While MIDI has evolved and been expanded during the course of its lifetime, the core framework has remained pretty much the same – in fact, it’s only this year, after over 35 years, that an official MIDI 2.0 update has been announced. MIDI had advantages over classic control voltage it was an agreed standard that could be used by all manufacturers, but it was also capable of sending a more complex array of messages through a single cable, including note on, pitch, velocity, clock rate and position and program change messages. In the early ’80s, MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) was developed by several major synth designers including Dave Smith, Bob Moog and Roland’s Ikutaro Kakehashi. There was a lack of consistency across different brands’ instruments too – Moog and others used a system of one volt per octave to control pitch, whilst Korg and Yamaha gear used a ‘Hertz per Volt’ system. For one thing, there’s an inherent slight unpredictability to control voltages, which meant timings and note pitches could go slightly astray at times. While it was possible to do a surprising amount with these simple control signals, the system had its limitations.
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