I used to use a Tandy/Radio Shack Color Computer 2 (and later CoCo 3) to do MIDI music. You could build a simple MIDI out cable using the CoCo cassette port and play MIDI music using the Lyra sequencer program (https://www.cocopedia.com/wiki/index.php/Lyra). If you wanted MIDI in and out, you could build a more a more complex interface that used the CoCo RS-232 serial interface, but there wasn't much software out there supporting that.
I used that setup until I got my Gravis Ultrasound card for my PC and built a MIDI interface using the card's game controller port. That opened up the door to much more software and connectivity to my gear. Because of those great times, I still have a lot of synth and drum machine hardware with real MIDI ports (I don't like USB MIDI). I'll keep my vintage hardware synths as long as I can.
That's awesome!
Yeah, I've been looking around for a new 61 key MIDI controller with real DIN MIDI ports on it, but no such luck yet. They must not make them like that anymore. I want to start messing around with for my C64 awhile back. It'll let you play your SID chip like a synth. I've got a massive 88-piano-key keyboard I could use, just don't have the room for it where I need it.
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