MIDI over USB question - DP 5.13

[kieran74]

Hi everyone -- I've done a little reconfiguring to my studio recently, and I'm running into a MIDI issue. I'm running DP 5.13 on a 2007 iMac with OS 10.6.8 (I know... can't afford to start an upgrade spiral at the moment!), and an Audio Express interface. I recently got a Roland Gaia synth I'll be using for sound generation as well as MIDI control for Mach 5 (v2), etc. I hooked the Gaia up through the USB port and rebuilt my AudioMIDI settings to include it -- the OS recognized it fine, and within AudioMIDI the Test Setup worked in both directions.

The problem is inside DP -- when I set up a MIDI track, DP can receive and record MIDI data from the Gaia, but it doesn't show up as an output option for a MIDI track. I redid the AudioMIDI settings a couple of times in case there was something wrong with the original setup, restarted the computer a few times, but nothing changed.

I then tried hooking the Gaia up through the 5-pin MIDI ports on the Audio Express, added it as a MIDI device in the AudioMIDI settings, and voila -- it sends and receives just fine. It's unclear to me if this is an issue with DP, with the OS, or somewhere else, so I thought I'd put it to you all and see if there were any suggestions. I'd prefer to use the USB connection for MIDI to and from the Gaia so I can use the 5-pin connections for another device. Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I'm kind of guess and kind of remembering my V-synth experience that was similar. It may be that (ridiculous as it sounds) you have to make a virtual connection between the "interface" and the "synth" from within Audio/MIDI Setup.

I can't recall the specifics and it did not (and does not) make complete sense to me, but again, I seem to recall it solved the problem. It might also mean having the add the synth device in A/M setup.

Does that make any sense at all?

[mikehalloran]

I'm running DP 5.13 on a 2007 iMac with OS 10.6.8 (I know... can't afford to start an upgrade spiral at the moment!)

Keep your eye open for the DP 9 release announcement. If MOTU follows their usual course, you will be able to purchase it at upgrade pricing, get DP 8 shipped to you immediately and then DP 9 will ship for free later. Although DP 9 just showed at NAMM, no official release has been announced.

DP 8 will run on your current setup and be eligible for tech support. If you ever bite on the 'upgrade spiral' (love the term) you will be in a position to run the latest and greatest.

I would say that, before DP 8, 5.13 was my favorite version of DP.

OK, none of that helps right now but one should always keep an eye open to the future.

[kieran74]

I'm kind of guess and kind of remembering my V-synth experience that was similar. It may be that (ridiculous as it sounds) you have to make a virtual connection between the "interface" and the "synth" from within Audio/MIDI Setup.

I can't recall the specifics and it did not (and does not) make complete sense to me, but again, I seem to recall it solved the problem. It might also mean having the add the synth device in A/M setup.

Does that make any sense at all?

It does! That's actually one of the first things I tried -- drawing the little connection between the Audio Express and the Gaia -- but that doesn't appear to work with devices that are connected via USB. When I added a device and connected the Gaia with the 5-pin connectors to the Audio Express, then I could draw in those connections. I may be misunderstanding you but I think we're on the same page -- so far this hasn't seemed to help.

I'm running DP 5.13 on a 2007 iMac with OS 10.6.8 (I know... can't afford to start an upgrade spiral at the moment!)

Keep your eye open for the DP 9 release announcement. If MOTU follows their usual course, you will be able to purchase it at upgrade pricing, get DP 8 shipped to you immediately and then DP 9 will ship for free later. Although DP 9 just showed at NAMM, no official release has been announced.

DP 8 will run on your current setup and be eligible for tech support. If you ever bite on the 'upgrade spiral' (love the term) you will be in a position to run the latest and greatest.

I would say that, before DP 8, 5.13 was my favorite version of DP.

OK, none of that helps right now but one should always keep an eye open to the future.

A sub question I've had is whether anyone was successfully running DP 8 on a setup like mine -- I've assumed that although MOTU says DP 8 will run on 10.6.8, it would always be right on the verge of overwhelming the OS and the computer. I asked support about an issue with the Audio Express a couple of years back and they acknowledged that DP 5 is not officially supported with that interface (although it works fine).

[cleamon]

Hi everyone -- I've done a little reconfiguring to my studio recently, and I'm running into a MIDI issue. I'm running DP 5.13 on a 2007 iMac with OS 10.6.8 (I know... can't afford to start an upgrade spiral at the moment!), and an Audio Express interface. I recently got a Roland Gaia synth I'll be using for sound generation as well as MIDI control for Mach 5 (v2), etc. I hooked the Gaia up through the USB port and rebuilt my AudioMIDI settings to include it -- the OS recognized it fine, and within AudioMIDI the Test Setup worked in both directions.

The problem is inside DP -- when I set up a MIDI track, DP can receive and record MIDI data from the Gaia, but it doesn't show up as an output option for a MIDI track. I redid the AudioMIDI settings a couple of times in case there was something wrong with the original setup, restarted the computer a few times, but nothing changed.

I then tried hooking the Gaia up through the 5-pin MIDI ports on the Audio Express, added it as a MIDI device in the AudioMIDI settings, and voila -- it sends and receives just fine. It's unclear to me if this is an issue with DP, with the OS, or somewhere else, so I thought I'd put it to you all and see if there were any suggestions. I'd prefer to use the USB connection for MIDI to and from the Gaia so I can use the 5-pin connections for another device. Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

Not sure if this helps with your specific issue, but I had some problems similar to yours with a usb/MIDI device. I discovered that using the setup in bundles (MIDI devices tab) allows more flexibility than the OS/X Audio/MIDI app. (at least with Snow Leopard). It's supposed to be the same, but I found that I had more routing possibilities in the bundles window. Afterwards, when I went back to audio/MIDI, there was the desired routing (that was impossible to setup through audio/MIDI). Good luck.