Pros and cons to using MIDI

Though MIDI’s heavy usage does persist, as mentioned above, the standard inherently has limitations that either add to or detract from a musical experience, depending on the listener and context. A single MIDI link can have a total of 16 channels, each connecting to a different device. Through these channels, information is sent to: notation, pitch, and velocity, “clock signals” that synchronize tempo between other devices. There are also “parameter control signals” like volume and vibrato. It can also act as a shortcut allowing musicians to easily pan from one type of stereo soundscape to another. All this information is transmitted from an intelligent device through a MIDI cable into any MIDI-compliant devices used. Also, as previously mentioned, a huge draw for many producers is the small file size of MIDI. Because of the quantity of digital sounds and broad range of instruments that can be sampled by MIDI, the format has seen massive popularity in a multitude of industries and private usages.

However, there are drawbacks to using MIDI. All MIDI loops are heavily reliant on playback devices to create an audio effect. This means that unlike digital audio tracks, MIDI loops cannot contain vocals or spoken dialogue sequences (unless they are digitized). Additionally, working with the MIDI format requires complete mastery of  both playback devices used, audio production, and musical scores. The system is not easily accessible to the layman. Also, MIDI playback is ultimately reliant on the output system’s sound card. In many cases, sound cards would simply not be powerful enough to offer a comfortable MIDI soundstage. Finally, MIDI simply sounds less realistic than a digital audio track, with representations of instruments such as horns and strings, and especially voices playing back extremely ‘flat’, with the volume being very equally across each note. The tempo also comes across ‘too perfectly’ (humans rarely play perfectly in tempo with each other), which can sound unnatural to the human ear.