MIDIator is an independent, plain-English knowledge hub for MIDI and audio hardware — written the way a working studio engineer would explain it over coffee.
This site grew out of two decades of watching MIDI interfaces and connectors evolve — and out of answering the same good questions, over and over, from people who'd been handed jargon instead of explanations. The protocol hasn't fundamentally changed since 1983. The gear around it has. Somebody should keep the plain-English map current.
01What you'll find here
- Learn MIDI — what the protocol actually is, how messages and channels work, and the habits that keep a rig speaking clearly.
- The Sound Card Museum — forty years of PC audio history, from AdLib beeps to the chip on your motherboard.
- Buying Guides — structured, no-hype recommendations: what to look for, what to skip, what we'd put our own money on.
- Gear & Retailers — where we'd honestly buy, and the accessories that actually matter.
02What this site is not
MIDIator is not a store. There is no cart, no catalog, no stock and no checkout. When we recommend gear, we link out to real retailers — zZounds, the used market, your local shop — and we take no commission on anything. The supporters on our patch wall get a clearly labeled slot and exactly zero say in what we publish.
03How recommendations are made
Every buying guide starts from the question that matters — what do you actually need? — and works outward to hardware. We favor gear that's repairable, class-compliant and honest about its specs, and we're openly fond of the used market: MIDI hardware ages gracefully because the protocol never changed. Where we name a retailer, it's because we'd spend our own money there.
Spotted an error? We correct fast and note it. Write to desk@midiator.com.