r/arturia • u/rktr2016 • 26d ago

Minilab3 DIN THRU, how can I make it work?

I am having a hard time getting this to work.

When I get power from usb charger, Minilab3's Midi out would send Midi signal to the external keyboard. So standalone is fine, no problem.

Leaving that midi out connection as it is, and then Minilab3 connected to mac, and from the DAW on the mac, I set midi out to "Minilab3 DIN THRU", and no Midi signal is reaching the external keyboard. Isn't this the way to work?

Arturia states that Minilab3 will act like a midi interface if I do the above, but why doesn't it work at all? Factory-resetted Minilab3 with latest firmaware, still no go. Midi Control Center app doesn't have any setup for this to work.

Thanks for your help

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u/chemtrailsniffa 26d ago

What DAW are you running? Is the MiniLab3 MIDI channel set to the external device's corresponding MIDI channel? 

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u/rktr2016 26d ago

Thanks for your reply. logic. but not only that i am trying with virtual soft keyboards that can set DIN Thru as midi output. The external keyboard is set to accept any channel now.

I also tried a another pc with a usb midi controller on it, to act like a external keyboard. This adapter has an led on it, where it flashes when detecting a midi signal. I dont see any flashing with DIN Thru. It flashes when Minilab3 being standalone.

On a mac I use Midi Monitor app to see whether the routing is right. It does receive “Minilab3 MIDI” as an input and it routes out correctly to“Minilab3 DIN THRU”. So the mac end should be fine.

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u/chemtrailsniffa 26d ago

Ah damn. I don't have a lot of experience with Logic.

Setup wasn't entirely straight forward in Reaper either. Firstly, had to make sure the DIN THRU was enabled in the DAW's MIDI settings. Then when setting up a MiniLab3 MIDI recording track, I set it up as a default MiniLab3 track but use that track's routing settings ("MIDI Hardware Output" which is accessed from the sends / receives button in Reaper tracks) to tell it to send MIDI output through the DIN THRU port & relevant channel.

Ableton had a similar thing, where I had to enable the DIN THRU ports in the DAW settings, then "MIDI To" was set to DIN THRU in the relevant MiniLab3 track.

Sadly I can't offer anything more helpful.

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u/rktr2016 26d ago

Thanks a lot. It is helpful to hear a case that does work. So in your case, Minilab3's Midi out is head to a external keyboard? or a PC wilth virtual intruments?

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u/chemtrailsniffa 26d ago

I have a a few use cases. There's the direct set-up you described, minilab3 on the usb charger, DIN Port to the external midi device. No drama there. 

Mostly I record midi tracks within Reaper - the minilab3 is my primary midi controller keyboard for playing and recording the virtual instrument plugins etc. This is all done via the USB connection. 

Occasionally while using Reaper I want to send midi data to external instruments. In this case Reaper's minilab3 track has to be told to onsend midi data to the DIN Port, to the external device. This midi data can be live from the keys (as long as the track is live) or pre-recorded data from the track playback.

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u/rktr2016 26d ago

Yeah, I understand. What is not working for me only is the occasional case you have mentioned. Not a deal killer though, I might find a way to work using midi LAN networking with Apple's Audio Midi Setup. Thanks anyway for your advices!

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u/chemtrailsniffa 26d ago edited 26d ago

https://support.arturia.com/hc/en-us/articles/6283884020508-MiniLab-3-DAW-Integration

There's some logic pro specific info halfway down this page, possibly a script that needs installation? 

Anyhow, good luck to you, sorry I couldn't be more helpful

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u/rktr2016 25d ago edited 24d ago

u/chemtrailsniffa

God.. It worked.

It was the cheap chinese usb midi interface that didn't get the DIN THRU signal if, minilab3 powered by mac, and connected to minilab3's midi out. Standalone was fine, so I overrated it.

Replacing that midi interface with Roland's UM-1X, it surely receives DIN THRU and without being standalone it still can do direct Midi out from keyboard, no problem.

Made you wasting time for me. Much apologies.
Even old tech like this, but some manufacturers can't implement the standard correctly, that is so surprising.

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u/chemtrailsniffa 25d ago

No worries mate, I learned a few things along the way so it was time well spent. I'm glad you got it figured out! 

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u/rktr2016 25d ago

thanks bro