe a rack version of that would do the job?

If you simply want to play MIDI into gear you already have, a large variety of sequencers (and Ableton Live) can do Markers, and as long as you aren't trying to get the laptop to be the sound source as well as the player, it shouldn't be THAT difficult... probably no harder than grokking a decent arranger or WS, anyway. Nothing is THAT easy, these days!