Hello,
I looked and I couldn’t find any information about how much current the E1 mkii can deliver via the USB host port.
I saw that the E1 itself peaks out at about 500mA. Does this figure include some theoretical margin for the current draw on the USB host port? Is it only for powering the E1 itself?
Assuming that the power supply used to power the E1 mkii can keep up, what is the maximum current that can be delivered via the USB host port?
I can’t tell you the specs of E1, but know that in general USB2.0 is to be limited to 500mA at anytime over one single USB line.
In case you want to feed multiple USB instruments, totalling more than 500MA of current, ensure you use a powered USB hub
The 500mA current limit of the USB 2.0 ports on a computer motherboard is a good starting point but it doesn’t really help me because I am not using one.
I am powering my E1 (well, going to once it arrives) with a powered USB hub that can deliver 1.1 amps on each port simultaneously.
It would be nice to know when I would need a second powered USB hub when connecting devices to the E1 and when I can just plug them in directly/use a non-powered hub.
If the power rails of the USB host port are just simply connected to the power rails of the USB device port then the total available current on the host port would be the total available current of the power supply minus the current draw of the E1.
The power rails are connected. E1 mkII needs around 300mA. The PCB planes will handle 1.1A no problem.
Good to know!
I am planning on connecting two Blokas Miduhubs via a USB hub.
They draw 300mA each. I’m looking at a total consumption of about 900mA with about 200mA of headroom.
Very sorry to put this in an old post but what I wanted to post about is related to this in a way and I wanted to show that I did search the forums before posting - some forums admins get very cross about these things so lets just call this “Forum C-PTSD”.
(It could be that I misunderstood the midi host part so please correct me if I’m wrong!)
When I got my E1 I assumed it would indeed be “The Center of Your MIDI Universe.“. I was a bit disappointed that for me at least it is not. I still need gear to connect my MIDI devices together. I have to use the CME H2MIDI Pro and a powered USB hub to connect my 8 USB Midi devices and I was really hoping this would be done by my new E1. like I said, I have the CME H2MIDI Pro and the Blokas Labs Midihub but I really did hope to sell them to offset the cost of the E1.
I’m currently quite sick, which means my cognition is impaired. Having to think about MIDI routing in two different places is just too much for me so since getting my E1 its largely remained off - but proudly on display.
My question is - would it be possible to enable the E1 to handle more USB Midi devices in the future? Has this been discussed on the forum already and if so could you point me to those discussions - I’d like to read up on it.
Thanks folks.
Hi, I’ve never thought of the E1 to be the middle man in all my gear. For my part, MIDI routing between PC/DAW, USB devices and DIN MIDI devices is done by MIDI routers. i use 2 MioXL and 1 MioXM for this.The E1, I have it connected via USB to the PC directly, so I can program it at any moment. I have it connected via DIN-MIDI into the MIDI routers too for MIDI message interchange with the MIDI devices. I have almost 30 MIDI channels in use, but so far I use presets on the Mio’s to redirect the Electra One to the proper device. There might come a day I’ll need the E1 ‘s second DIN-MIDI for better distinction between MIDI channels. So far, that has not been needed.
I’m the same as NewIgnis, and use three MioXL’s, labelled A, B, and C to distribute MIDI to all my E1 controllable gear.
E1 MIDI DIN I/O ports 1 connected to Mio A, E1 ports 2 to Mio B, and A, B and C interconnected with RPT MIDI.
I don’t use the E1 USB host port at all, but it is connected by USB to my PC for editing and adding preset templates.
Indeed here too: the MIO’s are interconnected to one another via RTP MIDI, and also that way to the PC. With the MIO presets, I choose whether I’ll play DAW centric (everything goes through the DAW, and DAW is temposynced with the main keyboard), or DAW-less (main keyboards control the synths directly. My main keyboard has 2 MIDI out, one goes to MIO A, the other to MIO B, and tempo is solely governed by the main keyboard.
If ever you need a powered USB hub, capable of dealing with audio rates, I suggest to look at the Elektron Overhub. It’s sufficienlyl sturdy built (not the best in class though), but it’s the only I know so far that has MTT (multi transaction translator), so when USB signals at lower speeds are mixed with higher speeds, the higher speed is maintained, whereas most hubs scale down to the lower speed. That could be handy to extend the number of physical ports on a E1 , a PC or a MIO.
Hi folks, thanks for your comments. I think there might be a little misunderstanding, I’ll try to explain myself a bit more.
I don’t use a computer as I work DAWless and I use USB MIDI predominantly . While the MioXL’s does look great, it would cost me a further €388 to buy. The Electra One is advertised as “The Center of Your MIDI Universe.“, so it would be great if I didn’t need to use more midi devices. Like I mentioned above the CME H2MIDI Pro can connect to 8 additional USB MIDI devices off a standard USB Hub - it does this very well and only costs €46.
@NewIgnis unless I misunderstood the product description, I’m fairly sure the Electra One MK2 only supports two connected MIDI USB devices. My issue is I would like to be able to connect all of my USB MIDI devices to the Electra One MK2.
I will read more about MTT (multi transaction translator) - I never heard of that before, interesting. Thanks @NewIgnis
Hi,
the limit of maximum two devices connected to the controller comes from the design choices we made when working on controller hardware. There are three reasons for that:
I do understand your point but I am sorry to say that this will not change in the future - yet we still think that Electra One can be center of a MIDI universe 
We would like to have perfect solution for every possible setup, but the cost of the controller would be even higher. The limit of two devices connected is mentioned directly on the electra.one home page at the connectivity section.
If your controller doesn’t meet your needs and shows no visible damage, feel free to contact me to arrange a return.
Martin
Hey @martin ,
Thank you very much for taking the time to explain the technical reasons behind the 2 USB host limit. This helps me a lot.
Regarding returning the device, absolutely not! Its important to me. I spent 3 hours using your Generative Sequencer Patch last night and I am currently working on making it the primary control surface for my DAWless setup. I had the Lemur control device by JazzMutant and I view this device as a future proof cousin and for this, I love it. I also believe the “Preset library” is a significant selling point and one of the reasons why I wanted the Electra One. I am a fan, and want nothing but the continued success of the Electra One. As a fan, I will also share my feedback / point of view from time to time.
Keep up the great work @martin - you have my sincere thanks and appreciation.
thank you for your kind words. There is still a lot that could be improved on the generative sequencer preset. My original goal was to demonstrate a more advanced preset but it eventually proved that it could be a musically useful thing.