25 thoughts on “BomeBox MIDI Hub & Router Now Shipping”

1. Congrats to Mr. Bome and team. This is a great idea and glad to see them move into hardware.

   Seems like the only competition is the iConnectMIDI4. The iCM4 has the benefit of more DIN ports but not only does this have ethernet and wifi, the config app is basically the best in the business. The iCM config app leaves a lot to be desired and doesn’t really touch at the functionality of MTP. I wonder if this hardware comes with some sort of lite version.

   1. The iConnectMIDI4 has ethernet and wifi too and it’s cheaper! This could never replace an iConnectMIDI4. It has less DINs and it’s more expensive. Shill much?

      1. Well, I had the ICM4 for 2 weeks and the configuration software was a total nightmare, the drivers (on windows) were buggy. And when using it with both my pc and ios device and also using my ios device’s line out instead it gave me a huge feedback loop with noise all over.. needless to say I returned it. After that I found out that I didn’t actually need it as well.

         This sounds like a cool product though, if the configuration software just WORKS on all supported platforms, it could be a winner.

         1. Just a quick note: the BomeBox does not have a configuration software at all. It uses a web config, which is accessible via Ethernet and especially via WiFi. So any laptop, smartphone or tablet will work great for the configuration. We’ll post a few screenshots on the website soon so that people can understand better how it works.
            For creating advanced mappings/scripts/presets, our software MIDI Translator Pro (Windows/OS X) is used.

            And a side note: as far as I can read in the specs, the iConnectMIDI4+ does not have WiFi.

      2. Forgot about the ethernet on the iCM.

         Still, the main selling point of this box in my eyes is that you can run BMT scripts on it. I own and like a couple of iCM boxes but being able to run BMT scripts is really an entirely different beast.

2. where are the interfaces for people that was more than 20 hardware synths and need plenty of MIDI 5-pin DIN ports? these solution is very expensive, now is almost necessary to learn to build arduino and raspberry projects and built our own MIDI interface with many MIDI 5-pin DIN ports, USBs and Ethernet and WIFI.

   1. http://www.kentonuk.com/products/items/utilities/m-thru-25.shtml

      1. problem is that it is out of country

      2. thanks but that its a “THRU BOX”…. my comment is directed to the market of products like the MX8 – Digital Music Corp, MOTU MTP-AV or the basic EDIROL UM-880 with patchy, thru, merge, filter and processing MIDI data in hardware without the need of a computer.

   2. and for those of you looking for a cheap and simple usb host hardware box

      http://www.kentonuk.com/products/items/utilities/usb-host.shtml

   3. This plus a few old midisports would do the trick.

      I picked up an 8×8 on eBay recently and it’s been the best addition to my rig in a long time. Used as a patch bay, I can set up all sorts of complex routes between my synths and controllers, no computer needed.

      The midisport lacks support for USB-midi, so a box like this would fill the gap and add a few more 5-pin plugs to boot.

      That said, I do agree with your general sentiment, I’d like to see a modern patchbay with many more ports.

   4. if you don’t mind DIY watch midibox (ucapps.org) – there is a 56×56 midi patch bay under development

      1. these is the one!!! I’m working with arduino MIDI stuff… and when you broke the mystery you see you can build some interesting machines to incorporate in the studio workflow.

3. iConnectivity’s mio4 does more for less.

   1. What mio runs bome scripts too? You have any idea how powerful bome scripting is? Clearly not. I recommend you download the BMT demo to see the scope of bome scripting.

      Thinking that he bomebox is only for routing midi data is 95% missing the point.

      1. Ha, my thoughts exactly. Are people just blindly replying without even reading the description. This looks incredibly powerful and useful.

4. I just received an IconnectAudio4+ that does 5 pin and USB MIDI, audio, and supports IOS devices. Using MIDI splitter to connect my synths and am able to route what I want where with the config software. Not 100% established on my new workflow but will be making it the centre hub of my studio once I get my new iPad Pro. It replaces an Alessis IODock which is not working like it used to.

5. Why doesn’t anybody make a affordable and small MIDI/USB interface with USB host?
   For some time I am looking for a way to connect a small USB controller (like the CME Xkey) to a desktop synth (like the DSI Mopho or Waldorf Blofeld). But there are no commercial options for this (besides the Kenton, which is not a small device or the KMI MIDI Expander, which only works with KMI stuff), so I have to use a Raspberry PI or Arduino to do this.
   There is one device, CerebelUSB by Modemachines, which (in theory) does exactly what I want, but I have tried one and got some weird issues/errors, so I sent it back.

6. Get a Raspberry Pi (B+, 2 or 3) with a case, power adapter, a microSD card with Raspian distro and a cheap USB-MIDI converter (all together 50 – 70 Euro), put a shell script in /etc/rc.local that uses the “aconnect” program to connect the ALSA in/out ports of the USB-MIDI adapter to the ALSA in/out ports of your USB-MIDI keyboard. Solved. If you want a GUI or buttons to configure the connection or hot-plugging, you’d need to do a bit more programming (and maybe hardware, i.e. touchscreen or similar).

   1. Hey Chris, this is exactly what I’ve done already! I am just suprised that there are so few companies that turn such a thing into a product to sell to the people that are less technical/familiar with programming.

7. If you are looking for a simple USB-MIDI host, google the GHost Converter by Disaster Area Designs. I got one to connect my USB keyboard controllers to my MIDI sound modules and my Yamaha Reface YC and CP. Works pretty good, but has no scripting or complex routing capabilities. It’s a middle ground between the DIYs and the BomeBox at ~150USD.

8. Well, the best thing is with Bome software you can add MIDI to hotkeys, something no other software nor box can do. So this is really worth it’s weigh in gold. I have used Bome software for years to add MIDI control to software where MIDI control is not the best.

9. I wish that designers of these types of interfaces would take a look at the ancient Opcode MIDI system and the Studio Patches application together with the Opcode Studio 5 LX. The Studio 5LX has a huge number of MIDI I/O, can be daisy chained for even more I/O. The Studio Patches program is used to configure routing/filtering/remapping/scaling on the Studio 5 using a simple drag and drop interface, with the configuration being saved on the Studio 5 so that it works without a computer once configured. I love my iConnectMIDI products (using the mio10 as it’s the only interface out there with 20 available MIDI ports, 10 DIN and 10 USB) but I agree the iConfig software does take using to and can get really frustrating especially after using the Opcode system.

10. I would like to use a Novation Launch Control XL, Novation launchpad Pro and the Novation Circuit. I will jse the control XL for change synthesizer parameters and the Launchpad Pro for the aftertouch pads. Is it possible to connect them with the bomebox?

    I would need a midi host because the Control XL doenst have midi out, only USB. And because I will connect 2 gears to the circuit I also need a midi merger to connect the control XL and launchpad to the circuit.

11. I concur with bgaeta, the studio 5 interface, along with the studio patches editor software is the best midi processing software/hardware out there. I use an old powerbook running OS9 to program the unit. no big deal. It is so easy yet complex as you could ask for. Back in the 90’s I used the studio 5 and wrote a Max app to show and change the current patch number, including the patch name. I guess it was the pre-cursor to Mainstage. All external sound sources, none of the worries of crashing.