usb-midi-host
Turn a Waveshare ESP32-S3 touch board into a computer-free USB MIDI host. Plug a keyboard and a synth into a powered hub and play.
You need
- A supported board (below) and a USB-C cable that carries data, not just power.
- Chrome or Edge on a desktop or laptop. Safari, Firefox and phones can't talk to USB serial devices.
Install
- Already running usb-midi-host? Tap the screen to open Settings, tap Computer, then tap again to restart. The screen says Computer mode.
- Plug the board straight into this computer (not through the hub).
- Click Install below and pick the port that appears (often named USB JTAG/serial debug unit).
- Leave Erase device unticked. That keeps your settings.
- When it finishes, the board restarts as a MIDI host. Move it back to the hub.
No port shows up, or the install can't connect? Hold BOOT, tap RST, let go of BOOT, then click Install again. That forces the chip into its download mode, which always works. You'll need it the first time if the board is running something that doesn't offer Computer mode. After an install started this way, the screen may stay unchanged: tap RST once to start the new firmware.
Boards
Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-1.69
240×280 touch screen, 16 MB flash. Its USB-C port becomes the MIDI host.
Pick what it carries. MIDI Hub plays the FM-1 from a USB keyboard. Hub + Loader adds the Firmware page: it backs up the FM-1 and installs firmware on it, with writes to the FM-1's flash turned on. Everything adds apps as they are finished; its loader can't write yet.