Does it matter what USB cord to use with controller?

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Mistro17
Posts: 310
Joined: 04 Jul 2017
Location: Brooklyn, NY

29 May 2020

I just got a new Akai MPK249 and was surprised that it came with a 3'3" usb cord. It's too short for my set up. The old one I have (Akai MPK49) have a 6 foot cord allowing more room between my desktop and the keyboard. Before I just go ahead and plug in my old 6' cord, I want to make sure that it's safe. Are these cords specially made for each controller type or am I safe to plug in the one from my Akai MPK49? I'm paranoid because I once bought a new power supply for my PC and ended up frying 3 hard drives because I used the connecting wires from the old power supply thinking it didn't matter.

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DaveyG
Posts: 2499
Joined: 03 May 2020

29 May 2020

It's mostly fine. You can't damage anything but a cheap or low current cable might fail to power the keyboard correctly.
But you can't break it so just try it.


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orthodox
RE Developer
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Joined: 22 Jan 2015
Location: 55°09'24.5"N 37°27'41.4"E

30 May 2020

Any cable will do. Midi keyboards consume very little power and don't need much transmission rate.

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Heigen5
Posts: 1505
Joined: 25 Sep 2018
Location: Finland / Suomi

30 May 2020

If the USB plugs match they should be safe to be connected. I as well use my old wire for my new midi keyboard.

EdGrip
Posts: 2343
Joined: 03 Jun 2016

30 May 2020

Yep. The thing to remember is a USB cable carries digital data, not audio, so there can be no concerns about "audio quality" in 0s and 1s. This is doubly true if the cable is for a controller, which is just sending 1980s MIDI data.

However! There might be physical considerations to be aware of - for instance, my Ableton Push 2 has a recessed socket for the USB connection and I had to pay close attention to the specs of the connector when I was shopping for a longer cable, to make sure it would fit in the hole. (A brand called Syncwire if anyone's looking)

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Mistro17
Posts: 310
Joined: 04 Jul 2017
Location: Brooklyn, NY

30 May 2020

Thanks! I used my old 6' cable and it works fine. Would've replied sooner but got deep into some music :)

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miyaru
Posts: 624
Joined: 28 Oct 2019
Location: Zaanstad, The Netherlands

02 Jun 2020

EdGrip wrote:
30 May 2020
Yep. The thing to remember is a USB cable carries digital data, not audio, so there can be no concerns about "audio quality" in 0s and 1s. This is doubly true if the cable is for a controller, which is just sending 1980s MIDI data.

However! There might be physical considerations to be aware of - for instance, my Ableton Push 2 has a recessed socket for the USB connection and I had to pay close attention to the specs of the connector when I was shopping for a longer cable, to make sure it would fit in the hole. (A brand called Syncwire if anyone's looking)
I had to look to for a longer cable for my Push2, and took some time, it is not advised to use an extension cable with Push2, altough I never tried that.
Greetings from Miyaru.
Prodaw i7-7700, 16Gb Ram, Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 3rd gen, ESI M4U eX, Reason12, Live Suit 10, Push2, Presonus Eris E8 and Monitor Station V2, Lexicon MPX1,
Korg N1, Yamaha RM1x :thumbup:

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