Roland U-8ST Getting Started Manual page 52

Creating Songs with the U-8 and Cubasis VST
MIDI Data
MIDI data is data that records performance messages. Whereas audio data
is a faithful recording of the sounds of played instruments, MIDI data
corresponds to the musical score of the played instruments.
Some features of MIDI data are that it is much smaller in size than audio
data, and can also easily be edited later. MIDI data is played using a MIDI
sound generator. A software MIDI synthesizer lets you play MIDI data
using just your computer, but by using an external MIDI sound module
such as the SC-8850, SC-8820 or SC-88Pro, you can play sounds of even
greater variety and higher quality.
However, since MIDI has trouble handling information about anything
other than the pitch, it cannot be used to get realistic sounding vocals.
With the U-8, it's assumed that backings such as drums and bass will be handled as
MIDI data, and that guitars, vocals, and the like will be recorded with audio data.
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For more information
about MIDI supported by
the U-8, see "U-8 and
MIDI" in the U-8 Technical
Guide.