Up to 1 minute delay in MIDI to external devices !!!

[Tzakuk]

I am experiencing terrible MIDI latency problems. I am able to play/monitor soft-synth with no latency, but external devices do not receive MIDI signals for up to a minute. MOTU support suggested this may be a USB 3.0 issue, but my interface is connected to a USB 2.0 port.

DP8, 8pre USB, Windows7 home premium (SP1), core i5, 6GB

All drivers and BIOS are current.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I'm not on a PC but a minute delay sounds too extreme to be true. In 26 years of using MIDI in several machines and OSs I've never seen that.

It ain't DP, so if you are being truthful then look at your OS and other hardware. Reinstall everything and check the hardware in another machine.

[Tzakuk]

Thanks for the reply. This was my first thought also, and I tested my hardware and OS as follows:

Disabled all network devices, and stopped unnecessary services. Ran DPClat, which showed highest latency at 274µs.

Using MidiOx I mapped USB keyboard as MIDI input device, and MOTU 8pre as MIDI output device. I have done this repeatedly with no latency.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Well that's just freakin' crazy! I would suspect either the MIDI interface and/or the external devices. DP does have a MIDI monitor. Have you opened that window to see if the delay is showing up there? I wish you were on a Mac as we could probably solved that quickly. Not that Macs are any better, I just understand them. I only recently learned that PCs have a power button and that's how you turn them on... j/k, but they do tend to confuse me sometimes... like NOW! Hopefully someone else with PC knowledge will see this and jump in.

Just a thought, but is there a factory reset button on any or all your external devices? Again, if you can try them on another machine, at least you could confirm they're working properly. Very odd situation.

[bayswater]

Could there be a MIDI loop happening?

[Tzakuk]

Yes, it is very odd. I am still working on it.

Removing (moving to the desktop) the following files helped temporarily:

C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\MOTU\MOTU Audio System
and:
C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\MOTU\Digital Performer\Preferences

But the issue returned almost immediately.

Also, I have discovered that if I play the external controller, MIDI is received on the track immediately, but is not sent to the external device right away. The length of time it takes seems to get longer over time, with the longest delay I have experienced about one minute.

However, if I use the virtual keyboard on the MIDI track (to the left of the track), data is output to the external device immediately.

So, the question seems to be: why would DP treat MIDI data received from an external device differently than data received from the embedded soft keyboard?

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Longshot, but I wonder if somewhere there's a MIDI plug that's is instructed to delay the signal?

Deleting whatever the equivalent of a Mac preference (plist) file is might be a good start. Do it for DP and all plugs as well as the MIDI INTERFACE and all system aspects. If that doesn't fix it I'm going with a hardware problem.

[Tzakuk]

MOTU tech is baffled as well. They plan to test my controller (KORG K61P) and see if that is causing the issue. In the mean time, the work-around is to plug the controller directly into the 8pre's MIDI-IN rather than use USB. So far that is working fine.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions !

[stubbsonic]

It would be good to get a look at the MIDI stream at different points on the path.

There is a rare condition where a MIDI overload can hang up a system and cause it to be in a semi-locked-up state.

You might want to see if something is outputting a wall of controller or sysex data that has locked something up.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I was thinking active sensing or MTC overload.

[stubbsonic]

Yes, or perhaps something where a pitch wheel or aftertouch sensor is just outputting a steady stream on multiple channels which is hogging bandwidth.

Or something was put into the DP tracks themselves which is cramming the pipe (automation? MIDI plug-in?)

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Sequence start time?

[Tzakuk]

Thee trouble reappeared today with delay times up to 4 - 5 minutes !! I tested another keyboard (M-AUDIO prokeys88) and the same problem persists. I was told today by a MOTU tech that others have reported the same issue, and the one common thread seems to be Windows7. (If windows is the answer, it was a stupid question) I will post here when the issue is resolved to let others know.

Keep posting. We will beat this one yet!!

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Can you try or have you tried a different MIDI device or tried your interface on a different computer?

[James Steele]

Thee trouble reappeared today with delay times up to 4 - 5 minutes !! I tested another keyboard (M-AUDIO prokeys88) and the same problem persists. I was told today by a MOTU tech that others have reported the same issue, and the one common thread seems to be Windows7. (If windows is the answer, it was a stupid question) I will post here when the issue is resolved to let others know.

Keep posting. We will beat this one yet!!

Wow! Well, forgive us Mac users for not being very helpful on this one. Maybe a Windows person can help out. I remember one guy was especially helpful on these things on this board.

As I said, I don't know much but have you tried using generic ASIO drivers instead of MOTU ones? I've heard of some Windows users doing this on occasion. At least I THINK so. Of course you have a MIDI problem, not audio, so that's probably of no use now that I think about it.