Multiple (3) MOTU MIDI Express 128 on a Mac (Monterey)

[eusti]

Hi there!

Thank you for having me here. I've had my first Express 128 for many years now. It has been in storage on and off and never gave me trouble. A year ago I started to change my setup slightly and bought another unit. So far so good. I was able to get MIDI where I needed. Nice!

Yesterday my third unit arrived and things went south: My system got confused / messed up: I set up the third unit as Express 128 #3 in MIDI Studio, but somehow now it got internally addressed as Express 128 #2 and vice versa. And that makes things confusing.

Steps taken: Switched names of the units (#2 into #3 and vice versa), restart, installed latest drivers, but to no avail.

The units are connected through a powered USB hub (Overhub).

Please let me know what I'm doing wrong or how to fix this. Or if it can be fixed.

Thank you!

Forgot to mention that my Mac is a Macbook Pro 14" with a M1 Pro chip.

[CharlzS]

Not an answer to your question, but I see you have an Ensoniq DP/4. If you haven't seen the iDP4 app, it's worth checking out.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/idp-4/id1526481455

[eusti]

Not an answer to your question, but I see you have an Ensoniq DP/4. If you haven't seen the iDP4 app, it's worth checking out.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/idp-4/id1526481455

Thanks, CharlzS. I'm actually trying to use Midiquest 12 as an editor / librarian for most of my stuff. That's why I'm trying to have one synth / effect per port.
But might give it a try at a later point!

[mikehalloran]

Overhub

I’m going to hazard a guess.

That USB 3 hub may be the problem. It has no USB 2 output (rare nowadays). This one uses a particular USB 3 cable to host — you cannot substitute USB 2. Contrary to popular belief, USB 3 and USB 2 are separate protocols, sharing only a ground. USB 2/3 confusion/crosstalk in some hubs is an old issue with threads here going back at least 9 years.

There are a few things to try. The simplest is to use USB 2 cables (480Kbps) on all three units. If that does it, declare victory and move on.

Next I would try a powered USB 2 hub with a USB 2 Printer cable (USB-B to USB-C rated 480 Kbps) to your MBP. If that works, try plugging the USB 2 hub into that Overhub with a USB 2 cable and see what happens.

You are diagnosing so buy from Amazon in case that doesn’t nail the problem. Sometimes, their no-hassle 30 day return is just the ticket.

[eusti]

Overhub

I’m going to hazard a guess.

That USB 3 hub may be the problem...

Thank you so much for this, Mike.

I had two MIDI Expresses 128 already running fine though through the same hub...

In any case I resorted to recreating the whole setup in Apple's MIDI Studio and that helped in so far that now the devices are actually no longer mixed up.
But somehow Reason now lists the units in the reverse order... First the new unit (#3), then #2, then #1... No clue why, but I guess I can live with that...

I checked your suggestion partly with plugging the new unit into a separate USB port on my computer... It didn't change the behavior.

I have reached out to Motu support too and they got back to me suggesting that I should try to power up my MIDI Express XT one after the other to see what that does...
Errrr... Ok then...

Thank you!