Overthinking MIDI Connections

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midiplugs.png

I want to connect my venerable QY-100 to the computer, and so I’ve got myself a USB to MIDI connector cable. The design is quite simple. One wire plugs into a USB port on the computer and there are two MIDI plugs labelled IN and OUT on the other end. The QY-100 has two MIDI sockets, also labelled IN and OUT. So it should be simple to plug them together…..

And then my brain started overworking. Are the plugs labelled with their role, or are the markings on them telling me which socket to plug them into?

Fortunately it doesn’t do any damage if you plug them in the wrong way round, but after some experimentation I can confirm that a plug that is labelled IN is an input and should be plugged into an output. And vice versa. And now I need a lie down.